Mining tycoon Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) has lodged applications to explore vast tracts of WA’s south coast for critical minerals.
Key points:
The mining exploration licenses include tenements close to Ravensthorpe where lithium and nickel are mined
A resource analyst says FMG will be looking for materials used in renewable batteries
The company is positioning itself as a renewable energy company, the analyst says
The WA billionaire owns FMG, which has lodged almost two dozen applications through the mining regulatory body this month.
The 21 applications are for tenements in an area stretching from Gnowangerup to Ravensthorpe and Lake King.
FMG is a West Australian mining company that focuses on the exploration, development, production and processing of iron ore, with most of its assets located in the state’s Pilbara region.
FMG remained tight-lipped when questioned by the ABC about which minerals it was looking for in the Great Southern, but it has been ramping up its search for lithium.
Lithium is in high demand because it is used in batteries for technology and electric vehicles.
Dr Forrest’s FMG has applied for mining exploration licenses in large parts of the Great Southern.(Supplied)
The commodity is valuable because of its high charge and low atomic mass.
Other minerals in Ravensthorpe include nickel and cobalt.
Battery minerals in high demand
MineLife senior resource analyst Gavin Wendt said FMG would be looking for battery materials and other metals that could go into renewable energy.
“Fortescue is increasingly positioning itself as a renewable energy company, and it’s looking towards these future-facing commodities as the world moves towards renewable energy,” he said.
Ravensthorpe is home to nickel and lithium mines. (ABC Great Southern)
“There’s a real growth opportunity out there for resource companies.
“We’re starting to see the world’s major miners … realize that they need to get their hands on these strategic materials because of the increase in demand that’s going to come through over the ensuing decades.”
Fortescue has not explored mining options in the Great Southern and Esperance area before, but Mr Wendt said in recent years larger companies had been going “further off the beaten [track]”.
“Ravensthorpe already has a strong history in terms of lithium, nickel and tantalum mines,” he said.
“In fact, we’ve got the Greenbushes mine, which is the world’s largest hard rock lithium operation, in the region.
“It’s a very prospective region, but it probably hasn’t seen the level of exploration that is justified over the decades, so I think that’s about to change.”
Along with mining exploration, Dr Forrest has a sustainable shellfish enterprise in Albany through Harvest Road.
Lee noted the billionaire may not be troubled by the pending hefty legal bill, which is yet to be determined.
“Mr Palmer may not be unduly troubled about spending his money on litigation, but he had an obligation to facilitate the just resolution of the dispute according to law and as quickly, inexpensively and efficiently as possible,” he said.
“The cost of the litigation was disproportionate to any benefit it was likely to produce and this should have been evidence in December last year.
“Failing to even respond to or engage with the offer is not a pointer to reasonableness.”
The defamation bid is one of several legal challenges Palmer has pursued against the WA premier since 2020, including a failed bid in the High Court to have the state’s hard border closure deemed unconstitutional.
The September 2021 WA budget revealed the West Australian government had spent at least $1.47 million fighting the myriad court actions brought against it by Palmer and anticipated spending a further $3.25 million over the next two years.
In an indication of the disproportion between the damages awarded in the defamation trial and the case’s expected legal costs, Justice Lee joked the $20,000 awarded to McGowan was less than the daily fee charged by Walker.
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“It’s an interesting stage in your career when your daily fee is more than the total damages in the case,” he said, to which Walker replied: “I would hate for Your Honor to think that is the first time it’s happened.”
Palmer launched the defamation action following a war of words between the two men from April to September 2020, which Palmer said “hurt his feelings” and damaged his reputation.
McGowan counter-sued, saying Palmer defamed him in advertising and media interviews.
Lee found both had defamed each other. He has awarded McGowan $20,000 and Palmer $5000 in damages while rejecting both parties’ claims of aggravated damages.
Lee said the case had involved considerable expenditure by Palmer and WA taxpayers and diverted resources away from “real” Federal Court proceedings.
“The game has not been worth the candle,” he said.
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Peace said retaining teachers was just as essential to meeting workforce demands as attracting new teachers into the profession. The union is calling on the government to offer teachers financial incentives for remaining, just as it has paid incentive bonuses of up to $50,000 for teachers who move to short-staffed schools.
“We’ve got to look at some way the government can provide an incentive to get people to consider staying,” she said. “For us, it’s about recognition of the work that they have put in, particularly after the last two years.”
Education ministers will call on the Albanese government to increase funding to innovative teacher training programs such as Teach for Australia, and La Trobe University’s Nexus program.
