Tag Archives: oceania

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Dezi Freeman’s landlord reveals he helped wounded police officer

Nearly nine months after two Victoria Police officers were gunned down in the state's high country, the owner of the remote property at the centre of the siege has broken his silence.

Andrew Swift has described the chaotic aftermath of the shooting at his bushland property near Porepunkah, revealing he helped a third injured officer reach an ambulance after the attack carried out by Dezi Freeman.

In a clip published by YouTube channel The Living Free Movement, Swift recalled seeing the wounded policeman bleeding heavily after officers pulled back from the scene.

READ MORE: The timeline of events that led to cop-killer Dezi Freeman's death

"He's wearing dark-coloured pants, but you could tell they were all wet from blood, from a gunshot somewhere down on his lower half," Swift said.

The Age reports that Swift initially considered using a Kubota vehicle to transport the officer, but decided it was unsuitable given the severity of the injuries.

"I could tell because of his lower injury I wouldn't be able to get him in the Kubota [tractor], so I then said to police I'm going to go get a more suitable vehicle, so we can get this guy in, get him to the ambulance."

The interview was filmed by Dave Armstrong, who said a longer version would be released in the coming days.

READ MORE: Fugitive gunman Dezi Freeman shot dead by police

Accused cop killer Dezi Freeman has been found and killed after a long and tireless search.

The property became the focus of national attention after Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart were fatally shot there on August 26, 2025.

Freeman escaped into rugged alpine bushland after the ambush, setting off a massive cross-border manhunt that ran for months before specialist officers tracked him to a remote camp near Thologolong on March 30, where he was shot dead.

READ MORE: New images emerge of accused gunman Dezi Freeman's bus

In a statement obtained by The Age, Swift and his wife, Rebecca, said they had deliberately avoided speaking to mainstream media and instead wanted to work with "independent media" outlets.

"Our hope is to work with people who are willing to engage thoughtfully and help ensure a more complete and balanced account is available," the statement read.

"The story we will be sharing with you has not been presented by any mainstream media, because we have maintained complete silence with the msm propaganda machine and have avoided them."

The Swifts said they accepted Freeman was responsible for killing the two officers, but claimed the confrontation could have ended differently if "protocol and common sense, decency, humanity and reason had … been employed on that day".

READ MORE: A look inside Australia's most infamous shipping container

"We did not anticipate or expect any of what occurred. But somehow the mainstream media were experts on Dezi Freeman from the first day," they said.

Armstrong claimed the couple contacted him because they believed key parts of the story had been misunderstood, including allegations that Freeman subscribed to sovereign-citizen ideology.

The Living Free Movement markets itself online as a platform focused on "freedom in health, lifestyle, clean food, lawful processes".

Freeman, formerly known as Desmond Filby, had reportedly become deeply distrustful of authorities during the pandemic and was described by people close to him as increasingly hostile toward police.

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Inside the COVID-era centre where hantavirus cruise passengers are being sent

It cost Australian taxpayers $400 million to build at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, can house up to 500 people at a time and has scarcely been used in the four years since it was completed.

Considered one of the greatest white elephant projects in Western Australian history, the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience on the outskirts of Perth will finally be used for its intended purpose: quarantining returning Australians who may have been exposed to a deadly virus.

Six passengers who were on board a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship in the Pacific are currently making the long journey back to Australia under strict health protocols.

READ MORE: Aussies evacuated from hantavirus ship touch down in the Netherlands

Seven cases of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius have been confirmed, with two others suspected.

Three people have died.

Four Australian citizens, one permanent resident and one New Zealander who were among the last to make it off the cruise liner landed in the Netherlands in the early hours of this morning.

They are expected to board a flight bound for the RAAF Base Pearce near Perth in the next 48 hours.

From there, they will be taken directly to the Bullsbrook Centre for National Resilience, where they will remain in quarantine for at least three weeks.

Here's a look inside the shuttered facility, and just what the stranded cruisers can expect during their stay.

A COVD-era quarantine project

The Bullsbrook centre was commissioned by the federal government in mid-2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was one of three such facilities designed to accommodate returning Australians, with a similar 500-bed centre built in Pinkenba, Brisbane, and a larger 1000-bed centre in Mickleham, Melbourne.

READ MORE: Evacuated American cruise ship passenger tests positive to hantavirus

But by the time the 500-bed Bullsbrook facility was completed and handed over to the WA Government in October 2022, mandatory quarantining of COVID-19-exposed travellers had already been abolished.

Despite this, then-premier Mark McGowan remained adamant that the centre would be put to use in some capacity.

It did briefly house bushfire evacuees in 2023 but has lain dormant since and was handed back to the federal government's Department of Finance.

'State-of-the-art' accommodation lying dormant

Heralded by the federal government at the time as "state-of-the-art" accommodation, the facility was built with quarantine requirements in mind.

The neat rows of terraced apartments all feature separate open-air entrances and staircases to allow for safe movement and food deliveries without the risk of cross-contamination.

The apartments are fitted with customised ventilation systems to prevent the spread of infection and feature easy-to-disinfect surfaces and furnishings.

Built with long-term residence in mind, the apartments all come with their own bathrooms and kitchenettes.

However, the centre is set up to provide centralised food and laundry services.

There's also room for health services on site.

Despite a critical shortage of low-income housing in Perth, both state and federal governments have struggled to re-purpose the accommodation.

In early 2023, there was a proposal for it to be used as accommodation for regional and international students struggling to find housing in Perth's tight rental market.

READ MORE: 'Highly-skilled' Aussie soldier who died during parachute training named

However, the centre was deemed unsuitable due to the lack of surrounding infrastructure and distance from the University of WA – around 50 kilometres.

Later that same year, there was speculation that the Department of Defence might take over the site, but in the end it fell into the hands of the finance department.

There have been repeated calls for the centre to be used to help house Perth's homeless, but these have also failed, seemingly due to similar misgivings about the lack of surrounding infrastructure.

The six cruise ship passengers are expected to remain at the centre under newly updated health orders for at least three weeks, although that period may be extended.

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