Latest news with #SouthCoast
News.com.au
an hour ago
- Health
- News.com.au
Girl, 7, contemplates suicide, reaches our for help
A seven-year-old girl made a phone call late one night telling a stranger she was thinking about killing herself. That call saved her life. The little schoolgirl, who is still in regular contact with her professional counsellor at Kids Helpline, is just one of 4000 Australian children aged five to nine who reach out for help every year. 'That's a lot of really young people who have the courage to ask for help,' Kids Helpline CEO Tracy Adams told 'We take our role to provide them with free, professional support any hour of the day extremely seriously,' she said. 'I really celebrate that they have that courage and absolute ability to recognise in themselves that they need to talk to someone and help them through what's worrying them. 'The fact they understand themselves well enough to do that is very special. They should never feel not worthy and not valued. We have built a whole service for children and young people, not anyone else, so that's how much we value them.' Last year the service carried out 135,000 counselling responses to people from the age of five to 25. Three per cent of all those contacts were made from children between five and nine years old. Bullying is one of the key issues affecting the young children who reach out. The epidemic is claiming lives of children turning to suicide as an escape. This month a 10-year-old girl died in her bedroom on the NSW South Coast. 'We are not going to solve the bullying issue if we don't engage with young people,' Ms Adams said. 'It's really about building respect, celebrating diversity and helping students and young people to embrace their differences, celebrate them rather than feeling like differences make children a target.' Ms Adams said the support service, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, not only helps young people but 'walks beside families who have suffered great tragedy'. One such family is Kellie and Mat O'Brien from Sydney who lost their 12-year-old daughter Charlotte to suicide last year. The O'Briens are holding a Charlotte's Wish charity event in August this year to raise much needed funds for the service so no child ever has their call unanswered. 'In the wake of our unimaginable loss, we are honouring her legacy by channelling our heartbreak into action,' Mat O'Brien said. 'We aim to strengthen Kids Helpline's capacity to engage, inform, and support children, young people, parents, carers, and educators. It's crucial for everyone to have access to the right support, at the right time, in the right way, and at no cost – 24/7,' he said. 'Our goal is to create a stronger safety net for children and young people, enabling them to access the right support when they need it most. We truly want no child or young person to feel alone, unheard, or helpless in the face of bullying. 'By working together to honour Charlotte, we believe we can create lasting change in the lives of children, young people, and their families.' Mr O'Brien said that while bullying is a complex issue, doing nothing isn't an option.' The charity is also having a Giving Day on Thursday, hoping to raise $500,000 to allow for another 9000 counselling contacts a year.
Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
- Lifestyle
- Daily Telegraph
Hotel Review: Cupitt's Estate, Ulladulla, NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from Lifestyle. Followed categories will be added to My News. The priority for most people in retirement is rest or travel. Not so Griff and Libby Cupitt. Over 18 years, the former farmers and one-time owners of the Bowral Hotel in the NSW Southern Highlands have turned a former South Coast dairy farm into a destination vineyard, winery, brewery and restaurant, adding accommodation three years ago and creating a legacy for the next generation of their family who have now taken the reins. The location Cupitt's Estate is set on 75ha on the outskirts of Ulladulla, five minutes from town, and three hours' drive south of Sydney on the NSW South Coast. It's ideally situated to give guests the best of country and coast in a weekend getaway – Mollymook's beaches, golf club and restaurants are minutes away, and we also spend a few hours wandering the historic village of Milton with its antique shops, galleries, boutiques and cafés. The property has views across sauvignon blanc vines and paddocks to the Budawang Ranges and the upper reaches of the Burrill Lake wetlands. The free-standing one-bedroom villas are surrounded by gardens, settle the structures into the landscape and give guests greater privacy. The arrival After our customary lunch stop at Hayden's Pies in Ulladulla – pass at your peril – we find Washburton Road, and the entry to Cupitt's Estate. At reception, a cute cottage which was part of the original Washburton dairy farm, we are pointed further down the drive to parking in front of a sloping row of 10 free-standing one-bedroom villas (including one that's wheelchair-accessible), designed by Sherson Architecture and constructed off site by Wagga Wagga modular builders Prefabulous. They were installed in 2021-22 and in the seasons since, the surrounding gardens designed by Rosie – a trained horticulturalist and winemaker – have flourished to better settle the structures into the landscape and give guests greater privacy. The villa is tastefully decorated in cream and graphite tones with Scandi