Latest news with #WesternSydney
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Woman pepper sprayed by police during mental health welfare check says officers 'should have just left'
A woman who is suing the State of NSW over the actions of police officers who pepper sprayed her during a welfare check has insisted she did not act aggressively towards them "in any way". Police attended the then-48-year-old's Western Sydney home in September 2021 after they were alerted to a reference to self harm she made on the phone to an insurance company. The NSW District Court has heard that after being told she may be liable for $150,000 in damages from a police pursuit involving her son, she told a representative words to the effect of "I might as well just kill myself". But she has given evidence that she called back and told the representative she did not mean it. In footage from police body-worn cameras, the officers are heard telling the woman's ex-partner, who was at the house at the time, that they might need to take her to hospital under the Mental Health Act. They tell the man that if they are not able to speak with her at the door, they will force entry. The woman's lawyers say that from a balcony above, she had told them she was fine and to "f*** off". Some officers entered by kicking the front door, while others scaled the balcony and went in through an unlocked bedroom, tasering her American Staffy. That began a search which ultimately lasted for some 45 minutes and at one point involved a police helicopter. The court heard she had run through a back door and was hiding in a neighbour's garden shed. In defence documents, the State argues "no more than reasonable force was used during and following the plaintiff's detention", and barrister Matthew Gollan has told the judge the officers held a genuine belief the woman may have attempted to kill or injure herself. Today, he cross-examined the plaintiff about the immediate lead-up to a burst of pepper spray — which was not recorded on the bodycam footage. "Before the spray was used, when you pushed open the [shed] door, did you do that because you wanted to hide somewhere else?" he asked. "No, I think I went into distress … I just wanted to be left alone, I was not suicidal in any way," the woman replied. When asked whether police told her to get on the ground, she replied: "I think so". Mr Gollan: "And you didn't?" Plaintiff: "I don't recall that, I don't remember that." Mr Gollan: "You stood your ground, somewhat defiantly?" Plaintiff: "I was never aggressive to them." Mr Gollan: "You weren't responsive to them, were you?" Plaintiff: "Because I was in distress." Mr Gollan: "You defiantly stood your ground, didn't you?" Plaintiff: "No, I didn't." During the cross-examination, the woman said that to have multiple police officers and a helicopter involved in the incident meant "all my neighbours looked at me like I was a murderer". "Someone with mental health [issues], and you're supposed to trust the people in blue, why would they pepper spray me?" she said. The woman has also expressed that she was fearful of police as a result of previous interactions, and felt that they had not "helped me much". Large parts of the cross-examination involved detailed questions about the woman's mental health, which she said she was aware of as an issue since 2016. But she told the judge that before the welfare check incident: "I was pretty good, like I was sad, but I was pretty good". Mr Gollan suggested that as early as 2016, she had been urged to seek psychiatric help, but she disagreed that she had ever received a referral. The hearing continues on Thursday.
The Australian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Australian
Kosta Barbarouses happy with move to Western Sydney
New Western Sydney signing Kosta Barbarouses says there are 'promising signs' for the Wanderers after a successful start to their 2025-26 campaign. Despite a limited preparation, the Wanderers were far too good for NPL Queensland outfit Peninsula Power in Tuesday night's Australia Cup battle at AJ Kelly Park, winning 3-0 to progress to the competition's round-of-16. Veteran attacker Barbarouses scored in his Wanderers debut after joining the club in the off-season from Wellington Phoenix. 'I think we showed a lot of promise in our combinations,' said the 35-year-old New Zealand international after embarking on his stint with a fifth A-League club. 'At times, you could see how dangerous we can be, especially considering most of us have only been working together for a couple of weeks. 'There's plenty of room for improvement, but there were really promising signs. I'm pretty pleased with the performance tonight.' Barbarouses was part of a new look Wanderers forward line alongside fellow off-season signing, ex-Central Coast Mariners striker Alou Kuol, following the departures of Nicolas Milanovic (Aberdeen, Scotland), Zac Sapsford (Dundee United) and Marcus Antonsson (IFK Varnamo, Sweden). The Wanderers squad also includes Socceroos forward Brandon Borrello, who didn't play in Tuesday night's win, which also included a brace from Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev. Spanish star Juan Mata, whose Wanderers contract expired at the end of last season, remains in Europe and is still deciding whether to accept Western Sydney's offer of a new deal. Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sky News AU
Kosta Barbarouses happy with move to Western Sydney
