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Three child protection workers stood down amid Kumanjayi Little Baby investigation

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains the image of a person who is deceased.

Three Northern Territory child protection staff members have been stood down as the government investigates the circumstances before Kumanjayi Little Baby's alleged murder.

The NT's child protection minister, Robyn Cahill, said she asked the department for information relating to its interactions with the girl's family.

Cahill was reportedly offered a delayed briefing on Friday, where she learned that the NT child protection department had received six reports about Kumanjayi Little Baby's welfare in the weeks before she went missing.

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"They've been stood down while an investigation is underway into actions taken, or not taken, in relation to this case," Cahill told Australian Associated Press.

"I am calling for an independent investigation from someone who is removed from the existing situation so we can have total accuracy and be sure that we are getting the information that we need to get to understand how this failure could happen," she earlier told Sky News.

Nine.com.au has contacted the Northern Territory's child protection department for comment.

A full investigation into how the department handled Kumanjayi Little Baby's case will take place and the NT children's commissioner has been asked to run an independent investigation.

Nine.com.au does not suggest any wrongdoing by the child protection staff members, only that they have been stood down.

Kumanjayi Little Baby – the name used in line with cultural tradition after her death – vanished from a home in a town camp in Alice Springs on April 25.

Her disappearance triggered a massive land and air search across central Australia until her body was found on April 30.

Jefferson Lewis, 47, has been accused of murdering the five‑year‑old girl near Alice Springs.

He was expected to appear in Alice Springs Local Court yesterday via video link from custody in Darwin but his appearance was excused.

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No application for bail was made, and the case was adjourned to July 30.

The alleged murder horrified the tight‑knit community, many of whom spent anxious days scouring creek beds and scrub for the missing girl before her body was found in bushland outside the town five days after she disappeared.

Lewis was arrested at another Alice Springs town camp after being beaten unconscious by locals.

Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy told ABC's 7.30 it was important to remember Kumanjayi was very loved by her family, who were in deep mourning and did not want her death to be turned into a political fight.

For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).

Man wearing swastika shirt outside royal commission hearing moved on by police

A man wearing a swastika t-shirt outside the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has been moved on by police.

The 68-year-old was spotted at about 11am outside the royal commission hearing location on Clarence Street in Sydney before being issued a move-on direction after he was allegedly seen wearing a t-shirt displaying the offensive symbol.

He spoke to a media scrum outside the hearing before complying with the order. 

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A man has been given move-on orders by police after wearing a shirt bearing a swastika outside the building in which the royal commission is being held.

In a statement, the commission said it was "appalled" that the shirt was worn in the vicinity of the venue.

"The Royal Commission is aware that this morning an individual wearing an antisemitic shirt was moved on by NSW Police from out the front of the Royal Commission hearing location.

"We understand the matter is being dealt with by NSW Police.

"Safety of witnesses is paramount to the Royal Commission. We want to reassure witnesses and those wishing to engage with the Royal Commission that safety protocols are in place.

"The Royal Commission is determined to investigate antisemitism in Australia without fear or intimidation," the statement said.

The incident comes as the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion reaches its third day of hearings this week.

People with a lived experience of antisemitism were invited to take part in the public hearings.

Commissioner Virginia Bell delivered her interim report last Thursday and made 14 recommendations – all of which were accepted by the federal government – on how to respond to anti-Jewish hate and fracturing social cohesion.

The report confirmed that the massacre could not have been prevented and that no legal or regulatory shortcoming contributed to the attack.

The final report is due on December 14 this year.

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Guyana: Police order Mohameds to surrender all personal weapons and ammunition

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, May 5, CMC – Guyana police Tuesday ordered  Opposition Leader, Azruddin Mohamed and his billionaire businessman father, Nazar “Shell” Mohamed to surrender all  their  personal firearms and ammunition, almost two months after they were sanctioned by the United States authorities for alleged tax evasion on gold exports. The Mohameds said after the US […]

Aussie author has books permanently pulled from public schools

The books of children's author Craig Silvey have been permanently pulled from WA public schools after he pleaded guilty to child exploitation offences.

Silvey, 43, pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child exploitation material at Fremantle Magistrates Court yesterday, and the Western Australian Department of Education has moved quickly to make a temporary ban on his books in the state's public schools permanent.

"There is absolutely no place in our school system for works authored by someone who has admitted to such serious crimes," Education Minister Sabine Winton said in a statement.

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Craig Silvey

"Now that he has pleaded guilty, those texts will not return to the curriculum.

"Predatory behaviour against children is abhorrent and has no place in our community, let alone in materials studied by students in our schools."

Winton added the department was working with schools to help adjust curriculums and lesson plans, as well as making sure Year 12 students who had already studied them and were working towards using them in their final exams would not be penalised.

Detectives from Western Australian Police's Child Abuse Squad raided Silvey's Fremantle home, earlier this year, allegedly catching him communicating online with child exploitation offenders and seizing his electronic devices.

The father of three was later hit with extra charges, including allegations he produced child exploitation material between February and June 2022, and possessed further material on January 12 this year.

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Education Minister Sabine Winton said there was no place for his material to be seen in WA public schools.

The popular author is best known for his 2009 coming‑of‑age novel Jasper Jones, which is considered a modern Australian classic and has been adapted into a feature film and several stage productions.

He has also been widely recognised for other books, including Rhubarb, Honeybee, which won the Australian Indie Book Award in 2021, and the children's novel Runt, which was also made into a film.

Publishers Allen & Unwin and Fremantle Press, which released Rhubarb, stopped promoting his books after the original charges were laid and most of his titles were removed from reading lists across the country.

Silvey's bail was continued, and he is next due to appear in the District Court on July 3 for sentencing.

Support is available from the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800.

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Damning sign proves thousands of Aussies face a ticking mortgage timebomb

Thousands of Australian mortgage holders are worried they will be unable to make their home loan repayments following consecutive interest rate hike blows.

More than 65,000 people have contacted the National Debt Helpline (NDH) since the start of the year, with mortgage stress remaining the top reason for calling.

Just under 14,000 people called the NDH in April 2026, a 21 per cent increase on the year prior.

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