Students of these programs must already hold a university degree, and can gain a teaching qualification within 18 months, while working in a school for as many as four days a week and being paid as part of their studies.
Vern Hilditch, executive principal of Wodonga Senior Secondary College in Victoria’s north-east, said his school was increasingly reliant on Nexus graduates to fill teaching positions.
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He said it had been difficult for some years to attract enough high-quality teachers to regional and rural schools and the problem had become much worse recently.
The college had advertised nine permanent and fixed-term teaching roles for next year, but had received just one applicant, Hilditch said.
“Without a program such as Nexus, we just don’t have a chance of competing to … attract people into education, particularly for trade teachers,” he said.
A paper put together by the Victorian and NSW governments says the Commonwealth has committed to “funding incentives for high-performing school-leavers, First Nations students, and rural and regional students to gain a teaching degree. This commitment could be extended to include reduced contributions for teaching degrees.”
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare released an issues paper this week on the “unprecedented teacher supply and retention challenges” in schools.
Australia faces an imminent shortage of about 4,100 secondary school teachers as enrollments grow and entries into teaching courses decline, the paper warns.
The number of students in Australia schools is forecast to grow by more than 10 per cent in the next decade, but university enrollments into initial teacher education courses declined by 8 per cent between 2017 and 2020.
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Former secondary school teacher Stephanie Wescott taught English and humanities for five years, but quit the profession in 2019 in frustration at what she felt was a data-driven system that added hours of administration to her weekly workload, and took away her autonomy.
“Current policies in Victoria are stringent about what good teaching looks like, and it often means teachers have less freedom to teach in ways they would like to,” she said.
Wescott, now a PhD candidate at Monash University’s faculty of education, said more than half of her teacher friends were considering leaving the profession.
“They’re exhausted, and they don’t see the change that they want to see. They don’t feel like their work is particularly valued,” she said.
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Negative public perceptions of teachers, stagnant pay rates and punishing workloads were all problems that must be addressed to retain teachers, Wescott said.
“It’s OK to do a difficult job if you feel like your work is being held in high esteem and you feel valued and appreciated, but when the conversation around teaching tends to be disparaging that really complicates people’s decision-making on whether they want to enter the profession or not.”
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South Australia’s volunteer firefighters are already attending a growing number of medical emergencies and are not trained to deal with the trauma, according to the head of the Country Fire Service (CFS).
Key points:
Taskforce to examine firefighter assistance during medical call-outs
CFS chief Mark Johns has raised concerns about the plan
Volunteers attended 1,000 medical emergencies in 12 months
CFS chief officer Mark Johns has raised concerns about a state government probe into whether firefighters should attend more medical call-outs as the SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) remains under increasing pressure.
Premier Peter Malinauskas today launched a taskforce to look into the concept, after a 47-year-old father-of-two died in Plympton while waiting 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Mr Johns is not on the panel, however, Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) chief Michael Morgan and South Australia Ambulance Service (SAAS) boss Robert Elliott will be part of the taskforce, along with Health Minister Chris Picton and union representatives.
“I lead a government that is open to ideas about what we can do to relieve pressure [in] any way we can,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“One such measure that is being proposed is drawing on the resources of the MFS to potentially respond in ways that are safe — all options are on the table.”
He said the taskforce had been established “in haste”, but other measures the government wanted to introduce — such as employing more paramedics — would take time.
CFS attend 1,000 medical emergencies
Mr Johns said his firefighters were already doing that, attending about 1,000 medical incidents in the past year and 14 this week.
“They attend these with no specialist medical training and no additional mental health support,” he said.
“Additionally, these incidents often happen in small communities, where the volunteers are turning up to an incident where they know the casualty.”
CFS chief officer Mark Jones has raised concerns.(ABCNews)
He said the volunteers responding to medical situations were doing it “outside the scope of their standard duties, in their own time, without pay and without the same support as paramedics.”
“Our volunteers are routinely called upon to attend traumatic events beyond the scope of their firefighting duties and these jobs fall outside of most people’s expectations when they join the service,” he said.
“I have seen the number of SAAS-assist jobs that our volunteers are expected to attend grow significantly.
“This is something that has occurred without any formal agreement or additional support for our volunteers doing an already tough job.”
Mr Jones said volunteers were trained in first aid but there was a “large difference” between providing CPR and addressing the underlying clinical health issues of a patient.
In a statement, an SAAS spokeswoman said the service already worked closely with fire services and police to support South Australians during a medical emergency.
