Latest news with #SimonKnight
SBS Australia
21-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Police offer $250,000 for information on disappearance
Police, family appeal over Simon Knight disappearance Prime Minister's pointed address to party on eve of new parliament Opals beat Japan to win Asia Cup The father of a Sydney man who disappeared 20 years ago to the day, has made a desperate appeal for any new information to shed light on the fate of his son. The appeal, made alongside New South Wales Police, is seeking clarity two decades after Simon Knight was last seen at a Surry Hills hotel on Crown Street. His parents reported the aspiring chef missing, after he failed to show up to work at a Newtown Cafe later that day. Police are currently offering a $250,000 reward for any credible information. His father, Bob Knight, says the family has been waiting 20 years for closure. "We have been waiting 20 years to find out what's happened to Simon. The family is still waiting, we're hoping that one day we will get the answers and closure. So please, if you do know anything, please get in touch with the police or Crimestoppers. Thank you." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told federal Labor politicians they must repay the faith of the Australian public who chose to re-elect his government to power, with a dominant majority. Mr Albanese made the remarks as he addressed the Labor party caucus, ahead of the first sitting day of the new Federal Parliament, tomorrow. He says members must reflect on the mandate Labor has been given and do their best to serve the interests of the Australian public above all else. "Each and every day, we must work hard to we repay the faith that has been shown in us. We should never, ever, ever take it for granted. People don't expect perfection. They understand that the world will throw things at us. But they expect that we will put them first, rather than be focused internally on what goes on in this building." Over 150 organisations have come together to warn the human rights of Australians are increasingly under threat, ahead of a major United Nations review. The coalition of organisations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights, legal, disability, refugee, LGBTIQ+ and climate groups, have submitted a joint report to the United Nations Human Rights Council identifying critical issues that have gone unaddressed. They're calling for the establishment of an Australian Human Rights Act, to establish clear minimum human rights protections that must be considered by governments when designing policies and delivering services. Caitlin Reiger, CEO at the Human Rights Law Centre tells SBS that urgent action is needed to stem the rollback of fundamental rights. "We don't have a comprehensive set of human rights protections in our legal framework at the federal level. We've also seen a number of jurisdictions, wind areas of human rights and basic civil liberties protections back, both in terms of the quite repressive responses to public protests in recent times, we've seen backsliding around youth justice with the age of criminal responsibility going down in some places rather than up. And we have 10- and 11-year-olds sitting in police cells and not in classrooms or at home." Investigators are examining a light plane crash in south-eastern Queensland, which killed a pilot and flight examiner. The twin turboprop aircraft crashed into a grass area near Oakey, west of Toowoomba, about 3pm yesterday. Aero Logistics owns the craft. In a statement, chief executive Ben Smee says it's a terrible tragedy and that the pair were experienced, well-respected pilots. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is now investigating the crash. Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell says the pilot was undergoing an instrument proficiency check at the time, an annual requirement of instrument-rated pilots. "Exactly what's occurred here is still not entirely clear to us but we do know that it was conducting ILS, which is Instrument Landing System approaches into Oakey. Now something has obviously gone quite tragically wrong and our job is to piece together the sequence of events leading into what's occurred yesterday afternoon and more broadly the environments that may have influenced that." Mr Smee says Aero Logistics has offered its support to the families of the two men and counselling services to staff. In basketball, the Opals are celebrating after the Australian women have won their first Asia Cup, triumphing over defending champions Japan in the final. It was a dominant gold medal display with the Opals leading at the end of every quarter, finishing with 88 points to Japan's 79. While the six-time champions levelled the score twice in the final quarter, Australia polled ahead with the help of top-scorer Alexandra Fowler who led the charge with 15 points. She was followed by Alex Wilson's 14 points and Stephanie Reid's 13. Fowler says she's grateful for the opportunity to play for Australia and thanks her family and coaches for helping her improve her game. "As I continue to develop and get older my game continues to grow. It's a credit to all the coaches over the years, my parents, everyone, all the time they've put in to getting me to training, to putting in the extra hours with me. It's just so fun to be out on the stage and play in front of a crowd wearing the Australian jersey. I think we had an amazing group of girls come together and I couldn't be prouder of the group and the coaching staff and all the people who put in all the time and effort behind the scenes. It's been so much fun, this whole tournament."