touches, and is comfortably furnished. What's inside Entering our villa, one of four with a bath-tub on their private deck, I'm distracted by two stunning monochrome marine prints on the living area wall. I recognise the artist, South Coast printmaker Peta West, from my Instagram feed and I'm happy to be able to gaze at the real thing for a while. There is more coastal-inspired art in the separate bedroom and central bathroom, all sourced and purchasable from Gallery Alchemy in Milton. The deck, with its views across lush paddocks, becomes another source of contentment for our stay, as we sit and debate whether a hole in the hillside yonder is a wombat burrow, watch a fox steal through the dusk, and weigh up the therapeutic value in watching grazing cows – Griff's black angus herd numbers 70. My villa is one of four with a bath-tub on their private deck. The villa, with its high ceilings and timber flooring, is tastefully decorated in cream and graphite tones with Scandi touches, and is comfortably furnished. It has a kitchen – a breakfast hamper with way more provisions than needed is included in the room rate – and if you fancy buying from the mini-bar, it includes a kit for assembling cocktails premixed 'with love' by the bar team as well as wine and beer made on-site. Tea drinkers will note the English breakfast from Tea Journeys in Nowra, and the drip coffee is local too, from Guerilla Roasters in Moruya. The bathroom has a rain shower and marble-topped vanity with quality Leif products by the basin. Our package includes a two-course dinner at the dining room, which is a two-minute walk from the villas. Food & drink Our package includes a two-course dinner at the dining room, which is a two-minute walk from the villas, past the outdoor 'wine garden' casual dining space that hums at weekends but is still on a cool Thursday evening (dinner is served Thursday Saturday and lunch seven days). Menus change with the seasons, executive chef Jonathan Pryor looking to the estate's own kitchen garden, wider local produce and Mediterranean influences for inspiration to match head winemaker Wally Cupitt's drops made only metres away with cool-climate grapes grown mainly around Tumbarumba and the NSW Hilltops region. And there's more below the surface, literally – a wine cave under the restaurant is a stop on a behind-the-scenes tour that runs three days a week. Tastings are also conducted in an 1851 building that was once the original dairy's creamery, with Ruby's rosé – named for a Cupitt granddaughter – among more popular bottles. Menus change with the seasons. Extras Live music sessions are on Fridays and Sundays and the restaurant runs a calendar of special events. What's hot Sustainability matters at Cupitt's Estate. They operate a closed-loop waste system throughout and EV drivers will find a charging station outside reception. Cupitt's Estate is a complete, all-in-one country getaway. What's not I can't afford the artwork. Verdict - 8.5/10 Cupitt's is a complete, all-in-one country getaway. The writer was a guest of Cupitt's Estate. An overnight Winter Gourmet Getaway package including dinner, breakfast hamper and wine tasting, is from $499 a couple from Sunday to Thursday. Originally published as We stayed at Cupitt's Estate in Ulladulla, the complete country getaway
ABC News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Inside the quiet court room where NSW MP Gareth Ward is accused of sexual abuse
For two months, a sitting member of the NSW Parliament has been on trial, accused of sexually abusing two young men during his ascendancy to the halls of political power. Warning: This story contains details of alleged sexual abuse which may distress some readers. Gareth Ward has pleaded not guilty to five offences, including indecent assault and sexual intercourse without consent. The 44-year-old is the independent MP for the South Coast seat of Kiama, but he was once a key part of Gladys Berejiklian's Liberal ministry. Legal rules around protecting victims of sexual crimes meant for weeks the court was closed to the public as the complainants gave evidence. Even when the court reopened, there were few spectators watching the trial of the once high-profile political figure. Just the slow rhythm of legal argument unfolding in court — where a man who once held a child protection portfolio sits in the dock, accused of abusing his power behind closed doors. In court, one of his alleged victims described the feeling more starkly: "I felt basically a vampire was running the blood bank." As the jury retires, they will turn their attention to the issues of consent and power and decide whose evidence they choose to believe. The trial centres on two separate complainants. The first man, then 24, alleges Mr Ward sexually assaulted him at his Potts Point apartment in 2015 after drinks at Parliament House. The second man says he was 18 when Mr Ward invited him to his home at Meroo Meadow on the South Coast in 2013 and assaulted him while the complainant was drunk and pretending to be asleep on the lawn. He also alleges that later inside the house, Mr Ward straddled and gave him a massage. Mr Ward used alcohol, charm and authority to cross physical boundaries, the complainants argued. They told the jury they stayed in contact with the politician afterwards out of fear, shame and a desire to protect their careers. Mr Ward has denied the accusations levelled against him, claiming they either never occurred or did not amount to