Tag Archives: oceania

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Hundreds arrested for illegally protesting across Melbourne

More than 200 people have been arrested today after illegally protesting across Melbourne.

Riot police swooped on dozens of protesters gathered at a park in Melbourne's north this afternoon as demonstrations continued for the fifth day.

Video showed heavily armed police surrounding All Nations Park in Northcote, arresting freedom protesters as picnickers watched on in shock.

READ MORE: Victoria records 733 virus cases, warning for AFL grand final

https://twitter.com/LanaMurphy/status/1441262284265771018?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Victoria Police said 31 people were arrested in Northcote after up to 80 protesters gathered at the park and nearby shopping centre.

Police were quick to move in and disperse the small group of protesters.

A number of officers were injured throughout the day after being pelted with projectiles, including rocks.

In total, 215 people were issued with penalty notices for breaching the Chief Health Officer's directions today.

READ MORE: Police forced into isolation after Melbourne protester contracts virus

The group of protesters was originally meant to meet in Melbourne CBD – on the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth streets – at 10am but six different locations were announced during the day, causing confusion.

Thousands of protesters took over the CBD this week rallying across city streets, including desecrating the Shrine of Remembrance on Wednesday.

Victoria Police arrested 215 people on Wednesday and made a further 92 arrests yesterday, despite a far quieter day of demonstrations.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton today slammed the protesters as an "insult to every healthcare worker".

"They think that everything will be solved by taking a horse deworming tablet that gives you the runs and puts some people in hospital," he said.

"They are literally in a fantasy world … let's not pretend that these are otherwise rational individuals."

The arrests come after a protester tested positive to COVID-19 yesterday, forcing police into isolation and sparking fears of a super-spreader event.

READ MORE: Premier condemns protests in Melbourne CBD

Health Minister Martin Foley said the protester had become "so unwell" after the rally on Wednesday he was admitted to hospital.

Professor Sutton said time would tell if infections explode as a result of the protests.

"Whether or not this is a super-spreader event, we will see a picture of it in a couple of week's time."

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What life will look like once NSW hits 80 per cent vaccine target

A crisis cabinet meeting has come up with a clearer picture of what life will look like once 80 per cent of people in NSW are fully vaccinated.

It has decided to ban unvaccinated people from participating in basic freedoms, but for people who have had both doses of a vaccine, there is a lot on the horizon.

Community sport will resume and there will be bigger crowds allowed at major events.

READ MORE: More than 1000 new coronavirus cases in NSW today

This is what fully vaccinated people in NSW can look forward to in the coming months.

In-person auctions and open homes will resume, and businesses will start to be encouraged to get workers back into the office.

There will also be more people allowed in your home, and at weddings and at funerals.

All these freedoms are expected to be officially announced early next week.

Earlier, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she intends to lift international travel caps once that target is reached – but that does not necessarily mean flights will resume.

If people are still restricted from leaving the country and no one is leaving airlines may not put on many flights which will only take passengers one-way.

International students will also be allowed to return starting with a pilot program of 650 students who will quarantine in special facilities in Redfern.

However, anyone coming here to study must have had two doses of a TGA-approved vaccine, which effectively shuts out any students coming from China.

Universities Australia Chief Executive Catriona Jackson welcomed the announcement, saying safety is the "top priority".

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Man bashed wife to death with concrete bollard

A Brisbane man who bashed his wife to death with a concrete bollard after a fight over infidelity has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Sandra Peniamina, a mother of four, was stabbed 29 times with a knife then beaten with a concrete bollard when she tried to escape, before dying in the driveway of the family's Kippa Ring home in March 2016.

A jury today found her husband, 41-year-old Arona Peniamina, guilty of her manslaughter.

READ MORE: Relaxed mask rules for Queensland as state records no new cases of COVID-19

Sandra Peniamina. (Facebook)

A previous trial had found him guilty of murder but after an appeal in the High Court he was granted a new trial on the grounds provocation should be been considered as a defence.

Peniamina claimed his wife had armed herself with a knife and that he later wrestled it from her and lost control, using it to repeatedly stab her.

The tip of the blade was found in her skull.

The altercation stemmed from an argument over infidelity.

Peniamina wept in the dock today when the jury handed down a verdict of guilty to manslaughter.

He had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter at the start of the trial but the Crown rejected the plea.

Peniamina will be sentenced next month.

The maximum sentence for manslaughter in Queensland is life imprisonment.

