/qresearch/ -  Q Research

>>25117850

Christopher Saunders: Former Bishop of Broome jailed for sex offences

The 76-year-old groomed and abused victims in WA’s Kimberley region, when he was one of the country’s most senior Catholic figures.

Chris Reason and Bryce Luff - 07 Oct 2026

Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Alan Saunders has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for sexually abusing two young Aboriginal men.

Saunders, 76, was found guilty in August of 13 sex offences following a trial in the West Australian District Court that lasted more than three weeks.

His offending included one count of sexual penetration without consent and 12 counts of unlawful and indecent assault.

On Wednesday he was jailed for six-and-a-half years in a sentence campaigners have described as “historic”.

Saunders’ sentence was backdated to August, when he was convicted and taken into custody.

He will be eligible for parole in February 2031, when he will be 81.

Child Abuse Squad detective sergeant Andrew Broadley said the victims were pleased with the verdicts and relieved the court proceedings are now over.

“I’m going to go and speak to them now and inform them of the sentence and I’m hoping that that brings them some peace and they can move on,” he said outside court.

He said the complainants and witnesses had shown “courage and resilience” during this case.

“Any victim of sexual abuse needs to summon immense courage to sit in the witness box and provide their evidence and these two men did a great job in doing so,” he said.

The retired bishop fought allegations he groomed and abused victims in WA’s Kimberley region, when he was one of the country’s most senior Catholic figures.

Prosecutors said the man known as Brother B by his victims had hosted alcohol-fuelled parties using church funds so he could target the men.

Extraordinary secretly-recorded video of Saunders grooming a young man was released by the court in September.

In the tapes, a half-naked Saunders drank with a young man while touching his feet and between his legs.

The bishop’s behaviour was captured during a time Saunders knew he was under investigation.

The prosecution said the recordings did not show the offences which Saunders was convicted of but was evidence of his grooming behaviour.

‘I was a toy’

Quoting a victim impact statement, District court judge Martin Flynn said: “I trusted him but I realised after all these years I was a toy.”

Flynn said Saunders had betrayed his position in the church.

“You decided to prioritise your desire for your sexual satisfaction,” the judge said.

“You are responsible for the harm they suffer to this day.”

International watchdog organisation Bishop Accountability said that of the 168 bishops publicly accused of sex crimes before Saunders’ sentence, only four were convicted. Two of those had their sentences overturned.

Broadley would not be drawn when pressed about the “history-making” nature of the conviction and sentence.

“Every case we investigate is important, no more so than the next. I’m glad that we brought this to a conclusion.”

Saunders was acquitted of seven historical sex assault charges mid-trial when a judge decided there was not enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty. A jury also found him not guilty of six other charges, following the trial.

The former high-ranking Catholic was first charged with a number of offences in February 2024.

It came after a 200-page Vatican report was leaked to 7NEWS alleging Saunders had committed shocking crimes.

Saunders was ordained Bishop of Broome in 1996 and stepped down after police began investigating his conduct amid complaints of sexual assault.

Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe said “no court sentence can undo the suffering” that has been caused.

“To each victim and survivor who courageously revealed what they had endured, we want to say this: We are sorry for the pain and suffering that was inflicted on you” Costelloe said.

“We are sorry that your trust was so directly and profoundly betrayed by a leader of the Church.

“The journey of the Church must also continue. The crimes for which the former bishop of Broome has been sentenced today are a shocking and shameful reminder of this.”

Saunders has 28 days to appeal. If he does, it could delay any action against him from the Vatican.

https://7news.com.au/news/christopher-saunders-former-bishop-of-broome-jailed-for-sex-offences-c-22980710

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyobMuv1V98

>>25117850

>>25117872

Christopher Alan Saunders: Australia’s most senior Catholic convicted of sexual abuse jailed for more than six years

Hannah Murphy - October 7, 2026

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The former Bishop of Broome has been jailed for six years and six months after he was found to have sexually abused two Aboriginal men.

Christopher Alan Saunders, 76, appeared in WA District Court on Wednesday after he was found guilty by a jury on 13 charges including unlawful and indecent assault and penetration without consent in August.

The trial, which ran for three weeks, found Saunders had committed the offences against two men between 2010 and 2019, who were Catholics and lived in the Kimberley diocese where he was the most senior Catholic in the northern WA district.

The jury found Saunders had engaged in systemic grooming of the two victims, including instances where he would use church funds and church-owned properties to host alcohol-fuelled “shirts-off” parties.

During sentencing on Wednesday, District Court Judge Martin Flynn said Saunders would be eligible for parole after 4½ years, and his sentence would be backdated to August 12.

Flynn said the two men had been resilient and factual during their evidence, and had given “remarkably similar” testimony about the bishop’s gatherings and the way he would offend against young men.

The most serious charge the bishop has been convicted of was rape, which happened on a farm just outside Kununurra when he was visiting on a trip.

The complainant said he had been drinking with the bishop and his “head had begun to spin” when he laid down, and felt the bishop force oral sex on him.

He attempted to push the bishop off, but Saunders continued and said: “Come on brother, it’s between me and you – no one is going to find out.”

Flynn said he accepted the complainant’s evidence.

“[He] was so intoxicated that it was impossible for him to freely and voluntarily offer consent,” he said.

The court heard how another victim also reported being groped and kissed by Saunders without consent, in what the court determined to be a pattern of behaviour.

Flynn said only the victim of the rape had provided a victim impact statement, and read sections aloud for the court.

“I trusted him. I thought he wanted me to be a better person. I realise after all those years I was a toy he was using,” Flynn quoted.

“My head is pounding now, I have too much pain … I can’t talk about it, it f*cks my head up. I couldn’t tell anybody I was ashamed of myself. I am still ashamed of myself.

“I want to move on but I can’t move on because it doesn’t leave my head.”

(continued)

>>25117930

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Flynn was also scathing of the bishop’s decision to continuously provide young Aboriginal men with alcohol, and said he had likely contributed to addiction difficulties they faced later in life.

“I am satisfied that your offending has made a contribution to each of the impairments that those men are suffering, each day, years after what you did,” he said.

“In deciding to prioritise your desire for sex gratification you disregarded the dignity of each of those victims.”

Flynn said he would not give any weight to letters written to the court about the bishop’s character, saying the man they knew was evidently not the man he actually was.

After sentencing, WA Police Detective Sergeant Andrew Broadley said the investigative team wanted to acknowledge the “courage and resilience” shown by the complainants and the witnesses.

“The complainants were pleased with the verdicts, they’re relieved it’s over,” he said.

“It has been incredibly difficult they summoned an immense amount of courage to make these reports in the first place, so I’m just glad we have had the opportunity to support them over the last three years.

“WA Police encourages any victim of sexual abuse to come forward. This outcome proves that reporting works and it underscores our commitment to thoroughly investigate allegations of this nature, no matter how much time has passed.”

Private investigator Tim Murray, who was hired by the Vatican when the allegations came to light, said he hoped the end of the matter was satisfying for locals.

“I just hope the young Indigenous people in the Kimberley can start to heal,” he said.

“I really think it’s a good day for Western Australia, as it’s very hard to bring such a powerful man down.

“Who knows what damage has already been done to these young people.”

When asked if he thought the Catholic Church would act following the conclusion of the trial, Murray said he was hopeful.

Now criminal proceedings are formally completed, the Vatican will be able to restart its own Vos Estis Lux Mundi investigation into the bishop’s conduct.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB released a statement after the sentencing.

“The journey of the Church must also continue,” he said.

“The crimes for which the former bishop of Broome has been sentenced today are a shocking and shameful reminder of this.”

At least two witnesses in the trial have called on the Vatican to defrock Saunders, and strip him of his title as emeritus bishop.

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/australia-s-senior-most-catholic-convicted-of-sexual-abuse-jailed-for-more-than-six-years-20261007-p613c7.html

>>25067394

>>25094513

Accused ISIS propagandist Mohamed Musse Bakit granted bail in Melbourne court

MOHAMMAD ALFARES - 8 October 2026

An accused ISIS propagandist who receives 24-hour weekly NDIS care has been freed on bail despite allegations he shared thousands of execution videos and extremist files online.

Mohamed Musse Bakit, 65, was granted bail under strict conditions on Thursday after Deputy Chief Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge ruled his poor health and reliance on taxpayer-funded NDIS support helped meet the high legal bar for release.

Mr Bakit was arrested in September by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team and charged with five offences, including being a member of a terrorist organisation between 2018 and 2020, possessing extreme violent material, and using a carriage service to offend or menace.

Delivering his ruling, Mr Lethbridge acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations, noting they carry the potential to cause “great harm” in the community.

“In considering whether exceptional circumstances that justify the grant of bail exist, the court takes into account the relevant surrounding circumstances,” Mr Lethbridge said.

“Considering all those factors, but in particular, the applicant’s age, parlous health, lack of prior convictions, (and) the historic nature of the allegations … the court finds that in combination, these circumstances are unusual or out of the ordinary, justifying a grant of bail.”

The court heard Mr Bakit has lived in Australia since 1981 without any prior criminal record. Part of his defence centred around having a disability following a stroke in 2023 that caused various impairments, which created a heightened risk of choking and falling over.

The court heard the accused relies on NDIS-funded support 24 hours a week for daily tasks including showering, dressing, and mobility.

Mr Lethbridge said that if the matter goes to trial, Mr Bakit could face 18 months or longer on remand.

The prosecution, which conceded it could not satisfy the “unacceptable risk” test to oppose bail outright, agreed to a release under stringent conditions.

Under the conditions set by the court, Mr Bakit must reside at his Carlton home, report to Melbourne East police station every Wednesday, and surrender all travel documents. He is barred from leaving Victoria, using encrypted messaging apps, accessing extremist material, or using any telephone other than a nominated handset provided to police.

The charges follow allegations that Mr Bakit was the most active contributor to a WhatsApp group created in 2014, sharing nearly 10,000 files including official ISIS propaganda, execution videos, and suicide bombing footage.

Last week the court heard for the first time details about how Queensland medical practitioner Dr Omar Elamin established an online circle of radicalised Islamic followers before fleeing Australia for Libya in 2016.

It was alleged that Mr Bakit was the most active participant among the group.

The shared repository by him spanned over 3189 images, 1609 audio tracks, and 811 videos depicting casualties, suicide bombings, and calls for the enslavement of women.

Mr Bakit also allegedly distributed 133 editions of official Islamic State magazines containing step-by-step guides on planning mass-casualty attacks and instructions on evading detection by intelligence agencies.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Katharine Dillon revealed that Dr Elamin has never returned to Australia and remains the subject of an active joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and Queensland Police.

The court heard Mr Bakit celebrated Dr Elamin’s escape to North Africa with the messages: “Allah is the greatest” and “Omar has won”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/accused-isis-propagandist-mohamed-musse-bakit-granted-bail-in-melbourne-court/news-story/f885166b242f828a90af4796aa11c372

>>25100843

Sydney nurses’ trial over alleged Israeli patient threats derailed by High Court challenge

WILL SEITAM and BIMINI PLESSER - 8 October 2026

The trial of two former nurses who allegedly threatened to kill Israeli patients at Sydney’s Bankstown Hospital has been vacated for a second time, after the pair launched a constitutional challenge to the High Court.

Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir – who were charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend after they were recorded allegedly threatening violence against Israeli patients last year – were days away from facing a jury at trial.

But District Court judge Kara Shead vacated the trial on Thursday to allow time for the nurses’ High Court bid to be heard.

As revealed by The Australian last week, Ms Abu Lebdeh and Mr Nadir plan to challenge the validity of the charges against them, claiming they breach their implied right to freedom of political communication.

Parramatta’s District Court heard on Thursday that the former nurses’ lawyers had notified the nation’s Attorneys-General of their High Court challenge.

The court found the trial could not proceed until the attorneys-general had been given sufficient time to respond.

Four had not yet responded, including the Attorneys-General in South Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. None of those who had responded indicated an intention to intervene.

The pair were first due before a jury on August 31, but 11th-hour expert evidence on the Israel-Palestine conflict tendered to the court saw that trial derailed.

