Law & order

A man jailed for breaking into a house and intimidating a woman who subsequently died in a car crash in Yanco has had his prison time extended by three months after being sentenced for a separate offence in Griffith Local Court last Thursday. Dean Cluney, 33, had previously been handed a two-year and 10-month prison sentence for offences committed against Tania Murphy, 36, and another woman on April 5 2023.

Peter Rutherford. After reading Mark Poynter’s brief critique of The Forest Wars and the David Lindenmayer response, a few points seemed to need further exploration ... Many SETA members and others working in the forest industry have been curious as to what appear to be strong connections that Mr Lindenmayer has with a number of media reporters, who regularly report his opinions on native forest issues.

Nationals Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland will host a farm crime forum in Locksley in June to discuss ongoing safety concerns across the region. Ms Cleeland will be joined by Shadow Minister for Police Brad Battin at the Locksley CFA building on Wednesday, June 12. Together, the pair will also hold general community safety meetings in Benalla, Broadford, and Euroa.

Ben Ogden Senior Constable 17702 Allora Police Station ... a motorist drove into Allora township at night time and did large burnouts on Warwick Street in between the IGA supermarket and the Railway Hotel in his Holden Commodore Utility before driving off. With the assistance of members of the community and the CCTV from local businesses Allora Police identified the culprit and the vehicle, with search warrants being executed at an address in Warwick.

The Miles Government has released the findings of a review of the government’s koala habitat protection regulations. The regulations were introduced in 2020 to better protect South East Queensland’s iconic koala population and the habitat they call home ... The consultation confirmed the regulations had been effective, however some elements have not worked as intended.  

“This is a monumental milestone for Australians, with this Standard to pave the way for Australians to access and benefit from the most advanced car, SUV and ute technology offered in other countries – which are cheaper to run and better for the environment. At every step of the way, we have listened to the views of Australians on how we can deliver a Standard that works uniquely for our country, which is what we have delivered today”: Catherine King.

Sparrow the greyhound took all the fuss in her stride last Thursday when she was feted as the 600th greyhound to graduate from the Greyhound Adoption Program (GAP) at Tarrengower Prison ... The program works like this: four retired racing greyhounds are delivered to Tarrengower and four women are given the responsibility of training each dog over a four week period ... "You have to remember that these dogs have never been inside a house..."

The Lawler Labor Government is cracking down on alcohol related anti-social behaviour. Last night, The Liquor Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 passed in the Northern Territory Legislative assembly. This bill increases the punishment for those who refuse to leave a licensed premises when asked from $176 to $880.

The Nationals WA have labelled the Government’s last-minute amendment to allow select firearms to be authorised for more than one licence purpose as a win for firearms owners ... "this move is a sensible concession from WA Labor and the first sign they are acknowledging some of the concerning aspects of this legislation": Shane Love.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is backing a private members Bill that would remove regulations stopping farmers from growing industrial hemp.  VFF President Emma Germano said the Hemp Industry Bill 2024 introduced into the Victorian Parliament by the Legalise Cannabis Party provided an exciting opportunity for Victorian farmers and industry to unlock the benefits of hemp.  

Sporting clubs have a unique platform to drive cultural change in our communities and on the weekend, four local sporting clubs showed their commitment to creating an Australia where all women and children can live in safety, free from violence and abuse ... The observation of 36 seconds of silence had a powerful impact ...

Bottle shop cops may be replaced by unarmed officers from another department while the Mayor, an ardent supporter of the Point of Sale Intervention (POSI) provided by the police, declines to comment. He will also not discuss his claims that the recent curfew was a success.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has ordered that Coral Coast Distributors (Cairns) Pty Ltd can no longer sign-up customers into Centrepay credit arrangements in its Urban Rampage stores.

A new database has been launched to provide people working in Australian agriculture a clearer view of compliance expectations regarding sustainability and ESG activities. The Sustainability-related Regulations Database (SR-Database) provides information on current Australian legislation and regulation relevant to the sustainability of the agricultural industry.

Patricia Gill. An arsonist is believed to have started a bushfire last Wednesday night igniting up to 13,700ha of the Walpole/Nornalup National Park. The arsonist is believed to have ignited seven fires along Middle Road all of which but one joined up to raze 70 per cent of the park and a small amount of agricultural land ... most of the peat swamps in the northern part of the national park had been burnt.

Emergency services were called to Hay Services Club at around 5.45pm on Thursday, after reports of two separate assaults which occurred during ANZAC Day two-up ... Extensive damage to the changerooms at Hay Park was discovered on Sunday morning, by volunteers setting up for a local sport competition.

The deaths of 26 women in the first 114 days of 2024 is equivalent to one every 4.38 days ... In the Buloke Shire for the year end September 2023, 58 incidents of family violence were reported to Victoria Police and 75 per cent of all reported victims – survivors of family violence in the Buloke region – were female.

For those who have been following the rewrite of the Firearms Act 1973 (WA), the headlines suggest that farmers have come out well with a provision for Primary Producer Licence holders to possess up to 10 firearms while recreational shooters/hunters are limited to possessing five firearms. As is often the case, the devil is in the detail and the provisions of the proposed Act and the intent of this Government’s Minister warrant further study.

Cracking down on people parking in designated electric vehicle charging station spaces is one focus of a range of new road rule changes. Two new offences have been brought in to stop non-electric cars from parking in EV parking areas, and stop EVs parking in a charging area when not being charged.

A forward command vehicle will be near the intersection of Wandoo and Neaves roads in Pinjar this morning as police seek information about a transmission tower that was tampered with in April last year, which may be linked to another incident in the same location at the time.

The Member for Barkly has called out Labor for its dereliction to support regional young people at risk after he highlighted the shocking cases of two Tennant Creek children who he says was failed by the NT Government. Mr Edgington, also the Shadow Attorney-General, says the children had a history of neglect and abuse and were allowed to escalate into violent offenders despite 67 child welfare notifications.