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AFL 2022: Fresh twist in Buddy Franklin saga amid conflicting reports about move from Swans to Brisbane

AFL 2022: Fresh twist in Buddy Franklin saga amid conflicting reports about move from Swans to Brisbane

Buddy Franklin is reportedly edging closer to a deal to remain at the Sydney Swans as rumors swirl over his future in the AFL.

Channel 9 reported on Thursday Franklin was set to turn his back on Sydney for a deal with the Brisbane Lions.

The report said the Lions and Franklin’s management have already entered into preliminary discussions.

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It was immediately countered by Swans CEO Tom Harley who said the report linking Sydney’s star forward to Brisbane was “news to him”.

“There’s nothing to announce, but there’s nothing untoward at the same time (on Franklin’s future),” Harley told 3AW.

“There’s no hurry from our point of view and no hurry from his point of view.

“Things are all tracking well at the moment.”

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said on Friday the Lions would be open to having a chat with Franklin if he was indeed considering moving north to continue his career.

The Lions coach felt if Franklin was to relocate to Queensland it would likely be for retirement rather than to continue his football career.

“I would have thought if they are moving to Queensland, that’s perhaps an indication that Bud’s going to retire from AFL football,” Fagan said.

But sports broadcaster Andy Maher said on Friday he has been told Franklin will stay with the Swans and is simply signing up the details around a contract extension.

“I can’t say where it came from, but Franklin’s not going to Brisbane,” Maher said on his SEN radio show.

“He’s not going, he’s going to stay at Sydney and they’re in the throws of working out the contract, so it does sound like he’s going to play another year at the Swans if this information is true and where it’s coming from is pretty strong.

“They’re arguing whether the last $100,000 is marketing money or how it fits in, how they can use what they have available to them within the rules of the game to satisfy what is right for Franklin to receive.

“They’re right at the very end and the edges of just tidying up the contract for next year.”

The conflicting reports come as former Hawthorn forward Ben Dixon argued Franklin has more chance of “playing on the moon than Victoria” next year, with Brisbane the perfect fit.

“I reckon there’s some real merit in (rumors of the Brisbane move),” Dixon told Fox Footy.

“My gut feels is yes (he’ll leave Sydney).

“He’s more chance of playing on the moon than in Victoria.

“Going for one more tilt, going to a different club, it’s not going to tarnish anything about your reputation in the game.

“He’s only going to go north.

“He’s a Perth boy, but you can rule out those two clubs (Fremantle and West Coast). You can rule out the Giants. It’s a process of elimination – the Gold Coast or it’s Brisbane.

“Brisbane’s right in the wheelhouse to win it. If it’s not this year, they still have got a little tilt next year.

“I know his motivation in signing a long-term deal with Sydney was sustainable success.

“I think his drive and his motivation – he wants to win a flag.

“He could be the hottest property in Queensland.

“If you look at it and you say: ‘Who’s closer to the flag (Gold Coast or Brisbane)?’ Well, there’s no doubt Brisbane are.”

Franklin and his wife Jesinta have made plenty of headlines in recent months after the bombshell news the 35-year-old believed the Swans were lowballing him.

Franklin joined the Swans from Hawthorn in 2014 on a nine-year $10 million deal but the star forward was looking for $700,000 per season.

While Franklin has been injury prone in recent years, the scenes of fans flooding onto the SCG when he kicked his 1000th career goal earlier this year showed he is still one of the sport’s biggest drawcards.

But reports of a move out of Sydney dominated headlines in early July and Jesinta told Channel 7’s The Morning Show “we’ve got options” when questioned about the speculation.

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Australia

WA government says transfer of Banksia Hill detaines to Casuarina has ‘worked’

WA government says transfer of Banksia Hill detaines to Casuarina has 'worked'

Moving “violent young offenders” out of Western Australia’s only youth detention center to a separate unit at an adult prison has “worked”, the WA government says.