The former nurses have pleaded not guilty to using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend, and Ms Abu Lebdeh has pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of threatening violence to a group.

They have been stood down by NSW Health and banned for two years from working with NDIS participants. Both have also been prohibited from working as nurses anywhere in the country by the national health practitioner watchdog.

The former nurses were recorded allegedly threatening violence against Israeli patients while on duty at Bankstown Hospital in February last year.

Mr Nadir allegedly said in the video: “You have no idea how many (Israeli people) come to this hospital … I send to Jahannam”, the Arabic translation for “hell”.

Ms Abu Lebdeh is alleged to have said she would not treat Israeli patients but “kill them”.

“It (Israel) is Palestine’s country, not your country, you piece of shit.”

The matter will return to the District Court for mention on November 19.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/sydney-nurses-trial-over-alleged-israeli-patient-threats-derailed-by-high-court-challenge/news-story/50df25b99dd51e43b9a4063ca5ee2dc5

>>25032113

>>25110663

Tense scenes as Alan Jones accuser denies deceiving broadcaster to extract more than $100k

Clare Sibthorpe - October 8, 2026

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A complainant in Alan Jones’ sexual assault trial has denied deceiving the former broadcaster throughout his teenage years to extract more than $100,000 in financial support for his family.

Tense scenes erupted at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday during cross-examination of the now-doctor, who alleges Jones put his tongue in his mouth and touched his bottom at the former broadcaster’s Fitzroy Falls farm. He was 17 and Jones was in his 70s.

Jones, 85, is on trial for 19 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching without consent against five male complainants between 2003 and 2020. He denies the alleged acts occurred.

The fifth and final complainant to testify, dubbed “A”, alleged that he developed a friendship with Jones from the age of 13 after reaching out for help for his financially struggling family. He said the former 2GB broadcaster leveraged contacts to help them remortgage their home and funded significant renovations in the years before the alleged assault. The court heard on Thursday that this figure exceeded $100,000.

During cross-examination, defence barrister Gabrielle Bashir, SC, dissected dozens of emails sent to Jones and signed off by the then-teenager, discussing the renovation and related legal arrangements. She suggested his mother had made more contributions to them than he claimed.

“Were you trying to deceive Mr Jones about the author of the email when you sent emails signed off just from just [his name] that your mother had input into?” she asked. “A” disagreed.

Bashir pressed that he was. He said she was wrong.

In another exchange, Bashir put to him that he intended to obtain as much financial assistance from Jones as he possibly could.

“That is not true,” he replied.

Bashir suggested his mother had the same intention. “A” said that was a lie.

One by one, Bashir took him through piles of emails, quizzing him on his mother’s input.

He frequently responded that he did not understand her, told her she was not asking him actual questions, and once accused her of twisting his words.

After hours of friction and an exchange about whether the man was aware of the content of an email sent a decade ago, Bashir asked: “You told the court you’re a doctor, haven’t you?”

The man agreed.

Bashir pressed him on details of his studies, adding: “You are well able to understand the question I’m asking you.”

“A” responded that he was not sure what this has to do with him studying medicine.

“You’re a person of high intelligence, aren’t you?”

The complainant asked for clarification about her previous question before answering it.

At one point “A” accused Bashir of trying to railroad his testimony and trick him into agreeing with her exact framing regarding his intent behind the emails.

She denied manipulating and twisting his words.

When Bashir earlier questioned “A” on the number of commas in emails signalling whether he or his mother wrote them, prosecutor Georgina Wright, SC stepped in.

“I object to this, your honour. This is becoming annoying,” Wright said.

(continued)

>>25118005

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In one email dated several years after the first communications, Jones told “A” that “enough is enough”.

“This cost thing is out of hand. There must be a point where I have to say no more,” he wrote.

Earlier in the week the court heard Jones showered the teenager with compliments, calling him sophisticated, articulate and a “special young man”.

Telling him he loved him dearly, the former broadcaster said he was the most brilliant young teenager he’d ever met and a “beautiful human being”. After they shared a meal, Jones wrote: “You looked wonderful, fresh and bright – I can’t believe you’re 14 years of age”.

“A” made several visits to Jones’ Circular Quay apartment and one weekend trip to Jones’ Fitzroy Falls property.

He testified that as he stood in the hallway with Jones on his last night at the farm, he leaned in to hug him and thanked him for the weekend. He alleged Jones put his tongue inside his mouth, making him freeze.

He said the kissing continued until Jones put his hand on the teenager’s bottom for several seconds.

“A” said he recoiled, stepped away and told Jones, “That’s enough, Alan.” He felt “very uncomfortable” as Jones grinned, and went into the en suite of his bedroom where he scrubbed his mouth out while feeling “violated and gross”.

The court heard that in the following days the teenager confided in his mother in a letter describing debilitating flashbacks. He wrote that he was physically strong enough to prevent the assault but it showed him the power of money.

The boy first spoke to police in 2018 and Jones was later charged.

The trial continues.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/tense-scenes-as-alan-jones-accuser-denies-scheme-to-extract-more-than-100k-from-him-20261008-p613gd.html

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The suspicions about Mountbatten-Windsor centre on whether he shared confidential government information with Epstein and others when he was a government envoy. He had useful information as the United Kingdom’s special representative for international trade and investment from 2001 to 2011.

The police said this raised suspicions of misconduct in public office.

Three months after the arrest, Thames Valley Police issued a call for witnesses to come forward about a broader investigation into misconduct, suggesting there were victims of abuse who might testify about the former prince and his ties to Epstein.

“In terms of Epstein victims and survivors, we hope that anyone with relevant information will come forward, and I really want to stress that our door is open whenever a victim-survivor is ready to engage with us,” said Thames Valley Police Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright at the time.

“We’re ready for you at whatever point that may be.”

Mountbatten-Windsor faced accusations of sexual assault from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died by suicide in Western Australia last year.

Britain’s republican movement urged police to continue the investigation despite the setback in court, saying the police should “get their act together” and follow the evidence.

The head of campaign group Republic, Graham Smith, reported Mountbatten-Windsor to police based on the disclosures in the Epstein emails, and he said on Thursday that the decision on the former prince could not rest on a technicality about the search warrants.

“Andrew has been accused of various offences for years, and for years the police, government and the royals have turned a blind eye to protect him from scrutiny,” said Smith.

“Police must follow the evidence wherever it leads. The victims and accused all deserve justice.

“I make no claims as to the guilt or innocence of anyone involved, but it is vital that evidence is pursued and investigations followed and that everyone is treated equally in law.

“There is a widespread view that the royals are not treated equally in law, that the rich and powerful can dodge investigation. It is vital this police blunder does not impede justice.”

Republic wants King Charles and Prince William and other members of the royal family to be called as witnesses so they can be asked about what they knew about the king’s brother.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/police-search-warrants-for-former-prince-andrew-were-unlawful-judge-rules-20261009-p6142k.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNmJN0S3AsM

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One a more serious note, the Queensland Senator went on to rally the room to dispose of the Albanese government no matter “what colour you wear”.

It came just 10 minutes after Ms Hanson used her speech to pan the Liberal Party.

“My message for you today is that we do wear lots of different colours, there’s lots of different things, but the one thing we have to do is put the Labor party last,” Senator Canavan said.

Canavan dismissed her comments and said that while Ms Hanson said she wanted to work for the Coalition, she had also previously said she wanted to remove Mr Taylor in his NSW seat of Hume.

“It’s a hard slog to change the government… it doesn’t happen very often”.

“Let’s not get distracted on side quests. Let’s focus on the main game, which is removing Labor members of Parliament.”

PROTESTORS STORM CPAC

Hundreds of protestors descended upon the CPAC event screaming and jeering at attendees walking in and out the building.

There was a heavy police presence inside and outside the building.

Protestors, including those from the Socialist Alliance, focused their attention on One Nation and Senator Pauline Hanson.

“CPAC is not welcome here,” they said.

“Pauline Hanson makes me sick - racist, sexist piece of sh*t.”

Some attendees encouraged the crowd by waving and throwing their hands up.

ANGUS TAYLOR TELLS CPAC ‘WE GOT SOME THINGS WRONG’.

Angus Taylor has conceded that the former Coalition government “got some important things wrong” on migration, pandemic spending and backing net zero, telling attendees at a conservative political conference that the Coalition is “unashamedly on the right”.

He gave the comments at a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Brisbane, amid calls from organisers to “unite the conservative forces of Australia”. Nationals Leader Matt Canavan and One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson also set to address audiences.

With the Coalition sitting on a measly primary vote of 19 per cent and haemorrhaging votes to One Nation of 30 per cent, the Opposition Leader issued a call to arms from right-wing voters pleading with the audience that “if you believe our country can change for the better, then believe that the Liberal Party can too”.

Mr Taylor, who is the first opposition leader to attend the annual CPAC event, said voter anger “about where we let you down in the recent past are understandable and reasonable,” and frustrations he shared, conceding errors of “allowing immigration numbers to creep up,” “spending too much during the pandemic, more than was needed to save jobs and the economy,” and making the “mistake of signing up to Net Zero”.

“I’ve been upfront about our mistakes, especially in my first press conference as leader and in my budget in reply address. And I’m being upfront with you now when I say we’ve learned from them,” he said.

In a broad attack on what he said was a socialist Labor government, he said socialism had found “safe houses on Western university campuses” and “spread into big corporations, bureaucracies, the media, and parliaments”.

His comments follow calls from CPAC chair Warren Mundine who issues calls to “unite the conservative forces of Australia and kick this Albanese Marxist lying government out”.

Ahead of the conference, CPAC Australia’s national director Andrew Cooper also said the three parties need to remember that while “you might be competing for the same spots but you are playing on the same side”.

“We’ve been saying this for many, many months now that it’s important that they compete fairly and don’t seek to destroy the other,” he told this masthead.

“We all know that after the next election there are going to have to be some accommodations made in order to remove the Albanese government – something all three of them say they want to do.”

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Canavan downplayed any pressure the Coalition was facing to outshine One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson at the conference.

Senator Canavan said he had attended more CPAC events than Ms Hanson has.

“I think when I tell you that there’s been many, many more Liberal and National speakers at these conferences than One Nation,” he said. “Tony Abbott’s spoken regularly as a former leader of the Liberal Party, and as I say, in terms of the Nationals, we’ve been here all the time.

“We’ve showed up all the time.”

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/weve-learned-angus-taylor-concedes-coalition-net-zero-and-immigration-failures-at-cpac/news-story/2a1c2b3126c03924e6cdb11c02849213

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfwPhjQG004

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>>25110620

>>25110627

Accused hijack pilot’s descent into extremism began in Melbourne, authorities say

Brittany Busch and Carla Jaeger - October 10, 2026

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The flydubai co-pilot accused of trying to hijack an aircraft bound for Israel last month began his descent into extremism while living in Melbourne, according to UAE authorities.

Hammam al-Hammami told authorities he acted alone but that he drew inspiration from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US, the state-run Emirates News Agency said on Friday, citing Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi. The co-pilot had made the trip two previous times to familiarise himself with the route and the airport, the agency reported.

The update from the UAE contains the most detailed account so far of the attack, as well as the co-pilot’s history and the events contributing to what the attorney-general described as his extremist views, which he traced to his time living in Melbourne from 2015 to 2017.

According to the news agency, al-Hammami began gravitating “towards extremism and terrorism” in 2017 when he was studying in Australia, where he was influenced by radical ideology.

“During that period, he was influenced by takfiri [radical] ideology through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks,” it reported, in comments attributed to the United Arab Emirates attorney-general.

Al-Hammami was pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at Melbourne’s RMIT University. The news agency reported that he had admitted regularly attending a mosque affiliated with RMIT, where he became acquainted with individuals associated with MyCentre, an Islamic organisation based in Broadmeadows.

“He stated that the centre was managed by a Lebanese man known as Abu Hamza and allegedly received support from an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood,” it reported.

“He also said that he had prepared himself both psychologically and physically to carry out the plot by intensifying his exposure to material promoting terrorism and training in boxing under a private coach.”

Hamza, a cleric also known as Samir Mohtadi, is described on MyCentre’s website as its community leader. This masthead sought to contact him for comment on Saturday.