Daily Mirror
21-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Dad's desperate plea to find son who vanished 20 years ago after never arriving at work
The then 32-year-old was reported missing when he failed to show up to work on the morning of July 21 2005. A body has never been located and the circumstances remain unknown The dad of a man who went missing 20 years ago has issued an emotional plea as police renew an appeal for information into his disappearance two decades on. Simon Knight was 32 when he was last seen at a Crown Street hotel on the morning of July 21, 2005, and was reported missing later that day after he did not arrive for his shift at a café in Newtown. At the time there were few clues leading detectives to what happened to the aspiring chef. Despite extensive investigations at the time, and over the years, Simon, from Redfern, has never been found with a second coronial inquest in 2015 finding it was likely Simon had died. However, a body has never been located and the circumstances are unknown. Detectives from South Sydney Police Area Command are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Knight's disappearance under Strike Force Glenlea. In November 2020, a NSW Government reward was increased to $250,000 for information into Simon's disappearance. At the time of his disappearance, Simon was described as being of Caucasian appearance, 183cm tall, with blue eyes, a fair complexion, red hair and facial hair. When he was last seen, it is believed he was wearing a dark green T-shirt and blue jeans. Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley said that despite the passage of time, Simon's family needed answers. She said: 'Losing a loved one is devastating, but the not knowing makes the loss so much harder. 'Today we appeal to anyone who might have the smallest piece of information, which can help police bring answers about Simon's disappearance for the Knight family." South Sydney Police Area Commander, Acting Superintendent Christopher Hill said police believe there is someone out there that knows something about Simon's disappearance. Mr Hill said: 'To support this search for answers, anyone who may have held onto information since Simon's disappearance, is urged to come forward. 'We are keen to speak with anyone who lived or frequented Crown and Oxford streets, Surry Hills, in July 2005, particularly if they knew Simon and have not yet spoken to police. Any piece of new information – no matter how seemingly insignificant – could be the key to solve this case and help provide much-needed answers to Simon's family about what happened to him.' Simon's father, Bob Knight said although it has now been 20 years since Simon's disappearance, our family are very grateful to the police for their assistance and the work they have done to find out what happened to Simon. He said: 'Our family are still waiting, hoping one day we will get answers and closure. So please if you know anything, please get in touch with the police or Crime Stoppers.' The $250,000 reward is available for information leading to the discovery of Simon Knight's whereabouts or disclosing the circumstances of his disappearance.
ABC News
21-07-2025
- ABC News
Police renew appeal for information over 2005 disappearance of Sydney man Simon Knight
Police are appealing once again for information 20 years to the day since Sydney man Simon Knight disappeared from a Surry Hills hotel. Mr Knight was 32 when he was last seen at a Crown Street hotel on the morning of July 21, 2005, with few clues leading detectives to what happened to the aspiring chef. He was soon reported missing to police by his parents after not showing up to a shift at a Newtown cafe later that same day. Despite a reward increase from $100,000 to $250,000 in 2020, no information has shed light on Mr Knight in the years since he vanished. On Monday his father Bob Knight gave a heartfelt plea in a bid to help find his son. "The family is still waiting, we're hoping one day we will get the answers and closure. "So please if you know anything, please get in touch with the police or Crime Stoppers." While Mr Knight's case was not part of the inquiry, it was referenced in the NSW legislative council's 2021 final report into gay and transgender hate crimes between 1970 and 2010. The report stated when his parents first reported him missing, an officer told them: "Gays go missing all the time … he'll turn up." It added a 2013 magazine article quoted a police officer from Redfern claiming that "despite conjecture that [Mr Knight] may have contracted HIV, he was believed to be alive and well". A coroner in 2015 concluded that Mr Knight was believed to be dead, though the circumstances are unknown. When his parents were granted permission to see the review into his case at Kings Cross Police Station in 2019, they were only given 15 minutes before "they felt the attending officer getting impatient so they left", the report stated. "Later on we've had good support, in regard to that in the early stage, yes that was the case," Mr Knight's father said. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said his disappearance had shattered his loved ones. "His disappearance has left a devastating void in this family, the disappearance of a loved one leaves a void in every family and this family is no different," she said. "And there are no answers as to what happened to Simon on that night. This family have been grieving now for two decades, 20 years, it's a long time. "It may be the case with the passage of time you feel more comfortable coming forward." South Sydney Police Area Commander Chris Hill said the items Mr Knight was last seen with — a camera and a bike — have never been found. Sharing memories of her brother, Mr Knight's sister Francis said the loss had been "massive". "Simon and I were your typical siblings, we fought all the time we also had a lot of fun," she said. "The loss of him has been massive, he's never met my girls. "I'd love to just fight with him again … we lost such an important person in our life. A little bit of the fun went with him as well."