The comments follow widespread criticism of conditions for children being held in detention, in both the existing Banksia Hill Detention Center and an ad hoc facility set up in a section of Casuarina — one of the state’s maximum security male prisons.

Last month the Department of Justice moved 17 children, including one aged 14, to the unit at Casuarina, dubbed “Unit 18.”

Their hands and ankles were reportedly shackled during the move.

Toilets have been ripped out of walls in a damaged prison cell
The young offenders were moved to Casuarina Prison after they damaged cells at Banksia Hill Detention Centre.(Supplied: Department of Justice)

The department said the move was prompted by widescale damage to cells at Banksia Hill, and detainees had to be relocated so the cells could be repaired.

Reports of self-ham emerge following transfer

There have been subsequent reports of four of those children being taken to hospital after attempted self-harm.

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Business

Australian house prices: 300 suburbs that have significantly dropped in value

Australian house prices: 300 suburbs that have significantly dropped in value

As skyrocketing interest rates smash the Australian housing market, a dozen suburbs have already seen property prices fall by more than $500,000 since March.

PropTrack’s automated valuation model (AVM) data show more than 300 suburbs across the country where dwelling values ​​have experienced six-figure falls over the quarter.

In percentage terms, the worst-performing suburb in the country was South Hedland in WA’s Pilbara region, where units dropped by 24.81 per cent to a median value of $213,791 in June 2022 – a loss of more than $70,000.

That was closely followed by Booval in Queensland, where unit prices were down 24.64 per cent, or more than $121,000, to $370,231.

But it was wealthy suburbs in the capital cities that experienced the largest falls in dollar terms, with parts of Sydney’s northern beaches and eastern suburbs, Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, as well as inner-city Perth and Canberra all experiencing falls in excess of half a million dollars.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s eastern suburbs home of Point Piper recorded the biggest fall in dollar terms, with units there losing nearly $715,000 in value – a 14.82 per cent fall from $4.82 million to $4.11 million.

Manly came in second place with losses of nearly $680,000 in house prices, representing a 13.8 per cent fall from $4.92 million to $4.25 million.

Ingleside on Sydney’s northern beaches saw house prices fall nearly $610,000 to $2.77 million, while Flinders in Melbourne suffered a $600,000 fall to $2.51 million.

Other suburbs where house prices fell by more than $500,000 include Clontarf, Dover Heights, North Bondi, Bronte, Rose Bay and Bondi Beach in Sydney, Peppermint Grove in Perth and Griffith in Canberra.

Close behind in the $400,000 range were the likes of Double Bay and Tamarama in Sydney, Red Hill – both in Victoria and Canberra – and Mulgoa at the foot of the Blue Mountains.

“Price falls are largely being led by the ‘high end’ of the market and higher value suburbs,” said PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh.

“Manly and Tamarama in Sydney have all posted declines in quarterly values.

“Previously popular suburbs in the Central Coast and Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula have also seen values ​​decline.

“It’s often the case that the upper end of the market experiences larger price declines, and at the moment it’s the suburbs that are home to more expensive properties that are seeing bigger price falls than more affordable properties.”

It’s not all bad news for homeowners, however.

House prices in some suburbs are still rising, led by Balmain East in Sydney’s inner west, which saw house prices rise more than $329,000 over the quarter to $3.48 million.

New Farm in Brisbane was second with house price growth of more than $295,000 to $2.65 million, followed by Coledale in NSW’s Illawarra region, which was up nearly $289,000 to $2.47 million.

Other suburbs where dwelling values ​​rose more than $200,000 were Newcastle East, The Rocks and Waterloo in Sydney, and Brisbane’s Bowen Hills, Tenerife, Highgate Hill and West End.

“While the current cycle of exceptional price growth is winding down Australia-wide, there are some parts of the country bucking the falling price trend,” said Ms Creagh.

“Parts of Brisbane, Adelaide and regional Australia are proving more resilient.

