Mission Concert poised to go ahead.
Tag Archives: oceania
Complaint made over Brendon McCullum 22Bet gambling ad that would be illegal on NZ provider
The Department of Internal Affairs has labelled the former Black Cap’s ad “misleading”.
Search for missing Melbourne woman and toddler
Police are calling for the public's help to find a Melbourne woman and toddler who haven't been seen in almost two days.
Shantell, 38, and two-year-old Mya were last seen on Village Drive in Reservoir in Melbourne's north about 6pm on Wednesday.
Shantell is described as Caucasian in appearance with blonde hair, a slim build, and is around 160-170cms tall. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and pink pants.
READ MORE: Gunman on the run after shooting in Melbourne's west leaves man fighting for life
Mya is described as having a slight build, with curly, dark-brown hair and is around 89cm tall.
Police and family have significant concerns for their safety and well-being.
Shantell is known to frequent the Reservoir, Sunshine, St Kilda East and Malvern East areas.
Anyone with information about the pair should contact police.
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NSW government urged to withdraw thousands of fines
Thousands of COVID fines issued by the New South Wales Police and government could be invalid following an unprecedented Supreme Court trial.
The Supreme Court has urged the New South Wales government to withdraw over 29,000 remaining COVID-19 fines, after deciding that the fines issued didn't properly identify an offence.
The court found that the fines issued to people not complying with lockdown orders or social distancing measures weren't specific enough to be considered valid fines, as they did not adhere to the legal definition of a fine or penalty notice.
READ MORE: What stores are open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday?
"The short description identifying the offence was, in each case, insufficient to meet the requirements of the Fines Act (s20)," the court decided.
"The penalty notice not only failed to identify the offence, it did not correctly identify a single element of the offence."
For a fine to be valid, the offence must be clearly stated on the fine, and make reference to the specific act, policy or law that was allegedly broken, according to the Supreme Court ruling.
READ MORE: Stormy Daniels says Donald Trump shouldn't be jailed if found guilty
The unprecedented finding came out of a Supreme Court trial, where two plaintiffs were questioning the validity of the $1000 and $3000 fines respectively.
The decision comes after the New South Wales government withdrew over $30 million with of COIVD fines last year.
The state government said that they will not withdraw the fines despite the individual trial's outcome.
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Chance to move freely to the Māori roll removes voting barriers – party leader
Māori can stay on the general roll or switch to the Māori role before July 13
Missing Queensland woman ruled dead by police
Police have ruled missing Queensland woman Lesley Trotter dead after she was reported missing more than a week ago.
A large-scale search was sparked more than 130 police and State Emergency Services (SES) volunteers when the 78-year-old vanished on March 28.
Queensland Police Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham confirmed this morning police believe Trotter has died.
READ MORE: The capital bracing for the chilliest long weekend morning
However Massingham said police do not know where her body is and gave no details on the cause of her death.
"Unfortunately, investigations yesterday afternoon and late into the evening have led us to the conclusion that Mrs Trotter is, in fact, deceased," he said.
"We believe her death occurred close to her unit block on Maryvale Street, Toowong, and we currently have two crime scenes set up in that area."
It is believed Trotter died between midnight on Monday, March 27 and midday on Tuesday, March 28.
READ MORE: Medical transfer light plane crashes in Queensland
More than 40 detectives are continuing their investigations around the 78-year-old's apartment complex and a neighbouring complex.
Massingham said Trotter often went through rubbish bins outside her property and neighbouring property to sort recycling from general waste.
"We have not ruled out that this activity, in some way, is linked to her death," he said.
Police said rubbish bins from the apartment complex have been seized as a part of the investigation.
Detectives are urging anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward.
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AFP to be investigated over claims it perverted the course of justice
The conduct of the Australian Federal Police will be investigated to determine whether officers perverted the course of justice in the case of Brittany Higgins' alleged sexual assault.
Fellow Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann was charged with one count of sexual intercourse without consent. He pleaded not guilty and has always maintained his innocence.
The trial in the ACT Supreme Court had to be aborted after one of the jurors obtained information outside the evidence presented in court.
READ MORE: Stormy Daniels says Donald Trump shouldn't be jailed if found guilty
The charges were later dropped by the DPP altogether due to concerns about Higgins' mental health.
Now the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI) is investigating whether information from the AFP investigation was leaked to the media.
"Information was referred to ACLEI relating to the AFP investigation of and recent criminal proceedings against Mr Lehrmann in December 2022," the ACLEI confirmed in a statement to 9News.com.au.
"ACLEI has also received information about alleged unauthorised disclosures to the media.
"ACLEI confirms it is investigating these matters. To provide any further comment at this time may prejudice any future investigations or the rights of individuals involved."
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, sensitive information such as Higgins' private diaries, text messages, and notes from psychologist sessions were leaked to the media.
In an email reportedly sighted by the publication, ACLEI executive director of operations Peter Ratcliffe said the watchdog is also probing whether "AFP members attempted to pervert the course of justice by pressuring Ms Brittany Higgins not to proceed with the matter".
Some of Higgins' sensitive material gathered by police during the investigation were reported on in the media despite not being tendered as evidence to court.
9News.com.au has contacted the AFP for comment.
Easter traffic: Closed section of Southern Motorway re-opens after serious crash; slow journey north as Aucklanders escape city
A closed section of State Highway 1 has re-opened after a serious crash.