New Western Sydney signing Kosta Barbarouses says there are 'promising signs' for the Wanderers after a successful start to their 2025-26 campaign. Despite a limited preparation, the Wanderers were far too good for NPL Queensland outfit Peninsula Power in Tuesday night's Australia Cup battle at AJ Kelly Park, winning 3-0 to progress to the competition's round-of-16. Veteran attacker Barbarouses scored in his Wanderers debut after joining the club in the off-season from Wellington Phoenix. 'I think we showed a lot of promise in our combinations,' said the 35-year-old New Zealand international after embarking on his stint with a fifth A-League club. 'At times, you could see how dangerous we can be, especially considering most of us have only been working together for a couple of weeks. 'There's plenty of room for improvement, but there were really promising signs. I'm pretty pleased with the performance tonight.' Barbarouses was part of a new look Wanderers forward line alongside fellow off-season signing, ex-Central Coast Mariners striker Alou Kuol, following the departures of Nicolas Milanovic (Aberdeen, Scotland), Zac Sapsford (Dundee United) and Marcus Antonsson (IFK Varnamo, Sweden). The Wanderers squad also includes Socceroos forward Brandon Borrello, who didn't play in Tuesday night's win, which also included a brace from Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev. Spanish star Juan Mata, whose Wanderers contract expired at the end of last season, remains in Europe and is still deciding whether to accept Western Sydney's offer of a new deal. Originally published as Kosta Barbarouses has high hopes for Western Sydney Wanderers after winning debut
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Kosta Barbarouses has high hopes for Western Sydney Wanderers after winning debut
New Western Sydney signing Kosta Barbarouses says there are 'promising signs' for the Wanderers after a successful start to their 2025-26 campaign. Despite a limited preparation, the Wanderers were far too good for NPL Queensland outfit Peninsula Power in Tuesday night's Australia Cup battle at AJ Kelly Park, winning 3-0 to progress to the competition's round-of-16. Veteran attacker Barbarouses scored in his Wanderers debut after joining the club in the off-season from Wellington Phoenix. 'I think we showed a lot of promise in our combinations,' said the 35-year-old New Zealand international after embarking on his stint with a fifth A-League club. 'At times, you could see how dangerous we can be, especially considering most of us have only been working together for a couple of weeks. 'There's plenty of room for improvement, but there were really promising signs. I'm pretty pleased with the performance tonight.' Through to the Round of 16 ðŸ¤� #WSW — WS Wanderers FC (@wswanderersfc) July 22, 2025 Barbarouses was part of a new look Wanderers forward line alongside fellow off-season signing, ex-Central Coast Mariners striker Alou Kuol, following the departures of Nicolas Milanovic (Aberdeen, Scotland), Zac Sapsford (Dundee United) and Marcus Antonsson (IFK Varnamo, Sweden). The Wanderers squad also includes Socceroos forward Brandon Borrello, who didn't play in Tuesday night's win, which also included a brace from Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev. Spanish star Juan Mata, whose Wanderers contract expired at the end of last season, remains in Europe and is still deciding whether to accept Western Sydney's offer of a new deal.
SBS Australia
2 days ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
SBS shortlists proponents to proceed to next stage for Western Sydney production hub location
SBS has today confirmed that it has shortlisted a number of the proposals received in response to its recent Request for Expressions of Interest (EOI) process for the future location of its planned new production hub and talent incubator in Western Sydney. The shortlisting marks a key milestone in the project, with the shortlisted proponents now invited to participate in a Request for Proposal (RFP) stage, the next step in determining the final proposed location for SBS's new world-class production facility in one of Australia's most dynamic and diverse regions. The EOI process attracted a range of high-quality submissions from across Western Sydney. Each was carefully assessed against SBS's functional and strategic requirements, including the ability to support a state-of-the-art television, digital, and audio production facility, as well as strong alignment with SBS's mission to reflect and serve diverse Australian communities. SBS Chief Technology Officer Darren Farnham said: 'We're incredibly encouraged by the calibre of responses received and the shared vision for building a truly distinctive and impactful SBS presence in Western Sydney. This next stage brings us closer to creating a production hub that will amplify First Nations and multilingual voices, support new content partnerships, and foster the next generation of diverse media talent.' SBS Western Sydney Project Director Simon Hayes said: 'The shortlisted proposals represent exciting potential to deliver on our ambition for a vibrant, fully accessible, future-facing media hub. The RFP stage will allow us to further explore how each potential premises can support SBS's specialised and highly technical operational needs and community impact objectives.' SBS intends on selecting a preferred location in late 2025, subject to the outcomes of the RFP stage and various approval processes. This will support the submission of a detailed business case to the Australian Government later this year as part of the project funding consideration process. The new SBS Production Hub will become a home for more distinctive SBS content – spanning news and current affairs, First Nations storytelling, multilingual programming, and community-led productions – while also creating local employment and education pathways. More information on the SBS Western Sydney Production Hub project is available at: For a pdf copy of this media release, click here.
