The man would have been handling live wires if the power had been turned back on.
Tag Archives: oceania
Papatoetoe Central School lockdown: Police incident nearby on Great South Rd
The school asked people to stay away and not to phone after going into lockdown about 3pm.
Man on family violence charges with a “defiant, hostile, victim-blaming” attitude granted name suppression
His name was suppressed, partly at the request of his victim who wants to move on.
RBA delivers ominous interest rates warning
Australians could be hit by another interest rate hike as soon as a fortnight from now unless inflation eases.
Minutes from the Reserve Bank's cash rate meeting at the start of the month have revealed the RBA was tossing up between leaving rates on hold and increasing them by a quarter of a per cent.
While the board under new governor Michele Bullock ultimately decided on the former, it did so keeping in mind that quarterly inflation data will be released this month and will play a significant role in November's interest rates decision.
READ MORE: Australia could be cashless by 2030, finance expert claims
"Members observed that, prior to the November meeting, they would receive additional data on economic activity, inflation and the labour market, as well as a set of revised staff forecasts," the RBA minutes, released today, said.
"In reaching their decision, members noted that some further tightening of policy may be required should inflation prove more persistent than expected.
"The board has a low tolerance for a slower return of inflation to target than currently expected.
"Whether or not a further increase in interest rates is required would, therefore, depend on the incoming data and how these alter the economic outlook and the evolving assessment of risks."
Key among that incoming data are two upcoming releases from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
A labour force update – including the key measure of the unemployment rate – will be released on Thursday, before quarterly inflation data comes out next Wednesday.
READ MORE: Oil prices fluctuate as concerns mount over Middle East tensions
While inflation has decreased significantly since its peak of 8.4 per cent in December, last month's data revealed an unexpected uptick from 4.9 to 5.2 per cent in August.
Much of that was driven by increasing oil prices – something noted by the RBA.
"Rising energy prices had seen headline inflation pick up in a number of countries over the prior couple of months, including in Australia," it said.
"Members discussed the recent increase in oil prices, which were almost 30 per cent higher than at the end of June… refined fuel prices had risen even more."
Those observations were made before the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas sparked significant fluctuation in fuel prices.
Analysts at ANZ Research expect oil to hit $US100 a barrel in the short term because of the growing risk of regional escalation.
Neither Israel nor Gaza is a significant oil supplier, but the risk to oil markets will rise if "the conflict broadens", they wrote in a research note on Friday.
Shot that killed prisoner was needed to stop him escaping, officer's lawyer says
WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this story contains images of a person who is deceased.
A corrections officer on trial for murder did what he thought was necessary to stop an escape when he fired three shots in quick succession, killing a man as he ran from custody, a jury has heard.
Dwayne Johnstone, 43, died after being hit with the officer's bullet outside Lismore Base Hospital as he escaped following his discharge on March 15, 2019.
READ MORE: Teen arrested over daylight murder of Sydney gang associate
He had been taken to the northern NSW hospital when he collapsed and began convulsing in the court cells after being remanded in custody earlier that day.
The bullet that hit his heart was the third fired by the corrections officer, who has pleaded not guilty to murder.
The man cannot be legally identified, besides under the pseudonym Officer A.
His barrister Philip Strickland SC told a NSW Supreme Court jury on Tuesday the man identified himself as a corrections officer and shouted "stop or I'll shoot" before firing three times.
"When he fired the third shot, he believed he was doing what was necessary to prevent the escape, that was his job," he said.
Strickland told the jury the officer fired a warning shot which hit a railing and a second shot which went through the window of a closed medical clinic before the third shot hit Johnstone.
Prosecutors disputed that the first was a warning shot during an opening address on Monday.
Johnstone was taken back to the hospital after being shot but died about two hours later.
Prosecutors allege the shooting occurred without lawful excuse.
Officer A told police Johnstone was running quickly despite having shackles around his hands and ankles.
The officer did not believe either he or another corrections staff member accompanying him could catch up.
Strickland said the jury would have to consider whether the officer acted necessarily to prevent an escape.
"When you consider the issue of reasonable grounds, look at it through the eyes and perspective of the accused," he said.
CCTV footage that captured the 11-second period before Johnstone was shot came from about 95m away and showed a different perspective than the officer had at the time, Strickland said.
Experts would tell the trial how perspectives could be exaggerated and distances could appear inaccurate on footage due to the position of the camera, he added.
The trial continues and is expected to last about four weeks.
Multiple Ōpōtiki gang-related shootings sparks police investigation
A 29-year-old has been arrested in relation to the shootings
Auckland sewer sinkhole: Parnell bypass done but beaches stay closed with sewage overflows set to continue
While the city hit a 23C high today, a least 22 beaches remain closed in the Waitematā.
