Tag Archives: oceania

Historical Sydney department store revived by great grandson

It brought high fashion to Australia, had the nation's first escalator and even a ballroom where film star Elizabeth Taylor once partied.

The Mark Foy's department store, known as The Piazza, was a Sydney landmark on Elizabeth, Liverpool and Castlereagh Streets when it opened in 1909.

The building, which still bears the famous name on the intricate exterior, is now home to the Dowling Centre, which houses the city's courts.

READ MORE: 'Don't want to see a divided Australia': Albanese defends broken promises

Mark Foy's Department Store

But after 45 years, Mark Foy's name is back, with a website selling designer clothes, shoes and accessories officially launching next week.

Claiming it has 70 per cent off fancy names like Celine, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Missoni and Gucci, the site is being launched by the great-grandson of one of the original Foy family members.

Mark Foy is the great-grandson of Hugh Victor Foy, who was once one of Australia's wealthiest men with a mansion at Watson's Bay.

LIVE: 'Bing, Bing, GONE!': Trump memes Iranian deaths

Historical Sydney department store revived by great grandson

Hugh was once managing director of the company, which brothers Francis and Mark started.

Mark, a former estate agent in Sydney's Eastern suburbs, told Nine.com.au: "My great-grandfather completed 13 buying trips to Europe over 30 years from 1907, travelling by boat to source the very best of European fashion and bring it back to Australia at exceptional value.

"In many ways, we are continuing that same philosophy today except instead of loading ships with stock, we can now deliver luxury fashion from Europe directly to your front door."

READ MORE: What the budget tax reforms mean for rents, housing prices and supply

Mark Foy is great grandson of Hugh Victor Foy, one of Australia's wealthiest men and managing director of the company for 30 years from 1907.Mark Foy's Department Store

The company is credited with bringing European fashion down under, with the first shop opening on 1885 on Sydney's Oxford Street.

Modelled on the grand Bon Marche department store in Paris and resplendent with marble and chandeliers, the grand new building took up almost a whole block.

It even had an underground tunnel to Museum station and in 1950 an ice rink was created inside as part of a display.

Business was so strong two more shops opened nearby.

More branches later opened in Sydney suburbs and the company even had its own factories and warehouses.

It sold everything from furniture and fashion to jewellery to flowers, but later, as it fell on hard times, the company was taken over multiple times.

Latterly becoming Grace Bros, the shops finally closed in the 1980s.

Mark Foy's Department Store

Mark said Sydneysiders have fond memories of the shop which even sparked the put down 'More front than Mark Foys,' because of its mammoth size.

"People love the idea of an iconic Australian retail name being brought back in a modern way," he said.

"We've received messages from people sharing family memories like their parents met at Mark Foy's, old shopping stories and even garments connected to the brand that have been kept for decades, which has been incredibly special to see."

The older Mark Foy also opened the Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains.

The shop is one of many beloved stores which have been lost over the years across Australia.

Mark Foy's Department Store

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

Wendy took on a local mine. Now she’s at the High Court

When Hunter Valley local Wendy Wales got together with a few of her neighbours to oppose a new open-cut mining operation on their doorstep in 2016, she had no idea it would instigate a years-long legal tussle with the potential to become what one litigation expert has described as "a watershed moment in the history of Australian law".

Today, the retired science teacher and her fellow farmers and Muswellbrook locals - now backed by some powerful legal forces including four of the world's leading climate law and science institutions – will put their case before the High Court of Australia.

The case centres around the community group's opposition to the proposed expansion of the Mount Pleasant mine, owned by a subsidary of Indonesian billionaire Anthoni Salim's mining conglomerate, MACH Energy Australia.

READ MORE: The winners and losers from the Federal Budget

But if the High Court upholds their case, the ramifications will reach far beyond just one mine, setting a nation-wide legal precedent that could throw plans for more than 18 coal proposals in New South Wales alone into doubt.

Professor of Climate Law at Bond University, Professor Nicole Rogers, has lent her voice to the community group's legal case.

"Australia's apex court hearing its first climate change case is a watershed moment in the history of Australian law," she said.

"Courts around the world – from The Hague to London to Canberra – are being asked the same fundamental questions."

Despite the daunting scale of the legal battle, Wales remains optimistic that the High Court will rule in the group's favour.

