Two studies looking into the eye health of children aged 7 and 12 are underway.

Prominent surgeon Dr Reza Adib, the partner of former long-serving Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, has been charged with three counts of rape, two counts of deprivation of liberty and one count of sexual assault.

Police allege Adib sexually assaulted a woman in her 30s at an address at Goodwin Terrace at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast on March 30.

Officers were seen coming and going from the beachside unit yesterday afternoon and leaving with bags of evidence.

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Adib presented to Southport Police Station earlier today, where he was charged before being released on police bail this afternoon.

He left the station with his lawyer and did not answer questions from the waiting press pack.

His lawyer, Dan Rogers, issued a statement this afternoon.

"Dr Adib is shocked about the allegations made about him and is taking the matter very seriously," he said in the statement.

"Like all persons accused of a crime, he is presumed to be innocent and intends to vigorously defend the charges.

"Right now, Dr Adib is primarily concerned about the welfare of his family and his patients and he will do whatever it takes to ensure that they are looked after in the coming weeks."

Adib, a bariatric surgeon at the Brisbane Obesity Clinic, is due to appear in Southport Magistrates' Court on May 14.

Authorities have stressed Palaszczuk was not involved and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on her part.

The pair have been together since 2021.

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The shocking extent of fraud in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has been laid bare with accusations of coercion, criminal gangs and more than $3.5 billion of tainted funds.

A parliamentary inquiry investigating how widespread fraud is within the NDIS has found that an estimated 8 per cent of the $45 billion scheme has been tainted by fraud.

"It is clear that the NDIS has become a soft target for crooks," NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister said.

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"If you think it is acceptable to prey on people with disabilities, you do not belong in the NDIS. You belong in prison, and we are coming for you."

The NDIS works by pairing a person with a disability with one of the 1400 plan managers, who provides them with the support that they need.

The scheme is government funded and is designed to support about 410,000 people.

Of the smallest 1000 plan managers, the inquiry has uncovered that 90 per cent have traces of fraud within their activity.

"We've seen evidence from our intelligence of them targeting those who [have] particular physical and cognitive disabilities," Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission executive Adam Meyer said.

It is alleged that some work within criminal gangs, whilst others operate in South America and parts of Asia, such as the south-east and the Middle East.

John Dardo from the Fraud Fusion Taskforce said cartels from across the world are "targeting Australia".

"Collusion is probably the best way to describe it." 

"It is a coercive sort of arrangement," he added. 

"That's at one end of the spectrum that is really taking advantage of very, very vulnerable people."

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One NDIS participant was legitimately charged more than $2300 for a major house clean, only to be billed three times more over the next month and a half, losing almost $7000.

Jim's Cleaning apologised, repaid the money, sacked the contractor responsible, and introduced safeguards to avoid a repeat.

No charges were laid.

The parliamentary committee also heard some NDIS participants had allegedly come out of prison and been placed in boarding houses where their NDIS packages were "harvested."

The government has responded by taking a knife to NDIS spending in next month's budget.

The parliamentary inquiry comes following Health Minister Mark Butler's announcement of the overhaul designed to save the government $35 billion.

Butler aims to cut the average annual plan spend by about $5000, down from $31,000 to around $26,000.

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A producer who suspected a rising star was walking back a sexual harassment complaint against Rebel Wilson says she was stuck in a "tricky situation" between Wilson and her other boss.

Charlotte MacInnes is suing Wilson after starring in the Pitch Perfect actor's directorial debut film, The Deb.

MacInnes claims she was defamed by Wilson in social media posts that suggested she is a liar and a sellout who withdrew a sexual harassment complaint to advance her career.

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The posts alleged MacInnes confided to Wilson – but later recanted – that she felt uncomfortable when the film's co-producer, Amanda Ghost, asked to have a shower and a bath together.

The claim hinges on a medical episode suffered by Ghost at Bondi Beach on September 5, 2023, which led to her sharing a bath with MacInnes in their swimwear to warm up.

Neither the young actor nor a witness had any concern about what took place and did not consider that anything untoward happened, the court was told.

Wilson gave evidence that she was shocked by the divulgence and spoke about it that night with The Deb's local producer, Greer Simpkin, whom she described as very responsible.

But Simpkin told the Federal Court today she hadn't discussed the bath incident with Wilson until a phone call days later.

She said she didn't become aware of Wilson's claims that MacInnes had reported being uncomfortable until a week after the medical episode, when she was dining with Ghost.