Perth Now
21-07-2025
- Perth Now
‘Still waiting': Dad's plea for missing son
The family of missing Sydney chef Simon Knight has delivered a fresh appeal for 'answers' 20 years after the young man disappeared. 'Our family are still waiting, hoping one day we will get answers and closure, so please, if you know anything, please get in touch with the police or Crime Stoppers' Simon's father Bob Knight said on Monday. A $250,000 reward has been offered for any information leading to the discovery of Simon's whereabouts or disclosing the circumstances of his disappearance. Simon, a chef, was last seen at a hotel on Crown St in Sydney's Surry Hills on the morning of July 21, 2005. When the 32-year-old did not arrive for his shift at a cafe in Newtown later that day, he was reported missing to police. Despite extensive investigations at the time, and over the years, Simon has never been found. A second coronial inquest in 2015 found that it was likely Simon had died, the police said on Monday. Sydney chef Simon Knight went missing in July 2005. Supplied Credit: Supplied His body has never been located and the circumstances of his disappearance are unknown. At the time of his disappearance, Simon was described as being of caucasian appearance, 183cm tall, with blue eyes, a fair complexion, red hair and facial hair. When he was last seen, it is believed he was wearing a dark green T-shirt and blue jeans. Sydney detectives continue to investigate Simon's disappearance under Strike Force Glenlea. Police Minister Yasmin Catley said Simon's family needed answers. 'Losing a loved one is devastating, but the not knowing makes the loss so much harder,' she said. 'Today we appeal to anyone who might have the smallest piece of information, which can help police bring answers about Simon's disappearance for the Knight family.' He was reported missing after failing to show up for a shift at a Newtown cafe. Supplied Credit: Supplied South Sydney Police Area commander Acting Superintendent Christopher Hill said police believed there was someone out there who knew something about Simon's disappearance. 'To support this search for answers, anyone who may have held onto information since Simon's disappearance is urged to come forward,' Superintendent Hill said. 'We are keen to speak with anyone who lived or frequented Crown and Oxford streets, Surry Hills, in July 2005, particularly if they knew Simon and have not yet spoken to police. 'Any piece of new information – no matter how seemingly insignificant – could be the key to solve this case and help provide much-needed answers to Simon's family about what happened to him.'
News.com.au
21-07-2025
- News.com.au
NSW Police launch fresh $250k appeal for information on missing Sydney chef Simon Knight
The family of missing Sydney chef Simon Knight has delivered a fresh appeal for 'answers' 20 years after the young man disappeared. 'Our family are still waiting, hoping one day we will get answers and closure, so please, if you know anything, please get in touch with the police or Crime Stoppers' Simon's father Bob Knight said on Monday. A $250,000 reward has been offered for any information leading to the discovery of Simon's whereabouts or disclosing the circumstances of his disappearance. Simon, a chef, was last seen at a hotel on Crown St in Sydney's Surry Hills on the morning of July 21, 2005. When the 32-year-old did not arrive for his shift at a cafe in Newtown later that day, he was reported missing to police. Despite extensive investigations at the time, and over the years, Simon has never been found. A second coronial inquest in 2015 found that it was likely Simon had died, the police said on Monday. His body has never been located and the circumstances of his disappearance are unknown. At the time of his disappearance, Simon was described as being of caucasian appearance, 183cm tall, with blue eyes, a fair complexion, red hair and facial hair. When he was last seen, it is believed he was wearing a dark green T-shirt and blue jeans. Sydney detectives continue to investigate Simon's disappearance under Strike Force Glenlea. Police Minister Yasmin Catley said Simon's family needed answers. 'Losing a loved one is devastating, but the not knowing makes the loss so much harder,' she said. 'Today we appeal to anyone who might have the smallest piece of information, which can help police bring answers about Simon's disappearance for the Knight family.' South Sydney Police Area commander Acting Superintendent Christopher Hill said police believed there was someone out there who knew something about Simon's disappearance. 'To support this search for answers, anyone who may have held onto information since Simon's disappearance is urged to come forward,' Superintendent Hill said. 'We are keen to speak with anyone who lived or frequented Crown and Oxford streets, Surry Hills, in July 2005, particularly if they knew Simon and have not yet spoken to police. 'Any piece of new information – no matter how seemingly insignificant – could be the key to solve this case and help provide much-needed answers to Simon's family about what happened to him.'