"The time is five minutes to midnight for Australia… We wish it would have happened 25 years ago," she said.

LIVE UPDATES: 'Bing, bing, GONE': Trump memes Iranian death threats

At the crux of the DAMSHEG (Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group) group's argument is whether planning authorities are legally obliged to consider the local climate impacts of the coal that a mine exports overseas when analysing the impacts of a new project.

Over the past 25 years with her partner Tony Lonergan on his family's 600-acre property adjacent to the Mount Pleasant mine, Wales has witnessed Australia's altering climate first-hand, with weather extremes becoming more frequent and more severe.

After living through the Millennium drought, which brought many farmers to the brink, the community was wracked by devastating bushfires and multiple "one-in-100-year" floods in the space of just a few years.

Just last year, the May floods impacted their property and washed away part of their creek.

"It held for all the previous rain events, but this one, we lost probably about six or seven metres of bank," Wales said.

In fact, their property and others like them are now deemed such a natural disaster risk that Wales and Lonergan struggled to obtain home insurance and were forced to switch insurers.

"I personally know half a dozen people who have lost their houses in the last ten years," Wales said.

"I don't know people from the last century who lost their houses like this.

"They had insurance and they can start up again but they have really experienced something that is quite shattering."

Under the proposed expansion of the Mount Pleasant mine, its operating licence would be extended by 22 years – stretching the life of the mine out to 2048 and doubling coal production to 21 million tonnes per year.

The vast majority of that coal will be exported and burnt overseas, sending an additional 870 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

READ MORE: Here's what you might have missed in the Federal Budget

Wales believes that if planning authorities were obliged to take the local climate and economic impacts of these emissions into account, the scales would tip against approving such projects.

Their case was shot down by the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2024 but in July last year, a panel of three judges on the NSW Court of Appeal unanimously overturned that ruling.

The landmark verdict came just hours after the United Nations' top court at The Hague ruled that countries could be in violation of international law if they fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change.

Now, the Mount Pleasant mine's owners are appealing to the High Court.

Proponents of the mine's expansion have touted the new jobs it will bring to Muswellbrook and surrounding communities.

There are currently around 400 local workers employed at the mine, and the expansion would increase this to an average of 600 over the life of the mine.

A spokesperson from MACH Energy Australia said the company "welcomes" the opportunity to put its case to the High Court.

"(We) will continue to operate in alignment with existing approvals and conditions and seek to provide long-term continuity and certainty for its staff, contractors, customers and the local community," the spokesperson said in a statement. 

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

The six-second clip the PM can’t hide from

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insists a desire not to see Australia divided into those who own homes and those who don't as a reason for making sweeping reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax in last night's budget.

In April 2025, Albanese resoundingly denied he would make changes to both ahead of the election, saying: "Yes! How hard is it? For the 50th time", when asked if he would rule out the changes.

Albanese defended his broken election promise, saying the government had to take action to tackle the issue of housing supply.

IN PICTURES: The federal budget newspaper front pages

Anthony Albanese Today Show May 13, 2026

"We've changed our position, I'm upfront about that," he said on Today, denying he had lied to the Australian population.

"We've changed our position because we're throwing absolutely everything at supply."

Under the changes, negative gearing, which allows home owners to deduct a net loss from a residential investment property from their overall income and lower their total taxable income, will be scrapped, while a 50 per cent discount on the capital gains tax payable will be rolled back.

LIVE UPDATES: Fallout from 2026 federal budget

Anthony Albanese on the 2025 election campaign, denying any changes would be mad eto negative gearing and capital gains tax.

Albanese said the decision was "difficult", but was necessary to help young people get closer to the dream of owning a home.

"There's nothing more aspiring than the legitimate aspiration Australians have to own their own home," he said. "We can't sit back and watch a whole generation be locked out."

He clarified the changes wouldn't be coming into effect until next year, and that existing investments would be "grandfathered", meaning any property purchased until now would be protected from the changes.

BUDGET: What the budget tax reforms mean for rents, housing prices and supply

Aerial photo of houses.

Responding to claims the changes would instead impact older Australians who already own homes, Albanese said he did not want Australia to be divided along lines of home ownership.

"I don't want to see a divided Australia which is divided into Australians who own homes – some multiple homes- and people who simply will never be able to achieve the dream and make it a reality of having a roof over your head," he said.