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"I would have acted on it earlier if I'd known it was uncomfortable," Simpkin said.

She subsequently orchestrated MacInnes' removal from an apartment where she had been staying with Ghost and another woman during pre-production.

"I asked that the reason be as we discussed that Rebel needs the space by the beach," the local producer texted Ghost.

She then met with MacInnes' agent to ensure the young actor was alright and to reveal the real reason for her eviction.

In the email tendered to the court, the agent reported back to "mend this misunderstanding" and clarify MacInnes had never been uncomfortable around Ghost, whom she idolised.

Simpkin forwarded the email to Ghost and noted that the young actor's version of events was different from those of the producer and another woman who had been present.

"Charlotte is walking back the statement she made to Rebel," she wrote.

"I feel there is some fudging being done by Charlotte."

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The local producer said she didn't know now what she meant by "fudging" in the email, but she recalled there being differences in the recollections about the bathroom incident.

Her communications relied on Wilson's insistence that she did not misunderstand MacInnes' disclosure, Simpkin told the court.

"I'm in a tricky situation here," she said.

"Rebel Wilson is my boss, as is Amanda Ghost. I'm trying to be respectful to both parties".

But the email formally asserted MacInnes wasn't uncomfortable, and Simpkin considered that to mean the matter was closed.

She said she didn't receive any communication from MacInnes to the contrary and was taken by surprise when the alleged complaint was re-agitated by Wilson the following month.

Wilson has rejected accusations that she fabricated the sexual harassment complaint or raised it for leverage during her disputes with co-producers rather than out of concern for her co-star.

She maintains MacInnes "flip-flopped" and changed her story in exchange for "huge enticements", including a lead role in a stage production and a record deal.

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The total cost of the inquiry is estimated to be $5.014 million.

Police said the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

An Indigenous leader's frank admission has laid bare the history between authorities and the community members of Alice Springs. 

Australian Human Rights Commission's Indigenous Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss commended police for their "urgency and determination" in finding missing five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby.

She said she "cannot recall a time when the disappearance of an Aboriginal child has received this level of urgent attention from law enforcement".

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"Tragically, there are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people currently missing who have not been met with the same response," she said in a statement.

"My greatest hope is that Kumanjayi Little Baby's short life becomes a turning point – that in this country, the life of an Indigenous child is valued, protected and pursued with the same urgency as any other child."

Alice Springs is home to cases of Indigenous deaths in custody and a long history of alcohol bans and curfews. 

Kumanjayi White, a 24-year-old with a disability, was killed after he was restrained by plainclothes officers for shoplifting at Coles in May 2025. The investigation remains ongoing.

In November 2019, 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker was shot three times inside his home by police officer Zachary Rolfe.

Rolfe was acquitted of murder charges and denied findings from a coroner in July last year that he was racist and his attitudes played a role in the teenager's death.

The coroner also found "all forms of racism" were present within the NT Police and made 18 recommendations for the force. 

At the time, NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole said the findings were confronting and committed to "stamping out racism in all its forms".

The force introduced its Anti-Racism Strategy late last year.

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Indigenous deaths in custody reached a record figure in the 2024-25 financial year, the highest since records began in 1979-80, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology.

There were 113 deaths in custody, with 33 of those Indigenous deaths. Two of those were in the Northern Territory.

Indigenous Australians make up just 3.8 per cent of the population but account for more than 33.3 per cent of the prison population. 

The federal government has also been criticised by some Indigenous organisations like the Aboriginal Medical Alliance Northern Territory for interventionist alcohol bans in Alice Springs being a band-aid solution.

Alcohol bans were introduced in 2007 and lasted 15 years until they lapsed in 2022 and were reintroduced the following year due to high crime rates.

The Territory government reintroduced a ban on takeaway alcohol today following community unrest outside the Alice Springs Hospital, where the man accused of the murder of Kumanjayi Little Baby was taken after being arrested by police last night.

Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe today said there were broader issues in the Northern Territory that cannot be ignored, like extreme poverty and a lack of basic services and support.

She urged the government to support and empower communities to create solutions, rather than engage in "interventionist approaches of the past".

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for calm within the community while Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Liberal Senator Jacinta Price call for an independent inquiry into town camps.

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

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

Zahn Reidy’s near 12-hour spree cost his victims more than $30,000.

The New Zealander of the Year has denied one former colleague’s accusations.

Emails show Winston Peters’ staff resisted stronger backing from Luxon for US airstrikes.