Australia news live: Icac hears of friendship breakdown between Reformers members, third Victorian teachers’ strike announced

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Icac hears of friendship breakdown between members of Reformers

Penry Buckley

Returning to the Icac’s Operation Rosny, the inquiry has heard this afternoon about how relationships between some members of the conservative right factional Liberal group the Reformers began to break down.

That includes the friendship between today’s witness, Robert Assaf, and Christian Ellis, who yesterday we heard had founded the Reformers together in 2017 after forming a strong bond while working on the No campaign for the same-sex marriage plebiscite.

Assaf said he later came to distrust Ellis, including in relation to the payment of finder’s fees to him for finding Ellis new clients.

Ellis ran Beckington, a registered lobbyist set up by the group, which allegedly took on funds under the guise of consulting services to support branch-stacking efforts, including from schools governing body Catholic Schools NSW, Beckington’s first client in 2019.

The inquiry heard that in 2021 Catholic Schools NSW CEO, Dallas McInerney, allegedly wanted to end the relationship with Beckington. Assaf said he gave the following advice to McInerney on multiple occasions in an attempt to keep payments flowing to a different company, run by Reformer Jeremy Greenwood.

He told the inquiry the advice “would have been something like”:

double quotation markChristian’s a liar. He’s greedy. I don’t trust him, and I’m not sure he’s doing much for you at the moment. Jeremy seems to be picking up most of the slack. Jeremy’s starting his own company up, you may want to consider going to Jeremy.

Returning to the Icac’s Operation Rosny, the inquiry has heard this afternoon about how relationships between some members of the conservative right factional Liberal group the Reformers began to break down.

That includes the friendship between today’s witness, Robert Assaf, and Christian Ellis, who yesterday we heard had founded the Reformers together in 2017 after forming a strong bond while working on the No campaign for the same-sex marriage plebiscite.

Assaf said he later came to distrust Ellis, including in relation to the payment of finder’s fees to him for finding Ellis new clients.

Ellis ran Beckington, a registered lobbyist set up by the group, which allegedly took on funds under the guise of consulting services to support branch-stacking efforts, including from schools governing body Catholic Schools NSW, Beckington’s first client in 2019.

The inquiry heard that in 2021 Catholic Schools NSW CEO, Dallas McInerney, allegedly wanted to end the relationship with Beckington. Assaf said he gave the following advice to McInerney on multiple occasions in an attempt to keep payments flowing to a different company, run by Reformer Jeremy Greenwood.

He told the inquiry the advice “would have been something like”:

\n Christian’s a liar. He’s greedy. I don’t trust him, and I’m not sure he’s doing much for you at the moment. Jeremy seems to be picking up most of the slack. Jeremy’s starting his own company up, you may want to consider going to Jeremy.\n

Victorian teachers will walk off the job for a third time in five months after negotiations stalled in their bitter pay and conditions dispute with the state government, AAP reports.

Earlier today, the Australian Education Union announced a 24-hour stop work action in Victorian state schools on 19 August after an internal meeting.

Unless the parties can come to an agreement, it will be the state’s third major teachers’ strike this year.

The most recent strike took place on 23 July, with school gates locked across Victoria as 20,000 educators descended on Melbourne’s CBD to demand better pay and working conditions.

The statewide strike took place a week after Victorian union members narrowly rejected a revised government pay offer.

The deal, which was opposed by 51.8%, would have increased pay for teachers and support staff by at least 28.3% over four years, with an increase of 12.75% by October this year.

The newly minted Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, who served as education minister under former leader Jacinta Allan, argued the latest rejected pitch was a “watershed moment for education” that would have made Victorian teachers the best paid in Australia.

The president of the Victorian branch of the teachers’ union, Justin Mullaly, said negotiations with the government had not progressed since the last pay offer was put on the table on 17 July.

Mullaly acknowledged the latest pay offer was “significant”, but said it was not enough to meet the needs of overworked, underpaid educators.

He said:

\n Only three-in-10 teachers are saying they’ll stick around until retirement.\n That’s no good for our public education, that’s no good for our children and young people that we teach.\n

The NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, has backed in a minister who has been linked to the conservative rightwing factional group called the Reformers, which is being investigated under Icac’s Operation Rosny.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that NSW Liberal shadow planning minister, Chris Rath, had been captured by wire tap helping members of the Reformers evade summons to appear before a 2023 parliamentary inquiry which preceded the Icac’s Operation Rosny inquiry.