"What's changed as well is increasingly not just young Australians, but parents and grandparents… who say 'I'm worried about my kids and grandkids won't be able to own a home.'"

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

Here are the big changes you probably missed in the budget

A major change to how some older Australians receive their pension, an extra $10 fee for international travel and a looming rate-hike warning is buried in the 2026 Federal Budget papers.

The federal government delivered what it has described as its most significant budget of the 21st century, and aside from sweeping, generational tax reform, there are some key changes hidden in the thousands of pages.

Here's what else you might have missed.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU? The winners and losers from the federal budget

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - MAY 12: Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivers the 2026-27 Federal Budget at Parliament House on May 12, 2026 in Canberra, Australia. The Labor government's budget for 2026 focuses on cost-of-living relief, housing affordability, and defence spending, as Treasurer Jim Chalmers faces pressure to deliver economic stability ahead of a federal election cycle. (Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images)

International passengers to pay more

Airlines and cruise companies will be made to pay an extra $10 for every passenger departing the country via air or sea.

The government's Passenger Movement Charge will be increased from $70 to $80 from January 1 2027, according to the 2026 budget papers.

It will be calculated on the date of departure, rather than the date of ticket sale.

Aviation sources previously warned that airlines would pass on the extra $10 to passengers.

The cost of slugging airlines with an extra $10 per passenger is forecast to increase revenue by $755 million over five years.

TAX CUT FOR WORKERS: 13 million Aussies to get $250 bonus

Changes to aged care pension

The federal government said it is "modernising" the pension supplement paid to Australians who live overseas, a reform it said will deliver around $218 million in savings over the next five years.

Eligibility of the pension will shift to cease supplement payments for recipients who are permanently living abroad or who are absent from Australia for more than three months.

Before now, travellers had their full rate of the pension supplement suspended if they left the country for six weeks or more.

This provision has been extended by six weeks to a total of 12 months.

The pension supplement is an extra payment which is paid on top of the aged care pension which helps with utility, phone, internet and medicine costs.

BUDGET LIVE UPDATES: Treasurer defends 'promise-breaking' budget

Borrowers should brace for another rate hike

The treasury has offered a grim forecast for mortgage holders after a triple rate hike blow was delivered in March, April and May.

It predicts that another cash rate hike is coming in September, spelling doom for households hoping for some interest rate relief.

The official cash rate target is now at 4.35 per cent.

If previous rate hikes are a guide, the big four banks and lenders are likely to pass on a September increase.

NIGHTMARE ON THE HORIZON? The budget forecast no one wants to see

RBA

Foreign investments ban extended until 2029

The federal government's ban on foreign purchases of existing homes will be extended until 2029, an extra two years and three months.

The Albanese government announced the ban during the 2025 Federal Election race, which aims to freeze out foreign buyers from purchasing already built homes.

This ban has been touted as the key to unlock thousands of properties for Australians.

Crackdown on visa misuse

This year's budget includes a $74.2 million allocation to crackdown on migrants attempting to misuse the protection visa system.

The Department of Home Affairs has previously warned against temporary visitors applying for a $50 protection visa – which is reserved for asylum seekers escaping persecution in their home country – in a bid to remain in Australia and continue working.

The department said it has noticed an uptick in temporary visa holders from the United Kingdom and Ireland being advised on social media to apply for a protection visa just to stay longer Down Under.

The bulk of this investment will be allocated to the Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.

Another $19.8 million will be given to the Department of Home Affairs to ensure the "overall integrity of the international student visa system".

READ MORE: Is this budget for the kids? What's on offer for boomers through to Gen Alpha

Bondi suburb in South Sydney. Drone aerial photo of Bondi with Sydney CBD and Harbour Bridge in the distance

Electrifying Australia's car fleets

There will be an expected 25 per cent fringe benefits tax (FBT) discount for drivers who have bought an electric car which costs over $75,000 by April 2027.

All electric car owners will be able to claim the FBT discount by April 2029.

Up until now, your car needed to cost less than $75,000 to be eligible for this tax break incentive.

Despite a years-long debate over an EV road user charge, there is no mention of it in the 2026 budget papers.

Half a billion for bike and walking paths

The federal government will commit $50 million every year for a decade to construct or upgrade walking and bike paths across the country.