This masthead is not suggesting he intentionally taught al-Hammami to engage in violence or terrorism, only that al-Hammami claims to have been connected to Hamza’s organisation.

According al-Hammami’s tweets, unearthed by this masthead this week, he dropped out of his course at RMIT for a job and said it was “the best decision I ever made in my life”.

His tweets, which were written in Arabic, also featured misogynistic commentary and homophobic abuse.

Last Sunday, it was announced that the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team was probing al-Hammami’s time in Australia, including his time studying at RMIT.

London’s Financial Times reported that the nation’s intelligence services had opened a file on al-Hammami while he was living in Melbourne. However, a senior source in the national security community strongly denied this.

Al-Hammami might have been included in a database or mentioned in relation to someone else but had not been investigated by ASIO at a serious level, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The 29-year-old Omani co-pilot attacked the captain of flydubai Flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai on September 30, with the intent of crashing the plane into Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The aim of the premeditated plot was to cause “the greatest possible loss of life”, Emirates News Agency said.

The plane plunged more than 4000 metres in less than 30 seconds before passengers, a separate pilot onboard and cabin crew were able to subdue the co-pilot and stabilise the aircraft. The pilot who intervened was assigned to the return flight and happened to be near the cockpit when the attack occurred.

“He noticed the cockpit door opening and closing repeatedly in an unusual manner, which aroused his suspicions,” the news agency said. He attempted to enter the cockpit using the access code and witnessed the attack after gaining entry, it said.

The return-flight captain and his co-pilot safely landed the plane at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.

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Before joining flydubai in January 2026, al-Hammami was employed by Royal Air Maroc, beginning in early 2025, and Oman Air before that from 2020 to 2024, the news agency said.

The UAE said it looked at flydubai’s procedures for recruiting al-Hammami. Investigators found that he met the requirements for employment, including holding a pilot’s license, providing a certificate of good conduct and completing necessary checks, the state-run news agency said. “However, none of the procedures revealed any indications of his extremist views or his intention to carry out a terrorist plot,” it said.

The suspect gave a detailed confession outlining his motives and the stages of planning and execution in “the presence of his lawyer and with all legally prescribed safeguards ensured”, the agency said, without identifying the attorney. The investigation into the co-pilot’s actions remains ongoing.

Extremism expert Dr Josh Roose said he was not surprised that al-Hammami had reportedly begun to be radicalised in Melbourne during the peak of the Islamic State movement, at a time when Australia produced more foreign fighters than most other Western nations.

The Deakin University associate professor said since then, a strong political base had spread online.

“It’s very conservative, and a lot of it is quite anti-government,” he said. “Many of these hardline fundamentalist Imams are spreading hate in their sermons.”

The Muslim Brotherhood was difficult to pin down, Roose said, but was an opaque term for a movement that wanted to build a caliphate and had links to Hamas, the designated terror group.

He said the UAE’s report was an opportunity for Australia to open up a conversation about the group’s influence, and the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader, Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.

”The Australian government should be looking very closely at any organisation associated with the International Union of Muslim Scholars, and I’m confident that elements of the Australian security apparatus might be, but we need to consider whether or not association with the IUMS should be banned in Australia,” he said.

Roose said Australia’s reckoning with hate speech following the Bondi Beach massacre was unfortunately “plagued by politics”. The federal government was forced to abandon its most strident anti-vilification reforms in February because it could not get the support of the opposition or Greens.

“Unfortunately, that has restricted the capability of government to react or be proactive with people who are using hate speech in their sermons online and in other forums. And obviously, this is going to be an ongoing issue,” Roose said.

The European Union this week voted to outlaw elements of the Muslim Brotherhood, following the United States which designated specific regional chapters of the group late last year.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Saturday would not comment on whether Australia would consider listing the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation, and pointed to the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team’s ongoing investigation.

“We will not pre-judge the outcome of their investigation,” he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/middle-east/hijacker-rehearsed-tel-aviv-airport-attack-twice-before-flight-20261010-p614cy.html

https://www.wam.ae/en/article/c2nmy0l-uae-attorney-general-announces-updates

>>25103930

>>25110620

>>25110627

>>25129270

Accused FlyDubai hijacker linked to high-profile Melbourne Islamic centre

MOHAMMAD ALFARES - October 10, 2026

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The Omani co-pilot accused of attempting to crash an Israel-bound flight in a 9/11-style attack has been linked to a Melbourne Islamic centre managed by prominent Muslim leader Samir Mohtadi, also known as Sheik Abu Hamza.

Hamam al-Hammami gave a “detailed confession” to UAE prosecutors following his arrest over the September 30 mid-air terror attempt, revealing that his radicalisation took root while studying in Melbourne in 2017.

In an update on Saturday, UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al Shamsi stated that al-Hammami had confessed that during his time in Melbourne, he became acquainted with individuals associated with My Centre – a northern suburbs Islamic facility managed by Mr Mohtadi.

“The findings indicated that signs of his drift towards extremism and terrorism first emerged in 2017, while he was studying in Australia. During that period, he was influenced by Takfiri ideology through reading extremist literature and following online content glorifying terrorist organisations and suicide attacks.

“This influence subsequently developed into the adoption of ideas advocating violence and terrorism. He also drew inspiration from the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the idea of carrying out a similar operation using an aircraft became firmly established in his thinking.”

Takfiri ideology is a hardline doctrine where extremists declare other Muslims to be “non-believers”, often using it to justify violence against them.

The Australian first exclusively reported on Mr Mohtadi in June last year, after he delivered a series of inflammatory sermons and prayed for the defeat of Israel and called on God to “cast terror into the hearts of the Zionists”. Mr Mohtadi – who has also branded Zionists as “scavengers” and “bloodsuckers” – declared an outright rejection of the Israeli state and accused the federal government of waging a “war of no God” on Islam in Australia.

At the time, Mr Mohtadi was spearheading a $6.9m fundraising campaign through his registered charity, the Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia (IISNA), to build a 12-hectare Islamic “sanctuary” complete with a mosque, schools, and youth facilities in the Melbourne suburb of Mickleham.

Most recently, his organisation has acquired a massive land in Broadmeadows for more than $11 million, in order to expand the MyCollege high school. The funds for the purchase was raised by “interest free loans” in quick succession by Australia’s Muslim community, after a nationwide campaign that had the backing of many of the most respected and well-known Islamic leaders – including Australian National Imams Council president Sheik Shadi Alsuleiman.

“The suspect admitted that, while studying in Melbourne, Australia, he regularly attended a mosque affiliated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Through these visits, he became acquainted with individuals associated with a centre known as “My Centre”, the Emirates News Agency reported on Saturday.

“He stated that the centre was managed by a Lebanese man known as ‘Abu Hamza’ and allegedly received support from an association linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. He also said that he had prepared himself both psychologically and physically to carry out the plot by intensifying his exposure to material promoting terrorism and training in boxing under a private coach.”

The Australian is not suggesting Al-Hammami had any association with Mr Mohtadi, or that Mr Mohtadi had any knowledge of Mr al-Hammami’s crimes, only that UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al Shamsi said the accused co-pilot confessed to becoming acquainted with individuals connected to the Melbourne centre managed by him.

(continued)

>>25129276

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UAE prosecutors alleged the co-pilot embarked on an intensive preparation routine that included private boxing training and watching terror propaganda, before using an emergency axe to try to hijack the FlyDubai flight during the Jewish festival of Sukkot. The plot was foiled when passengers overpowered him.

Al-Hammami allegedly admitted to prosecutors that he chose an aviation career specifically to carry out a high-profile mass-casualty attack modelled on 9/11.

The Melbourne connections will likely add renewed scrutiny on Mr Mohtadi, a prominent figure in Victoria who has faced fierce criticism over hate-fuelled sermons and public tirades targeting Zionists.

At the time, Mr Mohtadi also targeted Australian political figures and institutions, declaring to Melbourne worshippers that Australia was waging a “war of no God” against Islam that was “much more dangerous than the war in Gaza”.

UAE authorities confirmed that Mr Hammami had passed FlyDubai’s standard recruitment background checks – including providing a clean conduct certificate – as none of the routine screening procedures flagged his extremist views or violent intentions.

Investigators said al-Hammami acted as a “lone-wolf”, though his early exposure to extremist networks during his student years in Melbourne will likely form a line of inquiry for security agencies examining his radicalisation pipeline.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/accused-flydubai-hijacker-linked-to-highprofile-melbourne-islamic-centre/news-story/20f2cb896ad8d7c1ef9ecabb7eb4b230

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/imam-abu-hamza-who-prayed-for-terror-now-condemns-bondi-attack/news-story/eb4291b3870779f5d982ba44f2991c75

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Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal, sat in the front row alongside his partner, Sarah Matulin. He was granted permission by a judge last month to travel from Brisbane to Canberra for the service, subject to strict bail conditions.

His prosecution has become a focus of debate over alleged unlawful killings by Australian special forces and the investigation of veterans accused of war crimes. No trial date has been set.

Roberts-Smith, who arrived and departed in a chauffeur-driven Commonwealth car as a Victoria Cross recipient, stayed behind for more than 30 minutes after the service, signing autographs and posing for photos with fellow veterans - including Liberal MP Phillip Thompson - their families and members of the public who attended the service.

He told reporters it was “not about my service today”.

“I’m here because tens of thousands of Australians contributed to the campaign in Afghanistan, and they did fantastic work, and that should never be forgotten,” he said.

“I think, like all the generations before them, it’s really important that we focus on what they actually achieved… there wouldn’t be a single one of those veterans that went to Afghanistan that doesn’t carry that war with them.”

Fellow Victoria Cross recipient Dan Keighran also attended, alongside former prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison.

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, a former SAS captain who served in Afghanistan and gave evidence in Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial, sat behind the former prime ministers with his children.

Chief of Defence Force, Admiral Mark Hammond laid a wreath alongside chief of airforce, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell and Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, the chief of army.

Janny Poate, whose son Robert was killed at 23, in a “green on blue” attack, also read a tribute.

“We remember a human story that includes the families who waited, worried, endured separation, and who suffered loss,” she said. “Most of all, we remember this: their strength and resilience.”

Howard told reporters after the service he was honoured to have met and personally thanks so many veterans of the conflict.

Asked if he regretted making the decision, considering the Taliban is once again in control, he said: “It’s always worth putting your hand up to defend freedom and greater opportunities for democracy and greater opportunities for women.

“One of the things we did for a long time, unfortunately, [that has] been taken away by the Taliban was equality for women. One of the things that makes us different is its simple commitment to the equality of men and women. Now, a lot of countries don’t believe in that, and certainly in Afghanistan, the Taliban.”

Albanese said the service of Australian personnel demonstrated what was worth fighting for, regardless of the eventual outcome of the conflict.

“What Australians serving in Afghanistan embody is something that we must never lose,” he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/ben-roberts-smith-joins-600-veterans-as-albanese-marks-australia-s-25-years-in-afghanistan-20261011-p614hr.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7cQ_HMqCQE

>>25091054

Antisemitism royal commission orders extra closed hearings into Bondi terror attack

BIMINI PLESSER and ELIZABETH PIKE - 12 October 2026

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The antisemitism royal commission will hold a last minute secret hearing to probe whether there were major security and intelligence failures in the lead up to Australia’s worst terror attack, with critics continuing to insist the probe must be broader.

In a statement released on Monday, the royal commission said the classified hearing would take additional evidence relating to the security environment in the lead up to the Bondi Beach mass shooting, and the conduct and resourcing for police and intelligence officials.

The announcement followed widespread calls for an expansion to the commission, notably from some of the nation’s most senior security experts including former governor-general David Hurley, who argued the inquiry had not been given long enough to properly investigate the rise of antisemitism.

The additional hearing will contain highly sensitive evidence and only commissioner Virginia Bell, counsel assisting and those providing testimony will be in attendance. The commission said this was to avoid prejudice to national security and the criminal proceedings relating to the attack.

But former Defence Department deputy secretary for strategy Peter Jennings questioned the need for classified hearings, noting that while it may be the preference of the intelligence agencies and police, the need for more public scrutiny was greater.