In a statement, Rath, who later recused himself from the committee, said he was “apologetic” for the incident, which had been dealt with by the NSW Privileges Committee, which had issued him a caution.

Rath said in the statement:

\n This Inquiry commenced in the highly politically charged context of an election campaign, and at the time I didn’t comprehend the gravity of the allegations.\n As resolved by the Labor majority Privileges Committee, the Clerk reminded me of my obligations, and I was, and am, apologetic. No further action was taken.\n I am not under investigation by ICAC, nor have I been called as a witness to the inquiry or asked to provide any evidence.\n

Fatalities in one of Australia’s worst bus crashes could have been reduced with better protections for ejected passengers, a three-year investigation has found.

AAP reports 10 mostly young wedding guests were killed in a bus tip-over at a roundabout in Greta in the NSW Hunter Valley in 2023, with a further 25 injured.

Driver Brett Andrew Button, 60, received a decades-long prison sentence for his role in the crash, as he was under the influence of an opioid painkiller and driving too fast at the time.

The Office of Transport Safety Investigations on Friday handed down an investigation report into the crash. Chief investigator Jim Modrouvanos said Button should not have been behind the wheel on the night of the crash, but added passenger protection systems had not worked effectively.

He said not all passengers wore seatbelts fitted in the coach and they were not issued with a pre-trip safety warning as was company policy.

Modrouvanos delivered 41 recommendations in total, and government regulators, operators and organisations have accepted wholly or in principle the 34 recommendations relevant to them.

They included strengthening medication management, developing a centralised driver performance system, increasing seatbelt management and a review of minimum rollover-protection requirements.

Two accused women with links to Islamic State have been committed to stand trial as their cases are fast-tracked to the supreme court, AAP reports.

Kawsar Ahmad, 54, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, appeared in Melbourne magistrates court via video link on Friday as they entered their “not guilty” pleas.

The two women were charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters.

It’s alleged Kawsar migrated to the Middle Eastern country to join IS with her husband, Mohammed, Zeinab and their other children about January 2015. It’s alleged while in Syria in 2017, Mohammed bought a teenage girl as a slave for $US10,000.

The two women each made a bid for bail in June but only Kawsar was successful, with a magistrate finding she posed a very low risk to the community. Kawsar’s bail was extended to her supreme court date, with conditions including a prohibition from attending any mosques to continue.

Zeinab was refused bail because there was no compelling evidence she had renounced the terrorist group. She was remanded in custody after not making any further bail applications.

Icac’s Operation Rosny has again returned to the question of federal opposition leader’s Angus Taylor knowledge and support for conservative right factional group the Reformers.

Reformers member Robert Assaf has been read a message from Catholic Schools chief executive, Dallas McInerney, which he screenshotted and sent to the Reformers group chat, in which McInerney wrote:

\n I have breakfast club with ministers this Thursday morning, who can I get an update from? Re SCD [state council delegate] progress in the last six to 12 months. I want to shake down Angus for 10k.\n

Assaf says he remembers the message, and he says he thinks the ministers included former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and current NSW Liberal MP Anthony Roberts. Asked if the update McInerney requested was for the purpose of “shaking down” Taylor, he says: “I don’t know about that. I don’t think Angus ever went anywhere.”

Asked if Taylor made a donation, he says: “I don’t think Angus worked out … I don’t recall any minister ever giving us money.”

Taylor, Roberts and Perrottet are not accused of any wrongdoing.

Prominent politicians have called for Labor MP Luke Gosling to step down from his special envoy role after assault charges, Australian Associated Press reports.

The member for the Darwin-based seat of Solomon was charged on Thursday over allegations he assaulted the NT administrator, David Connolly, earlier in July.

Gosling, 54, has been charged with two counts of assault.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said he should stand aside from his role as special envoy for defence, veterans’ affairs and northern Australia until legal proceedings had concluded. Senator McKenzie told News 24:

\n It’s an important part of our democracy of keeping integrity within our Westminster system that the prime minister does do the right thing and stand Mr Gosling aside until his name is cleared or until the matter is dealt with in court.\n

Liberal senator James Paterson on Thursday also said he hoped Gosling would move aside.

The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, would not be drawn on whether her colleague should move aside from his role. She told Channel Nine:

\n As you can appreciate, because the matter is before the court, I’m limited in what I can say.\n The commentary around this matter needs to be handled very seriously.\n

In a statement after his arrest, he said: ‘These are ridiculous allegations that I categorically deny”.

