Month: August 2022

Categories
US

YouTubers reel in 86 military rockets from GA river: Video

A lineup of bullets, rockets and an armored plate pulled out of the river by the YouTubers.

A lineup of bullets, rockets and an armored plate pulled out of the river by the YouTubers.

Screengrab from Outdoors Weekly’s Youtube video

Within minutes of dropping their giant magnet into a river running through Georgia’s Fort Stewart, YouTubers Bryce Nachtwey and Matt Jackson were pulling up belts of rusted ammunition, mortar and armor plates.

In the eyes of a magnet fisher or treasure hunter, they had hit the tactical jackpot.

Then, they reeled in a mysterious Delta Air Lines bag stuffed to the brim with rockets. There were 86 in total, among other military equipment, the fishers counted in a YouTube video.

“This is probably the craziest thing we’ve ever found,” Nachtwey said in his YouTube video, adding that they believed the bag was full of “stolen military equipment.”

The group’s excitement was quelled, however, after they notified the authorities to turn in the items.

In the end, Nachtwey, Jackson and the third member of their group left with $340 in fines and a court date.

The team went fishing on June 24 and checked with the Department of Natural Resources before arriving at the river to magnet fish, according to the video.

After they pulled up the rockets, armor plates, bullets, navigation equipment and other items, the group called the police and a military police officer arrived to assess the situation, the video showed.

A game warden with the Fort Stewart Conservation Law Enforcement arrived and told the group they would be getting cited, according to the Military Times.

The alternative to tickets, the game warden added in the video, would be taking the group to jail for acquiring military property, even though they called authorities to handle it.

“You’re all getting tickets. You can come to court and talk to a judge,” the warden said. “The reason magnet fishing is not allowed is because of exactly what y’all got right there. You don’t know what’s going to blow up and what’s not going to blow up.”

The warden added that even if the group intended on cleaning up the waterways by removing the material, the base’s bomb disposal squad is responsible for that.

holding rockets.png
The magnet fishers reeled in stray rockets, a tank shell, navigation equipment and other items from the river. Screengrab from Outdoors Weekly’s YouTube video

In his video, Nachtwey tried to explain that the group believed that the bridge was available to fish from because it was marked as a “green area” on the DNR’s resource map for fishing.

The game warden replied that the “green areas” cleared for fishing in the state don’t apply to military property such as Fort Stewart.

“Y’all would have been better off just leaving that… down there,” the warden said in the video.

Nachtwey and the group were cited for recreating without a permit, entering a restricted area and unauthorized magnet detecting, Fort Stewart told McClatchy News in an email.

“Because Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield is an active training facility, ammunition of various sizes is fired here on a regular basis. There is always (the possibility) a potential unexploded ordnance can end up in the environment, to include rivers,” a Fort Stewart spokesperson told McClatchy News. “The risk of unexploded ordnance being present throughout the training area, regardless of how it got there, is one reason why activities like magnet detecting is not allowed.”

The three YouTubers’ court date is Sept. 9, according to the game warden.

Despite the ends, the groups’ actions were largely well-received by online viewers.

“It’s quite scary to think of all that stuff just rotting away in our streams and rivers,” one person commented.

“I understand the officer’s concern about people magnet fishing and pulling stuff like that from the river, but instead of just voicing his concern and appreciating you guys cleaning up the waterways, he wrote the ticket, which would make other people less likely to turn in the stuff they found, which is really important,” another commenter said.

A Fort Stewart spokesperson added that people should remember the “three R’s” if they ever come across something that looks like an explosive: recognize, retreat and report.

The Fort Stewart base is about 45 miles southwest of Savannah.

This story was originally published August 9, 2022 5:05 PM.

Profile Image of Alison Cutler

Alison Cutler is a National Real Time Reporter for the Southeast at McClatchy. She graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and previously worked for The News Leader in Staunton, VA, a branch of USAToday.