“The commission needs to go broader and perhaps engage with foreign countries to gauge what is best practice, and you’re not going to get that with the current time frame,” he said.

“In order to understand the issue of counterterrorism more broadly and the growth of terrorism in Western countries, (the commission should) bring in people from overseas that have experience in Israel, the United States and the UK.”

Mr Jennings also raised concerns over the commission’s timeline, which has not been extended beyond the December 18 reporting deadline despite widespread calls from victims’ families, politicians and experts.

“I think there’s a big risk here, given the seriousness of the issues, that it’s all going to be too fast and it won’t allow the commission to do the broad inquiry it needs to do,” he said.

“It is still too constrained with the time frames the government has put on them … and the commission seems to have locked itself in to meeting the deadline.”

The upcoming hearing will focus on five main points: the terrorism threat level and security environment in the lead up to the attack; the conduct of security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies relevant to the attack; the security arrangements for the Chanukah by the Sea event; how intelligence about individuals known to authorities is used and shared to inform decisions made by security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies; and resourcing for counter-terrorism and the effectiveness of current powers, systems and processes of security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Former chief of army Peter Leahy said the upcoming hearing would give the commission an opportunity to properly probe security and intelligence issues, noting those were the areas former spy chief Dennis Richardson was initially tasked with examining.

Mr Leahy, a University of Canberra terrorism lecturer, said: “I think the reason would be the Royal Commissioner, in her deliberations towards the close of the open sessions, has probably uncovered some issues she wants to know more about.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told The Australian: “We only get one go at this royal commission and it must produce answers to the burning questions”.

“If the commission wishes to hold further hearings to better understand how Bondi was allowed to happen and how we can save lives in the future, it must be given the opportunity to do so,” Mr Ryvchin said.

(continued)

>>25131968

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The royal commission would not confirm how long the hearing block would be held for or why it was called following questions from The Australian.

A commission spokesman said: “This is a classified hearing which is an extension to Hearing Block 2 and will be held in October 2026. Given the nature of the hearing, the Royal Commission cannot provide further information than what is contained in the media release”.

As public hearings concluded – cut short by two days at the end of August – critics called on royal commissioner Virginia Bell and Anthony Albanese to extend the inquiry to allow for further interrogation of government failures and the rise of Islamic extremism.

Bereaved loved ones of Bondi victims, Holocaust survivors and former political heavyweights also called for an extension. They voiced serious concerns that senior public figures, including former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, had not been called to give evidence before the commission.

Several family members of the 15 attack victims told The Australian they had not been contacted by the Prime Minister before the end of public hearings.

Tibor Weitzen’s widow, Eva, said she was “very disappointed” in the commission and believed it would not get to the bottom of the terror attack that claimed her husband’s life.

Jenny Roytur, the niece of Boris Tetleroyd, was a vocal advocate for the royal commission in the wake of the attack, but in August, she said she believed that the inquiry had fallen “well short” of her expectations. Despite making two submissions, Ms Roytur was not asked to give evidence.

Questions were also raised about whether Anthony Albanese, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke or other senior Labor figures should have been called to give evidence during public hearings.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson on Monday said “public pressure” has forced the royal commission to initiate a further hearing, and said it was “still not going far enough”.

“Some of these organisations – Islamic organisations – especially those imams and hate preachers that are on the street celebrating, should be called in to answer why they had that view of it and preaching their hate.”

“The whole Bondi attack was due to radical Islam.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/antisemitism-royal-commission-orders-extra-closed-hearings-into-bondi-terror-attack/news-story/02fdf06b6256842da82b482ca732ce24

https://asc.royalcommission.gov.au/news-and-media/additional-hearings-hearing-block-2

>>25103930

>>25129270

>>25129276

Melbourne imam Samir Mohtadi hits out at ‘false accusations’ over terror probe into centre

MOHAMMAD ALFARES - 12 October 2026

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Melbourne preacher Samir “Abu Hamza” Mohtadi has broken his silence over an international terrorism probe linking the Flydubai hijack pilot to his Islamic centre, claiming he is the victim of “false accusations” and hostility from critics who are “fixated with their ideas”.

In a four-minute video posted online on Sunday night, Mr Mohtadi accused critics of being “fixated with their ideas”, and declared “the best thing sometimes is not to say anything” when facing intense public scrutiny.

The video marks the high-profile imam’s first public response since United Arab Emirates Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi revealed that accused Flydubai co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami confessed to becoming acquainted with individuals associated with MyCentre – a northern suburbs Islamic facility managed by Mr Mohtadi – while studying in Melbourne in 2017.

Without explicitly naming Al-Hammami, the Flydubai plot, or counter-terrorism authorities, Mr Mohtadi opened his address by framing the unfolding controversy as part of a historic pattern of persecution against the “righteous”.

“Right through the ages, there’s something common. You’ll find those who are righteous, they’ve always been attacked, abused, accused, killed, imprisoned … and this is the way it is,” he said in the video.

Drawing parallels to his present predicament, Mr Mohtadi cited the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as his rationale for remaining silent amid growing demands for an explanation regarding local links to the suspect.

“When people started to accuse her of being unchaste … she said, ‘I vow to Allah, I swear by Allah, I’m not going to speak to anyone. I’m going to fast from talking’,” he told followers.

“Because there are circumstances, my beloved brothers and respected sisters, regardless how much you explain yourself to people, they’re fixated with their ideas and you can’t change them. So the best thing sometimes is not to say anything.”

He went on to reference trials faced by the Prophet Muhammad, claiming scripture advised against self-defence in the face of public accusations.

“Allah did not tell the prophet to defend himself, to go and defend yourself. No, no, no,” Mr Mohtadi said. “Doesn’t matter what you say or what you do … they’re going to continue on accusing you, abusing you, making false accusations.”

The video release comes as the Victoria Joint Counter-Terrorism Team – comprising members of the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and ASIO – confirmed it has launched an investigation into any Australian connections to Al-Hammami during his time in Victoria.

The Omani national confessed to UAE prosecutors that he embarked on an intensive radicalisation path while in Melbourne in 2017, taking up boxing and consuming extremist literature before eventually attempting to hijack an Israel-bound flight using an emergency axe during the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

While authorities are probing the suspect’s former social and religious networks in Victoria, counter-terrorism police have not said Mr Mohtadi himself is under investigation.

The Australian is not suggesting al-Hammami had any direct personal relationship or association with Mr Mohtadi, only that the accused co-pilot confessed to becoming acquainted with individuals connected to the Melbourne centre managed by the preacher.

(continued)

>>25131986

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The Australian revealed in August last year how the 2023-24 Victorian state budget had provided $393,000 to the Multicultural Youth Centre (MyCentre), “to support the construction of a centre for Muslim women’s wellbeing”.

“The Allan Labor government is pleased to have supported a project that improves accessibility and community connections for hundreds of Muslim women in Melbourne’s north,” state Multicultural Affairs Minister Ingrid Stitt said in response to an opposition question on notice.

At the time, a Victorian government spokesperson responded by saying: “Those comments are a matter for the individual. Any organisation that receives funding through the multicultural affairs portfolio is required to acquit their responsibilities in accordance with the agreement they have with the department.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told The Australian it was “deeply concerning but hardly surprising” that yet more terrorists appear to have been radicalised in Australia.

“We have seen over the years the availability of extremist literature in religious bookstores, the presence of preachers of hate and violence and the capacity for those living in Australia to fall under the sway of recruiters and nefarious street preachers,” Mr Ryvchin said.

“Sermons from al-Qa’ida and ISIS clerics and leaders are all readily available and have been used to motivate and guide people into terrorist atrocities throughout the world. We have to understand who associated with this terrorist, who influenced him and what vestiges of his murderous ideology remain in our country before another deadly attack.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/false-accusations-melbourne-imam-samir-mohtadi-hits-out-over-terror-probe-into-centre/news-story/e64b93efec7bb92f4af7fe619efe1de0

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1427581118922239

https://www.facebook.com/iisnaonline/posts/1545954274242844

>>24649871 (pb)

>>25087285

Oliver Schulz, SAS soldier charged with murder, plans to argue he was following orders in Afghanistan

In an historic first test of Australia’s war crimes laws, a former SAS private plans to use ‘the defence of superior orders’ to defend himself against a murder charge.

Aaron Patrick - 06 OCT 2026

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The first Australian soldier prosecuted for war crimes by a civilian court plans to argue he was following orders when he shot an Afghan man in a field, a killing captured on video and broadcast on television.

Special Air Service Regiment veteran Oliver Schulz will use “the defence of superior orders” when his trial begins next year for a single count of the war crime of murder, his barrister, Murugan Thangaraj SC, told New South Wales Supreme Court judge Peter Hamill on Tuesday.

Mr Schulz’s prosecution early next year is seen as a test case for the trial of his better-known former colleague, Ben Roberts-Smith VC, whose five murder charges are years away from being heard by a jury.

Lawyers said this would be the Australian first test of a legal defence that has a history dating to the Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials of German and Japanese officers after World War II.

Mr Thangaraj did not provide any details about any arguments or evidence that would be used on behalf of Mr Schulz, but lawyers not involved in the case said the former soldier or his lawyers would need to explain footage said to show him pointing a rifle at Dad Mohammad in a field in 2012 and asking someone, three times, “do you want me to drop this c*nt?”

The video was shown on a Four Corners episode in 2020 called Killing Field, triggering Mr Schulz’s suspension from the Perth-based SAS.

War on trial

If Mr Schulz’s lawyers successfully argue he was operating under the directions of a superior, it could become more difficult for Federal prosecutors to convict other veterans of Australia’s longest war accused of executing prisoners.

Prosecutors are likely to argue that all Australian soldiers were told that it was illegal to harm anyone once they were no longer a threat, even if they were trying to kill the Australians minutes earlier.

Mr Schulz’s lawyers will be able to refer to a secret database of enemy fighters known as the Joint Prioritised Effects List that authorised Australians to kill enemy Afghans without trying to capture them, including executing them from far away using missiles or bombs.

By arguing SAS soldiers were under orders to kill suspected insurgents, Mr Schulz’s lawyers could effectively put the army’s conduct of the war on trial.

Many veterans have complained that the 2020 Brereton Report into war crimes allegations cleared officers of responsibility for what it said were 39 unlawful killings during the war by the special forces. Mr Schulz was the equivalent of a private. Mr Roberts-Smith was a corporal.

Bond University law professor Anthony Gray said the war crimes law, which was enacted by the Howard Coalition Government in 2002 to allow Australia to join the International Criminal Court, could subject soldiers in war zones to conflicting legal requirements.

“In some ways they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t because if they fail to comply with the orders of a superior officer then that is generally a serious crime but if they do comply with the orders of a superior officer they may have committed war crimes,” he said.

Paul Tacher, a historian at Murdoch University who studies war crimes, said it would be difficult for Mr Schulz to argue any order to shoot the Afghan was legal because he “appears unarmed and incapacitated in the footage initially aired by the ABC”.

(continued)

>>25091044

Ryan Meuleman refused bail after pleading guilty to terrifying Pakenham carjacking

Ryan Meuleman, the “bike boy” injured in a 2013 crash with Dan Andrews’ family car, has pleaded guilty to a terrifying carjacking and BP burglary.

Rebekah Cavanagh - October 6, 2026

A man who turned to a life of crime and drugs after his high-profile crash with former Premier Dan Andrews says he wants to “get my life back on track” after admitting a terrifying carjacking and a brazen BP burglary four months apart.

Ryan Meuleman, known as “bike boy”, pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to carjacking, stating a false address, burglary, theft and committing an indictable offence while on bail.

The court heard of the shocking moment the 28-year-old wrestled a mother for the gearstick, while her three-year-old twins were in the back seat, in Pakenham on May 3.

He was covered in blood and wearing only a shirt and underpants when he climbed into the driver’s seat of the family’s car and tried to put it in drive.

The victim was in the passenger seat while her husband had exited the vehicle to pick up laundry from the nearby John St laundromat.

Their three-year-old twins were also in the car.

In dramatic scenes, the husband rushed back to the car on hearing his wife’s screams, punching Meuleman through the window before dragging him from the vehicle.