\n I’ve had no dealings with the administrator since congratulating him following the announcement of his appointment late last year.\n

Gosling’s lawyer, Marty Aust, on Thursday said the charges were “completely and utterly denied and will be contested”.

Read more here:

Returning to the NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny, Reformers member Robert Assaf is being quizzed over funding arrangements for the group.

In an often tense exchange with counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC he has been asked about the decision to move alleged payments to the Reformers from a bank account in the group’s name to Beckington, a registered lobbyist set up by the Reformers.

Assaf says the arrangement was to create “to the maximum benefit from a tax perspective because I think … we weren’t a registered charity, so it’s not tax deductible to donate to the Reformers bank account”.

Dwyer says: “That’s an explanation that you thought of overnight. Is that right?”

Assaf has also admitted to temporarily using payments to the Reformers to fund his or another Reformers’ bucks night. In a WhatsApp exchange in August 2020, Reformer Jean-Claude Perrottet wrote “Rob has the bucks cash coming back”.

Asked what this means, Assaf says:

\n I think you recall I referred to us being immature and young, using the account as an advance on our personal expenditure. This was one of those moments where we, I think, we had booked a venue for either my buck’s or [Reformer Christian Ellis’] buck’s. It required an upfront payment. I think it was cancelled maybe because of Covid, one of them, so it was waiting for it to get reimbursed.\n

Icac has also revealed the list of witnesses for next week. The first witness on Monday will be NSW upper house Liberal Damien Tudehope, whose name has come up frequently in hearings so far.

Many of the Reformers worked as staffers in Tudehope’s office, and Tudehope gave frequent talks at Reformers recruitment events. His former business partner Michael O’Hara, who the inquiry heard is alleged to have made illegal donations, was the inquiry’s first witness but has disputed whether his payments to the Reformers counted as political donations.

Tudehope, who has stood aside from his shadow cabinet roles during the inquiry, is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Next week’s witnesses also include Reformers members Jean-Claude Perrottet and Jeremy Greenwood. Yesterday the inquiry heard that Jean-Claude, the younger brother of former premier Dominic Perrottet, allegedly paid for memberships as part of branch-stacking efforts, forbidden under Liberal party rules. Dominic Perrottet is not accused of any wrongdoing. Jean-Claude has previously denied any wrongdoing.

Also appearing next week is businessman Frits Maré, a key witness at a 2023 parliamentary inquiry that preceded Icac’s inquiry. At that inquiry, Maré described being asked by members of the Reformers to contribute $50,000 to an operation to unseat Alex Hawke, the Liberal federal MP for Mitchell.

A seagull, one of Australia’s most common coastal birds, has been found with suspected deadly bird flu in South Australia.

The SA government said state tests returned a suspected positive result for H5 bird flu in the silver gull found at Robe on the Limestone coast. Samples have been sent to the CSIRO for verification.

The CSIRO also confirmed overnight that four birds at Kangaroo Island – one at Seal Bay and three at D’Estrees Bay – announced as suspect detections on Wednesday were confirmed positive.

There have now been 19 confirmed positive H5 bird flu cases in SA. A further 21 suspect cases are awaiting verification.

Jack Gough, the chief executive of the Invasive Species Council, said:

\n This is a significant step change in the scale of impact. We’ re now seeing multiple species at multiple sites. People are going to start seeing this in birds they recognise and connect to.\n Politicians should be aware of how quickly public sentiment on environmental issues could shift.\n

Separately, the Victorian government said state tests had returned a positive result for bird flu in a second greater crested tern found at Portland. One case in a greater crested tern at Portland was confirmed on Thursday.

A Victorian government spokesperson said the second greater crested tern was reported by a community member. They said samples were undergoing confirmatory testing at CSIRO’s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness.

Glenn Baker, an Australian music journalist and rock historian, has died at the age of 74, his longtime friend and collaborator said this morning.

A tribute posted to Baker’s Facebook page this morning reads:

\n Glenn’s contribution to the Australian rock ’n’ roll music landscape was immense, but his family remembers him as a loving father of six and grandfather of thirteen. Glenn’s passion for music, travel, food and his family (still not entirely sure of the order) was, like his personality, larger than life.\n

Baker’s son, Orson, told The Sydney Morning Herald this morning his father had an “amazing life”.