Te Wairongoa Paniona, Northland’s beloved street busker, in hospital after alleged hit-and-run
“As whānau, we can only hope for him to get well soon.”
First repatriation flight from Israel lands in Sydney
The first of two repatriation flights that helped Australians and their families flee Israel has landed in Sydney.
The Qatar Airways plane carrying 222 passengers, including around 74 Australians and their children, left Dubai earlier today.
The passengers were in Dubai after being transported out of danger in Tel Aviv by an Australian Air Force flight on Saturday. They then boarded the mercy flight home.
READ MORE: US mounting a frantic effort to head off a wider Middle East war
This is just one of two planned repatriation flights out of Israel, the Australian government confirmed earlier today.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said there would likely be no more flights to repatriate Australians.
"We do believe these flights meet the immediate demand," he said.
The government's attention now turns to Gaza where more than 45 Australians have reached out to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for assistance.
"Clearly people who are in Gaza right now are in a very, very difficult situation," Marles said.
"We are encouraging them to move south within Gaza, to heed the call of Israel in that respect."
The government is focusing on working with international countries to try and establish a humanitarian corridor out of Gaza.
"We continue to do a lot of engagement with the United States, with Israel [and] with Egypt to try and assure passage for Australians out of Gaza," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said yesterday.
"Obviously the security situation on the ground there is extremely difficult and so far we have not been able to do that. We will continue to do everything we can to arrange that passage."
Meanwhile, Emirates confirmed this morning it is adding a special humanitarian flight to its schedule from Dubai to Sydney. The flight will leave Dubai on Thursday at 9.40am local time.
READ MORE: Thousands trapped in Gaza as supplies run low
More than 250 Australians and their families were also flown out of Tel Aviv across three flights on Sunday evening Australian time- two of the flights were on RAAF aircraft and one was a Qantas chartered flight.
Australia has been arranging onward passage from Dubai, including the Emirates flight, while Qantas has put on flight from London.
Australians who wish to travel on the Emirates flight should contact centre or sales offices, or their nearest Australian consulate or embassy, a spokesperson for Emirates said in a statement.
LIVE UPDATES: Don't block our Gaza aid, US tells Hamas
"Emirates stands ready to help impacted Australians return home, through our regularly scheduled services between Dubai and Australia, as well as the deployment of additional humanitarian flights as needed," the spokesperson said.
"We have made aircraft and crew available and put them on standby to activate over the past days, pending confirmation of passenger numbers and other details from the Australian government."
'Never too late' to find cold case killers as police offer up huge reward
A $1 million reward is on offer as a fresh investigation was launched into the murder of one man and the suspected murder of another.
Detectives say they have "never given up" on solving the murder of Frederick Rosson, who was also known as Charles Johnson on the Gold Coast, and the suspected murder of Iain Stewart Hogg in Tweed Heads.
They believe the same people are responsible for killing both men in 2002, and say "it's never too late" for people to come forward.
LIVE UPDATES: Three times more Aussies in Gaza than thought
Hogg is thought to have been shot dead on Monday 11 March 2002 in a carpark on Coral Street, Tweed Heads.
His distinctive red Toyota Celica was seen there and it's believed his body was dumped in the Tweed River.
It has never been found, and police are specifically appealing to the LGBTIQ+ community who may be able to help.
A few days later on Thursday 14 March 2002, Frederick Rosson is believed to have met two men at his home in Mt Nathan, Queensland to see a firearm he was selling.
Rosson was shot dead with his own gun.
READ MORE: Terror alert after two killed before major football game
A red Toyota Celica was seen at the property, believed to have been stolen after Hogg's murder.
That vehicle was abandoned at Palm Beach, Queensland, the following week.
Now NSW and Queensland governments have put up the cash as police announced they were stepping up the investigation.
NSW Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley, said she hoped the reward would encourage those with information to come forward.
"Investigators have never given up on finding answers for the loved ones of Frederick and Iain, and today, the NSW Government reaffirms their ongoing support for the investigation," Catley said.
READ MORE: Clive Palmer's $40m superyacht runs aground
Tweed/Byron Police District Crime Manager, Acting Inspector Chris Elliott, said investigators believe that the same people killed both men.
"The families of these men deserve closure having dealt with the uncertainty of what happened over two decades ago," Elliott said.
Queensland Police Service Detective Acting Inspector Adam Bennett from Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch said police hoped the reward to lead to a breakthrough.
"It is never too late to come forward," Bennett said.