Law & order

Adelaide University researchers have shown that pairing sniffer dogs with a simple air-sampling device could dramatically improve the detection of illegally trafficked wildlife hidden inside shipping containers ... veterinarian researchers report that air extracted from sealed shipping containers can be analysed by detection dogs with almost 98 per cent accuracy...

Stephen Balcombe was charged by Gingin Police in January with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence ... 62-year-old Mr Balcombe, who is the husband of Shire of Gingin President Linda Balcombe, was remanded on bail to reappear in the Midland Magistrates Court ...

Speaking with the Clarence Valley Independent following the announcement on January 21, federal member for Page Kevin Hogan said he could not support what he described as rushed legislation, citing its potential impacts on free speech ... While the Nationals had previously worked to improve the legislation and proposed amendments to ensure current laws would be tightened while confining them to inciting or encouraging violence, Mr Hogan said he was uncomfortable with the words 'psychological harm' and questioned their inclusion and how they could be interpreted.

The AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation has called on school communities to help identify and protect vulnerable children amid a growth in reports of forced marriage. According to the latest figures, reports of forced marriage into the ACCCE jumped almost 30 per cent last financial year...

Farmers with cellar doors and fruit stands should beware of huge new bills being slapped on them by the state government, NSW Farmers says. Reports have spiked of family farmers being forced to pay up to $300,000 in land taxes to the NSW Government for diversifying their businesses with small farmgate sales and agritourism experiences.

A Lancelin based shark fisher says there has been no commercial fishing in the West Coast bioregion between Lancelin and Tims Thicket (south of Mandurah) for nearly 20 years ... Mr Stokke, who also partners with his brother in a western rock lobster boat, said he thought the ban was probably targeting the wet liners but they (the shark fishers) were thrown under the bus with them.

Facing aggravated assault charges he has denied, member for MacKillop Nick McBride says he is "chafing at the bit, desperate," and "can't wait to get to the court" to tell his side of the story. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with The [Naracoorte] News, Mr McBride asked voters for a "leap of faith," urging the electorate to uphold the Australian Constitution and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

“WAFarmers are reaping what they sow,” Ben Wyatt declared recently, reflecting on the looming Maddox case and claims by WAFarmers that the current laws are being selectively targeted by the department ... There is a curious habit among former ministers once they leave office: they rediscover principle. Mr Wyatt’s recent commentary on Aboriginal cultural heritage laws is a textbook example.

Colleen Krestensen. With the repeal of the Kosciuszko Wild Horse Heritage Act 2018 (NSW), the Australian Brumby Alliance and brumby rehoming organisations are deeply concerned that the NSW Government and NPWS will move to quickly slaughter the remaining brumbies by aerial culling or other lethal methods ... The ABA strongly believes that with the brumby population in Kosciuszko National Park now as low as 579 horses, and the perceived density problem addressed, there is time to review how the remaining horses are managed and to make animal welfare an imperative.

The Shire of Gingin says it is aware WA Police have undertaken an investigation relating to matters involving one or more of the shire’s councillors. This morning WA Police said that Gingin Police had charged a 61-year-old Gingin man after he allegedly made numerous threatening phone calls to a person between February 7, 2025 and September 10, 2025.

In a marathon pre-Christmas session that stretched into the early hours of December 24, 2025, the NSW Parliament passed the most significant tightening of firearm legislation since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. The Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 was fast-tracked by the Minns Government following the horrific Bondi Beach terrorist attack earlier that month.

Firearms reform is attractive politics because it is administratively complex but morally simple. It produces press conferences, committees, compliance regimes and the soothing language of “community safety”. What it does not reliably produce is protection against terrorism, extremism or ideologically driven murder ... Western Australia’s experience is instructive.

Five Riverina growers and one labour hire provider have been issued compliance notices following surprise inspections by the Fair Work Ombudsman, with combined back payments totalling $5,710 ordered for four employees. The Fair Work Ombudsman conducts unannounced workplace visits across Australia to verify that employers are paying correct wages and overtime rates, issuing proper pay slips and providing information about employee rights.

Community feedback confirmed grocery and fuel purchases are essential and today’s changes mean that from 1 January 2026, most retailers must accept cash for in-person transactions of $500 or less between 7am and 9pm. Small businesses with aggregate annual turnover under $10 million will be exempted from the mandate, however, the mandate will apply to small businesses that choose to share a trademark with a larger retailer.

As news of the Bondi shootings travel the globe, I sit at in a beer garden in Munich where gigantic fake snowflakes hang from tall trees and the cold air bites into my cheeks. The news from Australia is even more chilling. Australia is a safe country I tell the two women who sit next to me. Things like the Bondi killings do not happen in my country.

AgForce General President Shane McCarthy, appearing with Mr Perrett and Mr Weir at Wyreema last week, said the implementation phase will determine how the reforms function in reality. "What happens in the implementation phase will decide whether these laws support environmental outcomes or unintentionally restrict the routine land management that keeps Queensland landscapes healthy, productive and safe."