\n He was so deeply involved in the music industry that we are talking about a man who absolutely had a life fully lived.\n

The parents of an Australian man facing the possible death penalty in Syria spoke to the ABC last night, saying diplomatic efforts to aid their son had not been fruitful.

Patrick Stevenson, 20, has been detained for seven months over the alleged shooting death of another Australian, Abdullah Glen Charles Burgess in December.

Angela Bell, Stevenson’s mother, told the ABC she was disappointed in her dealings with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) so far.

Bell told ABC’s 7.30 program:

\n They say … that their policy is that he shouldn’t have been travelling to Syria … and that’s where the conversation gets stuck. They use the word ‘limited’ a lot. They don’t use the word failure, but basically the sense is they … have limited capacity to help in this situation.\n

Bell said she hadn’t seen a “single document” detailing the charges against her son, and there was “no access” to him.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday while legal processes would “take their course overseas”, the government was providing support for Stevenson’s family.

Australia has no embassy or consulate in Syria.

Australia faces a “growing catastrophe” from poor understanding of the country’s constitutional foundation, the governor general, Sam Mostyn, has warned as attacks on institutions and threats against elected officials undermine democratic participation.

Two years after her appointment as King Charles’s representative in Canberra, and as she brings a modern touch to the role of vice regal, Mostyn said that knowledge of how the country’s system of government operates was in steady decline and better civics education was needed.

“Where I see the most woeful lack of understanding … the basic understanding of the tenets of our democracy, is in the adult population,” Mostyn said.

Read more here:

Australia is sending firefighting teams to support rescue efforts in France, amid raging wildfires in Europe.

The government said a Chinook helicopter equipped with a 11,300-litre water tank and a support aircraft would be deployed, alongside 24 skilled aerial and ground crew from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.

Officials said in a statement:

\n Together, they will support around-the-clock firefighting operations, providing much-needed relief to emergency services responding on the ground.\n The wildfires in France are among the worst the country has experienced in decades, driven by multiple active fire fronts and a prolonged summer heatwave.\n The NSW RFS is internationally recognised as an expert in bushfire management and represents the very best of Australian emergency management capability.\n

A legal battle involving Indigenous land rights is set to return to court after native title holders rejected a court-ordered $150m compensation payout, Australian Associated Press reports.

The federal court ordered in May that Andrew Forrest’s company Fortescue pay the Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation the sum in compensation for mining on its land without an agreement and destroying cultural sites.

Yesterday a meeting of Yindjibarndi native title body members voted unanimously to appeal the decision, in order to seek more from the miner.

Yindjibarndi Group chief executive, Michael Woodley, said:

\n It was a long, emotional day, which resulted in a decision by all attendees to put family and Ngurra [Country] first.\n The decision represents the strong connection between Yindjibarndi People and our Ngurra, and what we hold as the key value of our community – that is, a successful future for the next generations.\n

Attorneys general are meeting in Darwin on Friday to work on nationalising the working with children check – sparked by serious allegations of safety breaches and child abuse in the childcare sector.

But a fully nationalised system will only be in place under current timelines from mid-2028 – two years from now.

The Coalition in recent days has put pressure on the government’s timeline and accused it of delaying the national system.

The federal attorney general, Michelle Rowland, says today the AGs will seek agreement on a baseline of criminal offences which will automatically bar a person from being granted or hold a working with children check (WWCC), and discuss minimum standards for WWCC risk assessment processes.

Rowland says:

\n All governments have made significant progress towards delivering a national approach to Working with Children Checks ... I am confident my state and territory colleagues will take the next big step today and agree on nationally consistent minimum standards and information sharing.\n

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.

State, territory and federal attorneys general are meeting today to discuss reform on working with children checks. The meeting has been sparked by serious allegations of safety breaches and child abuse in the childcare sector.

A farewell will be held for Layla Jeffery, 13, in Donald today. Layla went missing in July and a 16-year-old boy has been charged over her alleged murder.

And a legal battle involving Indigenous land rights is set to return to court after native title holders rejected a court-ordered $150m compensation payout.

Thanks for joining us.