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Categories
Business

Qantas engineers to hold one-minute work stoppage

Qantas engineers to hold one-minute work stoppage

More than 700 aircraft engineers from Qantas, Jetstar and Perth-based FIFO subsidiary Network Aviation will conduct a “one-minute work stoppage” in August.

The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association (ALAEA) federal secretary Steve Purvinas told members in a meeting on Wednesday that the majority had voted in favor of industrial action.

Airline engineers are asking their employer for a 12 per cent pay rise to make up for stagnant wages the last four years.

The union’s first action will be a one-minute stoppage across all airlines sometime in late August.

“The first action will be a token one,” Mr Purvinas told members.

“A one-minute stoppage of course is not going to harm any airline and also demonstrates our willingness to negotiate in good faith and not try and harm the airline.”

Mr Purvinas said the token stoppage aimed to give the airlines an opportunity to come to the table.

“We do want to give some time for resolution of these matters before we have to do anything that may even be close to disrupting the public,” he said.

The strikes come at a difficult time for Australia’s national flag carrier, as the aviation industry struggles with staff shortages that have led to flight cancellations, delays and missing luggage.

If the stoppage does not motivate negotiations, the union plans to notify the airline of more work stoppages.

During these stoppages, the union has offered to provide “alternative labor provisions” to the airline.

“We want to assure the public that we won’t be harming their services,” Mr Purvinas said.

“Our target is the airlines who are not negotiating in good faith.”

ALAEA members voted against using overtime bans to avoid “exacerbating” already challenging conditions in the industry.

A Qantas spokesman told the NCA NewsWire in July that the 12 per cent pay rise was something the airline “simply can’t afford”.

They said Qantas had a policy of 2 per cent annual increases for all employees across the Group.

The airline has a history of not holding back when it comes to dealing with union industrial action.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce infamously grounded the airline during a dispute with the ALAEA and two other unions back in 2011, leaving 200,000 passengers stranded without notice.

Qantas was contacted for comment.

Read related topics:Perth Qantas

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Categories
Entertainment

Olivia Newton-John: Re-watching Grease highlighted rape culture of the film

Olivia Newton-John: Re-watching Grease highlighted rape culture of the film

This week the 1970s classic grease aired on Nine in prime time viewing in tribute to the very much beloved Olivia Newton-John, who tragically passed away earlier this week. But celebrating grease again is a dangerous game.

Unfortunately, looking at grease through a 2022 lens leaves plenty to be desired. The movie enforces stereotypes, makes rape jokes and trivializes consent. Watching it with fresh eyes feels less nostalgic and more concerning.

I understand our desire to revisit the film, considering Newton-John’s death. It was the film that made her a star. She played Sandy, and she gave a Mary-Sue character dimension and charm.

It was the biggest film of the year when it was released, and it’s still very much a cultural touchstone. Who doesn’t know the words to, You Are The One That I Want? (I bet you’re singing the, ooh ooh ooh’s in your head).

But sadly, besides the chemistry between high school sweethearts Newton-John and John Travolta as Sandy and Danny, the film sends some harrowing messages. Let’s break it down, shall we?

For instance, at the beginning of the iconic movie, Danny brags to his mates about meeting a hot Australian girl during summer break. His friends pestered him for details of the relationship, including the line: “Tell me more, tell me more, did she put up a fight?”

Basically, the guys were making light of the idea of ​​Danny having to force Sandy into sex. As if it would be perfectly acceptable for a guy to push a woman into sex.

Then there’s the scene in the drive-in, Danny is desperately trying to make out with Sandy and make things right. She pushes him away several times and then eventually screams “no” while Danny pins her down and says: “Nobody’s watching!” Ick, right?

Seems more rapey than romantic. If a woman says no, a man shouldn’t touch or force her. He should respect her de ella wishes de ella and not try to talk her into it and a movie romanticizing the opposite is grim.

If that wasn’t stressful enough, when Rizzo, a character in the film becomes pregnant and plans to get an abortion sings the song, There Are Worse Things I Could Do.