He held him on the footpath until police arrived.

Meuleman was on bail at the time for a burglary and theft where he busted through plasterboard on the roof of BP Heathcote and climbed inside on January 27.

He managed to steal a set of keys from the service station before the anti-theft smoke canisters deployed, filling the store with smoke and forcing him to flee.

Police arrested him the following night after finding him wearing the same Nike shoes that had left an imprint in the store.

The store’s CCTV also showed his distinctive leg tattoo, allowing police to link him to the crime.

When interviewed at Bendigo police station, he appeared to have little memory of the break-in.

He asked “Did anything get taken?” and “How could someone get on the roof?”

Meuleman suggested to detectives he could have had a “black out”.

“It’s happened a few times in my life,” he said.

“I can’t explain it. If I had a happy life I wouldn’t have an episode or bottled-up sadness or anger. I black out.”

Despite the seriousness of his offending, and carjacking carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years, magistrate Samantha Seoud granted his bid to have his case remain in the lower court.

The prosecution had also not pushed for the case to be uplifted to the County Court.

Meuleman’s lawyer Tom Smedley had told the court of his client’s struggles with drugs and alcohol and mental health, noting that he had relapsed late last year.

He said Meuleman commented that he was “wanting to get my life back on track” and stay substance free.

Mr Smedley said the “turning point” in Meuleman’s life was when he was just 15 years old and he was struck by a car on his bicycle, sustaining a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a ruptured spleen that required lifesaving emergency surgery.

That car, while not mentioned in court, was the Andrews’ family SUV.

It collided with the then teenager’s bike in Blairgowrie in January 2013, sparking multiple legal proceedings for compensation.

Mr Andrews’ wife, Catherine, was driving the vehicle but was never charged with any offence.

“This event significantly impacted his mental health,” Mr Smedley told the court.

Mr Smedley hoped his client’s sentencing could be deferred to allow him to be released from custody on Thursday to attend The Cottage rehabilitation centre in Shepparton.

In August, Meuleman was granted strict bail to the facility, but he was never released.

This followed a psychotic episode while at the Melbourne Remand Centre in the hours after the ruling to grant him freedom, leading to him being put under the supervision of Forensicare.

He has remained behind bars since his arrest over the carjacking in May.

Ms Seoud refused his bid for bail on a deferred sentence, saying she wanted more evidence about his mental state provided to the court.

He was remanded in custody to return before her for a further pre-sentencing hearing in December.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/ryan-meuleman-refused-bail-after-pleading-guilty-to-terrifying-pakenham-carjacking/news-story/42a3e21806aa5128f7095b6a4ce991d9

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'Brainwashed' into a 'dark place'

Emma's case is among 19 referrals made to the WA Police Force (WAPF) cybercrime squad in the past 18 months.

"She was brainwashed, intimidated, threatened into a dark place she couldn't get out of," says WAPF cybercrime chief Peter Foley.

"It is a scary place, a dark place and we've got children that have been isolated … they will not engage with their parents, their teachers or friends and they will not come to police.

"Those children are out there."

Detective Superintendent Foley says there are different tactics used to intimidate victims into complying and not reporting the group.

One is doxxing, which means publishing someone's personal information online, to allow others to contact or locate them or their family.

7.30 has seen multiple examples of doxxing, where dossiers with the target's phone number, address and even the names and workplace of their parents had been posted online, encouraging others to harass them.

Swatting is another. It is when someone makes a fake emergency call with the aim of tricking a tactical law enforcement unit into raiding an unsuspecting person's home.

Detective Superintendent Foley says any child could be at risk and is urging parents to be vigilant about their children's behaviour.

"When they start hiding their devices, hiding the content of the devices … if they start to isolate themselves … these are some of the risk indicators we see," he says.

In June, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) travelled to London for a meeting of The Five Eyes — an intelligence-sharing alliance made between the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Combating sadistic online exploitation was high on the agenda.

"We engage broader than the Five Eyes. We also engage through Europol, with our European counterparts," Commander Marshall says.

The AFP launched a task force to disrupt and dismantle these networks last year.

Commander Marshall would also like to see more proactive measures in areas like health and education to prevent the crimes from occurring in the first place.

"I still struggle to believe that we can have kids as young as 11 perpetrating these types of crimes," he says.

"There's a lot of ability to have those earlier interventions that actually produce better outcomes for our youth than having to go in and either safeguard a victim who's already been harmed or lay a criminal charge against a very young offender."

'Industry-wide challenge' says Roblox

7.30 asked Discord and Roblox how confident the platforms were that the systems they had in place were enough to protect children from grooming and exploitation.

In a statement, Roblox said these "horrific crimes" were "an industry-wide challenge" and it took them extremely seriously.

"We have dedicated teams and systems working proactively to identify and remove content and users associated with these criminal networks, and we collaborate with law enforcement to help bring them to justice," the statement reads.

Discord said it was "deeply committed to user safety".

"We use a combination of advanced technology and trained safety teams to proactively find and remove content that violates our policies," says a Discord spokesperson.

"Unlike social media platforms that use algorithms to select content and maximise engagement, our service strives to enable organic, real-time interaction and connection."

Both platforms are currently exempt from Australia's age-restricted social media ban.

Australia's online safety regulator released a report last week, finding "significant gaps" in how gaming platforms protect children online.

"Australian children have a right to play online without being exposed to predators, sexual extortionists, violent extremist content or other harmful material," eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

"While we have seen some safety improvements as a result of sustained regulatory pressure, including the recent court-enforceable undertakings we accepted from Roblox, there is still significant work to be done."

Emma's parents want the platforms to be more accountable.

They say it is "terrifying" knowing that her abuser is still at large and could be targeting other kids.

"They were pretty much getting her to destroy herself," Emma's mum says.

"It's heartbreaking as parents to watch her go down."

While the wounds on her body have healed, Emma is still recovering from the psychological impact.

"The things I've done were really, really bad and I regret each bit," she says.

"I don't want other people ending up like how I ended up."

*Emma is not her real name

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-05/australian-children-at-risk-from-sadistic-online-cults-like-764/107217600

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOAIUPbt-FI

>>25091054

>>25110652

Australia urged to back new seven-nation plan to curb antisemitic violence

David Crowe - October 13, 2026

London: Britain has offered to host an effort by seven nations including Australia to counter antisemitism after being urged to do more to stop a sharp rise in hatred and violence.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband made the offer to peak Jewish groups at a meeting in London to consider practical measures after incidents including the Bondi terror attack in December.

The move raises the prospect of a ministerial meeting convened by Miliband in Britain and attended by his counterparts – including Foreign Minister Penny Wong – if the proposal gains support from others.

The UK Foreign Office confirmed the plan in a statement after Miliband met leaders from the seven countries with the largest Jewish populations outside Israel, known as the J7 group.

The latest report from the J7 warned that last year was the deadliest year for Jews living outside Israel since 1994, reflecting the Bondi attack and the attack on a synagogue in Manchester one year ago.

The meeting included two members of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry: president Daniel Aghion, KC, and co-chief executive Peter Wertheim. The J7 groups represent the US, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Argentina and Australia.

Wertheim told this masthead that he supported the offer of a ministerial meeting and hoped Australia would back the proposal.

“The surge in the scale and seriousness of antisemitic incidents over the last three years has not been confined to the borders of any one country,” he said.

“However, the drivers seem to be the same everywhere – namely ideological and religious fanaticism, often funded by malevolent state actors.

“An effective response will require concerted counter-action by Western democratic powers like the UK, Australia and the other J7 countries.

“So we would urge the Australian government to take up the British foreign secretary’s proposal to co-ordinate the measures they adopt to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism from public life.”

Miliband has come under intense criticism from some Jewish groups for the UK government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state and impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

UK Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis declared last month that the sanctions would bolster extremism rather than stop the problem.

Miliband rejected that argument but maintained his criticism of the Israeli government and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the prosecution of the war in Gaza.

“Anyone who holds British Jews – or indeed Jews around the world – responsible for the actions of the Israeli government is engaging in antisemitism, pure and simple,” Miliband told the BBC last month.

Even so, Miliband’s meeting with the J7 group also included criticism of the UK’s stance and warnings that it would encourage antisemitism.

In a statement, the J7 said: “The group expressed serious concern about the recent UK government measures and rhetoric targeting Israel and the detrimental impact this decision had in their own countries and communities.”

The British debate about antisemitism intensified over the past week after Greens party members voted at their annual conference to declare that Zionism was racism.

Jewish groups strongly criticised the Greens’ new policy position and a senior figure in the party, Westminster leader Ellie Chowns, argued instead that Zionism was a “contested” concept.

Chowns told the BBC the new stance was a “significant and damaging” policy. It was passed in a motion approved by 1022 votes to 813.

In a statement after the Miliband meeting, the J7 groups said the British foreign secretary had expressed his “abhorrence” of the Greens’ motion.

Miliband also confirmed his support for the definition of antisemitism put forward by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which draws a distinction between targeting Jews as a group and criticising Israel.

“Manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity,” the alliance says in its definition.

“However, criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic.”

The latest J7 report on the threat to Jewish people, released in July, said the problem was a sustained crisis rather than a temporary surge.

“A total of 20 people were killed in antisemitic attacks in 2025, all in J7 countries: 15 murdered at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, two killed at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, two killed at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, and one killed in Boulder, Colorado,” it said.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/australia-urged-to-back-new-seven-nation-plan-to-curb-antisemitic-violence-20261013-p614yn.html

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'Abhorrent': PM slams plans for US execution livestream

Lucinda Garbutt-Young and Noah Secomb - October 13 2026

Social media platforms that broadcast a livestream of a US military execution risk damaging their reputation, the prime minister has warned, as the government is urged to minimise casual exposure of the harmful content.

Australian social media users, whether they want to or not, could be witness to the death of Nidal Hasan by firing squad in early December following the Trump administration's pledge to livestream proceedings.

Following calls from federal politicians and civil society to intervene, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was no easy lever to pull to stop Australians from accessing the content.

"I find the idea of live streaming the death of anybody completely abhorrent. We should do whatever we can to stop that occurring," Mr Albanese told ABC TV on Tuesday.

"Anyone broadcasting this will damage their own reputations as well.

"They have a social responsibility here to do the right thing and certainly we will do whatever we can.

"These things are not just as simple as turning off a light switch, and we will do what we can to shut it down."

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government remained opposed to the death penalty and agreed it would be deeply distressing for anyone to see the footage.

"We believe that platforms do have a responsibility to meet these expectations," Senator Wong told the upper house during Question Time.

The nation's eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has said she has no power to stop the video from being shown domestically, instead calling on social media platforms to halt it.

It comes amid a backdrop of broader online safety conversations in Australia, as the government hopes to pass its long-awaited digital duty of care bill this week.

Greens leader David Shoebridge said he would welcome efforts to pass the bill before the end of the parliamentary year to set rules for platforms before the livestream occurs.

(continued)

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eSafety office says it cannot prevent Australians seeing execution live stream

Evelyn Manfield - 13 October 2026

Australia's online safety regulator eSafety says it does not have the power to "proactively prevent" the live stream of a firing squad execution in the United States from being shown in Australia, but argues platforms have a responsibility to protect users from harmful content.

Last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at a military base in Texas in 2009, would be available for the public to watch.

Across the political divide in Canberra there has been widespread concern about Australians seeing the December 3 live stream.

The eSafety office said there were limits to its powers.

"While eSafety does not have powers to proactively prevent a live stream from occurring online, online services have responsibilities under Australia's online safety regulatory framework to protect users from harmful material," a spokesperson said.

"As the regulator responsible for enforcing these obligations, eSafety is in regular contact with online platforms and will continue to monitor the situation, considering any action as appropriate."

Experts agreed eSafety's power was more geared towards being able to take down content rather than pre-emptively blocking it.

Government says Australians 'rightly expect' to not see live stream

The ABC has contacted Google, Meta and TikTok to see if they have plans to restrict the content, but has not received responses.

The federal government said Australians "rightly expect" the content would not appear on their screens, and platforms have a responsibility to meet those expectations.