“With the pandemic driving a boom in remote working, housing markets in parts of regional Australia have emerged, with sea and tree changers looking for lifestyle locations, larger homes, and beachside living.”

The ongoing low supply of properties available for sale, combined with relative affordability advantages driving heightened demand, are causing prices to continue to rise in some regional areas or only just beginning to fail as the impact of higher interest rates weighs on the market.

“As the home price cycle has matured and interest rates are now rising, some suburbs in previous regional hot spots on the Sunshine Coast, and in the Southern Highlands and Geelong regions are starting to see larger price falls, with affordability advantages having been eroded since the pandemic onset,” Ms Creagh said.

“Suburbs like Lorne, Sunshine Beach, Minyama and Noosa Heads have all seen quarterly declines in unit or house values.”

She added it was a similar picture in the capital cities, with markets that led the upswing like the “lifestyle and coastal locations of the northern beaches and eastern suburbs now seeing larger price falls”.

It comes after the Reserve Bank hiked interest rates for the fourth month in a row on Tuesday.

The 50 basis-point increase at the central bank’s August meeting brings the official cash rate to 1.85 per cent, up from the record low 0.1 per cent it was up until May.

Governor Philip Lowe said the RBA had made the decision to raise the rates in a bid to drive down the current 6.1 per cent inflation figure.

In a statement, he said the path to returning to inflation under 3 per cent while keeping the economy on an even keel was something that would take time.

“The path to achieve this is a narrow one and clouded in uncertainty, not least because of global developments,” Dr Lowe said.

“The outlook for global economic growth has been downgraded due to pressures on real incomes from higher inflation, the tightening of monetary policy in most countries, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Covid containment measures in China. Today’s increase … is a further step in the normalization of monetary conditions in Australia.”

Already, the rise in interest rates has pushed house prices down in most major cities as borrowers stare down the barrel of higher monthly payments.

PropTrack’s Home Price Index shows a national decline of 1.66 per cent in prices since March, but some regions have seen much sharper falls.

“As repayments become more expensive with rising interest rates, housing affordability will decline, prices pushing further down,” Ms Creagh said earlier this week.

Last week, the Australia Institute’s chief economist, Richard Dennis, told NCA NewsWire the RBA was one of the biggest threats to the economy at the moment.

“If we keep increasing interest rates because inflation is higher than we’d like, we might cause a recession,” he said.

“Increasing interest rates won’t help us prepare for a slowing global economy … but they might actually further dampen the Australian economy.”

[email protected]

– with NCA NewsWire

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Categories
Entertainment

What not to say on a date: Louanne Ward reveals the five-word sentence that’s a MASSIVE red flag

Louanne Ward, from Perth, Western Australia, (pictured) shared a video online explaining why singles should avoid telling others they have 'no expectations'

A leading dating expert and matchmaker has revealed one sentence singles should stop saying if they want to find their perfect match.

Louanne Ward, from Perth, Western Australia, shared a video online explaining why both men and women alike should avoid saying: ‘I don’t have any expectations’.

She said this statement is ‘a bit of a lie’ and an ‘orange flag’ when dating.

‘These little statements people make, and how they’re perceived, could be different from what you actually mean,’ she said in the video.

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Louanne Ward, from Perth, Western Australia, (pictured) shared a video online explaining why singles should avoid telling others they have 'no expectations'

Louanne Ward, from Perth, Western Australia, (pictured) shared a video online explaining why singles should avoid telling others they have ‘no expectations’

'These little statements people make, and how they're perceived, could be different to what you actually mean,' Ms Ward said in a video posted on Facebook

‘These little statements people make, and how they’re perceived, could be different to what you actually mean,’ Ms Ward said in a video posted on Facebook

On Facebook, Ms Ward questioned if it’s possible for someone to date without any expectations, and if there’s a ‘hidden meaning’ that could be an ‘orange flag’.

‘These little lies aren’t big red flags but they are certainly orange flags and can give you an insight into where your date is at emotionally and if they are wasting your time,’ she said.