“We are excited about the opportunity to work further with the SA Metropolitan Fire Service on a co-response model for the community here in [South Australia]and hope to grow the program over time,” she said.
“Any initiative that supports early CPR and early defibrillation is potentially life-saving.”
Police are calling for urgent assistance to find four children they say were taken by a man in queensland this morning.
Police said the children, aged eight, seven, four and three, were taken by Joshua Carter, 28, from a property at The Leap, north of Mackay, in Central Queensland about 11.30am.
In an amber alert issued this evening, the Queensland Police Service said the children “may be at significant risk”.
Police have provided this photo of the four children. (Queensland Police)
“All of the children are described as being Caucasian in appearance with a slim build and brown hair,” police said in a statement.
Carter was said to have taken them from a Maraju Yakapari Road address in a white 2005 Nissan Patrol four-wheel drive.
The vehicle had Queensland number plates 063BC9.
Amber alert August 11, 2022: Police claim 28-year-old Joshua Carter, of The Leap, was seen taking the children away from a Maraju Yakapari Road address in a white 2005 Nissan Patrol 4WD bearing Queensland Registration 063BC9. The vehicle was last seen heading toward the Bruce Highway, Mackay. (composite)Amber alert August 11, 2022: Police say the children taken from The Leap are aged eight, seven, four and three. (composite)
The 4WD was last seen heading towards the Bruce Highway.
Carter is described as Caucasian in appearance with a solid build and 175 centimeters tall.
He has a shaved head, a full bushy beard, and multiple face and body tattoos including Joker-themed facial tattoos.
Police have issued this image of the man they believe has taken the children. (Queensland Police)
Anyone with information has been urged to contact police at the following numbers:
Call 131 564 to provide information about this abduction.
Call 000 for life-threatening information about this abduction.
“Parliamentary workplaces are losing smart, talented and passionate individuals due to these behaviours.”
Almost 500 people – 27.7 per cent of the parliamentary workforce – participated in the online review. More than 100 gave confidential one-on-one interviews and seven confidential group sessions were conducted. It also received 58 confidential written submissions.
Many participants described the effect of the bullying and sexual harassment on their mental health and their careers as “devastating”.
The briefings to MPs have indicated recommendations could include measures to reduce working hours and conditions that exacerbate risk.
Such measures could include reviewing offices with few employees and late-night sittings, updating alcohol policies to address accessibility and consumption, and making workplace safety training mandatory.
The report is expected to recommend NSW Police provide training to security staff and special constables, targeting early intervention and crisis management.
It could also suggest a review of rules under which an MP can be investigated for breaching the code of conduct.
Premier Dominic Perrottet referenced the Broderick report earlier this month after sacking Eleni Petinos from cabinet amid serious bullying accusations against her. She denies the accusations.
The premier said the Broderick review highlighted the need to act swiftly on complaints of misconduct to ensure people feel safe at work.
It follows an earlier review of NSW ministerial offices by former sex discrimination commissioner and former minister Pru Goward, commissioned by former premier Gladys Berejiklian.
All MPs and staff employed at parliament within the past five years were invited to participate voluntarily in the Broderick investigation.
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Further recommendations are expected to include creating an independent body to investigate reports of workplace misconduct, with measures to protect survivors from retribution.
The briefings suggested 20 per cent of respondents had experienced sexual harassment in the past five years, with the majority of incidents perpetrated by men or someone more senior.
Both women and men reported experiences of actual or attempted sexual assault to the review. However, it was highest among people who identified as having a diverse sexuality. Two per cent of workers indicated they had experienced actual or attempted sexual assault.
The Goward review last year found protections and processes available to ministerial staff were “unclear, ineffective and inadequate”.
The review, commissioned by Berejiklian, said ministerial offices are “unique workplaces”, where staff are under intense public scrutiny and “employment protections for ministers are vastly greater than those of their staff”.
NSW Sexual Violence Helpline 1800 385 578 Lifeline: 131 114
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The 74-year-old — who is recovering from lung cancer — was scrupulous in trying to avoid it, wearing masks and social distancing.
Then, while she was still in the middle of immunotherapy treatment, it happened.
“I got the positive result, did the online questionnaire [and] then my [healthcare provider] rang me,” she said.
“They sent me an oximeter, which was delivered to my doorstep.”
But it was the next element that, according to Ms Browning, made an “enormous difference”.
