12-year-old Suki, suffering ‘doggy dementia’, grabbed and latched onto another’s throat.
Tag Archives: oceania
We need help in Waiohiki as Cyclone Gabrielle recovery work lags
Waiohiki was hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle.
'Heartbreaking': Tributes flow after young SA country footballer dies
Tributes are pouring in for a young football player who died after a horror on-field collision during a game in South Australia.
Birdwood Football Club player Antonio Loiacono died on the weekend after he suffered critical injuries during the season-opening A-grade game at Gumeracha Oval in the Adelaide Hills.
Friends and family have remembered the 20-year-old as someone who would "put a smile on anyone's face" and "one of the most caring and thoughtful people".
READ MORE: 'Biggest shake-up in decades' for Australian defence
Hills League Football (HFL) president Joanne Purdie said Loiacono's death had affected the entire local football community.
"It is difficult to find the words that express the immense shock, sorrow and heartache that the Hills football community is feeling today," Purdie said.
"On behalf of the HFL Board of Directors, we express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Antonio Loiacono who passed away on Sunday evening.
"We ask that the family be afforded privacy at this time as they mourn the tragic loss of Antonio.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Antonio's family, the Birdwood and Gumeracha Football Clubs and extended communities."
The Birdwood Football Club expressed its condolences to Loiacono's family following his death.
"Antonio was only with our club for a few months but his leadership and care for his new team will have a lasting impact," the club said.
"Rest in peace Antonio."
READ MORE: Jockey dies after horror race fall
Premier Peter Malinauskas described the loss of Loiacono as "heartbreaking".
"Accidents happen in contact sport, all the time, and no one even expects it to result in a loss of life," he said.
"Particularly for such a young, healthy, good person, so this is hard for anyone to get their head around and I think the whole state's thoughts will be with family members first and foremost."
The Great Southern Football League took to Facebook to share its sincere condolences to Loiacono's family and friends.
"Community football is what we live for and this is a truly sad time when a player is cut down by an unfortunate on-field incident, no matter what level of the game," the Facebook post reads.
"Our collective thoughts are with his family and the Birdwood Football Club at this time of unbelievable sadness."
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
Queensland set to be latest state to decriminalise sex work
Queensland is set to be the latest state to decriminalise sex work under sweeping new changes to the industry.
It comes in response to a landmark Queensland Law Reform Commission review released last year, which made 47 recommendations.
The state's Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said the intention is to regulate businesses and the industry like any other.
READ MORE: An 'entire generation' giving up on Aussie dream
The Queensland government will sign off on the new legislation today.
Currently only services by a person working alone from a premise or providing in-house calls are legal in the state.
Other services such as escort agencies, massage parlours, unlicenced brothels, street workers and working in small groups are all illegal.
Legislation around sex work is state or territory based rather than federal so it varies between jurisdictions.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked about it on radio this morning.
"The states look after all of that," he told KIIS FM.
"But clearly criminalising prostitution doesn't really work – it just drives it underground and leads to worse behaviour and worse treatment of people involved in what can be a dangerous industry.
What is sex work?
Sex work is the modern term used to describe the exchange of sexual services for money, or another form of payment.
It can include escort services, brothels, massage parlours, and sole traders – but again the exact definition varies.
New South Wales
New South Wales has the most decriminalised system of all Australian jurisdictions, and was the first state to change its legislation, in 1995.
Commercial sex services premises such as brothels, massage parlours, bondage and discipline, sadism and masochism (BDSM) houses, and escort agencies all come under local council planning regulations like any other business.
Businesses must comply with health and safety laws such as providing a safe work environment, including providing relevant hygiene services and personal protective equipment.
Victoria
Victoria recently changed its "outdated" laws, after the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 passed state parliament in May last year.
Street-based sex work was legalised, with some restrictions around location and time, and laws around running a brothel or similar premise were loosened.
The second round of Victoria's sex work reforms are due to come into effect later this year. This will include scrapping the sex work licensing system.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory decriminalised sex work in 2019.
This mean that brothels, soliciting and home-based sex work became legal after the Sex Industry Act 2019 was passed.
As in many states and territories, brothels and soliciting are prevented from being near schools and age restrictions apply.
Tasmania
Tasmania's legislation around sex work is some of the most restrictive in the country.
