Speeds at these seven rural intersections would drop from 100km/h to 60km/h.

Bruce Lehrmann has made a last-ditch effort to clear his name of findings he sexually assaulted Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.

The disgraced ex-Liberal staffer has taken his case to the High Court in his third bid to win a Federal Court defamation case over a Network Ten report of the rape allegation.

In April 2024, Justice Michael Lee dismissed the civil lawsuit, describing it as an "omnishambles".

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The judge's findings that Lehrmann raped Higgins on the balance of probabilities were upheld on appeal by the Full Federal Court in December.

The allegations were made public during an explosive interview on The Project in February 2021.

Lehrmann has now escalated the case to the High Court.

The 30-year-old's application, prepared by barristers Gabriella Rubagotti and Bryanna Workman, said Justice Lee compromised his findings by "doing his own research" having obtained extraneous non-legal material.

"Here, the primary judge's impartiality was compromised and the judicial process has fundamentally miscarried," they wrote.

The judge acted under subconscious influence, wrongly finding Higgins did not consent to the sexual intercourse or that a "reckless" Lehrmann was aware she may not have been consenting, the barristers argued.

The material which allegedly infected the judge's decision includes research that victims can remain passive or immobile during a sexual assault as well as an article on rape myths.

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Lehrmann's High Court challenge targets the judge's decision to uphold a justification defence by Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson that the rape statements made during the interview were substantially true.

He wants the High Court to toss the decisions of Justice Lee and the Full Court so that he can then be paid out an amount of damages.

The former Liberal staffer will have to argue his case for special leave before the court decides to hold a full-blown hearing.

His lawyers have urged the court to grant leave, saying the case was a matter of public importance.

A criminal case against Lehrmann in the ACT was derailed due to juror misconduct.

A further trial was ruled out and no findings have been made against him in a court of criminal law.

If Lehrmann loses his High Court bid, he could be forced into bankruptcy due to court orders he pay a $2 million legal bill to Ten.

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An Aboriginal mother of five has been identified as the woman who died in an outback Northern Territory prison after being arrested on Christmas Day.

Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be advised this article contains the name of an Aboriginal woman who has died.

Kumanjayi Dempsey, 44, was found unresponsive during a cell check at the Tennant Creek Watch House on December 27, about 30 minutes after CCTV showed her falling to the ground.

A post-mortem ruled her cause of death as undetermined, but police believe she likely suffered a medical episode.

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Dempsey's family have since engaged lawyers who are acting on their behalf.

"We are concerned about the ongoing inadequacy of the conditions of cells in Tennant Creek Watch House, and Northern Territory detention facilities more broadly," O'Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors said in a statement.

Dempsey's death marked the fourth Aboriginal death in custody in the NT in 2025.

She was found unresponsive in her cell two days after she was arrested and charged with aggravated assault over an incident on Christmas Day.

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At a press conference late last month, NT Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said CCTV showed she was alone in her cell when she fell to the ground at 12.34pm on December 27, four minutes after officers conducted a cell check.

She was not found until officers conducted another cell check at 1.03pm that same day. 

NT Police said officers conducted CPR until paramedics arrived to take her to the local hospital, where she was declared dead.

Police investigations reveal she suffered a medical episode, but due to an inconclusive post-mortem, a pathologist will conduct a toxicology test to determine the cause of her death. 

Malley said Dempsey had been questioned about her health upon her arrest.

"The police officer that accepted her into custody conducted that, and there was no disclosures, no visible injuries to the female at that stage, and so everything was believed to be okay," he said.

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An internal police investigation is underway into Dempsey's death and will be overseen by the Professional Standards Command. The Cultural Reform Command has also been deployed to Tennant Creek.

In a statement released by NT Police, Malley said he had full confidence in the detectives investigating the death and the independent processes in place.

"The entire circumstances surrounding this incident, from the policy and procedures that govern watch house care to the medical history of the deceased, will form part of a comprehensive brief of evidence that will be supplied to the Coroner," he said.

"I extend my condolences to her family and friends who are going through an incredibly difficult time. I would also like to thank the Tennant Creek community for their ongoing assistance."

For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).

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The 29-year-old may make his debut for the league leaders on January 24.

A court has approved the release of a state MP on home detention bail, 10 days after he was taken into custody, accused of assaulting a woman and breaching an intervention order.

South Australian independent Nick McBride, 56, was arrested on December 27 at Conmurra on the Limestone Coast and charged with assaulting a woman known to him.

Today, a home detention bail inquiry report presented to Adelaide Magistrates Court found McBride was a suitable candidate for release.

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His lawyer Jane Abbey KC said her client was "well aware" he would return to custody if he breached any court order.

Under the Bail Act, there was a presumption against bail and McBride was required to demonstrate special circumstances for bail to be approved.

"There is the fact of an election coming up … his incarceration will necessarily preclude him from contesting a seat that he has held since 2018," she told magistrate Roderick Jensen.

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McBride's 10 days in custody and the potential delay of his trial also constituted special circumstances, she said.

"I want to be quite clear that the allegations are denied and disputed," she said.

McBride, who appeared in court via video link from Mt Gambier Prison, was released to live at a property owned by his family that was between 38km and 75km from the property where the alleged victim lives.