Particularly with online dating, singles usually have a bare minimum expectation that their date will look like their photos, be who they say they are and arrive to the first date on time.

‘When you hear this what it probably means is, “I’ve been rejected so many times [and] I don’t hold out any hope that this is going to work”,’ she said.

‘You’re probably dealing with someone who’s quite a jaded dater and they’re never that fun to hang out with.’

She also warned your date may have no intentions of wanting a relationship.

In the comments other singles had conflicting opinions about Ms Ward’s advice.

‘We date to connect with someone! To me that’s an expectation, to say otherwise might label you as a player,’ one man wrote.

But Ms Ward replied: ‘Half the joy in meeting someone new is the expectation that it might work out!’

Another person said: ‘Depends on what stage you are in dating. First meeting I think it would be unrealistic to expect anything more than liking having fun and being interested in getting to know each other.’

Ms Ward said: ‘I couldn’t agree more and the expectation of having fun, being treated respectfully and enjoying new opportunities is keeping expectations positive and realistic.’

Particularly with online dating, singles usually have a bare minimum expectation that their date will look like their photos, be who they say they are and arrive to the first date on time (stock image)

Particularly with online dating, singles usually have a bare minimum expectation that their date will look like their photos, be who they say they are and arrive to the first date on time (stock image)

Earlier this month in another video, Ms Ward revealed the most common five words single women should stop saying if they want to pursue a relationship.

‘Every time you say “I don’t need a man”, what you’re doing is you’re putting out there exactly what you’re attracting back,’ she said.

Ms Ward said when most men hear these words, they ‘automatically begin to lose interest’.

chicken

Is the phrase ‘I don’t need a man’ to turn off?

  • Yes, it’s a red flag 879 votes
  • No, it shows independence 377 votes

The statement is usually common among women who are independent, confident and successful.

‘It’s true, you don’t need a man; You earn your own money, you can support yourself, you’ve got your own life, you’re happy,’ Ms Ward said in the video.

‘You might not need a man, but you actually need all the things a man can give you – the affection, the support, the love, the laughter, the sex, the caring.’

Ms Ward dubbed the statement as a ‘ridiculous thing to say’ as there’s ‘no shame’ in needing a man to fulfill your needs.

'You might not need a man, but you actually need all the things a man can give you - the affection, the support, the love, the laughter, the sex, the caring,' Ms Ward said

She added how there's 'no shame' in needing a man to fulfill your needs

‘You might not need a man, but you actually need all the things a man can give you – the affection, the support, the love, the laughter, the sex, the caring,’ Ms Ward said

‘You do need him for all the things he can give you,’ she said.

‘Start being brave enough to say: ‘Actually I do need a man for all of the things that I can’t give myself’.

‘There’s no shame in having a need, which is very different than being needy.’

The video received a flood of attention online and many agreed with Ms Ward’s advice.

‘Very well said,’ one person wrote, another added: ‘Yes it’s the same for the other sex as well. We need all the same things.’

‘You actually need masculine energy from a man as well,’ a third added.

‘UNSEXY’ MISTAKES WOMEN MAKE

1. Taking one hour to put make-up on to go for Sunday breakfast

2. Saying ‘I don’t need a man’

3. Too much eagerness texting too frequently

4. Being over-sensitive and crying as a strategy

5. Saying ‘You could be an ax murderer or a rapist, for all I know’

‘UNSEXY’ MISTAKES MEN MAKE

1. Bitching about an ex or other women

2. Constantly talking about yourself without asking questions

3. Setting up a date via a text message

4. Telling women it’s easier for them than it is for a man

5. Not making an equal effort in presentation

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Categories
Sports

Melbourne vs Collingwood, Ed Langdon interview, comments on Pies, one trick pony

Melbourne vs Collingwood, Ed Langdon interview, comments on Pies, one trick pony

Melbourne star Ed Langdon has labeled Collingwood “a bit of a one-trick pony at times” despite the side’s 10-match winning streak, raising the stakes of Friday night’s blockbuster clash at the MCG.