It is legal if no more than two people work together, but brothels and street-based sex workers are still illegal and come with hefty fines.
Australian Capital Territory
Sex work has been legal in the ACT since 1992.
Brothel or escort agencies have to register with the Department of Fair Trading, but sole traders are not required to.
However, street-based sex work is illegal and fines for soliciting apply.
South Australia
South Australian laws are "the most punitive in Australia", according to the Australian Sex Workers Association, Scarlet Alliance.
It is illegal to solicit, and to assist in, keep, or manage a brothel, as well as to be paid for sex work at a brothel.
Western Australia
Western Australia also operates under a criminalisation model but penalties for sex work are not always enforced.
Brothels are illegal but while the act of providing sexual services in exchange for payment is legal, some forms activities classed as sex work are not.
Anzac Day trading hours: What will and won't be open
Anzac Day is one of Australia's most important national occasions that commemorates military action made by Australian and New Zealand troops in the First World War.
To recognise this, many states and territories around the country run restricted trading hours to allow for business owners to pay their respects.
Here's a quick state-by-state guide of some of Australia's biggest retailers as to whether they will be open on Anzac Day, Tuesday, April 25:
Woolworths
NSW & ACT – All stores OPEN from 1pm
Victoria – All stores OPEN from 1pm
Queensland – All stores CLOSED (except Brisbane Airport which is OPEN)
WA- Most stores CLOSED
SA – Rundle Mall and regional stores OPEN (Millicent and Adelaide metropolitan stores CLOSED)
NT – All stores OPEN
Tasmania – All stores OPEN from 12:30pm
Shoppers were encouraged to check the opening hours of their local Woolworths by visiting woolworths.com.au/stores
BIG W
ALL Queensland and West Australian BIG W stores will be closed on Anzac Day.
All NSW, ACT, NT, VIC, TAS and SA stores will be open, but with reduced trading hours.
Coles
For specific stores, shoppers can check with their local store.
NSW, Victoria & ACT – all Coles stores will open after 1pm, but may have reduced trading hours in the evening.
NT – All stores will open after 12pm with reduced trading hours.
Queensland – all stores will be closed on Anzac day.
SA – most stores will be closed except Port Lincoln , Port Pirie, Berri, Port Augusta, Mount Barker, Adelaide Rundle Place, Whyalla, Mount Gambier, and Victor Harbour.
Tasmania – all stores will open after 12:30pm and operate with reduced hours
WA – most stores will be closed, but several, including Orana, Albany, and Bussleton Central will be open.
Liquorland
NSW, Victoria & ACT – most stores will open after 1pm, but may have reduced trading hours in the evening.
NT – All stores will open after 12pm with reduced trading hours.
Queensland – Stores will either remain closed for the entire day, or open for limited trading after 1pm. Shoppers should check with their local store.
SA and WA – The majority of stores will be open after 12pm for limited trading hours, but many will stay closed.
Kmart
Queensland and WA – All stores will be closed
NSW – All stores will open from 1:30pm with reduced trading hours.
Victoria and Tasmania- All stores will open from 1:00pm with reduced trading hours.
SA and NT – stores will either remain closed, or open from 1:00pm with reduced trading hours.
Bunnings
Victoria, NSW and NT – all stores will open from 1pm.
SA – all stores will be open from 12pm.
WA – all stores will be open from 12pm, except for Bunbury & Armadale which will be closed.
Tasmania – all stores will be open from 12.30pm.
ACT – all stores will be open from 1pm.
Queensland – all stores will be closed.
All Bunnings Trade Centres will be closed (nationally).
Dan Murphy's
Nearly all Dan Murphy's stores will be open nationally from either 1pm or 1:15 pm closing between 6 and 7pm.
BWS
Nearly all BWS stores will be open nationally from either 1pm or 1:15 pm closing between 6 and 7pm.
Westfield
NSW – all centres will open from 1pm and have reduced trading hours.
Westfield Kotara, Tuggerah, Eastgardens, Hornsby, Liverpool, Mt Druitt, Penrith and Warringah will trade from 1pm – 5pm
Westfield Bondi Junction, Burwood, Chatswood, Hurstville, Miranda, and Parramatta will trade from 1pm – 6pm
Westfield Sydney and Sydney Central Plaza will trade from 1pm – 7pm
VIC – All VIC centres will trade from 1pm – 5pm
Queensland, SA, and WA – All centres are closed
Best and Less
NSW – Most stores open for rural and regional locations outside of Sydney.
