The pair netted over $43,000 in illegal sales using fake permits

“There are a lot of victims” – Judge Gary Collins.

Mongrel Mob leader Daniel Eliu was gunned down in front of a church days before Christmas.

An hour before a heavily tattooed bikie boss was found dead in his cell, he had been transferred out of a specialist mental health unit into another section of the prison.

A Victorian coroner is investigating why Finks boss Brent Reker was moved and whether that contributed to him taking his own life in December 2019.

Reker's mother was present during a brief hearing at the Coroners Court in Melbourne on Thursday, when details of his death were aired for the first time.

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The 35-year-old was on remand for serious, violent drug and weapon offences when he died at Ravenhall prison on December 12.

Counsel assisting the coroner Leading Senior Constable Fiona Nation said Reker had been moved from Port Phillip Prison to a specialist mental health unit at Ravenhall in November 2019, after previous attempts to take his own life.

The unit provides prisoners who have complex mental health issues with specialised care, treatment and programs.

However, about three weeks later prison staff became concerned Reker was wielding influence over other prisoners in that unit, following comments he made about self-harm at meetings.

"A case conference between staff has held, after multiple emails between Forensicare and Ravenhall staff it was agreed that Brent was at risk of influencing the prisoner group and self-harm may occur," Nation said.

"The decision was subsequently made to remove Brent."

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A psychiatrist was supposed to speak to Reker before he was transferred but this did not happen as the clinician had already left the unit.

About 2.30pm on December 12, officers began transferring Reker out of the unit.

Reker was argumentative and animated when told about the move, Nation said.

A psychiatrist was sent to Reker's new cell about 3.30pm, but he did not respond and the cell door was blocked by a mattress.

Corrections staff raised a "code black" medical emergency and Reker was found lying unconscious on the floor of the shower in his cell at 3.38pm.

Coroner Paul Lawrie is investigating the events leading up to Reker's move out of the specialist unit, his mental health history and risk assessment of him by staff.

He will also examine where Corrections Victoria is at in implementing recommendations from a 2021 justice system review.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

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Deleted messages sent by a woman who alleges she was raped by Jarryd Hayne showed she was initially interested in the former NRL star, but that could have quickly changed, a court has heard.

Hayne has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent. He maintains the sex was consensual and is facing his third trial over the allegations in the NSW District Court.

On Thursday, the jury heard texts sent between the alleged victim and one of her friends discussing whether to invite Hayne to her home were deleted from her phone when she handed it over to police.

READ MORE: PM reveals wording of Voice to parliament referendum question

In the string of messages from 2018, the 28-year-old woman said she would only agree to see Hayne on September 30 if her friend wasn't going to spend time with her that night.

"I feel like a f—ing idiot, are you coming over?" one text read to the jury on Thursday said.

"If we aren't going to keep talking, I'm going to say yes to Jarryd … otherwise, I won't let him."

The friend told the court he thought she was joking and chose not to respond to most of her messages because he was out with a friend for lunch.

"You honestly lost me at Jarryd Hayne is your side boy," he replied, adding four laughing emojis to the text message.

Crown prosecutor John Sfinas says the woman's attraction to Hayne had never been in dispute and that she may have consented to sex at some point in time.

But Sfinas argued there may have been "moments between the idea and reality which dissolved that possibility." 

That moment may have occurred when she realised he had told a taxi to wait outside her home.

READ MORE: What is the Indigenous Voice to parliament?

Hayne visited the woman's suburban Newcastle home after a friend's bucks party on NRL grand final night in 2018.

It's alleged he pulled the woman's jeans off and performed the sex acts on her for about 30 seconds before she began to bleed.

The court has been told Hayne did not consider the possibility that his actions would injure the complainant's genitalia and that this was not his intention.

The jury has previously heard that seeing the taxi was a defining moment for the woman and learning it was waiting to drive Hayne to Sydney made her desire to have sex with him "evaporate".

"Finding out he was en route to Sydney, she realised she was nothing more than a diversion," Sfinas said on Thursday.