Controversy as bakery removes more important feature of hot cross buns
A Queensland bakery has caused controversy by selling non-denominational 'Easter time buns' instead of traditional hot cross buns.
Riser Bread in Toowong have eliminated the cross from the top of the baked buns and renamed the Easter treat.
But co-owner Tom Cooney has told 4BC he and the two other co-owners had not been "trying to make a huge stand" with the decision when they met to make Easter plans.
READ MORE: The capital bracing for the chilliest long weekend morning
"It's not an attempt at reinvention," he said.
"We thought, 'let's just do an Easter time bun that's non-denominational'. None of us are Christian, feels a bit weird to put a cross on there."
Former Brumby's CEO Michael Sherlock described the bakery's move as "woke madness".
One Facebook user said she thought the bakery must have been joking.
"What the h*ll is going on with people today?" she posted.
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'What's he done this time?': How supporters react in Trump's hometown
"What's he done this time?"
It's not the question you might expect in Donald Trump's hometown.
But in West Palm Beach it was posed more often than not by passers-by wondering what an Australian news crew was doing in their backyard.
READ MORE: Stormy Daniels says Donald Trump shouldn't be jailed if found guilty
Here though, Donald Trump is a two-time loser.
In 2020 Palm Beach County voted 56-43 in favour of Joe Biden.
In 2016 Donald Trump lost this area too, 56-41 to Hillary Clinton.
The coastal city is home to millionaires.
Homes on Donald Trump's side of Lake Worth are in the tens of millions of US dollars.
Back over the other side, main streets are filled with stores selling high end fashion, and homewares.
And the water is lined with yachts most people would need to win the lottery to afford.
Donald Trump sells memberships to his Mar a Lago club for a reported $300,000 (AUD) as a sign-up fee, with an annual cost of almost $21,000.
The Mar-a-Lago Club's website states memberships put people at the "epicenter of the social scene in Palm Beach, providing unparalleled service and entertainment".
In the political sphere, Donald Trump attracts an eclectic mix.
His Mar-a-Lago "whack-a-mole" speech this week was attended by the rich, by convicted criminals, and a few dozen loyal MAGA supporters.
READ MORE: What stores are open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday?
His grand ballroom was filled with gold painted plastic chairs, mirrors given a gold-sprayed touch and walls where the golden colour was flaking off revealing a much darker green.
Waiters in black-tie suits provided guests packets of chips, including Doritos.
Trump loyalists Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kari Lake, the failed runner for Arizona governor wandered around giving interviews to Trump-supporting media.
We asked Greene if she would be interviewed by 9News Australia after she compared Donald Trump to Jesus.
"Um, no" was the swift reply as she made a hasty exit from the Trump ballroom.
Some of Donald Trump's less-well known fans are the most vocal in the room.
They had been staking out their place on the bridge in front of his home for days.
They call themselves "The Bridge People".
READ MORE: Easter exodus chaos continues on roads and in airports
Only a handful would be there each day waving flags, and shouting Trump's well-worn lines to passers-by.
There, metres from where the secret service watch over the former president's waterfront property, the reaction is mixed
Wait until Saturday or Sunday and a few dozen more loyalists go to Trump's golf club not far away from his home, for a glimpse of the man many claim is "still our President".
They play his rally songs from a truck, and fly flags they say they have spent hundreds of dollars on.
They tell us the former president normally leaves at 2:30 each weekend day.
The Saturday before his arraignment it was just after 4pm before his motorcade made a much-celebrated departure.
Local supporter Alan tells me: "he's pissing me off right now".
The temperature was hitting 30 degrees many had been there for four or five hours by the time Donald Trump slowly made his exit – his driver pulling his SUV close to the curb to give a trademark double thumbs up and mouth "thank you" through his darkened window.
But even among the loyalists there is division, Alan, who told us he works in the sheriff's office, said supporter groups are divided.
"We all have opinions", he tells me.
Alan brought his wife and nine-year-old son Collin to the golf club to see Trump.
Staff presented Collin with a golf-club cover with Donald Trump's face and well-worn hairstyle emblazoned on it.
His mother, draped in a Trump-supporting shirt tells me Collin backs Trump of his own accord and shows me pictures of him at Trump events in a suit, being interviewed by Trump-supporting media outlets.
As for Collin, he says he loves the former president and didn't want him to be arrested.
Trump Golf Club staff had made a dash across the Summit Boulevard, an interesting road name given the mountain the former president now has to climb.
They came grasping boxes of MAGA caps, a gift from Trump: "he said he truly appreciates your support", one Club Worker shouted as he dished out hats like lollies to children.
A couple of days later – as Donald Trump made his way to the airport to fly to New York for his historic arraignment, we meet Rose Roque who moved to the US decades ago.
She's met the former President, and sits in a chair, under an umbrella, shading herself from the baking Florida sun.
Rose's daughter excitedly shows us a cup with a photo of her mother with Donald Trump printed on it.
Rose tears up telling me she believes God is watching over him.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to him," she says.
But even standing watching some of these supporters mix, arguments break out over the direction of the United States of America.
Various conspiracy theories are spouted.
One woman repeatedly shouts "how can communists afford nice cars", referring to drivers who shout profanities about the former President.
This is life in the Trump world where the loyalists only believe what their man says and refuse to listen to anyone else.
Here the voters, twice, have said Donald Trump is not their President.
And while he fights legal battles in every corner, Republicans will decide if he gets a third chance to ask his neighbours if he should run the country.
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