VIC – All stores open (except Corio and Mildura).
ACT and Tasmania – All stores open.
SA, NT, WA, and Queensland – All stores closed.
Ben Roberts-Smith seeks access to confidential diary entries
Details of possible meetings between the Department of Defence and journalist Chris Masters ahead of a secret inquiry into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan may be made public after a bid by former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith.
On Monday, Roberts-Smith's barrister Arthur Moses SC asked the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to order the disclosure of confidential 2017 diary entries by Major-General Paul Brereton which have already been blocked three times.
He argued the public should know whether the Assistant Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force had met with the reporter ahead of the war crimes inquiry.
READ MORE: An 'entire generation' giving up on Aussie dream
"It is in the public interest for it to be known whether there was a meeting between the head of what was meant to be a secret inquiry and a journalist," Moses told Justice Tom Thawley.
"Transparency and accountability are cornerstones of good governance in a democracy which is what the Freedom of Information Act is directed to."
Roberts-Smith lodged his freedom of information request for the diary entries in October 2017 to confirm whether Brereton met with Masters ahead of the inquiry.
Masters published a book, No Front Lines, about Special Forces operations in the Afghanistan war and wrote a number of exclusives for the Sydney Morning Herald about the inquiry.
The AAT was told Masters had allegedly met with the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF) on three occasions in 2017 and had been given access to classified defence information which allowed him to report as he did.
READ MORE: Icy snap headed for one Aussie city
READ MORE: Hundreds of military personnel used in mass exodus of Sudan
Brereton directed the diary entries be restricted a week after Roberts-Smith lodged his request.
The Department of Defence then rejected the former soldier's application for the diary entries in December 2017 and again after an internal review in March 2018.
After hearing a further appeal, in August 2022 the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner then affirmed the defence department's decision to bar Roberts-Smith from accessing the material.
This then led to the former-SAS corporal's bid in front of the AAT.
Moses expressed his client's "significant disappointment" that the FOI process had taken five years, labelling the FOI Act a "sick joke" and a "substantial disappointment".
The diary entries were blocked because they would reveal the identity of the confidential source who spoke to Brereton and that disclosure of the material would be contrary to the directions made by the Assistant IGADF making them confidential.
Moses rejected these claims.
The Department of Defence's response it had documents responding to the FOI request but claiming they could not be released implicitly confirmed Masters was at the meetings and disclosed his identity, Moses argued.
"The (IGADF) is now trying to avoid the consequences of the manner in which it responded to the request," he told the AAT.
IGADF barrister Christine Ernst rejected Roberts-Smith's submissions, saying the identity of the person Brereton met was still not known and that it was still confidential.
Disclosure of the person's name would also prevent others coming forward to assist in future inquiries, she said.
"If no direction could be made restricting how the identity of persons … could be disclosed, that would undermine the ability of the IGADF to conduct inquires in private."
Roberts-Smith in August 2018 filed his highly publicised defamation cases against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times over reports claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan including murder, and acts of bullying and domestic violence.
Masters is one of the journalists named in these lawsuits with judgment yet to be handed down by Federal Court.
In November 2020, Brereton publicly released his report into the alleged war crimes, uncovering credible evidence of 39 unlawful killings and two cases of torture by Australian troops in Afghanistan.
Justice Thawley has reserved his decision.
'Biggest shake-up in decades' for military
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today Australia faces the greatest strategic challenges since World War II as the government unveiled its response to the landmark defence review.
He said the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) will involve a major overhaul of the Australian Defence Force but is needed to make the nation more "self reliant".
Albanese said Australia must seek to shape the future "rather than waiting for the future to shape us".
READ MORE: China 'building cyberweapons to hijack enemy satellites'
"We confront the most challenging strategic circumstances since the Second World War both in our region and around the world.
"That's why we're investing in our capabilities and investing to our relationships to build a more secure Australia and a more stable and prosperous region."
"The recommendations of this review will underpin our work, bolstering relationships with our international partners and promoting peace, stability and prosperity in our region and our world."