The woman's original intentions also do not mitigate the objective fact that she sustained a genital injury after her encounter with Hayne, the prosecution argued.

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Five Australian men caught with an alleged $15 million worth of methamphetamine onboard a light plane from Papua New Guinea to Australia were "trying to set up a supply chain" between the two nations, police say.

The New South Wales men were charged this morning after the aircraft, caught flying under the cover of darkness, was intercepted in Queensland, allegedly with more than 52kg of the drug on board.

The Australian Federal Police will allege that on Monday, the pilot, a 51-year-old Fairy Meadow man, and co-pilot, a 52-year-old Tahmoor man, flew a twin-engine Beechcraft light aircraft from Wilton, south-west of Sydney, to the town of Bulolo in PNG, which is more than 250km north-west of Port Moresby.

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The pilots allegedly collected 52kg of methamphetamine in PNG and then returned to an airstrip at Monto in Queensland.

"To import 50kg of meth into Australia, $15 million worth of value generated from that, they are obviously linked to higher organised crime syndicates," AFP Commander Kate Ferry said.

"That is part of an ongoing investigation that we're not just doing here but offshore as well."

Police say three of the men acted as ground crew, with one – the alleged mastermind – taking orders from a bigger syndicate.

The trio stand accused of buying a 1000-litre tank, filling it with aviation fuel and driving to central Queensland last month, where they scouted regional airstrips, communicating on 17 burner phones.

After several false starts, police allege the two pilots flew from south-western Sydney to Monto on Monday, re-fuelling and waiting until midnight before the "black flight" took off for PNG, flying at an unauthorised low altitude with the transponder turned off to avoid detection.

Police arrested the two men on the plane, as well as three men accused of serving as support crew in Monto, when the aircraft landed at the Queensland airstrip.

Following the arrests, the AFP and NSW Police officers executed search warrants at four homes and businesses in Wilton and Tahmoor, the Wollongong suburb of Fairy Meadow, and the Newcastle suburb of Wallsend.

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During the warrants, police allegedly seized electronic devices, firearm parts, drug paraphernalia and documentation referencing aircraft parts and travel to PNG.

The five men are accused of being part of a transnational organised crime group.

All five men were charged with importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and could face life imprisonment if convicted.

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The alleged ground support crew who had been staging in Queensland included a Wilton man, 40, Newcastle man, 54, and a man of no fixed address, 40.

Four of the men appeared in court yesterday, while the fifth will appear today.

If convicted, the men face life in prison. 

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Ugandan MPs have approved some of the world's harshest anti-gay laws, making some crimes punishable by death and imposing up to 20 years in prison for people identifying as LGBTQ+.

The new legislation constitutes a further crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in a country where same-sex relations were already illegal – punishable by life imprisonment.

It targets an array of activities, and includes a ban on promoting and abetting homosexuality as well as conspiracy to engage in homosexuality, Reuters reported.

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According to the bill, the death penalty can be invoked for cases involving "aggravated homosexuality" – a broad term used in the legislation to describe sex acts committed without consent or under duress, against children, people with mental or physical disabilities, by a "serial offender," or involving incest.

"A person who commits the offence of aggravated homosexuality and is liable, on conviction to suffer death," read the amendments, which were presented by the chairperson for legal and parliamentary affairs Robina Rwakoojo.

Opposition MP Asuman Basalirwa introduced the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2023 to parliament, saying it aims to "protect our church culture; the legal, religious and traditional family values of Ugandans from the acts that are likely to promote sexual promiscuity in this country."

"The objective of the bill was to establish a comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect traditional family values, our diverse culture, our faiths, by prohibiting any form of sexual relations between persons of the same sex and the promotion or recognition of sexual relations between persons of the same sex," Basalirwa said on Tuesday.

Fox Odoi-Oywelowo MP spoke out against the bill, saying it "contravenes established international and regional human rights standards" as it "unfairly limits the fundamental rights of LGBTQ+ persons."

And Ugandan LGBT advocate Frank Mugisha told Reuters that the law could lead to mass arrests of LGBTQ people and mob violence against them, leaving people scared of being outed.