Key events

• 36m agoIcac hears of friendship breakdown between members of Reformers
• 53m agoVictorian teachers vote to strike for third time this year in pay dispute
• 1h agoNSW opposition leader backs minister linked to Reformers
• 2h agoSafety failings compounded deadly wedding bus crash
• 2h agoTrial for mother and daughter over alleged Islamic State ties
• 3h ago‘I don’t think Angus worked out’: Icac witness does not recall opposition leader making donations
• 4h agoCalls for Labor MP Luke Gosling to stand down from special envoy role
• 5h agoReformers member tells Icac hearing he used factional funds to pay for bucks night
• 5h agoDominic Perrottet’s brother to appear before Icac next week
• 6h agoSuspected H5 bird flu detected in seagull in South Australia
• 7h agoAcclaimed rock music journalist Glenn Baker dead at 74
• 8h agoParents of Australian facing possible death penalty in Syria disappointed with government action so far
• 8h agoGovernor general warns of ‘growing catastrophe’ that threatens to undermine democracy in Australia
• 9h agoAustralia sends France 24 firefighters and two aircraft to tackle wildfires
• 9h agoIndigenous community rejects $150m Fortescue payout
• 10h agoFederal, state and territories meet over reform of working with children checks
• 10h agoWelcome

Victorian teachers vote to strike for third time this year in pay dispute

Victorian teachers will walk off the job for a third time in five months after negotiations stalled in their bitter pay and conditions dispute with the state government, AAP reports.

Earlier today, the Australian Education Union announced a 24-hour stop work action in Victorian state schools on 19 August after an internal meeting.

Unless the parties can come to an agreement, it will be the state’s third major teachers’ strike this year.

The most recent strike took place on 23 July, with school gates locked across Victoria as 20,000 educators descended on Melbourne’s CBD to demand better pay and working conditions.

Teachers march through Melbourne's city centre to protest over pay and conditions earlier this month. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

The statewide strike took place a week after Victorian union members narrowly rejected a revised government pay offer.

The deal, which was opposed by 51.8%, would have increased pay for teachers and support staff by at least 28.3% over four years, with an increase of 12.75% by October this year.

The newly minted Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, who served as education minister under former leader Jacinta Allan, argued the latest rejected pitch was a “watershed moment for education” that would have made Victorian teachers the best paid in Australia.

The president of the Victorian branch of the teachers’ union, Justin Mullaly, said negotiations with the government had not progressed since the last pay offer was put on the table on 17 July.

Mullaly acknowledged the latest pay offer was “significant”, but said it was not enough to meet the needs of overworked, underpaid educators.

He said:

double quotation markOnly three-in-10 teachers are saying they’ll stick around until retirement. That’s no good for our public education, that’s no good for our children and young people that we teach.

Penry Buckley

Sloane has previously declined to provide running commentary on Icac’s hearings after other current shadow ministers were named during hearings, but Rath’s admission relates to conduct prior to the current inquiry.

In a statement today, she said:

double quotation markI have spoken with Chris directly. I have expressed my disappointment about what occurred and made it clear to him the standards I expect of every member of my team. Those standards are high, and I expect them to be upheld at all times. I respect the Parliament’s processes. It is not appropriate for me to simply substitute my own judgment years later for the findings and sanctions imposed by the Parliament after it had considered all the facts.

NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane. Photograph: Nadir Kinani/AAP

NSW opposition leader backs minister linked to Reformers

Penry Buckley

The NSW Liberal leader, Kellie Sloane, has backed in a minister who has been linked to the conservative rightwing factional group called the Reformers, which is being investigated under Icac’s Operation Rosny.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that NSW Liberal shadow planning minister, Chris Rath, had been captured by wire tap helping members of the Reformers evade summons to appear before a 2023 parliamentary inquiry which preceded the Icac’s Operation Rosny inquiry.

In a statement, Rath, who later recused himself from the committee, said he was “apologetic” for the incident, which had been dealt with by the NSW Privileges Committee, which had issued him a caution.

Rath said in the statement:

double quotation markThis Inquiry commenced in the highly politically charged context of an election campaign, and at the time I didn’t comprehend the gravity of the allegations. As resolved by the Labor majority Privileges Committee, the Clerk reminded me of my obligations, and I was, and am, apologetic. No further action was taken. I am not under investigation by ICAC, nor have I been called as a witness to the inquiry or asked to provide any evidence.

Catie McLeod

Hi, I hope you’re having a nice Friday. I’ll take it from here.

Nick Visser

That’s it for me. Catie McLeod will pick up the blog from here. Take care!

Safety failings compounded deadly wedding bus crash

Fatalities in one of Australia’s worst bus crashes could have been reduced with better protections for ejected passengers, a three-year investigation has found.

AAP reports 10 mostly young wedding guests were killed in a bus tip-over at a roundabout in Greta in the NSW Hunter Valley in 2023, with a further 25 injured.