Jan Browning says COVID-19 antiviral medication helped with her recovery, allowing her to play sport again. (ABC News: Patrick Stone)
Later on the same day, she said, a COVID-19 doctor from her local health service called her and suggested she be put on antiviral treatment because of her past medical history.
The medication was delivered to her door step that night. After a day of treatment, Ms Browning said, she was “already starting to feel better.”
“It was such a smooth process and, I think, for me, I would have been in strife without them,” she said.
“It kept me out of the hospital. I’m playing sports again now and I feel great.”
For Canberra mother Liz Pickworth, the process was the polar opposite.
Liz Pickworth says she felt abandoned when sick with COVID-19.(ABC News: Ian Cutmore)
The 35-year-old has advanced cancer of the thymus gland, a rare cancer affecting fewer than one in 1.5 million people.
When she was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier thisyear— when she was still receiving cancer treatment — her specialists advised her to get antivirals as soon as possible.
However, despite numerous phone calls to her medical specialists and the local COVID-19 hotline, she wasn’t able to access the medications, which would have sped up her recovery.
“I felt like I was begging for my own welfare to survive COVID,” she told the ABC.
“I felt alone, I didn’t know where to look for help. I just felt like I was going to be sick all the time.”
Despite having stage 4 cancer, Liz Pickworth couldn’t access COVID antivirals. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore )
antiviral access
Two COVID-19 oral antiviral treatments, Lagevrio and Paxlovid, have been approved for use in Australia.
The treatments help stop a virus infecting healthy cells or multiplying in the body, with more than 182,000 prescriptions dispensed across the country, according to the Health Department.
Health specialists say they have become a critical element of the country’s COVID-19 response, reducing pressure on the nation’s hospital systems.
However, their use is restricted. Under guidelines revised last month, the only people who can access them are:
Australians over the age of 70 who test positive to COVID-19
Australians aged over 50 — and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people aged over 30 — with two or more risk factors for severe disease
Anyone over 18 who is severely immunocompromised or has severe physical or intellectual disabilities can also be assessed for access.
Ms Pickworth was diagnosed in January when the antivirals had only just been approved for use in Australia.
According to the Australian Medical Association (AMA), the process has improved significantly over the past few months, with thousands gaining access to the drugs.
Yet, the two cancer patients’ contrasting stories highlight what some in the health sector say is a convoluted process putting some people at unnecessary risk.
Research shows antivirals are most effective when taken in the first few days after diagnosis. However, they need to be prescribed by a doctor, some Australians are struggling to access them within that short time frame.
The ABC spoke to a number of eligible Australians this week who said they had trouble accessing the drugs, either because they could not speak to a GP, lived in a regional area or simply because of basic administrative blunders.
Because of this, Pharmacy Guild president Trent Twomey believes patients who are eligible should be able to get them over the counter at pharmacies, a step that has been introduced in New Zealand and in parts of the US.
“Our patients are telling us they are frustrated that, by the time they can get an appointment with their doctor, [up to] four days have already lapsed,” Mr Twomey said.
“We would like people who are eligible to not have to go to their doctor to get an antiviral, but to present to their pharmacy and the antiviral would be provided.”
The Pharmacy Guild has put its proposal to Health Minister Mark Butler.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health did not address the proposal specifically.
She said that, after its COVID-19 care arrangements, states and territories were responsible for distribution of supply within their jurisdictions.
‘Word getting out’ about antivirals
Despite the reports of delays, doctors’ groups say the current system is working well, ensuring patients who need antiviral treatments are getting them.
AMA national vice-president Danielle McMullen said there were some challenges in getting the drugs out in the early days.
However, she said, most of those had been addressed.
AMA vice president Dr Danielle McMullen says early challenges in delivering antivirals had largely been overcome.(ABC News: Billy Cooper)
“We’ve seen a really positive increase in the number of prescriptions being dispensed over the past couple of weeks in particular,” Dr McMullen said.
Dr McMullen said more messaging to the public was required but she believed “the word is getting out there” that these important medications were available.
As of July 10, when the federal government expanded access to treatments, about 73,000 scripts had been filled. As of Tuesday, more than 182,000 scripts had been filled.
Virologists such as The Doherty Institute’s Tony Cunningham have also suggested that antivirals should be used more widely in the population to prevent ongoing symptoms.
He told the ABC that future research into who was more at risk of contracting long COVID should be considered when deliberating future changes to antiviral eligibility.
A spokeswoman for the federal Health Department said the government relied on the advice of the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee when deciding its criteria for who was eligible.
It said it had “sufficient supplies” of both medicines in Australia.