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"The last time the legislation was around, there were cases of suicide so, this time, this law is worse than the one that was here before because it has a death penalty and many people would be worried, many people would be scared," he said.

"We will go to all courts in Uganda. If need be, we will go to the international court as well but, we definitely have to go to court and challenge this law," added Mugisha.

Rights advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned earlier this month that the law would violate Ugandans' rights.

"One of the most extreme features of this new bill is that it criminalises people simply for being who they are as well as further infringing on the rights to privacy, and freedoms of expression and association that are already compromised in Uganda," HRW Uganda researcher Oryem Nyeko said in a statement that called on politicians in the country to "stop targeting LGBT people for political capital".

The bill is expected to eventually go to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni for assent.

Museveni last week derided homosexuals as "deviants".

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Anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is deeply entrenched in the highly conservative and religious East African nation.

Uganda made headlines in 2009 when it introduced an anti-homosexuality bill that included a death sentence for gay sex.

The country's MPs passed a bill in 2014, but they replaced the death penalty clause with a proposal for life in prison.

That law was ultimately struck down.

If you need help contact Lifeline – 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue – 1800 51 23 48 or Kids Helpline (1800 55 18 00) which operates 24/7 for children and young people ages five to 25.

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The "starter's gun" has been fired for the march toward Constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed the wording of the upcoming referendum question on the Voice to parliament.

Albanese, standing alongside the Referendum Working Group, said the question would be: "A Proposed Law: To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?"

Albanese teared up at times as he presented the referendum question and the principles of the Voice to a packed media room.

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"It will help governments and parliaments make better decisions and need better outcomes," he said.

"And we need better outcomes because it's not good enough where we're at in 2023."

The Voice, he confirmed again, would not in any way supplant parliament as a decision-making body.

It would give independent advice on issues that affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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The members of the Voice, he said, will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, rather than imposed by the government.

It will be "representative", with a gender balance, members from every state and territory, and specific representatives of remote communities.

And it will, Albanese said, be "transparent and accountable".

"This should be above party politics," he said.

"If this doesn't happen now, when will it occur? When will it happen?"

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Senator Patrick Dodson said the referendum would require the support of "all Australians".

"We need your help for all Australians to see the significance of this moment, with this level of unity here, this level of magnanimity, that we as Australians can arise to a better relationship with our First Peoples," he said.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney said today was "historic".

"Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Constitution will be a simple, but powerful, act," she said.

"And so today the starter's gun has been fired.

"Let us get on with the campaign to deliver a 'yes' vote in this Constitution to be held later this year."

Referendum a 'risk' but necessary, Albanese says

Australians have only approved eight out of 44 constitutional changes before.

Albanese acknowledged the risk that the referendum could fail but that true defeat would come if the vote wasn't held at all.

"If you were just about, you know, positioning on politics as usual, I might not do this," he said.

"But the people here can't wait. They can't. They've waited so long."

Professor Marcia Langton, a working group member, challenged critics who questioned whether the Voice would be effective on behalf of Indigenous people.

"Each one of us here has been involved in a major initiative," she said.

"The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The inquiry into the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families. The Don Dale royal commission. I could go on and on.

"And in each case, we have doggedly recommended changes to stop the deaths, the incarceration, the early deaths, and the miserable lives, and it is so infrequently that our recommendations are adopted.

"This is why we cannot report on many improvements in the Closing the Gap indicators.

"And each year, people like you come along to listen to that misery fest, and each year, people go away wringing their hands.

"We're here to draw a line in the sand, and say, in this has to change, people's lives have to improve, and we know from the evidence that what improvements people's lives is when they get a say.

"And that's what this is about."

Liberals yet to decide on position

Speaking after the prime minister's announcement, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Liberal party room would meet to discuss the "pros and cons" of the proposal.

"There's obviously already been some question marks around the words that have been proposed now," he said. 

Dutton called on the government to release advice given to the referendum working group by the solicitor-general.

"It's important that the solicitor-general's advice is released, because in the absence of that advice and the absence of detail from the prime minister, how
can the Australian public make an informed judgement about a very, very important issue?" Dutton said.

