Queensland police say they are questioning three people, including the suspected shooter, over a triple fatality at a cattle property in Bogie in north Queensland.
Three people were found dead and a man was critically wounded after the shooting on the cattle property near Collinsville on Thursday morning.
The injured man, who was airlifted to Mackay Hospital with a gunshot wound to his abdomen, is in a serious but stable conditionafter undergoing surgery late yesterday.
Police said they were still working to determine a motive for the shooting but are questioning three people.
Police issued an emergency declaration yesterday under the Public Safety Preservation Act for an area at Shannonvale Road, south-east of Collinsville, which remains in place.
Nearby residents have been advised to stay away from the area and multiple crime scenes have been established.
The three people who died and the injured man are all from the same family but the police did not confirm their identities.
Mackay District Superintendent Tom Armitt said police were searching an “extensive” farming area that is “hilly and heavily forested”.
A man was flown to Mackay Hospital with critical injuries after suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen.(ABC News: Melissa Madison)
An employee of a tour bus company has been charged over a fatal road crash in Central Australia earlier this year, which killed a passenger and seriously injured several others.
Key points:
A 43-year-old man was charged on Wednesday with two counts of negligently causing serious harm
The charges were in relation to a tour bus crash near Hermannsburg, in Central Australia
A man, 69, was killed and multiple people were hospitalized after the crash
The bus crashed on Larapinta Drive, about five kilometers east of the remote community of Hermannsburg, on June 6.
In a statement issued this morning, Northern Territory Police said they had arrested and charged a 43-year-old man in Alice Springs yesterday with two counts of negligently causing serious harm.
Police at the time said the bus, which was carrying 19 people from the interstate, had rolled multiple times.
One passenger – a 69-year-old man – died at the scene, and multiple others were seriously injured and taken to Alice Springs Hospital for treatment.
The other passengers and the driver received lacerations and bruising.
The tour bus was carrying 19 passengers from the interstate when it left the roadway and rolled several times, according to NT Police.(ABC News: Xavier Martin)
“The man charged overnight is an employee of the tour company but not the driver of the bus,” Senior Detective Sergeant Brendan Lindner said.
“Police expect additional charges related to the death of a passenger and other injured passengers to be laid at a later time.”
The man has been danced to appear in the Alice Springs Local Court today.
The investigation into the crash by the Major Crash Investigations Unit is ongoing.
Jostling is underway for the deputy leadership of the New South Wales Liberal Party after the resignation of Stuart Ayres from cabinet yesterday.
The main contenders so far are: Treasurer Matt Kean, Transport Minister David Elliott, Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward and the Science, Innovation and Technology and Skills and Training Minister Alister Henskens.
Mr Ayres resigned from his portfolios and leadership position in the Liberal Party after an inquiry “raised concerns” about his conduct in the appointment of John Barilaro to a lucrative US trade role.
The deputy leadership will be determined at a party room meeting next Tuesday.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced three New South Wales ministers will have their portfolios expanded to take over Mr Ayres’s ministerial responsibilities.
Mr Henskens will also add Enterprise, Investment and Trade and Sport to his list of portfolios.
Ben Franklin — who already is Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for the Arts, and Minister for Regional Youth — will add Minister for Tourism to his portfolio.
David Elliott — who is Minister for Transport and Minister for Veterans Affairs — will add Minister for Western Sydney to his portfolio.
Aboriginal inmates on rise
New data reveals Aboriginal people remain over-represented in NSW jails.
Bureau of Crime Statistics figures show the overall number of prisoners dropped since the start of the COVID pandemic, with around 1,000 fewer inmates than three years ago.
However the number of Aboriginal men in jail has risen by more than 100 and they are now 28 per cent of the jail population.
Aboriginal women make up 40 per cent of the state’s jail population.
Police release images in murder probe
Police have released images of a man and woman who may have seen something that can help their investigation. (Supplied: NSW Police)
Detectives have released images of two people they believe could help with their investigations into the murder of Western Sydney man Shady Kanj.
Shortly after 11pm on Friday, August 6, Mr Kanj was treated for gun shot wounds by paramedics on Rhodes Avenue, Guildford.
Despite their efforts, Mr Kanj died at the scene.
Strike force detectives have released CCTV of a man and woman in a white Audi Q5 captured at a fast-food restaurant on the corner of Vaughan Street and Olympic Drive at Lidcombe prior to the murder.
They do not believe the man and woman were involved in the murder, however, they may have information that could assist with inquiries.
Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty urged the man and woman, or those with knowledge of their identities, to come forward.
Premier criticized over Leichhardt snub
Leichhardt Oval is set to miss out on redevelopment funding.(AAP Images: Craig Golding)
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has been criticized for committing more than $300 million to rebuilding Penrith Stadium while ignoring Leichhardt Oval.
NRL boss Peter V’landys said the government had reneged on a promise to upgrade a number of suburban grounds.