This amounts to a total of $500 million invested in making Australian cities walkable or bikeable.

READ MORE: Budget reveals Australia could be on verge of nightmare scenario

Media subsidies for ABC, SBS and AAP

A heavy investment will be made into Australia's national broadcaster to develop its Indo-Pacific broadcasting strategy.

The ABC will be given an extra $14.1 million over two years to build "production, distribution, capacity building, and media engagement activities in the region".

Meanwhile, the SBS will be offered a portion of a broader antisemtism and counter-terrorism package in the wake of the Bondi terror attack to extend its SBS Examines podcast series.

And the AAP will be allocated $15 million in this budget to ensure it remains financially viable.

The ABC said a compromised staff account led to the breach earlier today.

'Nuisance' tariffs on margarine, tyres out the window

Another 497 "nuisance" tariffs will be abolished in a second tranche of reforms aimed at cutting costs and boosting productivity.

From July 2026, tariffs will be eliminated on various products including wine glasses, tyres, air conditioners, margarine, and bitumen.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

Can you break a promise? The government has just bet the house on it

ANALYSIS: When's the best time to break an election promise?

The government will be hoping it's when your political opponent is in a shambles and the national mood has changed significantly since a crushing election loss many blamed on the very reforms Labor is attempting once again.

Under this year's budget, the capital gains tax (CGT) discount and negative gearing have been wound back, ending longstanding and generous tax breaks that have been in place since 1999 and 1987, respectively.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU? The winners and losers from the federal budget

PROPERTY TAX CHANGES: Chalmers takes a razor blade to negative gearing and CGT discount

Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks with the media on arrival to Australian Parliament House ahead of handing down the 2026 budget on May 12, 2026 in Canberra, Australia.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had refused to reform the two generous and popular benefits, repeatedly telling reporters during last year's election campaign that he would not tinker with the tax settings.

So what's changed?

Nine national affairs editor Andrew Probyn said this year's budget may have been the best time for Labor to break a key promise. 

"There are now many more younger voters than older voters and it's younger Australians who are finding it horribly hard to get into the housing market," he said.

"Politically, the Coalition is a diminished force.

"Perhaps there's never been a better time to break a rolled gold promise and get with it."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has delivered on anticipated bold reforms in the face of rising gross debt that is forecast to reach $1 trillion in the next financial year and inflation that could reach 7 per cent by December due to the war in Iran.

"This budget includes the most significant tax reform package in more than a quarter of a century," he declared in his speech to parliament.

RELIEF FOR STRUGGLING SECTOR: Tax refunds coming for businesses who report losses

NIGHTMARE ON THE HORIZON? The budget forecast no one wants to see

Treasurer Jim Chalmers holds a copy of the 2026 budget while speaking with the media at Australian Parliament House on May 12, 2026 in Canberra, Australia.

The government will spend about $3.6 billion over two years to reform the CGT discount and negative gearing, which pales in comparison to the tens of billions the tax benefits have cost the budget over the years.

Some would say Albanese's previous vows not to tinker with negative gearing or CGT were smart, particularly since Labor under Bill Shorten lost the 2016 and 2019 elections after proposing changes to the CGT discount and negative gearing.

The risk the government has taken in making these changes is what has made this year's budget ambitious, added Probyn.

"This is an ambitious budget because it's attempting some tricky tax reform haunted by the ghost of Bill Shorten," he said.

The housing crisis, which sent the median house price soaring past $1 million, has prompted some calls to reconsider the property tax benefits, and ultimately spurred the government into a similar gamble as its stage 3 tax cuts backflip.

TAX CUT FOR WORKERS: 13 million Aussies to get $250 bonus

By breaking an election promise, Albanese and Chalmers are promising to deliver changes they believe will benefit more people – roughly 75,000 of them getting to buy their first home – than they harm.

"Tonight, we choose the hard road of reform, not the path of least resistance, by responding to the pressures Australians confront today and fulfilling our obligations and responsibilities to the generations to come," Chalmers said.

Nine's chief political reporter Charles Croucher, however, warned the decision would take a long time to bear fruit for the government.

"These changes we've spoken about won't make a lot of money in the next two or three years, but it will change the way Australia looks at taxes, approaches wealth, particularly things like trusts and those big property portfolios," he said.