"So the prime minister, I think, owes it to the Australian public to release that advice."

The Liberals' Coalition partner, the Nationals, have already expressed their intention to oppose the Voice.

The referendum question

A proposed law: To alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?

The proposed addition to the Constitution

Chapter IX Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

129 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice

In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia:

1. There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice;

2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to the Parliament and the Executive Government of the Commonwealth on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples;

3. The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures."

The principles of the Voice

The Voice will adhere to eight principles, Wirdi man and working group member Tony McAvoy, KC, said.

1. The Voice will give independent advice to parliament and government.

2. The Voice will be chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on the wishes of local communities.

3. The Voice will be representative of Indigenous communities, with a gender balance and youth.

4. The Voice will be empowering, community-led, inclusive, respectful, and culturally informed.

5. The Voice will be accountable and transparent.

6. The Voice will work alongside existing organisations and traditional structures.

7. The Voice will not have a program delivery function.

8. The Voice will not have a veto power.

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A Chinese state company has been awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to upgrade an international port in the Solomon Islands, with one Pacific neighbour expressing caution about the move.

Since the Solomon Islands signed a controversial security agreement with China last year, Australia, the US and other western countries have been concerned Beijing will try and establish a naval base on the small country.

On Wednesday, an official from the Solomon Island's government confirmed China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) was awarded the port contract, the Reuters news agency reports.

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The Chinese state firm was the sole bidder in a competitive tender.

"This will be upgrading the old international port in Honiara and two domestic wharves in the provinces," Mike Qaqara, from the Solomons' infrastructure development ministry, said.

He said there would be "no expansion" of the port upgrade.

The Solomon Islands and China have long insisted their security pact would not enable the building of a naval base, which is 1700km from the Queensland coast.

Samoa's Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa, who has been visiting Australia, was quizzed about the Chinese state company being awarded the port contract.

She told reporters "this is a commercial port, although I think the fears are it might morph into something else … dual purpose".

"Other countries also have military or naval stations within the region," she added.

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Yesterday, Mata'afa met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to sign a cooperation agreement between the two countries.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told 9News.com.au it was watching developments.

"The Australian Government closely monitors developments which might impact on our national interest," a spokesperson said.

"The Solomon Islands Infrastructure Development Ministry has said that there will be no expansion of the port for dual use."

China has backed widely publicised projects in some Pacific Island countries – a national sports stadium to host the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, highways in Papua New Guinea, bridges in Fiji – and sent high-level envoys to the region, including two visits from Chinese leader Xi Jinping, once in 2014 and again in 2018.

It's also become a major trading partner for Pacific Island economies.

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The sister of a 13-year-old girl, who was allegedly tortured by three teenage girls in an hours-long ordeal in Queensland, said her sibling is recovering "really well" after the ordeal.

The alleged assault took place at a home in Tewantin, near Noosa Heads in Queensland, on March 11 and was filmed, and later posted to social media.

The victim's sister, who remains unnamed for legal reasons, told Today this morning her "strong" sister is on the road to recovery.

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"I saw her two nights ago and she was having a laugh," she said in a phone interview with Today.

"We are all just giving her love and just trying to build her back up.

"(She's) doing really well. Everybody is supporting her. She has been given so much love.

"She is a very strong girl."

The sister added that the family is in shock over the alleged assault.

"Considering that it was like her supposed friends that did it, yeah, it broke all of our hearts," she said.

"Mum has been through hell. She is living on like three hours' sleep."

In the footage the 13-year-old, who cannot be identified due to her age, can be seen standing in the corner of a room wearing a bra and shorts.

The alleged victim was punched and stabbed during the assault, and is covered in bruises and cuts. At various times she holds her arms up to her face and body, attempting to defend herself.

Police said she was invited to the house before the ordeal.

The three teens accused of the attack have been charged, their ages ranging from 12 to 14.

The offences include assault occasioning bodily harm, deprivation of liberty, and armed robbery.

Each girl is due to reappear in Maroochydore Children's Court later this month.

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