"Vision of an execution being live streamed here would be deeply distressing to many Australians," a government spokesperson said.

"No-one should be confronted with it, particularly younger Australians."

The government's response followed Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young writing to the communications minister and eSafety commissioner, demanding they "take whatever action is necessary" to block the "barbaric" event from being shown in Australia.

One Nation's Barnaby Joyce said it was "Roman amphitheatre stuff" that he did not want anyone to witness, while Liberal Tim Wilson said it was "enormously problematic" and Australia "shouldn't be promoting that sort of violence".

Expert says it highlights need for Digital Duty of Care

Swinburne University media lecturer Belinda Barnet believed the most the eSafety commissioner could do was issue take down notices, as was done in the case of a Sydney church stabbing in 2024.

"I don't see how they can take pre-emptive action," she said.

However, Dr Barnet acknowledged that take down powers were limited because content could run away as soon as it existed online.

"It's just a Band-Aid solution but we don't have a lot else in our armoury," she said.

Dr Barnet said it highlighted the need for the government's Digital Duty of Care Bill, which is being introduced into parliament this week, as it will require platforms to take steps to reduce the risk of harm to users on their sites.

"At the moment there is no onus on the platforms to protect all of us in Australia from what you could call harmful content," Dr Barnet said.

Government facing calls to make representations to US over death penalty

It is Australian policy to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances for all people, which includes supporting the universal abolition of the death penalty.

Monash University lecturer and vice president of the Capital Punishment Justice Project, Sara Kowal, said Australian officials should be telling the United States, whether it is publicly or privately, that they oppose the death penalty.

"This would be a perfect example of a case where the Australian government should be making strong representations to the Trump administration," she said.

Iran and Afghanistan are among the few countries that still carry out public executions.

"It's really abhorrent to see the United States trying to join this club," Ms Kowal said.

At the weekend, US President Donald Trump said he had not yet made a final decision about live streaming the execution.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-13/esafety-cant-block-us-execution-live-stream-in-australia/107258064

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‘Rot! Burn!’ Outbursts in court as childcare paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith extradited

Matt Dennien - October 13, 2026

One of Australia’s most notorious paedophiles has had abuse hurled at him in court after a move interstate to face almost 200 more charges was approved.

A victim supporter vented her fury at former childcare worker Ashley Paul Griffith, 48, in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday, screaming: “Rot! Rot! Fire! Brimstone! Burn!”

Griffith was jailed for life with a non-parole period of 27 years in Queensland in November 2024 after pleading guilty to 307 child sexual offences.

He has also been charged in NSW with 180 child sexual offences allegedly committed against 23 girls at a childcare centre in Sydney between 2014 and 2017.

The victim supporter yelled “get f*cked Ashley” and “disgusting piece of feral flesh” as Griffith was led from the court after the application for his transfer to NSW was granted by Magistrate Belinda Merrin.

A thin Griffith wearing an ill-fitting green hooded jacket and thongs appeared impassive throughout the hearing.

The magistrate was told an application had been filed on July 13 on behalf of the NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley.

That followed an application on June 26 by Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, who had unsuccessfully asked for the transfer to be fast-tracked.

“Very recently, in the last 20 minutes or so, the Magistrates Court of Queensland has determined to extradite Ashley Paul Griffith to New South Wales to, I understand, around 180 charges relating to children in New South Wales,” Frecklington told parliament earlier on Tuesday.

“[This is] something that I have been working as attorney with the New South Wales Attorney-General Michael Daley on for several months, and the reason why I was so determined to support that application was because victims deserve … their time in court, and that’s what they will now get in New South Wales for that person.”

The application was not opposed by Griffith’s barrister Matt Black.

The path for Griffith to be transferred to face the NSW charges was cleared in June after his appeal against the severity of his Queensland sentence was dismissed.

Merrin did not specify a date or time for Griffith’s transfer.

Throughout two decades of preying on children in Queensland, Griffith filmed all but one of his victims, building a vast cache of abuse he shared online.

When detectives raided his Gold Coast home in 2022, they seized more than 4000 child abuse images and videos documenting much of his offending.

The offences related to 65 victims aged between one and nine, including 28 rapes of pre-school-aged girls in Queensland childcare centres.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/notorious-childcare-paedophile-to-face-trial-in-nsw-20261013-p61545.html

https://qresear.ch/?q=Ashley+Griffith

https://qresear.ch/?q=Ashley+Paul+Griffith

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Pacific head rebukes Australia's focus on pre-COP costs

Ben McKay - October 14 2026

The head of an influential Pacific nations group has taken a swipe at Australia's fixation on attendance and cost of this month's pre-COP event, while urging greater climate investment for the region.

Palau President Surangel Whipps, who became Pacific Islands Forum chair after hosting the region's annual summit last month, has spent the week in Canberra on a bilateral visit.

The trip lands between the two central events of annual climate talks: the Fiji and Tuvalu-hosted pre-COP last week and next month's COP31 in Turkey.

In the lead-up to pre-COP, Australia placed an emphasis on inviting leaders and ministers to the talks.

Not normally attended by such senior politicians, the goal was for the world to witness the impact of climate change on the globe's most impacted region.

While most of the Pacific's leaders partook in the summit, few outside the region did so.

In pointed remarks at the Australian National University, Mr Whipps said criticism of the endeavour was short-sighted.

"Some have dismissed the gathering by counting the leaders who were absent … rather than recognising the significance of those who came," he said.

"I read recently that all the big names were missing so let's talk about size for a moment.

"Pacific states are custodians of nearly 20 per cent of our Earth's surface … an area larger than Russia, China, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Australia, and India combined.

"There is nothing small about that.

"Humanity actually depends upon the blue Pacific for its food, climate stability and connectivity."

He said Pacific island nations, often dismissed as small, ought to be redefined as 'big ocean states'.

"It is true that some of the world's largest industrialised nations and its largest emitters and polluters were not present at this pre-COP but the big ocean states were," he said.

Tuvalu's climate minister Maina Talia, also in Australia this week, said his country - the lowest-lying in the world - was delighted to play host.

"More than 30 ministers were there representing their countries … we're very happy with the outcome of the pre-COP," he told the ABC.

However, Dr Talia said he was "alarmed" by Australia's continued expansion of fossil fuels, given the need rein in emissions to limit global warming.

"We want to see that they will put a stop to opening new coal mines and gasses because that will definitely impact the lives of those living in small low-lying atolls," he said.

"We want to keep 1.5 (degrees) alive for us to stay in our own countries."

Mr Whipps, who met Anthony Albanese on Wednesday morning, said it was "a fair question" as to whether the pre-COP was worth the cost, estimated in the tens of millions.

"Here is how I would ask you to answer it: not by who was in the room, but by the result we collectively achieve at COP next month," he said.

The Pacific has set four regional priorities for COP31: keeping 1.5 degrees within reach, accelerating the renewables transition, funding, and recognising ocean stewardship.

Australia and Turkey, hosting the larger summit from November 9, are working towards support for the "Antalya Ocean Declaration", underpinning that fourth goal.

Mr Whipps is also eager to win funding towards the Pacific Resilience Facility to fund the region's renewables transition, climate adaptation and disaster mitigation.

Pledges from pre-COP to the region's climate finance body only reached half of the initial $US500 million goal.

Speaking in Fiji, regional leaders including Mr Albanese said this funding was central to the Pacific's hopes from COP31.

"This is the moment to invest," Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said.

"Your investment buys us time."

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9368503/pacific-head-rebukes-australias-focus-on-pre-cop-costs/

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Australia joins statement issued by several nations condemning Trump attack on ICC

Stephen Dziedzic - 14 October 2026

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The federal government has belatedly joined international criticism of the Trump administration's latest assault on the International Criminal Court (ICC), prompting questions about Australia's "sluggish" response to sweeping US sanctions designed to cripple it.

Japan, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom issued a statement late on Friday reaffirming their "continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the ICC".

It came just hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled new sanctions freezing the court's US assets and cutting it off from American companies.

"As committed supporters of the ICC we regret and strongly disagree with the announcement of sanctions to be imposed upon the Court by the United States," they said.

"If put into effect, these sanctions will have a significant impact on the Court's work, its dedicated staff and their families. They work every day to bring those accused of the most serious international crimes to justice and to support their victims."

Australia was not listed on the statement when it was first issued on Saturday morning, local time, and the government's initial silence drew fierce criticism from legal experts, who accused it of cowardice.

But late on Monday Australia's name was added to the list of countries on the joint statement, which was then uploaded to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) website.

A federal government spokesperson told the ABC that Australia was invited to join the statement only after it was first published, and that Australia signalled to the Netherlands on Sunday that it would be willing to put its name on it.

An official from a European country backed that account and defended Australia's approach, saying it took time to coordinate a position across continents over the weekend.

A second official from another Western country also said they did not believe that Australia had "hesitated" to join the statement and the process simply "took time".

But they said the Australian government was still taking a much more "careful" and "low profile" approach to defending the ICC when compared with other US allies.

They drew a contrast between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi - who on Friday night issued a statement in English and Japanese sharply criticising the sanctions - and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who have not made any personal statements on the issue.

"There was nothing stopping Australia from doing the same," they said.

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Canberra's cautious approach

Last month the foreign minister declined to directly criticise the Trump administration over the sanctions during an interview with SBS, saying that she "spoke for Australia" not the US.

Officials told the ABC earlier this year that while there was deep unease in Canberra about the sanctions, Australia was wary of a fight with the Trump administration over it, particularly as the campaign against the court has been championed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Dean of Law at the University of Western Sydney, Professor Catherine Renshaw, said the government's initial response was "sluggish" but that she was still pleased to see Australia eventually join the statement.

"It was disappointing to see Australia not sign onto the original statement - it was particularly disappointing given Australia's long history of building international law and support of institutions like the ICC," she said.

"But it's a welcome development that Australia has now joined friends and allies in supporting international law."

"The foundational principle here is the defence of the rule of law and that is most important when the actions of powerful states threaten those fundamental principles."

The government has also been working with Australians employed by the ICC to help them "work through" the implications of the sanctions, although the Trump administration has offered a 180-day grace period before they are fully implemented.

One official from a third country said it was "surreal" to watch Western diplomats working out how they could best shield their nationals from US sanctions.

Professor Renshaw said the US sanctions would create a "very difficult problem" because US companies and financial institutions played a "central" role providing the court with legal, travel and banking services.

"Australians who work for the court will need to know that the Australian government will support them carrying out their work when it's made far more difficult, complex and perilous by the actions of the US," she said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-10-14/australia-joins-criticism-of-trump-administration-assault-on-icc/107262112

https://www.government.nl/documents/2026/10/09/joint-statement-on-support-for-icc

https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/joint-statement-support-international-criminal-court-icc

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J7 task force showing ‘enormous interest’ in antisemitism royal commission

HELEN TRINCA - October 13, 2026

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Australia’s royal commission into antisemitism – the only forensic examination so far of the experience of diaspora Jews since October 7 – is being closely watched by other countries, according to Jewish leader Peter Wertheim.

Speaking in London on Monday after a global task force of Jewish leaders from seven countries met UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, he said the commission had shown the lived experience of Jewish Australians in almost every sector of public life, had suffered enormously over the past three years.

“The universal message we’re getting outside Australia is that they are watching the royal commission very closely with enormous interest,” said Mr Wertheim, who is the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

The meeting of the J7 task force – a group of peak Jewish bodies in Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, Germany, France and Argentina – with Mr Miliband comes just a month after the UK’s announcement of sanctions against Israel’s illegal West Bank settlements.

A statement from the J7 said the group had expressed serious concern at the meeting about “the recent UK government measures and rhetoric targeting Israel and the detrimental impact this decision had in their own countries and communities”.

It said the “continued demonisation of Israel, including in rhetoric from many of those in elected office and public life … all too often serves as a vehicle for antisemitic rhetoric, incitement and behaviour”.

After the discussions in Whitehall, Mr Miliband announced that the UK would host a ministerial-level meeting of the seven countries to discuss antisemitism.

He said the rise in incidents across a number of countries demanded a co-ordinated international response.