“There are worse things I could do, than go with a boy or two…. I could flirt with all the guys, smile at them and bat my eyes. Press against them when we dance, make them think they stand a chance, then refuse to see it through. That’s a thing I’d never do,” she sings.

She is suggesting that the worse thing a woman could be is a tease, which is not true. Women can say no and set boundaries whenever they want. Women have the right to flirt and make eyes, and we don’t need to sleep with a man.

Then there’s the overarching message; ultimately, good girl Sandy turns herself into a more vampy version of herself to earn Danny’s affections. So, the overall message is, change who you are to get the guy? Not very heartening.

I understand it’s a movie, it was made in the 1970s, and we weren’t having such loud and important conversations about consent, but re-watching it feels less like a trip down memory lane and more of a reminder that so much of our aging pop culture references just reinforce rape culture.

I miss Olivia Newton-John, but I think there are better ways to remember her than watching Grease. Her de ella entire body of work de ella and her de ella endlessly contributions de ella to create a better world for everyone speaks volumes, particularly being an advocate for Breast Cancer Awareness.

I’d much rather stare at the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Center to remember her than watch her character Sandy wade through misogyny through song and dance.

Mary Madigan is a freelance writer.

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Categories
Sports

First responders circulating photographs of Gianna and Kobe Bryant’s bodies ‘poured salt in an open wound’, lawyer says

vanessa and kobe bryant sitting at a dining table smiling, kobe has his arm around vanessa and their faces are close together

Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer says first responders “poured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in” by photographing and sharing photos of her husband and daughter’s bodies.

The widow of basketballer Kobe Bryant is suing the LA County sheriff’s department over an invasion of privacy, saying she fears that she or her surviving children could be exposed to the pictures.

The decorated NBA player, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people died in a horrific helicopter crash in January 2020 while traveling to a basketball tournament.

Here’s a recap of what’s happened so far.

Why is Vanessa Bryant suing?

Ms Bryant filed the lawsuit over photographs, taken by first responders on their mobile phones, of the crash site including her husband and daughter’s bodies after they died.

She alleges the pictures were circulated among firefighters and off-duty colleagues, and that one deputy showed them to people at a bar.

Kobe Bryant with his family and wife at a basketball game in Los Angeles.
US federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash that killed nine people en route to as basketball tournament.(AP)

The lawsuit filed by Ms Bryant says she “feels ill at the thought that sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and members of the public have gawked at gratuitous images of her deceased husband and child.”

“She lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online,” the lawsuit says.

Ms Bryant is seeking undisclosed damage.

What happened in court?

Ms Bryant’s lawyer, Luis Li, told the jury that the photographs taken at the crash site by a deputy and a fire captain had no official or investigative purpose, and that they were viewed “for a laugh.”

The jury was shown CCTV footage of an off-duty sheriff’s deputy drinking at a bar showing the photos to a bartender, and alleged that the photos had been shown around as many as 30 people.

“They were shared repeatedly with people who had absolutely no reason to receive them,” Mr Li told the court.

gianna and kobe bryant smile arm in arm courtside at a basketball game
Kobe Bryant told the LA Times before his death that his daughter Gianna was “something else” on the basketball court.(Getty: Ethan Miller)

“They [the county] poured salt in an open wound and rubbed it in.”

A lawyer for the county defended the taking of the photos as an “essential” tool for first-responders and said that showing the bartender was “a moment of weakness.”

The defense lawyers told jurors that the fact that the pictures have not gone public showed that leaders in the sheriff’s and fire department did their jobs.

“They’re not online. They’re not in the media. They’ve never even been seen by the plaintiffs themselves,” she said.

“That is not an accident. That is a function of how diligent they were.”

A short, smiling woman in a red dress stands next to a tall bald man in a suit in front of a red Oscars photo background.
Vanessa Bryant was visibly emotional during the first hearing.(AP: Richard Shotwell)

But Mr Li said there’s no guarantee that the photos won’t be leaked in the future.

