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).

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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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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Israel has declared it is "compelled to act forcefully" but does not want to harm civilians.

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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"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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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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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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A man accused of unleashing the country's deadliest terror attack has been hit with fresh charges six months after the Bondi Beach massacre.

Naveed Akram opened fire on a crowd of people celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach alongside his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, on December 14.

The attack left 15 people dead – including a 10-year-old girl – and dozens more injured.

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The elder Akram was shot dead by police, while his son was charged with 59 offences and held at Goulburn's supermax prison.

The existing charges included committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder, and 40 charges of attempted murder over his alleged role in the massacre.

But the 24-year-old has been hit with a further 19 charges while in custody, including ten counts of shooting with intent to murder and six counts of discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest.

Records reveal the additional charges were laid in April, ahead of a mention of the matter in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.

He has not yet been required to enter pleas to any of the charges.

The father-and-son attack was Australia's deadliest mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

The men allegedly tossed three pipe bombs filled with steel ball bearings and a tennis ball bomb into a crowd celebrating Hanukkah at Archer Park before opening fire.

None of the bombs detonated.

A box-like bomb was also allegedly found in the boot of their car, while two hand-painted ISIS flags were also in the vehicle.

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The US Defence Secretary has denied reports that Iran could use mine-carrying dolphins to attack US warships.

But in a bizarre press conference exchange, Pete Hegseth was deliberately oblique about whether the US Navy itself had "kamikaze dolphins".

Hegseth was asked to comment on reports from the Wall Street Journal about Iran's unconventional methods to wage war – including mine-carrying dolphins.

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"I cannot confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don't," Hegseth said.

The Defence Secretary was speaking with a straight face but appeared to be being droll.

At the same press conference, General Dan Caine made a wry remark.

"It's like sharks with laser beams," he said with a smile.

Caine said Iran's current military actions were "low level kinetics".

Global navies including the US have long utilised dolphins for underwater tasks for which human technology is ill-suited.

That includes identifying sea mines and other submerged objects.

But using dolphins as suicide weapons has no historical precedent.

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However, in World War II, the Soviet military trained dogs equipped with explosives to run underneath German tanks.

The program was suspended after too many Soviet vehicles were destroyed by mistake.

Earlier today, Donald Trump announced a suspension of Project Freedom, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz again.

The strategy had been announced two days earlier.

Meanwhile, think tank the Institute for the Study of War has concluded that the ceasefire has allowed Iran to rebuild its damaged military forces.

"The ceasefire has likely enabled Iran to rapidly recoup the operational setbacks that it has suffered," a report from the think tank read.

"Iran will likely be able to launch relatively more missiles more effectively in the days after the resumption of fighting. 

"As fighting resumes, this increase should be understood as a result of the operational pause during the ceasefire rather than a broader failure of the campaign."

The war between the US and Iran is now in its eleventh week.

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A former Married at First Sight contestant says he has no idea why his car dealership was targeted by arsonists in an overnight firebombing.

James Susler, a business owner and contestant on season eight of the reality show, only opened his Chery Melbourne City dealership five days ago.

Overnight it was damaged in an arson attack after two men jumped a fence, smashed open the front of the building on Plummer Street in Port Melbourne early this morning and set fire to a car inside.

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Susler told Today he did not know why the offenders chose to firebomb his newly-opened dealership.

"I know as much as you guys do," Susler said.

"It's not the best, ideal situation… We'll move on from this, we'll get bigger and stronger."

It is understood the dealership had not been previously threatened.

The unknown offenders bypassed a security guard who was hired to protect the building.

Nobody was inside at the time of the attack.

The pair fled the scene before firefighters arrived about 4.50am.

It took 30 firefighters and an aerial unit to control the blaze, which was extinguished by 5.23am.

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The Port Phillip Crime Investigation Unit is now investigating the fire.

Susler opened the Chery dealership on May 1, describing it as the culmination of "countless days of hard work".