The Pies defeated the Dees when the two sides last met, prevailing by 26 points in the Queen’s Birthday game.

Still, Langdon said the Dees were well and truly prepared for the Pies from a planning perspective.

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Grundy return suffers unexpected delay | 00:23

“There’s certainly a plan in place. Without giving away too much, it’s not dissimilar to what we did to Freo (Fremantle) last week,” he said on SEN Drive, referring to the side’s 46-point demolition of another side that had beaten them earlier in the year.

“Our defense is definitely our biggest strength and to be honest we probably pride ourselves on making Friday night games pretty boring to watch for spectators.

“They’re sort of all duck, no dinner in a sense. If they’re playing fast footy on their terms they’re a very hard team to stop.

“They’re a bit of a one-trick pony at times, so hopefully we can dampen the way they want to play and off the back of that go out and offensively play the way we want to play.”

The Pies enter Friday night’s game equal with Melbourne on points, but trailing significantly on percentage.

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Categories
Business

Perth woman booted off Jetstar flight for wild suitcase issue

Perth woman booted off Jetstar flight for wild suitcase issue

Ready to begin the five hour flight from Sydney to Perth, Clare Vertannes had her Apple Airpods and noise-cancelling headphones on when she was approached by a Jetstar flight attendant.

At first, the actress and events co-ordinator thought she was being upgraded to first class.

Unfortunately, reality was less desirable.

“I was sitting there minding my own business, and then she was like: ‘Can you please come with me?’” Ms Vertannes told news.com.au, speaking of the flight she took in April 2022.

“I was getting really excited because it genuinely didn’t cross my mind [that I was about to get kicked off the plane]. It’s wasn’t until we walked off the plane, that I started asking questions.”

‘A very dangerous item’

Once her and the flight attendant were on the tarmac, the Perth woman was informed that staff had found a “very dangerous item” – a battery pack – in her checked luggage.

While portable chargers containing a lithium ion battery are banned from check-in baggage, Ms Vertannes was certain she had not packed hers in her suitcase.

“I held up my battery pack and told them I didn’t have a second one,” she said.

“The flight attendants that kicked me off the plane were really rude. I understand they have jobs to do but they didn’t even give me the time of day to explain.

“I asked them to call someone to confirm because there was nothing in my suitcase but I was told to go to baggage claim.”

At the same time she was told she would miss her existing flight and she’d have to pay for her next one.

She claims the flight attendant told her she wouldn’t be reimbursed “because you’ve held up everyone on the current flight”.

On her way to baggage claim, Ms Vertannes began crying.

“It was like I was going to the principal’s office. It was so terrible,” she said.

However, she remembers the surreal moment when she realized the airport had made a terrible mistake. As she was walking to the baggage claim, she claims to have overheard a staff member on the phone.

“She was like: ‘Why would she do that? What’s wrong with you people? I told you to wait for confirmation,’” said Ms Vertannes.

“She then saw us walking towards her she just stops and says into the phone: ‘I think the lady you’ve kicked off is in front of me and she is not impressed.’”

A missed flight and a miscommunication

That’s when she was told that there had been “a miscommunication”. While airport staff had initially found something dangerous in her bag, it turned out to be a false alarm.

“There was nothing in my suitcase. I was actually hoping that there had been something wrong with my luggage, especially after all this drama,” joked Ms Vertannes.

“I said look: ‘Thank you for your apology but I need to get home. Can I get back on my flight now?’”

However, in the time Ms Vertannes had reported to baggage claim, her original flight had taken off. She was then told the next flight wouldn’t be until tomorrow.

While Ms Vertannes said the airline initially refused to pay for another flight that day, she was determined to return to Perth.

“I literally just sat there and stared at her. I know the airport staff was doing their best but I knew that nothing was going to get done unless I just sat there,” she said.