Inner-West Deputy Mayor Jessica D’Arienzo said that it was despite more games and more sports being played at Leichhardt.
“It means that, again, Leichhardt misses out,” Ms D’Arienzo said.
“We should make it clear that it’s not just the Tigers that play there. Actually, you’ve got soccer, the rugby league and rugby union. We’ve got around 50 to 60 games a year being played on Leichhardt oval.”
Call for flood report’s release
NSW Labor’s Jihad Dib wants the findings released.(abcnews)
The New South Wales government has been criticized by the opposition for failing to release the findings of an inquiry into the floods earlier this year.
Severe weather and flooding devastated the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury Nepean regions in February and March.
Premier Dominic Perrottet was due to release the final report from the inquiry on July 31.
Opposition emergency services and climate and environment spokesperson Jihad Dib said Mr Perrottet must put aside political issues within his party and release the report immediately.
“Local communities that are devastated by the floods are not interested in the government’s internal rumblings,” he said.
“What they’re interested in is a report that identifies what went wrong and a pathway forward into the future.
“He needs to release the report now rather than when its politically expedient to do so.”
Empty CBD offices
The number of empty offices in Sydney’s CBD has risen, which the property council says is due to an increase in supply.
Office vacancies in the CBD have risen from 9.3 per cent to 10.1 per cent, according to the Property Council of Australia’s latest Office Market Report.
The council says that, while vacancies have risen, the figures are actually positive, given the pressures of COVID-19, working from home and industrial action.
Property Council executive director Luke Achterstraat said there was still strong commercial property confidence in Sydney.
Thredbo cancels lift operations
Damaging winds averaging 80 to 90 kilometers per hour are forecast. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
Thredbo resort has made the decision not to operate any ski lifts on Thursday due to an extreme weather forecast.
A complex low pressure system, along with an associated through and cold front, are causing vigorous winds across south-east New South Wales, as well as the potential for heavy rainfall from Thursday morning.
Damaging winds averaging 80-90 kilometers per hour are forecast for Alpine areas above 1,900 meters.
Five teenagers charged after stabbing
Police have charged five teenagers after a stabbing at Bankstown in South-West Sydney.
About 3:15pm yesterday, emergency services were called to Chapel Road, where they found a 15-year-old boy with stab wounds, who they took to hospital.
Two other 15-year-old boys were also injured.
Five teenagers aged between 15 and 16 years were arrested.
The five were taken to Bankstown Police Station, where all were charged with reckless wounding in company, and affray.
They were refused bail and are due to appear before a Children’s Court on Thursday.
A senior NSW government bureaucrat has told an inquiry the lucrative New York-based trade job given to John Barilaro was “put on a slightly separate path” to similar roles.
Key points:
Amy Brown is giving evidence for the second time at the parliamentary inquiry
Trade Minister Stuart Ayres this morning resigned
John Barilaro has withdrawn from the $500,000 a year role
Investment NSW CEO Amy Brown is being grilled for a second time at a parliamentary inquiry into the appointment of the former deputy premier as the state’s senior trade and investment commissioner to the Americas.
This morning, Ms Brown told the inquiry she had a meeting with former trade minister Stuart Ayres on October 12 last year.
The inquiry was shown an email sent by one of Ms Brown’s staff shortly after that meeting, which included the line “the Minister would like to leave the New York post vacant for now”.
Former deputy premier John Barilaro is due to give evidence at the inquiry next week.(AAP: Joel Carrett)
But Ms Brown told the inquiry it had actually been her decision to leave the post open, because of various factors, including tax hurdles and “serious performance issues” with a candidate who had initially been successful in applying for the role, Jenny West.
“I didn’t go into any particular detail about some of the performance issues I was starting to become aware of with regard to Ms West,” she told the inquiry.
“That was more conversations I was having with her team, as at that point, they were directly reporting to me because she was on extended leave.
“I said, ‘well, in light of the fact that we can’t offer anyone the job for some time, is it your view that we should keep that recruitment process closed and reopen it at another time?'”
She told the inquiry that Mr Ayres agreed.
“Any conversation I had with Minister Ayres were, therefore, to a degree, influential on my decision but in my view, it did not amount to undue influence because at all times, I felt that the decision was mine, ultimately mine to make, she said.
Ms Brown was required to give evidence in person this morning. (abcnews)
Labor MLC Daniel Mookhey Ms Brown asked whether this meant the Americas position was put “on a slightly separate path” to other similar roles around the globe, to which she replied “yes”.
“I think it was a pragmatic piece of advice from me that we couldn’t fill the role for some time and his response was, ‘well then it makes sense to keep it vacant,’ she told the inquiry.
“I think we both concluded, given everything that had happened, it would be sensible to go back to market when we were ready to put a contract on the table and when we could take stock of where things were at.”
Mr Ayres, who maintains he has done nothing wrong throughout the process, this morning resigned from the NSW ministry, after weeks of being linked to Mr Barilaro’s appointment.