"At its core, all of this is making Australia more self reliant, more prepared and more secure in the years ahead."
Speaking alongside Albanese, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia's current defence posture "is no longer fit for purpose".
He said the armed forces would be recast around six pillars.
READ MORE: Sudan fighting hastens evacuations of diplomats, citizens
"The first of those is Australia developing a nuclear-powered submarine capability and we made significant announcements about that last month.
"The second is to provide for a much longer range strike capability for our Defence Force, including through the manufacturing of munitions in Australian Defence Force to operate.
"The third is to better enable the Australian Defence Force to operate out of our northern bases.
"The fourth is to provide for a much quicker transition of new innovative technologies into the service and that is particularly with respect to pillar two of the AUKUS arrangement.
"The fifth is investing in the recruitment and the retention of our Defence Force personnel.
READ MORE: Icy snap headed for one Aussie city
"And the sixth is to improve our defence cooperation with our neighbours in the region, particularly in the Pacific."
Marles also addressed the DSR would result in major cuts to projects for the army to pay for new long range air and sea weapons.
He insisted the Australian Army would be reshaped in future years.
"Ultimately, what the DSR recommends and what the Government is going to put in place, will give rise to an army with a much more focused mission, with a much more enhanced capability," he said.
Both Albanese and Marles said meeting the above priorities would mean a rise in defence spending.
"The cost of the DSR over the forward estimates will be around $19 billion," Marles said.
"Much of that is already provided for in the budget. But as a consequence of the DSR and the government's response to it, we're reprioritising $7.8 billion worth of programs to enable us to put a focus on the six priorities that I have described."
READ MORE: Hundreds of military personnel used in mass exodus of Sudan
Minister for Defence Procurement Pat Conroy confirmed the government would acquire new long range weapons to increase the strike capability of the ADF.
They will include the purchase of the US-made HIMARS long-range rocket system.
"At the end of this process, we'll go from an Australian Army where the maximum range of the weapons is 40km to being able to fire missiles initially over a range of 300km," Conroy said.
"And with the acquisition of the precision strike missile, ranges in ex-sells of 500km."
Marles said cyberwarfare was becoming a new emerging theatre of operations for the armed forces.
"There are important steps that we are taking about making sure that we have the most robust cyber capability possible … the boundary between state actors and crime has begun very grey indeed.
"And so, it's a critical capability and it's one that we see as very important in terms of our future defence capabilities."
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
The cities with the most billionaires
Last week, we brought you the world's wealthiest cities as determined by their number of millionaires – but that's small fry.
Hammerhead shark washed up on US beach found to be pregnant
A large hammerhead shark washed up on a US beach was pregnant with dozens of pups, researchers have found.
The 4.2 metre shark's body was found on Orange Beach in Alabama, late last week.
"While it was very sad that it passed, we were excited about the rare opportunity of seeing a Great hammerhead in such good condition," a post on the City of Orange Beach Coastal Resources' Facebook page said.
READ MORE: An 'entire generation' giving up on Aussie dream
The Coastal Resources team contacted a Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology researcher, who sent a team to perform a necropsy on the shark.
It was found to be pregnant with 40 pups.
"While it is sad, it is very rare to find a large pregnant female, and the data collected will be tremendously helpful in learning about great hammerhead fecundity," the Coastal Resources post said.
The shark's cause of death has not been determined.
Sign up here to receive our daily newsletters and breaking news alerts, sent straight to your inbox.
How to watch the Dawn Services
Millions around the country will gather once again tomorrow for Anzac Day to remember all Australians killed in military operations.
From the major services in Canberra and Sydney to the hundreds of smaller events taking place around the country, it is a solemn day to respect and remember the fallen.
You will be able to livestream the major services both in Australia and overseas at the top of this article.
READ MORE: Your complete guide to Anzac Day Dawn Services around the country
The services we will be livestreaming on 9news.com.au and the 9News app include the 4.25am service from Martin Place, the 5.25am Dawn Service from the Australian War memorial in Canberra, the 12.25pm Gallipoli Dawn Service and the 1.35pm Villers Bretonneaux Dawn Service.
You can also watch the services on Channel 9 and 9Now.
READ MORE: Anzac Day trading hours: What will and won't be open
READ MORE: Your guide to the game of Two-Up