"He is trying to lay down a legacy, but he won't see the fruits of that legacy for quite some time."

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

Chalmers takes a razor blade to negative gearing and CGT discount

Sweeping reforms are coming for two of Australia's most controversial tax structures: negative gearing and the capital gains tax (CGT) discount.

As largely expected, the 2026 Federal Budget has delivered a twin tax blow to landlords and property investors in a bid to make it easier for Australians to buy their own homes.

The federal government has spruiked the future benefits of the negative gearing and CGT discount changes as equivalent to reversing about a decade of decline in home ownership in Australia.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU? The winners and losers from the federal budget

Aerial photo of houses.

TAX CUT FOR WORKERS: 13 million Aussies to get $250 bonus

But, if you're an investor in newly-built homes or among the lucky landlords who bought a rental property before tonight, you have escaped the brunt of the tax pain.

Negative gearing scrapped for future investors

Negative gearing is on Treasurer Jim Chalmers' chopping block this budget, with the government winding back the friendly tax concession handed to property investors who lose more money than they generate on a property.

Until now, any homeowner was able to deduct a net loss from a residential investment property from their overall income and lower their total taxable income, and therefore reducing their yearly tax bill.

From July 1, 2027, negative gearing will be limited only to new builds. All existing properties bought after 7.30pm tonight, May 12, will not be eligible for the tax concession.

However, in a win for current investment property owners, the tax change is not going to applied retrospectively.

Existing investments will be shielded from the change and negative gearing will remain in place.

That means if you signed a contract to buy a home before 7.30pm, you have dodged the prospective negative gearing changes.

Investments supporting government housing programs, for example, through the provision of affordable housing, will also be exempt from the reform.

Investors who buy established housing after tonight will still be able to deduct losses against other residential property income, including rental income or other capital gains, and will be able to carry forward unused losses to future years.

NIGHTMARE ON THE HORIZON? The budget forecast no one wants to see

Around 1.1 million Australians had negatively geared properties in 2022-23, according to Treasury tax analysis.

Just 17 per cent of investor loans were for new builds in 2025.

Chalmers said the tax changes will "level the playing field" for first homebuyers and help around 75,000 Australians achieve their dream of home ownership.

Negative gearing has been a tense political flashpoint for years.

Greens and crossbenchers have long called on the government to wind back negative gearing and CGT discounts, criticising them both as unfair tax discounts which only drive up the price of homes and rent.

Real estate analysts, however, previously warned the changes to negative gearing could be catastrophic for renters.

It has been predicted that landlords could hike rent by up to 30 per cent in response to the changes.

However the government's own modelling suggests that the reforms will have a small impact on rents, with an expected increase of just $2 per week for households paying the median rent.

A for lease sign.

RELIEF FOR STRUGGLING SECTOR: Tax refunds coming for businesses who report losses

Chalmers takes an axe to CGT

The equally-contentious 50 per cent capital gains tax (CGT) discount will be replaced by a new type of discount, based solely on inflation, only for investors in existing properties.

The CGT discount is a $23 billion tax break which allows investors to sell an asset they've owned for at least a year and to only be taxed on half of the profit.

Investors will pay tax on their real capital gain when they sell a property from July 1, 2027.

Essentially, this means investors with lower gains will pay less tax, while anyone with gains "well above inflation" will pay more tax, according to budget papers.

Again, investors in new builds can keep enjoying the 50 per cent CGT tax discount, or chose the inflation-based discount.

There will be a minimum 30 per cent tax rate on capital gains from July next year too.

The CGT discount has been blamed for driving up house prices and making home ownership even more difficult for renters and younger Australians.

A 2026 report by Oxfam Australia claimed that just 24,000 of Australia's millionaires accounted for almost half the beneficiaries of the CGT discount.

The discount cost the government $21.8 billion in 2025-26, according to the Tax Expenditures and Insights Statement.

Both tax overhauls are forecast to save the federal government an estimated $1.35 billion by 2028-29 and $2.28 billion by 2029-30.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

‘Very decomposed’ body found in manhunt for triple killer to undergo forensic testing

Warning: This article contains the name and image of Indigenous people who have died.

The "very decomposed" body found in the search for Julian Ingram is set to undergo testing to confirm it is the accused triple killer.