Back in Canberra, Ms Pickworth said she was not angry at the health authorities who, she said, had been “very supportive” of her during cancer treatment.
“It was confusing,” she said. “And being so unwell, the last thing you want to have to do is [have] to advocate for your own wellbeing.”
A spokeswoman for ACT Health said at the time of Ms Pickworth’s positive case, the only antivirals available were intravenous medications.
The spokeswoman said eligibility criteria for antivirals and the mechanisms to access these treatments had “evolved significantly” throughout 2022.
Attempts to deport a Kiribati High Court judge back to Australia have led to a lengthy airport stand-off, with Justice David Lambourne having since been placed in immigration detention.
Key points:
The Kiribati government was attempting to deport one of its most senior judges despite a court order preventing his removal
David Lambourne is appealing his suspension last year for alleged misconduct
The Australian is a long-time resident of the Pacific nation and married to the opposition leader
Justice Lambourne is a long-time resident of the Pacific nation.
He was suspended from his job by the government in May over alleged misconduct.
On Thursday morning, he was served a deportation notice and taken to the airport in Kiribati’s capital Tarawa to be placed on a flight to Fiji.
However, an urgent application that his lawyers filed to the court of appeal prompted the court to order the Attorney-General to stop the deportation.
Despite the court order, police and immigration officers at the airport tried to force him to board the flight, according to Justice Lambourne and a local journalist present at the scene.
A stand-off was triggered when the government refused to let the plane depart unless the justice was on board, while the pilot of the Fiji Airways flight did not want him to board against his will.
After several hours, the government backed down and allowed the flight to leave without Justice Lambourne.
He has since been taken into immigration detention without a valid visa.
David Lambourne at Kiribati’s Bonriki International Airport awaiting deportation with his wife, opposition leader Tessie Lambourne outside.(ABC News: Rimon Rimon)
“I was fortunate that I had some very good lawyers who were able to make contact with the legal team at Fiji Airways,” Justice Lambourne told the ABC as he was being taken to detention.
“And once Fiji Airways was aware of the situation, they maintained their position — the correct position — that unless I was a willing passenger, they were not going to carry me.”
Still, Justice Lambourne suspects the government will make another attempt on Sunday, when a Solomon Airlines flight is due to depart Tarawa.
“[Let’s] see if they have more luck then,” he said.
Kiribati’s President Taneti Maamau has set up a tribunal which is investigating allegations made against Justice Lambourne.(AP: UN Web TV)
Justice Lambourne, who has lived in Kiribati for 27 years and is married to the leader of his opposition, Tessie Lambourne, was suspended in May after the government alleged he had failed to carry out his duties.
The government set up an independent tribunal, saying it had received complaints and allegations from the public against Justice Lambourne.
The allegations included “his inability to perform functions of his office and his misbehaviour,” a government statement said.
The government did not specify what the complaints or allegations were.
Last year, Justice Lambourne won a legal case against the government when he tried to refuse him entry back into Kiribati.
In June this year, when Chief Justice William Hastings was due to preside over an appeal made by Justice Lambourne, the government suspended Justice Hastings.
The suspensions have left Kiribati without a functioning high court.
The ABC has reached out to the Kiribati government for comment.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said the Australian government was “aware that suspended High Court [Justice] David Lambourne was served with a deportation order today and asked to leave Kiribati.”
“DFAT is in direct contact with Mr Lambourne and officials from the High Commission in Tarawa are providing consular assistance,” DFAT said in a statement.
“Our High Commission in Kiribati is monitoring the situation closely and has sought further information from the government of Kiribati.
“Due to our privacy obligations we cannot disclose further details.”
The resignation letter of NSW building commissioner David Chandler has revealed he held concerns about the relationship between sacked minister Eleni Petinos and the property development group that hired former deputy premier John Barilaro.
Key points:
Senior public servant David Chandler abruptly resigned last month
The NSW Opposition called for his resignation letter to be released
The letter has already been referred to the anti-corruption watchdog
In his letter, Mr Chandler detailed how he received calls from both Ms Petinos and Mr Barilaro after he issued a stop work order to the Coronation Property Group.
At the time, Coronation had run into trouble with the building commissioner over compliance at a major residential development in Merrylands in Western Sydney.
A building industry veteran, Mr Chandler abruptly resigned last month after three years in the role, which was created to crack down on building standards in the wake of the Opal Towers and Mascot Towers debacles.
In his resignation letter dated July 7, 2022, Mr Chandler spoke about “problematic” dealings with the office of Ms Petinos and voiced concerns about her relationship with the Coronation Property Group.