He said Ms Bryant “will be haunted by what they did forever”, and fears that her surviving children may see them.

What’s next?

The trial is expected to run for more than a week.

Another plaintiff in the case is Chris Chester, whose wife Sara and daughter Payton were also killed in the crash.

Los Angeles County officials have previously argued that Ms Bryant’s “severe and emotional and mental injuries” were caused by the crash, not the pictures, and dismissed the case as a “money grab.”

The county already agreed to pay $US2.5 million to settle a similar case brought by two families of victims of the crash.

Ms Bryant and Mr Chester declined to settle as part of that case.

ABC/wires

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Categories
Australia

Video shows how to face down a dingo

dingoes might seem cuter than your average apex predator – but they do pose a danger to humans.

What seems like curious or playful behavior from them can actually be a serious form of “dominance testing” that can lead to attacks or aggression if not defused.

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has now published two videos showing a candid dingo encounter on K’gari (Fraser Island), which shows the best way to face down a dingo.

Fraser Island dingo dingoes
A video of a man’s interaction with a dominance-testing dingo has been shown to be the perfect example of dealing with the predator. (Queensland Department of Environment and Science)

The video shows a dingo trotting up to a person – who is filming from their phone – on a beach.

The person stands still until the dingo lies down, and then begins to slowly back away, without turning their face from the animal.

This continues as the dingo follows the person for some time, until they reach their car.

Fraser Island dingo dingoes
The encounter took place on K’gari (Fraser Island). (Queensland Department of Environment and Science)

It matches the official guidelines for confronting a threatening dingo:

Stand up to your full height

  • face the dingo
  • Fold your arms and keep eye contact
  • calmly back away
  • If in pairs, stand back to back (dingoes move fast and there’s less chance of being taken by surprise)
  • Confidentially call for help
  • Do not run or wave your arms.

There are of course other dingo-safe behaviors to think about when in proximity to them, especially on Fraser Island, which has a large population of the animals.

People are advised to travel in groups, to keep children within arm’s reach, to avoid littering, to not feed the animals – and if you need to go to the toilet in the bush, make sure somebody is able to go with you.

Greater gliders

Australian marsupial listed as endangered

Categories
US

Company overrode alarms as chemical flowed to Huron River

The Tribar Manufacturing facility in Wixom, on Aug. 8, 2022. A hexavalent chromium release from the facility contaminated the Huron River, the Michigan EGLE testing is being done from Kent Lake at Kensington Metropark back to Wixom.

The Tribar Manufacturing facility in Wixom, on Aug. 8, 2022. A hexavalent chromium release from the facility contaminated the Huron River, the Michigan EGLE testing is being done from Kent Lake at Kensington Metropark back to Wixom.

Tribar Manufacturing, the Wixom automotive supplier responsible for a release of potentially cancer-causing hexavalent chromium into the Huron River late last month, apparently overrode alarms 460 times on July 29, as a large tank containing the chemical was drained into the city of Wixom’s wastewater treatment system, state regulators allege in violation notices issued to the company.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy on Tuesday issued a “Second Violation Notice — Egregious” to Tribar Manufacturing, claiming company personnel:

  • Improperly released pollutants into the publicly owned Wixom wastewater treatment facility.
  • Failed to report the hexavalent chromium release in a timely fashion to the Wixom wastewater treatment plant.
  • Failed to have an up-to-date, certified pollution incident prevention plan.

“Because of the gravity of the violations, WRD (EGLE’s Water Resources Division) moved directly into second notification and escalated enforcement, normally a three-step process,” EGLE spokeswoman Jill Greenberg said.

The Tribar Manufacturing facility in Wixom, on Aug. 8, 2022.

‘Please explain’ how alarms were overridden

EGLE’s violation notice states that according to a required release incident report Tribar officials provided to the agency and the city of Wixom on Aug. 5, the contents had been held in “Tank A,” a 14,923-gallon rinse waste holding tank that contained approximately 10,000 gallons of material containing approximately 5% hexavalent chromium. The tank was emptied on July 29 and entered the sanitary sewer.