Driver Brett Andrew Button, 60, received a decades-long prison sentence for his role in the crash, as he was under the influence of an opioid painkiller and driving too fast at the time.

The Office of Transport Safety Investigations on Friday handed down an investigation report into the crash. Chief investigator Jim Modrouvanos said Button should not have been behind the wheel on the night of the crash, but added passenger protection systems had not worked effectively.

He said not all passengers wore seatbelts fitted in the coach and they were not issued with a pre-trip safety warning as was company policy.

Modrouvanos delivered 41 recommendations in total, and government regulators, operators and organisations have accepted wholly or in principle the 34 recommendations relevant to them.

They included strengthening medication management, developing a centralised driver performance system, increasing seatbelt management and a review of minimum rollover-protection requirements.

Trial for mother and daughter over alleged Islamic State ties

Two accused women with links to Islamic State have been committed to stand trial as their cases are fast-tracked to the supreme court, AAP reports.

Kawsar Ahmad, 54, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, appeared in Melbourne magistrates court via video link on Friday as they entered their “not guilty” pleas.

The two women were charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former Islamic State fighters.

It’s alleged Kawsar migrated to the Middle Eastern country to join IS with her husband, Mohammed, Zeinab and their other children about January 2015. It’s alleged while in Syria in 2017, Mohammed bought a teenage girl as a slave for $US10,000.

The two women each made a bid for bail in June but only Kawsar was successful, with a magistrate finding she posed a very low risk to the community. Kawsar’s bail was extended to her supreme court date, with conditions including a prohibition from attending any mosques to continue.

Zeinab was refused bail because there was no compelling evidence she had renounced the terrorist group. She was remanded in custody after not making any further bail applications.

Penry Buckley

Icac witness describes being ‘hangry’ before lunchtime break

The NSW Icac’s hearings have resumed after a break for lunch. Just before lunch, the Icac presiding commissioner, Fabian Gleeson, who has frequently intervened during Reformer Robert Assaf’s evidence today, told Assaf he had become “a bit argumentative in your response”.

“I believe they call that hangry commissioner,” Assaf said.

Gleeson said:

double quotation markI’m not aware of what young people’s speak is these days, Mr Assaf. What I’d like you to do is to sit there, concentrate and answer a further question which council assisting has, and then we’ll adjourn. Understand?

The commission heard how Assaf, 30, came to be employed in communications at Catholic Schools NSW, the governing body for 600 schools in the state, in 2019, alongside Reformers associate Dylan Whitelaw, who gave evidence earlier in the week.

The Catholic Schools NSW chief executive, Dallas McInerney, is alleged to have arranged and approved payments to the Reformers to support branch stacking efforts through registered lobbyist Beckington, where Whitelaw later came to be employed.

Under intense questioning before lunch from counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC, Assaf admitted that he knew that money being paid to Beckington was to fund work that Whitelaw was doing for the Reformers. “I knew that, yes,” Assaf said.

Australia’s golden sprinters speak out on cycling defector: ‘Good riddance’

Leigh Hoffman has bade Matt Richardson good riddance after Australia’s gold medal in the team sprint on day one of the Commonwealth Games track cycling program, AAP reports.

Teammate Ryan Elliott also joked they had cleared Hoffman as their leader, checking his passport to make sure he will stay in the Australian program. While expressing sympathy for Richardson after a recent nasty race crash in Japan, his former teammates finally spoke freely about the shock defection.

Leigh Hoffman, Ryan Elliott and Daniel Barber. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Their big win over England was one of Australia’s three cycling gold medals at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, along with the women’s team pursuit and para-cyclist Tara Neyland.

But England gained some revenge for the Paris Olympics, beating Australia in the men’s team pursuit final. Two years ago, Australia narrowly downed Great Britain in a pulsating ride-off for gold. Soon after Paris, Richardson stunned the sport by switching allegiances to Great Britain.

Read more here:

Ima Caldwell

Toyota becomes airborne and then wedges in side of Brisbane bus

A Queensland driver has been fined after being involved in a stunning crash that saw a car become airborne and then stuck in the side of a bus.

The drama unfolded at Rocklea in Brisbane’s south on Wednesday evening. A blue Toyota Yaris hit a traffic island and was catapulted into the air before smashing into the side of the council bus. The back of the car was left protruding from the bus.

Watch below:

Footage shows car lodged into side of bus after airborne crash in Brisbane