Eleni Petinos was sacked from the NSW ministry after allegations of bullying.(AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
He said the problems came to a head over Coronation’s Merrylands development.
“These concerns crystallized at the time of the Stop Work Orders issued under the Design and Building Practitioner’s Act…” he wrote.
“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, I received another message from John Barilaro.
“This contact came to me on my personal phone requesting a meeting with me,” he wrote.
Mr Chandler said he was aware that Mr Barilaro had recently joined the Coronation board.
The building commissioner subsequently met with Mr Barilaro “to answer his questions”.
Mr Barilaro has said the pair met but did not discuss the building ban that Coronation faced.
“We never spoke about the stop work order nor did I request anything in relation to the stop work order,” Mr Barilaro said in a statement today.
The former deputy premier acknowledges meeting with Mr Chandler but denies discussing the building ban.(Facebook: Dave Layzell)
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Mr Barilaro also met with Ms Petinos in the weeks before the stop work order was lifted on July 4, 2022.
Giving evidence at a parliamentary inquiry on Monday, Mr Barilaro said he was no longer employed by Coronation at the time of the meeting with Ms Petinos which he said was to celebrate his appointment as NSW trade commissioner in New York.
Mr Chandler’s parting sentiments were made public after Labor successfully moved a motion in the upper house on Wednesday compelling the state government to produce the letter within 24 hours.
The Premier last month sacked Ms Petinos as the state’s fair trading minister, citing bullying allegations involving her staff, which she denies.
Yesterday, Mr Perrottet stood by his earlier statement that Mr Chandler’s resignation had nothing to do with Ms Petinos.
The resignation letter was addressed to Mr Chandler’s manager, Department of Customer Service Secretary, Emma Hogan.
It’s been revealed that Mr Perrottet spoke to Ms Hogan shortly before sacking Ms Petinos.
In parliament today, the Premier was pressed on the content of those discussions.
“Was one of those issues concerned about the relationship between Minister Petinos, the Coronation Group, or Mr Barilaro?” Labor Leader Chris Minns asked.
“I had a discussion with the department secretary and the main purpose of that discussion was in relation to staff matters,” Mr Perrottet responded.
“The matters raised in relation to the question that the Leader of the Opposition has asked was peripheral.”
The departing building commissioner concluded his resignation letter by stating: “Given where all the above matters now rest, I believe my continued role as NSW Building Commissioner is no longer viable.”
Condon argued Elliott felt under pressure and compelled to act, which reduced his criminality.
“We say… Maghnie is the person who has devised the retributive attack,” she said.
Jacob Elliott was found guilty of two counts of murder.
But Justice Andrew Tinney said the jury’s verdict showed it rejected Elliott’s evidence, and it was also plausible that he and Fares devised the plan when contacted by Ali Maghnie. The judge said Nabil Maghnie might have known he was under police surveillance at the time, so he might have wanted to avoid involvement.
Prosecutors have submitted it is open to Tinney to impose life sentences because of the seriousness of the crimes.
Condon said on Thursday that the Love Machine murders were “extremely serious”, but not in the worst category of offending for the crime of murder.
But Tinney said it was hard to see how they could not be classified among the worst, noting the crime was an act of premeditated retribution, the shots were fired from a moving car in a busy street, and the victims were defenseless and shot from close range.
Allan Fares after his arrest.Credit:Nine
“These are dreadful crimes, aren’t they?” the judge asked the barrister. Condom maintained they were “very serious”.
Elliott’s maternal aunt, Karlene Jergens, said she became worried when she saw her nephew develop an attraction in his mid-teens to his father’s lifestyle of “cars, clothing and money”.
Moussa Hamka.Credit:Facebook
“He kind of took on his father’s persona…just very grown up already, too grown up,” Jergens said.
Another aunt, Fay Maghnie, said it was a shock for Elliott to have her brother in his life, as the younger man was raised mainly by soft, gentle women, whereas his father demanded respect and was quick to anger.
Fay Maghnie said she heard her brother had hit Elliott, and the pair didn’t speak for a year.
She said she and her family were sorry for the pain the Arow and Osmani families endured, and knew what it was like to lose someone.
“It was a day that changed so many people’s lives,” she said.
Lawyers for Fares and Moussa Hamka, 28, who was found guilty of assisting them by hiding Elliott’s gun after the shootings, will address the judge on Friday.
The three guilty men have spent more than three years in custody since their arrests.
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