After “an hour or two”, she was approached by a Qantas staff member, who are the parent company for Jetstar. In another twist of events, she had been offered a flight for that day free of charge, however it was scheduled for 8pm, which at that point was around eight hours away.

Looking back at her airport debacle, Ms Vertannes said she was surprised by the lack of services given to her by the airlines.

In a statement to news.com.au, Jetsar says they “sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding and are looking into what took place”.

Much to be desired

Despite the “miscommunication,” she claims she was told she was unable to check in her luggage early. While she decided to meet up with her boyfriend from her back in the Sydney CBD, she was told that she would have had to pay $50 to store her luggage from her at the airport.

Another blow came as she was sitting in her Qantas seat.

“I’m sitting on the Qantas flight and I get an email from Jetstar. It says: ‘thank you so much for your purchase of a pie. That’s $10,’” she said.

“Someone on my flight had charged on foot to my seat and I got that invoice. I was done.

“I remember getting that on the flight and not even being surprised.”

The experience left much to be desired.

Now, in the four months from the ill-fated flight, Ms Vertannes says she’s finally ready to talk about her it.

“When I got back I genuinely needed to recover from the trauma,” she said.

Sharing her experience on TikTok, Ms Vertannes amassed more than 67,100 views, 5100 likes and 285 comments.

Despite this, she hasn’t been thrilled with the airline’s response.

“The flight really upset me. It had an effect on my mental health and it was really stressful. [I asked for] two return flights to a destination around Australia,” she said

“I wanted some form of compensation and I thought I was being quite reasonable.”

To date, in documents seen by news.com.au, Ms Vertannes has been given a $116.22 cash refund and a $350.76 voucher which Jetstar says aligns with the purchase methods used to buy her flight from Jetstar to Qantas.

Later, when she tried to get reimbursed for the $50 taxi fare into the city, she was told they were “unable to provide you with any compensation nor cover your out of pocket expenses”.

“I kept on being in all these phone calls but everything just got too annoying so I took the voucher,” she said.

“But all I wanted was just some compensation and to not be left on the phone for two hours. It’s not that hard.”

Read related topics:PerthSydney

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Categories
Business

Swan Draft is being brewed in WA again after years of being made interstate

Swan Draft is being brewed in WA again after years of being made interstate

Swan Draft is back being made in WA.

Nine years after parent company Lion shifted production to South Australia, kegs of the popular lager known colloquially as Swanny D are being brewed at Little Creatures in Fremantle to avoid pandemic-related supply chain disruptions.

Swan Draft was brewed in WA from 1857 until 2013 when production shifted to the West End Brewery in Adelaide.

Brewing then shifted to Tooheys in Sydney when West End rolled out its last kegs in June last year.

While some Swan Draft pouring at Perth pubs is still brewed in NSW, Lion has embarked on a recruitment drive with the aim of bringing all WA keg production to Little Creatures.

Lion WA sales director Jamie Ryan said the local brewing team had undertaken a rigorous emulation process to ensure consistency of taste across the national output.

“Swan Draft kegs are now proudly being brewed locally here in WA for the first time since 2013,” he said.

Mr Ryan added that the homecoming was “a big win in terms of freshness for our loyal WA Swan Draft customers and drinkers”.

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Categories
Australia

Perth storm: Severe weather causes more than $4m damage across WA as thousands lodge claims

Perth storm: Severe weather causes more than $4m damage across WA as thousands lodge claims

The severe damage caused by the State’s once-in-a-year storm has cost millions of dollars as thousands of resident lodge insurance claims.

Emergency services spent another day fighting the brunt of Perth’s severe storm as calls continued to rise, with several regions across the State breaking wind gust records.

RAC Insurance said they received more than 2,700 claims since 12pm Wednesday, totaling $4.9 million in damage.

“We’re seeing a range of claim severity from fences being blown over to trees causing major damage to properties,” a spokesperson said.