Categories
Business

Saul wrote the book on all-electric homes, but his gas company is putting up a fight

Saul wrote the book on all-electric homes, but his gas company is putting up a fight

Other homeowners told the herald that the process of disconnecting gas was unnecessarily difficult and varied in price from as much as $2000 to less than $100.

Engineer and inventor Dr Saul Griffith wants to make it easier for Australians to switch from gas to electricity.

Engineer and inventor Dr Saul Griffith wants to make it easier for Australians to switch from gas to electricity.Credit:Leigh Vogel

“Electrification must become the default, not the exception and our energy system must empower rather than hinder households.”

Saul Griffith

Sometimes they were urged to opt for the easiest option and close the account but keep the gas connection. “This is akin to telling a smoker who wants to quit that they should keep a packet of cigarettes on hand in case they change their mind,” said Griffith.

Despite the upfront costs of installing induction hotplates and heat pumps for hot water, Griffith said consumers faced with rising gas bills knew they would be better off because rooftop solar electricity “was by far the cheapest energy that has ever been available”.

“Electrification must become the default, not the exception and our energy system must empower rather than hinder households,” he said.

A Facebook group dedicated to going electric, My Efficient Electric Home, has doubled in members to 63,500 over the past year with many posts on the varying cost and difficulty of removing gas.

Group founder and co-admin Tim Forcey of Sandringham, Victoria, said there was huge interest in moving away from fossil fuels. After switching his heating and stove to electricity, he had been paying $300 a year to remain connected to the gas grid.

Forcey finally paid $69 to have the meter removed. His energy-efficient home now costs $1000 a year to run.

Danny De Schutter, a management consultant based on the ACT, was using gas for hot water and heating until he put solar on his roof. “I didn’t need gas any more.”

Instead of asking to remove the gas connection, he closed his account. De Schutter now receives regular letters of demand addressed to “The Homeowner”. These letters warn he could owe as much as $600 for gas usage, although he no longer uses gas.

In Bathurst, Stephanie, who withheld her last name, feared she was getting sick from an old gas heater. When she asked her retailer to disconnect, she was told it would cost $110.

“They did the work, and I was sent an invoice for $1151.70 when they had quoted $110,” she said.

Stephanie, a disability pensioner, told the gas company she couldn’t afford to pay and that she thought it was illegal to quote one price, and charge more. “It is a scammy thing that a dying industry would do.”

After some negotiation, retailer AGL finally agreed to reverse the larger charge.

Asked about Griffith’s challenge of the abolishment fee, a spokesperson for Jemena said “all fees and charges were presented to the Australian Energy Regulator for review and endorsement (including disconnection and abolishment).”

The price of a “straightforward disconnection” was $102 where the property remained physically connected to the gas network. Abolishments were “quite rare”, labour-intensive, and involved the gas connection being permanently and physically, removed.

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The NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman said it receives very few complaints about gas disconnection charges, but it does receive complaints from customers who have to pay to reconnect.

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Categories
Entertainment

Bindi Irwin’s heartache as her husband Chandler Powell is hospitalized

Bindi Irwin's husband Chandler Powell had his tonsils removed this week. He shared a picture of himself and Bindi, 24, smiling from his hospital bed after the procedure

Bindi Irwin’s husband Chandler Powell is hospitalized as her mother Terri takes care of their daughter Grace Warrior, one

By Chloe-lee Longhetti For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

Bindi Irwin’s husband Chandler Powell has been hospitalized with tonsillitis.

The 25-year-old former wakeboarder had his tonsils removed this week and praised his beloved wife for being by his side.

Chandler, who married Bindi in 2020, shared a picture of himself and the Wildlife Warrior, 24, smiling from his hospital bed after the procedure.