Abbey also noted that the property was 111km from his electorate office in Naracoorte.

"When you come to read the terms of your bail agreement, you will see that home detention bail is a very strict form of bail," Jensen told McBride.

"There are what might be described properly as oppressive conditions in home detention bail.

"That is deliberately so, because it is the strictest form of bail that is available."

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"Should you breach any of those strict conditions, it is possible that you might be taken back into custody, and if you were, you might find it more difficult to get bail on a future occasion."

Abbey offered a surety of $200,000 and three potential guarantors, but Jensen did not require a guarantor and released McBride on a $5000 surety.

McBride was also ordered not to go within 50m of the property where the alleged victim lives.

He was previously charged with three aggravated counts of assaulting the woman on April 10 at Conmurra, and another three charges of aggravated assault were added in October. McBride will return to court on those six charges, and the new charges, on January 30.

McBride won the safe Liberal seat of MacKillop in the state's southeast in 2018, but quit the party in 2023 and has since sat on the cross bench.

McBride has previously said he intends to run for his seat again at the state election in March.

He is also a grazier and his family has owned Conmurra Station since the 1930s.

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An infrastructure boss has conceded a tunnel boring exercise in Melbourne's north-east contributed to a massive sinkhole that opened up on a nearby sports oval yesterday.

The collapsed turf was seen at AJ Burkitt Oval in Heidelberg yesterday afternoon and overnight.

Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) chief executive Duncan Elliott admitted two tunnel boring machines digging underground as part of the North East Link are located just metres from where the gaping hole emerged.

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"We are actually confident that the tunnel boring machines have been a contributing factor, not necessarily caused the problem, but certainly a contributing factor and that's part of the investigation," he said.

An exclusion zone has been created around the sinkhole and tunnelling has been paused while VIDA investigates the cause of the sinkhole, Elliott said.

"We won't be restarting operations until such time as [the investigation] is complete and it's policed by Worksafe and ourselves to ensure all plans and processes are [followed]," he said.

Meanwhile, local sporting clubs are scrambling to find replacement locations to keep their competitions running.

Banyule Cricket Club president Brad Bowler said at least 14 teams in his club would be impacted by the sinkhole.

"It's a really busy part of the surrounds down here and to have this taken away from us for a week, or heaven knows how long, is going to cause a lot of disruption," Bowler said.

"It's going to cost us a lot of money revenue wise …but you've got to move and just make sure everyone's safe.

"It's really disappointing what's happened…It's not good for what we're trying to promote down here, which is getting people out and active."

Local resident Chez Raccosta said he often heard construction work on the North East Link at night, but the noise was "nothing too overbearing".

"We came here all the time, it's a little bit nervewracking," he said of the reserve.

"I'm not sure I should be standing too close to it, but I've got faith in the engineers around here; they know what they're doing."

Locals gathered at the site last night, before police taped the area off, with authorities urging people to stay away.

Nobody was injured as a result of the sinkhole, a North East Link spokesperson told 9News.com.au.

"No injuries have been reported and there is no immediate threat to the community or residential properties," the spokesperson said.

"The area has been secured and crews are closely monitoring the site and surrounding areas – and we strongly advise people to avoid the area while investigations into the cause are underway."

Banyule City Council also confirmed on social media it was aware of the sinkhole and that it was "working closely with relevant agencies to assess the situation and determine what's next".

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Vic Emergency warned that the sinkhole might grow in size and echoed advice for people to stay away.

No further plans on repairing the sinkhole have been announced.

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Frustrations mount as questions around accountability arise.

Graham Garnett, 66, was expected to return on December 30 but has not been seen.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will not rule out a royal commission into antisemitism and the Bondi Beach terror attack, insisting the government is doing everything it can to promote unity within the community.

Speaking from the flood-affected town of Cloncurry in Queensland's north-west this afternoon, Albanese did not unequivocally rule out establishing a royal commission, appearing to bend to growing pressure to hold one.

"We're continuing to examine everything else that is required, working with the (Jewish) community," he said.

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"I continue to be engaged with leaders in the Jewish community. I'm talking and meeting on a daily basis with people to make sure that we do everything that is possible.

"What we need to do is to promote unity at this time, and that is my focus."

Albanese has ordered a review into intelligence and law enforcement agencies, to be led by former Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Director-General Dennis Richardson.

He said "priority one" is the immediate needs of the Richardson review.

Albanese said the second priority will be recalling parliament once the required legislation was obtained.

"To take strong action against hate speech (and) to strengthen the laws that we have put in place.

"We're continuing to examine everything else that is required."

Albanese has so far resisted calls to hold a royal commission, despite widespread support for one.

"He does need to call this Commonwealth royal commission because it's the only way we can get the answers in this country that people are calling out for," Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said.

Labor MP Jerome Laxale also called for timely action. 

"If we need to go further, we should go further, but right now we need a quick response," he said.

A joint agency taskforce is currently working on new hate speech laws.

Albanese is expected to recall parliament early to have the new laws passed.

"We are making sure we get this legislation right. We are consulting, as you would expect," he said.

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The family-run store opens tomorrow and promises cheaper food and ‘fairness’.