sexual abuse. The politician has not taken the stand to provide an alternate version of events and the jury was told he was under no obligation to do so. On his behalf, his legal team argued the accusations levelled against him were distorted by time and alcohol and could not be relied upon. The younger complainant told the court he was pretending to be passed out on the back lawn of Mr Ward's Meroo Meadow home in February 2013 when the politician first assaulted him. "I was thinking the prank was going well. I was about to say 'gotcha' and he put his hand down my pants," the man said. He said Mr Ward then moved his hand to the front of the complainant's shorts, briefly touching his genitals. The complainant said he then stood up and told Mr Ward he wanted to go to bed and started to walk into the house with the MP just behind him. He said, once inside, Mr Ward placed his hands on his shoulders and said he was "too drunk to sleep alone", guiding him to the bedroom. He said he lay facedown on the bed, trying to rationalise the situation as normal, despite feeling unable to say no. Soon after, he said, Mr Ward got on top of him, straddling his buttocks, and began massaging his lower back without asking. "He said he'd done a massage course," the complainant testified. He told the jury he eventually convinced Mr Ward to stop, and when he did, the complainant fell asleep. He left the house the next morning. He kept the incident a secret for years but broke his silence in 2020 when he discovered the then Liberal politician had been appointed minister for families, communities and disability services. The older complainant alleges Mr Ward assaulted him in 2015 after a night of drinks at NSW Parliament House. The political staffer, then 24, said Mr Ward offered him a bed at his Potts Point apartment, joined him uninvited, and sexually assaulted him. "I said no," he told the jury. The man said he felt pain and confusion as a result of the alleged assault, but maintained a friendship with the politician in the years that followed out of fear and pragmatism. The defence highlighted affectionate messages sent by the complainant after the alleged incident, including calling the MP "love", "pet" and "darl". But the man said he regularly used the terms, borrowed from a 1980s TV show starring Magda Szubanski, and they were intended to avoid tension. The defence questioned a key investigator, former Detective Senior Constable Cameron Bignell, about several inconsistencies in his investigation and lines of inquiry that were not pursued. The detective acknowledged there were aspects of the investigation he did not pursue because he "believed the victim" and parts that could have been handled differently. Throughout the trial, prosecutors have repeatedly returned to the theme of power: how a charismatic politician may have used influence to silence or disarm those around him. One friend of the older complainant told the court the man confided in him but was scared to report the incident. "He was worried he'd lose his job," the friend said. The trial heard from Kristo Langker, producer of friendlyjordies — a YouTube show about Australian culture and political issues. Mr Langker told the jury he met the younger complainant with host Jordan Shanks after they were contacted in late 2020. The court heard the complainant told them Mr Ward was "powerful" and that he was afraid to go to the police. They urged him to report it, saying it wasn't their "domain". Shortly after, the man also contacted ABC journalist, Gavin Coote, who testified the complainant disclosed an alleged assault that occurred when he was 18, but the journalist said he would not pick up the story. The trial was initially set to run for four weeks, but repeated delays have caused the case to run into a ninth week. On some days, the court has sat for just an hour before legal argument has pushed the jury out of the room. Another interruption came in mid-June, when a water main burst near the Downing Centre and flooded part of the 117-year-old building. From that point, the case was permanently relocated to Darlinghurst Court House and the aging infrastructure has caused continual interruptions for the endlessly accommodating judge. The court also lost some hours in the seventh week when one of the key police witnesses failed to return for cross examination. In closing submissions, the prosecution said Mr Ward had a "tendency" to be sexually interested in young, subordinate men, and to act on that interest. The prosecution argued both men independently came forward to share strikingly similar allegations of abuse. Both complainants described being assaulted in similar settings, the court heard, involving alcohol, a power imbalance, and late-night visits to Mr Ward's homes. Meanwhile, the defence argued that the allegations were shaped by the corrosive effects of time, alcohol, and memory reconstruction. Mr Ward's barrister David Campbell SC questioned inconsistencies in the complainants' accounts, including conflicting versions of key events, emotional states, and relationships and suggested the jury could not rely on recollections of nights described as heavily intoxicated. He argued the alleged incident at the Potts Point apartment did not happen and the complainant had likely fallen asleep in a suite at NSW Parliament after drinking at a parliamentary event. Mr Campbell told the court the alleged back massage at Mr Ward's South Coast home was not indecent, saying offering comfort in that way is not unusual or sexual. He noted the complainant was lying face down and said it was not unusual for Mr Ward's groin to be near him while straddling. He then questioned what was indecent or sexual about the contact given the circumstances. After nine weeks and 35 sitting days, Judge Kara Shead completed her directions, and the jury has started its deliberations in Gareth Ward's sexual assault trial. Thirteen jurors were empanelled at the start. One was excluded by ballot, a safeguard for the trial's expected length. Now, 12 will decide.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Jury to deliberate after Kiama MP's eight-week trial