“Our call center has been extremely busy since opening first thing yesterday morning. We would encourage members to lodge their claims online, where possible.”

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Categories
Australia

Geraldton methamphetamine trial hears drugs worth $160 million transferred mid-ocean

Geraldton methamphetamine trial hears drugs worth $160 million transferred mid-ocean

The seizure of 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine in the port city of Geraldton almost five years ago was preceded months earlier by the “successful importation” of hundreds of kilograms of the drug, the WA Supreme Court has been told.

The revelation came at the start of a new trial for five men accused of involvement in the massive drug importation in December 2017 — Jabour Anthony Lahood, 56, Peter Harb, 48, Christos Cafcakis, 48, Serupepeli Anthony Rasaubale, 38 and Khalid Elia Kaena , 57.

The court was told the methamphetamine, or ice — worth about $160 million — had been transferred onto a 55-foot vessel, called the Valkoista, in a mid-ocean rendezvous with another vessel dubbed “the Asian boat.”

It is alleged the crew members on each boat provided a half-torn Hong Kong bank note to verify their identities before the transfer took place.

Police were watching

Commonwealth prosecutor Chris O’Donnell SC said the Valkoista then made its way to Geraldton where a “ground crew” was waiting to collect the drugs.

Unbeknown to those involved, the importation was being watched by police, who swooped as the 60 bags containing the drugs were loaded into a van.

Two AFP officers with faces blurred next to an open van door containing sacks of drugs.
A van containing the methamphetamine was seized by authorities in Geraldton in December, 2017.(Supplied: AFP)

Mr O’Donnell said Mr Cafcakis was one of the crew on the Valkoista, Mr Rasaubale and Mr Kaena were members of the ground crew, and Mr Lahood and Mr Harb were the organizers of the operation and oversaw what was happening from Sydney.

Mr O’Donnell said the importation had not “come out of the blue” but had followed a successful operation five months earlier, when the Valkoista had been purchased for $350,000.

Those who bought the boat were told they needed to look for a vessel that had a carrying capacity of between 400 kilograms and 800 kilograms.

The methamphetamine smuggled in during the July operation was transferred to the Valkoista mid-ocean, then driven from Geraldton to Sydney, Mr O’Donnell said.

He said that earlier importation was the beginning of a “chain of events” that culminated in the December drugs seizure.

Boat running low on fuel

The court heard the drugs were again transferred to the Valkoista in a mid-ocean rendezvous in December 2017, and while they were meant to be taken back to Hillarys, in Perth’s north, they ended up in Geraldton because that was the nearest port and the Valkoista was low on fuel.

Mr O’Donnell said the “successful” importation happened after meetings in Sydney involving Mr Lahood.

A van with its back doors open with a charge of bags containing meth, at Geraldton harbour.
The drugs ended up back in Geraldton because the vessel that was meant to transport them was low on fuel. (Supplied: AFP)

Witnesses in the case are expected to include two men who were involved in the December importation—the captain of the Valkoista and one of the “ground crew.”

At the beginning of the case, Justice Michael Corboy informed the jury members there had been a previous trial involving the men, but it had concluded for reasons he said were not relevant to anything they will have to consider.

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Categories
Business

Perth Airport power outage: Flight chaos as passengers thrown into disarray

Perth Airport power outage: Flight chaos as passengers thrown into disarray

Perth Airport is in chaos after desperately trying to recover from a total blackout because of the severe storms crossing the State.

Flights were up and running but there was a huge backlog with passengers attempting to get through security.

Hundreds of people in high-vis were at Terminal 2 as regional flights were taking off. The line to get through to security was almost out the door as people raced to make their flight on time.

Terminal 1 was less chaotic, almost a ghost town in comparison, as several flights were still cancelled.

An airport spokeswoman said the terminals were “fully operational” as of 10pm last night but the flow-on effects of the impact could still be felt.

Perth Airport has announced a thorough review of its backup power systems in light of the power disruption.

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