Mr Barilaro’s appointment has been put under the microscope for several weeks and is the subject of two separate inquiries.
He has since withdrawn from the $500,000-a-year position.
Mr Barilaro is due to appear before the inquiry on Monday.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has also ordered a separate review into the recruitment process for the role.
Redland Mayor Karen Williams has been investigated for misconduct by an independent assessor after complaints about her drink driving offence.
Key points:
Mayor Williams’s blood alcohol concentration was more than three times the legal limit
The Mayor has committed to return to work this week despite calls for her to resign
Mr Brown says he wrote to Steven Miles asking for the matter to be investigated
The Office of the Independent Assessor (OIA) confirmed it concluded an investigation into Ms Williams, relating to her crash in Cleveland in June, and the matter could be referred to the Councilor Conduct Tribunal.
Ms Williams was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and had her license disqualified for six months after pleading guilty to drink driving at the Cleveland Magistrates Court on Monday.
Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.177, more than three times the legal limit when she crashed her car on June 23.
The court heard Ms Williams crossed four lanes of traffic before she left the road, entered a ditch and struck a tree in the single-vehicle crash.
No conviction was recorded, and she was not fined over the offence.
The Redland Mayor described the incident as a “lapse in judgment” and has committed to return to work this week.
Member for Capalaba Don Brown said he wrote to Local Government Minister Steven Miles asking for the events leading up to the drink driving incident, including a zoom call with families of drink driving victims, to be investigated by the OIA.
“Elected officials, in the code of conduct for local government, can’t be drunk while conducting work — that’s what they’re investigating right now,” Mr Brown said.
Mr Brown said Ms Williams had lost the trust of her constituents.
“This is a time where Karen must put the people of Redlands first and know that we need new leadership.”
Ms Williams has been contacted for comment.
The OIA said the matter was currently with legal undergoing a natural justice process before possible referral to the Councilor Conduct Tribunal to decide.
NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres has conceded that he should have advised former deputy premier John Barilaro not to apply for an overseas trade role.
Key points:
Mr Ayres accepts his position would be untenable, if he is proven to have acted improperly
The NSW Premier says an independent review into Mr Barilaro’s appointment to the trade role is due “very shortly”
Leaked emails revealed Mr Ayres put forward a name to be added to a shortlist of candidates for the role
Mr Ayres has told Nine Radio that Mr Barilaro’s application for Trade Commissioner to the Americas came too soon after he left parliament, and that he should have advised him not to apply for the role.
“If I had my time again, I would have said to him: ‘The time frame between the end of your parliamentary career and you applying for this job will be too politically sensitive and you should not consider doing the role’,” Mr Ayres said.
He accepted his job was on the line and he would be unable to continue as trade minister if the review found he acted improperly.
“I am confident that all of my actions have been in the best interests of the public and I think that’s what that review will show,” Mr Ayres said.
“If the [Graham] Head review shows that I have not done the right thing, then I don’t think my position would be tenable, but I don’t believe that’s the case.”
Mr Ayres has confirmed he texted a copy of the job advertisement to Mr Barilaro when it was first advertised after Mr Barilaro expressed an interest in the role.
But Mr Ayres has denied he had any role in Mr Barilaro’s subsequent appointment to the role.
“Of course, I undertake my own reflections on my course of action, but everything I’ve done as a minister has been about making sure we deliver the best outcomes for the people of New South Wales,” Mr Ayres said.
“I’ve always acted in the interests of the public.
“I’ve always undertaken my ministerial duties with the highest level of integrity and I’ve always wanted to make decisions in the best interests of the public.”
Mr Barilaro was announced as the successful candidate in June.
The position is based in New York and comes with a $500,000 salary package.
Mr Barilaro later withdrew from the position, saying it had become untenable.
Mr Ayres said Premier Dominic Perrottet had not asked him to stand aside over the matter but admitted it had been a “challenging” few weeks.
“[Mr Perrottet] has been really supportive through this whole exercise,” Mr Ayres said.
“He’s made it pretty clear that he’s put in place the independent review that’s been conducted by Graham Head, a former public service commissioner, and he wants to wait until that review’s completed and he’ll make his decisions after that.”
Deputy Premier and Nationals leader Paul Toole refused to comment directly on whether he supported Mr Ayres but said public confidence in ministers was critical.
“As the leader of the National Party and as the Deputy Premier I have very high standards and I have very clear expectations of my ministers,” he said.
“I expect them to be acting with honesty and integrity at all times.”
Leaked emails last week revealed Mr Ayres put forward a name to be added to a shortlist of candidates for the role, but he maintains that name was not John Barilaro’s.
Documents released yesterday revealed another candidate was recommended ahead of Mr Barilaro before he was later ranked higher.
Mr Perrottet said he was expecting the independent review into Mr Barilaro’s appointment “very shortly”.
Mr Perrottet initiated the review in late June and it has been conducted alongside a parliamentary inquiry.