A jury deciding the fate of a former NSW minister accused of assault are expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday morning. Gareth Ward, the NSW independent MP for Kiama, was charged in March 2022 with three counts of assault with act of indecency, an alternative charge of common assault against an 18-year-old man at Meroo Meadow in 2013, and intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in Potts Point in 2015. Since his arrest three years ago, the 43-year-old has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all counts. In the Darlinghurst District Court on Tuesday, Judge Kara Shead SC finished her summing up of the case, and reminded the jury the onus of burden to prove each of the counts remains on the prosecution. After eight weeks of evidence, the jury are expected to begin their deliberations on Wednesday morning. In her closing address, Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told the jury it is 'not a coincidence' that two men came forward with similar allegations. However, defence barrister David Campbell SC told the jury the crown had not discharged the burden it has in either of the two complainant's cases. The barrister urged the jury to find the MP not guilty on all counts. Mr Ward is alleged of assaulting a man, who had just turned 18 at the time of the alleged assault at Mr Ward's South Coast home in February 2013. It is also alleged the MP sexually assaulted another man – who was 24 at the time – at his Potts Point apartment in September 2015. The 43-year-old was charged by police in March 2022. Beginning his political career in 2011, Mr Ward was a councillor on the Shoalhaven Council before becoming the Liberal member for Kiama in 2011, a seat he has held since. He also held the role of NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services for just over two years.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Why an invitation to dance was used to attack sex abuse claims against MP
A teen's friendly texts to a state MP and a decision to dance with him alone raised questions about whether claimed sexual abuse by the politician even occurred, a jury has been told. Kiama MP Gareth Ward, 44, is on trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges. He is accused of inviting a drunk 18-year-old man to his South Coast home in February 2013. The man told the jury Ward plied him with drinks before indecently assaulting him three times in one night, despite his attempts to resist. Ward's barrister David Campbell SC questioned these allegations during his closing address to the jury on Friday, saying the teen's conduct in 2014 and 2015 suggested the claimed abuse did not take place. At a party in 2015, the alleged victim called Ward onto the dance floor with video played to the jury showing pair dancing alone, the jury was told. 'Is that the sort of conduct you'd expect from someone who says they've been previously sexually violated by this man?' Mr Campbell asked. In 2014, the alleged victim and Ward exchanged friendly texts, including when the teen moved interstate for a few months. In November 2013, they discussed catching up before Christmas. 'Would love to. Miss you guys!' Ward texted. 'Don't go sappy on me, big fellow. Ha ha, let's do it,' the alleged victim replied. Mr Campbell again asked the jury if that was the sort of conduct they would expect if the teen had been sexually violated months before. The long-time MP has also been accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated political staffer after a mid-week event at NSW Parliament House in 2015. The man, who was 24 at the time, said Ward climbed into bed with him, groped his backside, and sexually assaulted him despite him repeatedly saying 'no'. Both complainants attributed Ward's elevation to minister for families, communities and disability services in 2019 as a 'breaking point' to report their allegations to police, crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told jurors earlier on Friday. She was addressing the alleged victims' delay in reporting the matter to police, which led to Ward not being charged with the offences until 2022. Both were scared for their jobs if they went to police and feared Ward's 'power', Ms Knowles submitted. She pointed to a conversation one complainant had with a colleague after former Premier Gladys Berejiklian's 2019 state election win. '(They) said to (the colleague) that Gladys had selected a rapist as the minister for children in the cabinet ... upon further questioning (he) said quite seriously that the accused had raped him,' she told the court. The other complainant 'liked the feeling of 'being in'' and was a friend of Ward at the time of the alleged incident, along with an important business contact, the Crown said. The defence closings continue on Monday.