Bindi Irwin's husband Chandler Powell had his tonsils removed this week. He shared a picture of himself and Bindi, 24, smiling from his hospital bed after the procedure

Bindi Irwin’s husband Chandler Powell had his tonsils removed this week. He shared a picture of himself and Bindi, 24, smiling from his hospital bed after the procedure

‘Just wanted to write a note to my amazing wife❤️,’ Chandler wrote in the caption.

‘I had to get my tonsils out and she has been taking the best care of me. I’m so lucky to be loved by you, Bindi.’

He said that Bindi's mother Terri Irwin, 58, has been taking care of their daughter Grace, one, while he's been in hospital recovering

He said that Bindi’s mother Terri Irwin, 58, has been taking care of their daughter Grace, one, while he’s been in hospital recovering

He added that Bindi’s mother Terri Irwin, 58, has been taking care of their daughter Grace, one, while he’s been in hospital recovering.

‘Also, thank you Bunny (my awesome mum-in-law) for taking care of Grace while we’ve been in the hospital and I’ve been recovering,’ he said, with Bunny being Terri’s chosen name as grandmother.

‘ouch! A tonsillectomy as an adult is NO fun! I’m sorry! Will say a prayer!’ one follower commented underneath Chandler’s Instagram post.

It's been a few weeks for Bindi and the Irwin family. Last week, Bindi revealed the family's 38-year-old echidna had died

It’s been a few weeks for Bindi and the Irwin family. Last week, Bindi revealed the family’s 38-year-old echidna had died

It’s been a few weeks for Bindi and the Irwin family.

Last week, Bindi revealed the family’s 38-year-old echidna had died.

‘Saying goodbye to our beautiful family member of 38 years,’ Bindi’s wrote alongside a gallery of pictures of the pet.

'Saying goodbye to our beautiful family member of 38 years,' Bindi's emotional post began

‘Saying goodbye to our beautiful family member of 38 years,’ Bindi’s emotional post began

‘The sweetest, kindest, most wonderful echidna you ever did meet.’

She added alongside a love heart emoji: ‘Rest In Peace, angel.’

Bindi, alongside her brother Robert and mother Terri Irwin, have vowed to carry on her late father Steve Irwin’s legacy through their work at Australia Zoo and their conservation efforts.

Steve, known to millions around the world as ‘the Crocodile Hunter’, died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a documentary in Batt Reef, Queensland.

Bindi was just eight years old at the time.

Bindi, alongside her brother Robert and mother Terri Irwin, have vowed to carry on her late father Steve Irwin's legacy through their work at Australia Zoo. He died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44 after being attacked by a stingray

Bindi, alongside her brother Robert and mother Terri Irwin, have vowed to carry on her late father Steve Irwin’s legacy through their work at Australia Zoo. He died on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44 after being attacked by a stingray

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Categories
Sports

How has the hype surrounding Matt Rowell evolved in the last three years?

How has the hype surrounding Matt Rowell evolved in the last three years?

Former Essendon captain Tim Watson raised a discussion on SEN Breakfast on Thursday morning regarding how the discourse surrounding Matt Rowell has evolved in the last few years.

The Gold Coast midfielder polled nine Brownlow votes in his first three games in the AFL, bursting onto the scene like almost no player ever has, before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

After an injury-interrupted 2021, Rowell has found a role for himself as a grunt, inside midfielder for the Suns this season, ranking seventh in the competition for contested possessions and equal seventh for center clearances.

The contested beast is not necessarily the dominant midfielder that was teased initially, but remains a vital cog for Gold Coast.

“The greatest disappearing act in AFL football in the last 50 years, is it the hype around Matt Rowell?” Watson posed on SEN Breakfast.

“Think back to his first three games of AFL football and then now think about the last time you heard anyone raving about Matt Rowell’s football.”

Garry Lyon: “Your point is well made, but I also think Matt Rowell has been playing some really good footy.”

Watson: “Oh. I’m not saying that he hasn’t.”