"We've poured everything into creating a space you'll love and we couldn't be more proud to welcome you into Australia's biggest Chery showroom," Chery said in a post on Instagram.

It is unknown if the firebombing is linked to a string of similar arson attacks targeting Melbourne nightclubs.

Victoria Police's specialist Operation Eclipse taskforce was established to investigate organised crime groups believed to be responsible for the incidents at hospitality venues in the CBD, South Melbourne and Prahran.

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A billion US dollars of taxpayer money has been set aside to fund Donald Trump's White House ballroom project in a bill to fund immigration enforcement.

In the $97 billion legislation to fund the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is $1.4 billion for security work related to the renovations of the East Wing.

The funding proposal marks a dramatic shift in cost for Trump's massive overhaul of the White House.

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Several months ago Trump said the renovations would cost $US200 million and be completely funded by private donations.

But the proposed budget would be five times that, with no indication of what is behind the quintupling of the cost.

While officially drafted by Republican senators, the White House has welcomed the funding proposal.

"The White House applauds Congress's latest proposal in its reconciliation package which includes additional funding for security infrastructure upgrades in relation to the long overdue East Wing Modernisation Project," a spokesperson said.

"Congress has rightly recognised the need for these funds."

The funding is "for the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernisation Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features," the bill reads. 

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The proposed funding has drawn the outrage of Democratic representatives.

"Trump literally said his ballroom would not cost taxpayers a penny. Why are Republicans champing at the bit to fund it?" Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove said.

"Even if this money is for 'security,' it's $1 BILLION of your tax dollars that wouldn't have been spent if Trump didn't tear down the East Wing."

While the bill has been proposed, it is not certain to become law.

Republicans hold a very narrow margin in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate.

Donald Trump's ballroom and ICE are two of the most unpopular elements of the current administration.

Republicans in narrowly-held districts will be loath to fund both of them six months before the midterm election.

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Australia's favourite blue heeler is back at the post office, with the release today of new $2 Bluey coins.

The new collection has already proved to be so popular that Australia Post's online store briefly crashed this morning due to demand. However, the website is now back online.

The first-ever $2 Bluey "Dollarbucks" were launched earlier this morning by Australia Post, in partnership with the Royal Australian Mint and BBC Studios.

The release follows the unprecedented success in 2024 of the Bluey $1 coin collection series, which became one of the most sought after – and controversial – collectibles in Australian history.

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What's in the collection?

The new $2 coins feature Bluey, sister Bingo, dad Bandit and mum Chilli, and were designed in collaboration with Brisbane's own Ludo Studio. 

Fans will recognise scenes from fan-favourite episodes, including Camping and Granny Mobile.

Collectors can snag individual uncirculated coins for $20, or opt for the five-coin tube and folder set for $34. 

For those feeling lucky, the sets offer a one-in-ten chance of containing a special "Sleepytime" coloured coin – a nod to the episode frequently voted by fans as the series' best.

Australia Post Executive General Manager Josh Bannister confirmed that special Bluey and Bingo coloured $2 coins will also be entering circulation through till change at participating Post Offices.

"Bluey is loved by families across Australia and the world," Bannister said. 

"These first-ever $2 coins are a fun way for fans to connect with the characters they love."

Bluey coin theft

While wildly successful, the 2024 launch of the Bluey $1 coins was briefly marred by a bizarre crime that made international headlines.

In July 2024, two men stole 63,000 unreleased Bluey coins – weighing several tonnes – from a warehouse in Sydney's west. 

The men, aged 47 and 44, stole the pallet of coins before they could reach the public, later selling them online to unsuspecting collectors for ten times their face value.

The theft sparked a major Strike Force investigation, eventually leading to arrests and the recovery of some of the loot. 

The rarity of the stolen coins only fuelled the frenzy, with some $1 coins still fetching massive premiums on the secondary market.

The new Bluey $2 Dollarbuck collection is available at participating Post Offices and online from today, May 6.

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