Law & order

The current drop in crime in Alice Springs coincides with a decrease in tourism of around 40 per cent in several sectors, triggered largely by the nation-wide reporting of crime in Alice Springs ... Mayor Matt Paterson says following his speaking out the  Stronger Futures  was brought back and a $48.8m grant came from Canberra, partly to be used for more police.

The Supreme Court of Victoria has announced its decision on VicForests appeal of last November’s landmark court decision in Kinglake Friends of the Forest and Environment East Gippsland vs VicForests, known as “The Glider Case”. The panel of three judges upheld Justice Richards’ findings that VicForests’ actions were in breach of environment laws.The orders limiting logging in forests that are home to endangered gliders will remain.

The system which protects and manages Aboriginal cultural heritage in Western Australia will be modernised and improved from July 1 to prevent another incident like what occurred at Juukan Gorge. The improvements include new practical exemptions and a simpler, fairer system to manage activities that may harm Aboriginal cultural heritage across WA ... The State Government has also announced the appointment of four new members to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Council, including former Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister and respected Yamatji and Wongi Elder Ken Wyatt.

The updated Barron Water Plan has now been finalised, following a two-year process of rigorous scientific assessment and consultation. The new plan, which replaces the Barron Water Plan 2002, is underpinned by 20 years of scientific data and is the product of more than 30 consultative meetings with water users and stakeholders...

The new WA Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws will have far reaching consequences to the farming community, many of which are only just coming to light as the WA Department of Heritage workshops the changes across the State. This is how WAFarmers responded to one of the workshops in the central Wheatbelt.        

A suite of new planning rules designed to protect River Murray regions from future flood events and assist with a strong recovery and rebuild are coming into effect this week. To fast-track the region’s recovery the interim changes will come into immediate effect from Thursday, providing a quicker building approval process for the influx of applications expected.

Opposition Leader Shane Love has called on the Premier to remove Minister Tony Buti from the Aboriginal Affairs portfolio and to install a new Minister who is up to the task of implementing the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage (ACH) Act. Mr Love said community unease was at a high, and the Government was only ‘adding fuel to the fire’ by failing to provide adequate support to the community and brushing off concerns.

A diligent Minister who had applied himself to the detail would have recognised the risks of running with a system that was overly complex and open to abuse. A competent Minister would have delayed the start date when they recognised that neither his department, the IT system, the LACHS or the industry was ready. But Buti did neither.

Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Transport Shane Love MLA has strongly condemned the State Labor Government for its continued unlawful use of traffic monitoring devices throughout WA. An Auditor General Report has exposed Main Roads WA for utilising 180 vehicle monitoring devices on local roads, despite being fully aware since 2016 that such usage is strictly limited to highways and main roads under the Surveillance Devices Regulations 1999.

John Hassell. The system of land title in Australia that currently proves and protects our right to property is called the Torrens system, which was first introduced in 1858 in South Australia ... one could argue that Native Title has failed to deliver for the simple reason that, unlike freehold title, it does not confer a real property right, a right that the banks place a value on.

North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency CEO Priscilla Atkins, who says she is currently on leave, discloses she was “excluded from the beginning” from an  investigation  by KPMG, a world-wide professional services firm which produced a scathing report about the law firm, the Territory’s biggest.

The State Government welcomes the passage through the Parliament’s Upper House of a bill to toughen the available penalties for people who intentionally obstruct public places. The Legislative Council passed the Summary Offences (Obstruction of Public Places) Bill. The bill increases the potential penalty for public obstruction from a $750 fine to a maximum of $50,000 or three months in prison.

The Opposition is calling on Peter Malinauskas to stick to his word - despite intense internal turmoil in his Labor Party - over new public obstruction laws when the legislation is debated in the Upper House on 30 May 2023. Peter Malinauskas is under fire from the Left of his party - and multiple unions who helped him win the election - for throwing his support behind new laws that will penalise people who cause community chaos and risk public safety with disruption.

With existing measures seemingly having minimal effect on perpetrators of youth crime, a 24/7 youth co-responder team was introduced to Toowoomba last weekend in an effort make a positive difference. In Toowoomba to launch the team last Saturday, new Youth Justice Minister Di Farmer said it was one of five new co-responder teams being established across Queensland, alongside Mount Isa, Hervey Bay, South Brisbane and Ipswich.

One of Kaniva’s beloved sheep was forcibly removed between Friday 12 noon and Saturday 12.30pm, 20th May 2023. The sheep was situated near the bird aviary at the Kaniva Wetlands and Fauna Park and is a part of the Sheep Art Trail that connects the park and the Silo Art to the main street.