Mr Wertheim told The Australian that the Foreign Secretary had expressed “abhorrence” at the recent UK Greens motions equating Zionism with racism and had also endorsed the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) working definition of antisemitism, saying “it’s our friend”.

Mr Wertheim said the issue of UK sanctions had not been the focus of the meeting.

But he made a point about the assertion that criticism of Israel is not necessarily antisemitic, saying: “Jewish people who support Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace and security are being targeted, by exclusion, by cancellation, and sometimes with violence or threats of violence, simply for having that opinion.

“I guess the question is: Why don’t the governments who say that criticising Israel and its policies is not necessarily antisemitic, then go on to say – and by the same token, Jews who support Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace and security should not be targeted or cancelled or penalised or acted against in a violent way. I mean, one flows from the other, and you never hear the second part of that proposition being asserted.”

(continued)

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Mr Wertheim said the other J7 delegates knew the level and the seriousness of antisemitic incidents in their own countries had escalated “but we’re the only country where this has now been tested in a more forensic way in the public arena through the royal commission.

“Even though our countries are not exactly alike in every respect, we’re talking about seven Western liberal democratic countries who share a lot in common in terms of values, so the Australian experience is been watched very closely.”

He said other countries were interested in specific developments such as the federal government’s moves on online safety through proposed digital duty of care legislation.

“That is an issue that we all face,” he said. “It’s common to every country and we know the reason antisemitism has moved from the margin, the murky extremes of society into the mainstream is in large part because it has been given an amplified voice by social media, which keeps feeding off the algorithm.”

He said there was “no one silver bullet to deal with the problem. It has to be a constant combination of measures, and some of it will be legislative reform- tougher hate speech laws, and their enforcement, and as well as an education piece.”

Also on Monday, the UK government announced a public inquiry into the terror attack at Manchester’s Heaton Park Synagogue last October when two men were killed and three others seriously injured.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the public inquiry would ensure all evidence would be heard, including any sensitive national security material that could not be fully aired in a coroner’s court.

She said Heaton Park was just one of a series of attacks on the UK Jewish community.

In the year since that attack there had been the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green; a failed attack on the Israeli Embassy; a spate of arson attacks across North London; and a foiled but potentially lethal plot on the Jewish community in Manchester.

Mr Wertheim said antisemitism seemed worse in the UK than in Australia.

“That’s my initial impression, but I guess I haven’t been on the ground here long enough for a really well-informed view,” he said.

“But I’m told by my colleagues in the UK what goes on here, and I have to say, although they haven’t had a Bondi massacre here, they have certainly had fatalities. It’s bad here, and I get the impression it’s even worse than in Australia, even though they haven’t had the same number of fatalities.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/j7-task-force-showing-enormous-interest-in-antisemitism-royal-commission/news-story/d2e9eeea926f723579c399fdf47089fe

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U.S. Air Force develops Australia assignment guide as US presence ramps up Down Under

SETH ROBSON, STARS AND STRIPES - October 8, 2026

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan - The U.S. Air Force is creating a guide to help American troops from all military branches adjust to assignments in Australia as the Pentagon expands its military presence there.

The electronic manual will explain differences between U.S. and Australian military operations, local customs and everyday life, said Master Sgt. Scott Holmes, senior enlisted leader of the 337th Air Support Flight in Canberra.

The flight — part of Yokota’s 374th Airlift Wing — has been designated the Pentagon’s lead support agency in Australia, Holmes said in a Sept. 21 email from the wing.

“We are actively building in useful information focused entirely on the unique nature of serving over here,” said Holmes, who is writing the guide.

The project comes as U.S. forces expand operations across Australia, where Marines have rotated through Darwin in the Northern Territory since 2012.

Naval Support Activity Stirling was established May 30 near Perth, to support Submarine Rotational Force-West. The initiative is expected to bring rotations of up to four U.S. submarines and one British submarine to Western Australia beginning next year.

Last month, the Air Force’s 2nd Bomb Wing deployed B-52H Stratofortress bombers to Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal in the Northern Territory.

Also in September, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles met at the Pentagon and agreed to accelerate U.S. force posture initiatives at Australian bases, improve combined logistics and their forces’ ability to work together through joint exercises, according to a meeting transcript.

Holmes said the guide will compare how American and Australian forces approach military operations and mission command.

“It will also feature a ton of helpful information about cultural differences and everyday life, all with the goal of preparing members before they arrive to drastically reduce the time it takes to overcome that initial culture shock,” he said.

Holmes said he got a firsthand introduction to some of those differences in July, when he became the first U.S. airman to complete an Australian air force leadership course at RAAF Base Wagga in New South Wales.

Classmates introduced him to Vegemite, the salty yeast spread that is a staple of the Australian diet, he said.

“They actually told me to spread it thick like butter, joking that the thickness of the spread says a lot about a person’s character,” he said.

Flight Lt. Scott Knight, an Australian air force leadership instructor, said American airmen generally arrive with a strong understanding of the strategic environment but can struggle with the language of their Australian counterparts.

“An area where they struggle is understanding our Australian slang and being bombarded with RAAF acronyms,” he said in the wing’s email.

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2026-10-08/air-force-australia-culture-military-guide-23089433.html

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Steele-John is one of the best-known Greens senators in parliament and, as spokesman for disability and mental health, he has led the party’s campaign against Labor’s cuts to the NDIS.

He entered parliament in November 2017 aged 23, the youngest senator ever at the time, through a casual vacancy created when Scott Ludlam resigned from the Senate after discovering he was ineligible as a dual citizen.

In the letter seen by this masthead, the authors state “many of us joined the Greens because of their strong public position to believe women. This should be the premise upon which an investigation is commenced.

“Any allegation … levelled against anyone in the party must be investigated thoroughly and with the victim at the centre. It must also be investigated from our public position of believing the courageous women who make these reports.”

The authors ask Shoebridge to take three steps: commission an independent investigation into every allegation against Steele-John; require the party to update protocols so the threshold for acting on allegations does not rely on police charges; and notify all signatories to the letter of the outcome of the investigation.

The letter notes that “all signatories to this letter know that an allegation does not equate to a fact and/or guilt. We simply believe that it is in the Party’s best interests to ensure that every allegation is investigated thoroughly, in alignment with community and member expectations.”

The authors go on to claim that “for every person brave enough to sign this letter, there are multiple others who were too fearful of backlash by Senator Steele-John and others in the party to sign on. This is power in action, silencing those who want to be heard, but who feel too unsafe to speak.”

And it concludes by reminding Shoebridge that he had recently posted to his Instagram account that “men need to speak up. In the clubrooms, at the pub, on our streets. Demand better from our mates, our team, our colleagues.”

The authors then state: “This is us demanding better from our party.”

The allegations about Steele-John’s conduct present a challenge to Shoebridge, who has promised to be more consultative with Greens party members and has outlined plans for his party to take the fight to Labor, rather than simply support government legislation.

At a press conference in Canberra on Thursday afternoon, Shoebridge said he was not previously aware of the allegations reported by this masthead against Steele-John.

“No, I received the correspondence in my capacity as leader of the Australian Greens, and I’ve dealt with it with … urgency,” he said.

Shoebridge said would be “inappropriate” for him to determine if the findings of the inquiry into the allegations would be made public.

“This will be an independent inquiry, and it would be totally inappropriate for me to determine how that inquiry is undertaken,” Shoebridge said. “But I stress, the key parameters for this inquiry are fair, and independent, and timely.”

Shoebridge said that he had confidence the inquiry would be independent, which was “necessary for all parties to be involved”.

“It is not my role, and it would be inappropriate for me, as the leader of the Australian Greens in the federal parliament, to be imposing controls on that.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/jordon-steele-john-takes-leave-after-letter-raises-allegations-of-inappropriate-comments-to-women-20261015-p614vu.html

https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/hub/media/tearout-excerpt/62096/tearout_qvjymv0a.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgICbgUesy0

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‘Insulting’: Penny Wong hits out at Israeli ambassador over Zomi Frankcom drone audio

'Matthew Knott - October 15, 2026

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The Israeli military has ruled out releasing the audio of the drone strike that killed Zomi Frankcom, rejecting a key demand of the aid worker’s family and the Albanese government as they seek accountability for her death.

Israeli ambassador Hillel Newman called for Australians to accept the legitimacy of Israel’s investigation into the fatal 2024 drone strike and “move on”, prompting Foreign Minister Penny Wong to accuse the envoy of insulting Frankcom’s family.

Wong is considering the government’s response to the Israeli military advocate-general’s decision not to charge the officers involved in Frankcom’s killing amid calls from legal experts and members of parliament for an MH-17-style joint international investigation into the matter.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to face voters on October 27, Israel is preparing for a new round of Australian sanctions against extremist settlers and settler organisations in the West Bank, where violence has been surging in recent months.

After previously saying he would check with authorities in Israel whether the audio of the drone strike could be released, Newman said the military had told him it would not be possible.

“The audio is of very low quality. I checked. It won’t change the case in any way,” Newman told reporters during a briefing at the Israeli embassy in Canberra.

“They are not sharing the audio, as far as I understand, because there might be intelligence issues that are connected to the audio.”

The Frankcom family have been eager to hear the audio because they believe it could provide important insights into the state of mind of the officers involved when they authorised the deadly strike against a convoy of World Central Kitchen workers.

Newman said it was the Israeli Defence Forces’ decision not to release the track.

“I haven’t heard the audio, I don’t know what’s on the audio,” he said.

Newman said investigators from the office of Israel’s military advocate-general had spent two years examining the drone strike and had access to all relevant material before deciding not to pursue criminal charges.

“We must accept that and move on,” he said.

“Of course it was a tragic situation, but these things do happen during a war situation, especially if [aid organisations] don’t update Israel about all the circumstances.”

Wong replied: “It is insulting to suggest Zomi’s family should simply accept what has happened and move on.

“Australia has consistently demanded a thorough investigation into the deaths of Zomi and her colleagues.

“Zomi’s family deserves answers, and transparency is essential to accountability.”

Wong said the government “will not stop pressing for justice for Zomi and her World Central Kitchen colleagues” and will “continue to engage closely with the Frankcom family on further action”.

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Newman said he was “very sorry for the family”, adding he had offered to meet Frankcom’s relatives to express his sorrow for her death.

He repeated his suggestion that the Frankcom family could apply to receive compensation from the Israeli government and said Israel was ready to provide Australian officials more “clarification and dialogue” on the military advocate-general’s findings.

Independent MP Zali Steggall, who has advocated for the Frankcom family in parliament, said: “The IDF decided to strike a clearly marked humanitarian convoy – not once, but three times.

“Release of the drone audio may help to establish motive and identify who is responsible for this tragic and unlawful killing of seven aid workers.

“Israel’s lack of transparency only suggests it has something to hide.”

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert told this masthead last month that the decision not to charge the officers involved was “absolutely obnoxious and unacceptable and unbelievable” as he backed calls for an independent international probe.

The Frankcom family called for the Australian government to “seek full disclosure of the evidence underlying Israel’s decision, including the relevant visual and audio drone footage” when the decision not to prosecute the officers involved was announced in August.

Wong flagged last month that the government was preparing a new round of sanctions after Australia declined to join the United Kingdom, France and Canada in imposing a sweeping ban on commercial activity with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Applauding Australia for not joining the other countries, Newman said he had been in contact with the government and expected it to impose “pinpointed sanctions” against specific individuals and organisations.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament on Thursday that the government was “pursuing further targeted measures in co-ordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence” in the West Bank.

“Australia is not pursuing a blanket–style import ban. We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Palestinians and other entities,” he said.

He added he was concerned such a ban could set back, rather than advance, a two-state solution.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/insulting-penny-wong-hits-out-at-israeli-ambassador-over-zomi-frankcom-drone-audio-20261015-p615uu.html

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/former-israeli-pm-blasts-obnoxious-unbelievable-lack-of-charges-over-zomi-frankcom-killing-20260921-p60ymq.html

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Trump’s minerals push opens door to bigger Australian role

JOE KELLY - 15 October 2026

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US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has foreshadowed a larger role for Australia in Donald Trump’s plan to break China’s chokehold on critical mineral supply chains, identifying Canberra as a central partner in the US President’s push to reindustrialise America.

