Two separate boatloads carrying a total of 87 asylum seekers have been intercepted near Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands. Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said HMAS Broome intercepted a vessel north of Christmas Island on Monday. The boat was initially detected by a surveillance aircraft operating under the control of Border Protection Command. It […]
Posts Tagged ‘australian news’
Firies warn of cutbacks ahead of hearing
Firefighters will face the NSW government in the Industrial Relations Commission over proposed budget cuts. Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) NSW secretary Jim Casey says up to eight stations in Sydney are likely to be temporarily shut down in the year ahead, as staff regularly fill gaps at other stations. “These cuts are going to […]
Police search for missing girl’s remains
Police are excavating an isolated area in the NSW central west in their search for the remains of a teenager who disappeared while hitchhiking home from a games arcade 15 years ago. Fifteen-year-old Jessica Small was last seen in Bathurst about 12.35am on October 26, 1997. Jessica and a friend were attempting to hitchhike home […]
New Vic missing persons unit announced
A new missing persons unit will investigate cold cases in Victoria dating back to the 1970s. The announcement on Monday was timed to co-incide with national Missing Persons Week. It will begin by looking at around 70 suspicious missing person reports dating back to the mid 1970s and will monitor all new missing person reports. […]
SA’s Ruston keen to work on Murray plan
South Australia’s senator-elect Anne Ruston says working on the Murray-Darling Basin plan will be a priority. Renmark commercial rose grower, Ms Ruston has been chosen by the Liberal state council to replace Senator Mary Jo Fisher, who is quitting to battle mental illness. Ms Ruston, the party’s vice president in SA, says she understands it […]
Brough denies wrongdoing in Slipper case
Former Howard government minister Mal Brough has again denied any wrongdoing in the sexual harassment case against parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper. Mr Brough on Sunday won Liberal National Party preselection to run for Mr Slipper’s seat of Fisher at the next federal election. He succeeded in his bid for a political comeback despite being linked […]
Cullen held up a fractured lens
Adam Cullen was able to strip away the veneer of niceness and hold a fractured lens to Australian society, a senior art curator says. The Archibald-winning painter, based in the Blue Mountains, died in his sleep on Sunday after a long period of poor health. He was 47. Wayne Tunnicliffe, the head curator of Australian […]
Barlow health fraud case delayed
Lawyers acting for accused Queensland Health fraudster Joel Barlow have been given extra time to prepare their case. Barrister David Shepherd told the Brisbane District Court on Monday he had recently been forced to take time off work due to “unfortunate circumstances”. This meant he had not been able to fully familiarise himself with the […]
Vic double murderer loses court appeal
A career criminal has lost an appeal against his conviction and sentence for the shooting murders of a couple in their Melbourne home 25 years ago. The 66-year-old killer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is serving two life sentences for the murders of Ramon and Dorothy Abbey, aged 40 and 39, in July […]
Strike force to probe triple slayings
A strike force has been established to investigate the slaying of three family members in Sydney’s southwest as police prepare to interview a man under guard in hospital. Strike Force Elcho will examine the circumstances of the killings while forensic officers have removed for testing a knife and other items from the St Johns Park […]
Firework buttocks party trick backfires
A Northern Territory man may be flown to Adelaide after a party trick involving setting off fire crackers between his buttocks went badly wrong. The 23-year-old man was at a party in the Darwin suburb of Rapid Creek on Saturday night when he decided to let the cracker off, NT Police said. “It appears a […]
Mokbel associates lose appeals
Six associates of Tony Mokbel who were either involved in his drug operation or helped him flee to Greece have lost appeals against their sentences. All six men argued their sentences were manifestly excessive. They argued that despite pleading guilty to, or being found guilty, of state offences in Victoria, the sentencing judge was required […]
Poll result improving, says Labor MP
Labor still has plenty of work ahead in convincing voters to return to Labor and the latest poll result is a step in that journey, a Labor MP says. Labor MP Graham Perrett said the Fairfax/Nielsen poll showed the hype of those opposing the carbon tax was just that. The poll has given some heart […]
Second asylum boat within 24 hours
A second boatload of asylum seekers was intercepted on Saturday, Border Protection Command says. A vessel carrying 49 people was intercepted north-west of the Cocos Keeling Islands on Saturday night. It was intercepted by ACV Hervey Bay after being detected by a RAAF maritime patrol craft. The passengers were transferred to Australian government authorities on […]
NDIS funding still in future
Future funding arrangements for disability reform will still have to be worked out with the states and territories before they are enshrined in legislation, Disabilities Minister Jenny Macklin says. Prime Minister Julia Gillard and the federal government claimed a victory on Friday when NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu said they would […]
Charges laid after Melbourne assault
A man has been charged over an assault that left another man with serious head injuries in Melbourne. The 37-year-old South Australian man was arrested at the scene of the attack outside a licensed venue on Spencer Street at 4am (AEST) on Sunday. He has since been charged with assault-related offences, including recklessly causing serious […]
Closing fire stations ‘risk to community’
Cutting $70 million from Fire and Rescue NSW’s budget will cause fire stations to close and put communities at great risk, a union says. The O’Farrell government’s earmarking of $70 million for a NSW budget cut has brought warnings about the temporary closure of stations across the state. Fire Brigade Employees Union (FBEU) NSW president […]
Truffle festival draws record fan numbers
They’re black, ugly, pungent and mouldy – and worth almost their weight in gold. The kerfuffle over West Australian truffles wafted to a new high on Sunday, with a record estimated 25,000 fungi fanatics eating their way through the annual Mundaring Truffle Festival in Perth’s Hills. Now in its sixth year, the festival celebrates the […]
Archibald Prize-winning artist dies
Blue Mountains-based artist Adam Cullen, who won the 2000 Archibald prize with his portrait of actor David Wenham, has died at the age of 47. Cullen died in his sleep and was found by a family member on Sunday, Fairfax Media said. The artist, who lived on his own in Wentworth Falls, had been seriously […]
Supermart staff in machete hold-up shock
Another Melbourne supermarket has been subjected to a terrifying robbery with three masked men waving machetes and demanding money from the cashiers. Police say the trio entered the Safeway store at the Blackburn North Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s east at around 6.45pm (AEST) on Sunday. Two of the men went to the express registers and […]