Lyon: “But yeah at the time three best on grounds in the first three weeks is going to cause some hype.”

Watson: “Everybody is talking about Touk Miller now as their most important midfielder and Noah Anderson has maybe gone passed him in people’s minds as to how important he might be.”

Lyon: “Rowell does a lot of that really hard, hard inside grunt work.”

Watson: “That’s what I was going to say, in those three weeks we got the snapshot of him and it was brilliant, but that’s not a long enough period of time to reveal everything.”

Lyon: “What we now have seen and what he has revealed is that his football is more blue collar than three best on grounds in three weeks suggests. We’ve just got to make the adjustment, he’s still a beauty, Matt Rowell.”

Watson: “I’m not saying he isn’t, but the change around the conversation regarding him and his football, it’s remarkable the way that it has changed.”

Lyon: “And understandable given he ripped the whole competition to shreds in three games of footy.”

Watson: “We’ve acknowledged the fact that he’s had a serious injury, but he’s probably exactly what Stuart Dew wants, that bloke that just turns up every week and he knows he’s going to give him 100 per cent effort and be a beast inside midfielder.”

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Categories
Australia

John Barilaro, Eleni Petinos relationship concerns raised in David Chandler resignation letter

John Barilaro, Eleni Petinos relationship concerns raised in David Chandler resignation letter

The building commissioner also described the difference in his engagement with the minister’s office, since a ministerial reshuffle last year resulted in Petinos taking over the portfolio from now-Hospitality Minister Kevin Anderson.

Alas, the same level of engagement has not been experienced since. My personal experience has been one where engagement with the minister’s office has been problematic,” he wrote.

“Given where all the above matters now rest, I believe my continued role as NSW building commissioner is no longer viable.”

An excerpt of the resignation letter

Further to these concerns, I have raised with you concerns that I have with the advised relationship of the Minister and Coronation Property Group. These concerns crystallized at the time of the Stop Work Orders issued under the Design and Building Practitioner’s Act, Declared Design Audit. As advised to you I received a call from the Minister’s Office shortly after a draft order was issued on Coronation’s Merrylands Development. Shortly after that call, a message was sent to me by JohnBarilaro who I was advised had recently joined the Coronation Board. This contact came to me as a message on my personal phone requesting a meeting with me. I copied that message to you. I subsequently met with Mr Barilaro to answer his questions about him. A separate record of that meeting exists.

Chandler said other officers in the department had reported similar experiences, “and important pieces of previously canvassed legislation have now run into serious disruption.”

The NSW opposition used upper house orders to compel the government to release the letter after it was revealed that Petinos met representatives from a property development company that employed Barilaro.

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Both Petinos and Barilaro have issued statements saying that Barilaro was not in attendance at a June 2 meeting between Petinos and Coronation Property. A second meeting with Coronation on June 21 was disclosed in her diary out of “an abundance of caution”, Petinos has said.

Barilaro on Tuesday said he didn’t work for the company on June 21, and the pair met to celebrate his new job as a trade commissioner to the US.

Chandler resigned abruptly last month despite having recently signed a contract extension. As an industry veteran of 50 years, he was tasked in 2019 with cleaning up NSW’s construction industry as the state’s first building commissioner.

His sudden resignation prompted over the circumstances of his departure amid scrutiny speculation over the conduct of recently dumped Petinos, to whom he reported.

Premier Dominic Perrottet on Wednesday revealed during question time that Chandler’s resignation letter was sent to the secretary of the Department of Customer Service, who referred it to the Independent Commission Against Corruption on August 1.

He said he only learned that the letter had been referred to the corruption watchdog late on Tuesday night.

Perrottet has maintained that the sacking of Petinos was unrelated to Chandler’s resignation.

When he resigned, Chandler said in a statement that he felt the time was right for “a reset”, but remained firmly committed to working with the department until the end of his tenure in November.

“I do not want my resignation to distract people from what has been achieved so far, and the work that is still to be done,” he said on July 27.

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