Police said that the remains have been removed from a remote NSW national park where they were found yesterday and will undergo post-mortem testing on Friday in Newcastle, before confirming it is Ingram. 

National Parks and Wildlife staff made the discovery in Central West NSW, four months after Ingram allegedly murdered his heavily pregnant ex-partner Sophie Quinn, 25, her friend John Harris, 32, and aunt Nerida Quinn, 50, in Lake Cargelligo.

READ MORE: Man charged over car crash in suburban Perth that left two girls under four dead

Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland also said that the vehicle and a firearm located within it are also set to be forensically tested. Julian Ingram

Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said a vehicle and a firearm were also set to be forensically tested.

"There was a firearm located next to the deceased body, which was a large calibre firearm and a shotgun located on the front passenger seat of the vehicle," he said.

"It would appear that the deceased was dressed in the same clothing he was wearing on the day of the incident, assuming that it was Julian Ingram.

"The injuries appear self-inflicted with a firearm."

The body was found next to the white Ford Ranger Ingram was last seen fleeing the town in, and his licence was inside the vehicle.

When asked if Ingram potentially received help from somebody in the community, Holland said, "It does not appear to be the case". 

The update from police comes as new aerial footage revealed the bushland location where a white ute was found in relation to the manhunt for the accused triple killer.

READ MORE: Aussies from virus-stricken cruise ship to be sent to COVID-era quarantine centre

Aerial footage of a white ute discovered in a regional NSW national park in relation to the manhunt for triple killer Julian Ingram.

Lake Cargelligo community reacts to the grim discovery

Loved ones were rocked by the discovery but said they could finally grieve.

Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland yesterday said the discovery was a relief for officers who'd been involved in a major manhunt for the accused killer, but particularly for the affected families.

"For the last four months, the strike forces involved in … the manhunt for Julian Ingram, have not given up," he said. 

"There's been hundreds of police involved. 

"Obviously, it's a relief for them to find this body – again, yet to be confirmed as Julian Ingram – but the main thing is, it brings closure to this investigation, it brings closure to the people of Lake Cargelligo and gives some solace to the town so they can relax."

While police had not officially confirmed the body was Ingram, they do believe it is him. The corpse was found in his clothes next to the white Ford Ranger he was last seen fleeing the town in, and his license was inside the vehicle.

READ MORE: Tax hikes, spending cuts: What we know so far

Police said the 37-year-old was last seen driving a dual cab Ford Ranger utility with the NSW registration DM-07-GZ.

Holland said the body was found in a "very decomposed" state but didn't give a specific estimate for when the man may have died, saying only it "appears to have been there for some time".

He did not confirm whether the weapon was the same alleged to have been used in the shooting or whether the man was believed to have died by suicide.

Police said NPWS workers carrying out feral animal eradication found the vehicle about 3.40pm yesterday in Round Hill Nature Reserve, roughly 100 kilometres north-east of Lake Cargelligo.

Ingram, 37, had been on the run since the January 22 shooting.

READ MORE: Banks were quick to pass on rate hikes – just not for one group

Lake Cargelligo shootings

He allegedly killed his pregnant former partner, Sophie Quinn, and her friend John Harris, then moving on to Sophie's Auntie Nerida, killing her and shooting Kaleb Macqueen, 19, the only victim to survive.

"I heard boom, boom. I seen her – she was holding her neck, and then he was laughing," Macqueen told 9News in January.

Sophie's mother, Cathy Quinn, called Ingram "gutless".

"We still grieving but justice will be served," she told 9News.

READ MORE: Minister's 'tone-deaf' childcare comment draws criticism

John Harris was shot dead alongside Sophie Quinn.

Her sister, Tegan, said it was "about time they found him".

"We can grieve but now it feels so real and it's only has hit me now," she said.

The shooting devastated the tiny town and rattled the entire state.

Last month, police said Ingram was seen on the side of a road two days after the alleged murders.

Sophie's aunt Nerida was also shot dead.

In March, police offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

The coroner will now be charged with confirming how the man died and when.

If the body is confirmed to be Ingram, everything leading up to the killing will also be investigated, including why the repeated domestic violence offender was out on bail.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

If you or someone you know is in need of support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue. In the event of an emergency dial Triple Zero (000).