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North Korea rejects calls from South Korea for an end of war declaration

North Korea has rebuffed South Korea's push for a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War as a way to restore peace.

It said such a step could be used as a "smokescreen covering up the US hostile policy" against the North.

In a speech at the UN General Assembly earlier this week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in reiterated his calls for the end-of-the-war declaration that he said could help achieve denuclearisation and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

READ MORE: NSW records 1043 new local COVID-19 cases, 11 further deaths

Military guard posts of North Korea, rear, and South Korea, bottom, are seen in Paju, near the border.

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Thae Song dismissed Mr Moon's call as premature so long as US policies were unchanged.

"It should be clearly understood that the declaration of the termination of the war is of no help at all to stabilising the situation of the Korean Peninsula at the moment," said Mr Song in a statement carried by state media.

"But can rather be misused as a smokescreen covering up the US hostile policy."

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in addressed the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly.

He said American weapons and troops deployed in South Korea and its vicinity and regular US military drills in the region "all point to the US hostile policy toward (North Korea) getting vicious day by day."

READ MORE: New mask rules for Queensland as state records zero new COVID-19 cases

North Korea has also long described US-led economic sanctions as proof of US hostility against the North.

South Korea's Unification Ministry responded later on Friday it'll continue its efforts to adopt the end-of-the war declaration and strengthen cooperation with related countries.

Cha Duck Chul, a deputy ministry spokesman, said declaring the war's end would be "a very meaningful step" as it could be a starting point for peace negotiations and denuclearisation on the peninsula.

The Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war.

A visitor takes photos toward the North's side at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, near the border with North Korea and South Korea.

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North Korea has steadily wanted to sign a peace treaty with the US to formally end the war and for subsequent improved relations.

Some experts say the peace treaty could allow North Korea to demand the US to withdraw its 28,500 troops in South Korea and ease sanctions.

Both Koreas had called for an end-of-war declaration to be made and a peace treaty to be signed during the period of diplomacy with the US that began in 2018.

There was speculation that then-President Donald Trump might announce the war's end in early 2019 to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to commit to denuclearisation.

A banner and ribbons wishing reunification of the two Koreas are displayed on the wire fence at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, near the border with North Korea.

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No such announcement was made as the diplomacy faded to a stalemate over easing the sanctions in return for North Korea denuclearising.

In late 2019, North Korea said the nuclear crisis won't be resolved if the US sought to persuade it to return to the talks with a proposal on the war-end declaration without withdrawing its hostile policy.

In recent months, Kim has warned that North Korea would bolster its nuclear arsenal and introduce more sophisticated weapons systems unless the US drops its hostile policy.

Last week, North Korea conducted its first missile tests in six months, demonstrating its ability to launch attacks on South Korea and Japan, two key US allies where a total of 80,000 American soldiers are stationed.

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Mum of man killed by garbage truck tells driver he 'destroyed our future'

The mother of a gifted young man struck and killed by a garbage truck in Sydney's CBD has spoken of his dreams to give back to the country he loved.

George Lin was walking down the laneway in 2020 when he was collected by the reversing garbage truck.

The driver, Tuiniua Fine, got out of his vehicle, put gloves on and moved the body before he drove away.

George Lin was hit and killed by a garbage truck in Sydney's CBD in 2020.

Fine pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death and failing to stop and assist and faced a sentence hearing in the District Court today.

He gazed at the floor as Mr Lin's mother Eileen Xie delivered a victim impact statement in which she detailed his near perfect HSC score and decision to study law and economics at the University of Sydney.

"The end of 2021 should have been the moment he graduated from university to begin a new brilliant life for himself".

Ms Xie said her son dreamed of becoming a policy maker in Canberra to give back to the country he immigrated to as a child and loved.

Ms Xie said her son dreamed of becoming a policy maker in Canberra to give back to the country he immigrated to as a child and loved. George Lin

"I often look at the sky, blood dripping in my heart and I ask myself why? We love this country so much. We work so hard, pay taxes on time and try to be the best citizens," she said.

She also told the court she now visited her son's gravesite every morning before work.

"Because of your criminal behaviour you ended our son's young life, a life that should have been bright and beautiful. As well you destroyed our future" she said directly to Fine.

Fine's barrister argued his behaviour in moving the body and the report of a psychologist suggested he was in a disassociated state.

"He goes into a default mode," the barrister said.

But the Crown rejected that proposition and said he had "ample time from the time he realised he hit a human being and not a milk crate" to get help for the young man.

He'll be sentenced at a later date.