The chair of the US Export-Import Bank John Jovanovic also told The Australian that for the US to “solve supply chain security, we really need to work with our closest allies”, as he hailed progress under the Australia-US critical minerals framework signed by the US President and Anthony Albanese in 2025.

Mr Wright said the Trump administration was “going to restore America’s control over our national security”, warning that Washington had made a strategic mistake by allowing China to achieve dominance in the production and processing of critical minerals and rare earths.

He said Australia would play a central role in rebuilding US industry and securing supply chains, revealing Mr Trump had demanded urgent action in the White House Situation Room to reduce America’s dependence on Chinese critical minerals early last year.

“Australia has been central in the dialogue for critical minerals supply,” Mr Wright told The Australian. “We talk a lot about reshoring to the US, but it’s really reshoring and friendshoring.

“A lot of what we’re going to do going forward is in partnership with Australia.”

Both men were speaking in southeast Nebraska’s Johnson County where the US Export-Import Bank unveiled a letter of support for a proposed $US840m loan to develop NioCorp’s Elk Creek critical minerals project.

Once operational, the site will extract and refine several critical minerals and rare earths vital to essential US industries ranging from defence and aerospace to advanced manufacturing and medical technologies.

They were accompanied by the Republican Governor of Nebraska, Jim Pillen, as well Nebraska’s two US senators – Republicans Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts – and Adrian Smith, who represents the state’s third House district.

Mr Wright said that a few weeks after being confirmed as Energy Secretary, he was in the Situation Room with Mr Trump when it became clear that China would “change the regime under which they would supply us critical minerals – we would apply, and maybe they would supply them, and maybe they wouldn’t”.

“The President said, ‘how can we be in this position?’ and, more importantly, ‘you have to fix it as fast as possible’ … that’s why I’m here.”

Mr Wright warned that China had taken a “strategic decision to make it uneconomic and difficult for anyone else to go into the critical minerals areas – certainly in the rare earths”.

“They’ve just subsidised their producers … they haven’t treated it as a commercial business,” he said. “They have treated it as a strategic imperative to control the supply of these materials. And we need to change that.”

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Mr Jovanovic said Washington was “very fortunate that President Trump and Prime Minister (Anthony) Albanese reached the supply chain security framework.” He said that progress under the framework had “more than doubled since its inception”, but did not elaborate.

“We’re focusing on our own supply chain resilience,” he said. “So, focusing on getting our own house in order, being able to ensure that we can rely on markets that are free, fair, and functioning for critical raw materials.”

Asked if Australia could play a greater role in reducing American dependence on Chinese critical minerals, including through extra US investment in Australian projects, he replied enthusiastically. “Absolutely,” he said.

Senator Ricketts said Australia was a key partner in helping the US respond to Beijing’s dominance in critical mineral supply chains, warning that China also processed more than 80 per cent of the world’s rare earths.

This made it a matter of urgency for Washington to “find key allies like Australia that can mine and process this and provide the free world with the rare earth elements and critical minerals we need, versus relying on our chief adversaries in commerce – China.”

Mr Trump, who has been campaigning in deep red states to energise his MAGA base ahead of November’s midterms, has promoted a series of major industrial investments aimed at bringing jobs to the US and strength­ening economic security.

They include a proposed $US15bn steel plant in Iowa; a $US4bn aluminium smelter in Oklahoma; a $US6.6bn initiative to establish a shipyard in Maryland to make components for nuclear-powered submarines; and a $US54bn natural gas pipeline and export project in Alaska.

The proposed NioCorp mine in Nebraska would produce niobium, scandium and titanium as well as several magnetic rare earths. Mr Wright noted that the US currently imported 100 per cent of its niobium, used to strengthen steel for military vehicles, and 100 per cent of its scandium, used in aluminium alloys for defence applications.

Drawing a parallel with America’s shale revolution, which transformed the US from the world’s largest petroleum importer into a major exporter over two decades, Mr Wright argued that a similar transformation was possible in critical minerals.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/trumps-minerals-push-opens-door-to-bigger-australian-role/news-story/dce10a6f9a7b2a1a1817bdc3145238b5

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Trump’s Truth Social captured by Wells’ new digital safety laws

Nick Newling - October 15, 2026

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US President Donald Trump’s online platform Truth Social will be policed by Labor’s flagship online safety reforms, expected to be enforceable by the end of 2027, as Communications Minister Anika Wells brushes off questions about the prospect the Republican administration will retaliate over laws its considers a form of censorship.

Wells unveiled a list of harms proscribed under the new digital duty of care reforms, including promoting gender-based violence, but she was unable to explain why she drastically reduced one of the penalties for non-compliance from $22 million to $2.2 million.

Greens communications spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young, whose party is the only negotiating partner for the bill’s passage of parliament, has said major changes are necessary to support the bill once a Senate inquiry reports back next month.

After weeks of backlash from the Coalition and the Greens over ministerial discretion in the draft legislation to say what is and isn’t online harm, three additional categories have been added to the list, and powers to determine new harms have been taken away from the minister.

The new harms involve creating fake nude material without a person’s consent; the posting, or threat of posting, an intimate image of another person without their consent; and the encouragement, promotion or incitement of gender-based violence.

Wells used an address to the National Press Club on Thursday to push back against claims the bill would amount to political censorship, insisting Australians would still be able to listen to “manosphere podcasts” and “say the moon landing was fake” without restriction.

Under repeated questioning from this masthead, Wells was unable to justify why a proposed eSafety penalty was reduced from $21.8 million in the bill’s exposure draft to $2.2 million in the final draft.

“There is nothing in this bill that is designed to make it easier to be neglectful to children online,” Wells said.

A remedial directions clause gives the eSafety Commissioner the power to give platforms a written direction requiring them to comply with orders.

Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson on Thursday confirmed the Coalition would not negotiate on the legislation, despite Wells saying the Liberal senator had reached out to her office.

Henderson told this masthead she was not reaching out to reopen negotiations, but to get a copy of the bill.

The Liberal frontbencher said the Coalition opposed “vague” wording within the legislation, and argued “sock puppet” accounts – fake profiles mimicking real users that would allow eSafety and researches to investigate how platforms operate – could be weaponised for malicious purposes.

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In the re-written bill, a list of excluded material has been added that protects news, entertainment, artistic and professional research content from the bill, among other categories deemed in the public interest.

The ability to switch off social media algorithms remains in the legislation, with users to be notified by platforms once the duty of care is enacted.

Speaking in the House of Representatives on Thursday morning, Wells said: “It is not about controlling adults online; it is about getting illegal and seriously harmful material offline, and giving adults choice. Like when you buy a new appliance, the government sets minimum safety standards, but ultimately, what you choose to buy is up to you, as long as it’s legal and safe.”

Wells confirmed that Trump’s social media platform would be caught under the laws “as its footprint exists here in Australia”. She said it would be incumbent on the platform to perform annual risk assessments, and the eSafety Commissioner would determine compliance.

Providers of “low-risk services” will have minimal obligations under the digital duty of care, including websites and applications run by small businesses, services that predominantly or exclusively share exempt material, as well as internet service providers.

Hanson-Young said the bill needed to be significantly strengthened to put “the fear of God” into big tech companies, as she demanded penalties be tied to social media platforms’ global revenue. The Greens also want individuals to have the capacity to sue platforms for causing harm.

“We are sick and tired as Australians and as consumers of big tech running our lives, we’re sick and tired of having material shoved into our children’s feeds that is dangerous and harmful,” Hanson-Young said.

The senator will also ask the government to crack down on the addictive elements of social media, including infinite scrolling features.

Wells said the changes would face a 12-month “transitional period” in which platforms would be able to prepare, and reaffirmed the ability for users to “opt in” to algorithms through a notification sent to all account holders.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/online-safety-laws-to-penalise-platforms-promoting-gender-based-violence-20261015-p615qo.html

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IBAC exposes $285m Covid government cover-up in Victoria

MOHAMMAD ALFARES - 15 October 2026

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Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has been implicated in a major $285m Covid-19 grant scandal after senior public servants submitted false and misleading information to cover up the “bad news”.

The bombshell findings, detailed in the Independent Broadbased Anti-Corruption Commission’s Operation Harmonia report, reveal that two bureaucrats self-censored the losses due to a “chilling effect” linked to former minister Martin Pakula’s volatile temper.

Mr Carroll took over the industry support and recovery portfolio in mid-2022 following the retirement of Right faction ally Mr Pakula.

Released just weeks out from the Victorian state election, the corruption watchdog’s report found departmental executives provided Mr Carroll with a formal briefing that falsely claimed no grant payments were made in error and that his predecessor was fully “apprised” of how the program was being rolled out.

The IBAC report identified that approximately $257m was paid to more than 9000 ineligible businesses under the Business Costs Assistance Program. The report does not state which businesses wrongly received money, but the payments were intended for industries impacted by prolonged lockdowns and restrictions including hospitality venues, retail businesses, tourism, events and the arts.

Internal analysis by the department suggested the total suspected loss across Covid-19 programs could exceed $285m. Of that, $108m went to businesses reporting zero turnover between July 2019 and July 2022.

The report detailed how fear of ministerial backlash drove two senior executives within the Andrews government’s department of jobs, precincts and regions to suppress the loss.

When asked by IBAC investigators if the department failed to give “full and frank” written advice to Mr Pakula as a result of a “chilling effect from particular behaviours”, the unnamed deputy secretary said: “I think the department did not give full and frank written advice to Minister Pakula … and I think that was a consequence of a chilling effect from particular behaviours.”

Asked if it was fair to say Mr Pakula could be “quite explosive” at times, former department secretary Simon Phemister said: “I think you’d struggle to find somebody who disagreed with that.”

Mr Pakula himself conceded to IBAC investigators that officials “were worried about my temper” and “might’ve just not wanted to tell me”.

IBAC concluded “multiple witnesses told IBAC that while they did not hear it first-hand, there was a general sense that Mr Pekula did not want to hear about GST backdating or errors, which appears to have informed the department’s approach to the issue”.

IBAC warned that “ministers must recognise that the tone they set at the top informs the culture within the agencies that report to them”.

The cover-up saw the deputy secretary order subordinates to conceal the massive loss from a draft financial report, while the associate secretary concealed the figures from Mr Phemister to prevent Mr Pakula from being informed.

Mr Phemister testified that had he been shown the data, his reaction would have been: “Let’s get to fixing it. Boy, Pakula’s going to yell at us and he’s going to hit the roof. That’s my job.” On being shown the 21.66 per cent error rate for the Business Costs Assistance Program July extension, he remarked: “These numbers just are astronomically large to me.”

In evidence to IBAC, the report stated that a number of witnesses “rejected the idea that there was a reluctance to report bad news. Despite those assertions, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the advice provided to ministers was not frank and fearless.”

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Confronting the news on Thursday, Mr Carroll was asked if he was concerned about a culture where public servants were scared to give honest advice because they did not want to get yelled at by ministers.

Mr Carroll said he was disappointed by the findings and that he had never yelled at a public servant.

“I’ve never yelled at a public servant in my life, and I never will. I respect them. It’s why I’ve been very clear to the head of my department that we act on these reports and we act on the immediate recommendations,” the Premier said.

The findings delivered a major integrity blow to the Labor government off the back of Operation Richmond and the royal commission into the building industry.

As of April, the department had recovered only $8m of the misallocated funds, with $5m subject to an ongoing repayment plan.

IBAC Commissioner Victoria Elliott said this conduct did not meet the standards required of Victoria’s senior public officers.

“What Operation Harmonia has uncovered is behaviour contrary to the Victorian Public Sector code of conduct, professional obligations and a clear failure to act in line with the high integrity standards expected of Victoria’s public officers,” Ms Elliott said.

“An absence of a positive risk culture and failure to provide frank and fearless advice, no matter how uncomfortable, ultimately left the department vulnerable to an even greater risk of fraud and corruption.

“While officers within the department spoke up, their leaders failed to act, meaning the government was left uninformed and unable to move quickly to address this suspected significant loss of public funds.

“This special report exposes serious failures by senior public officers, and informing Victorians of these findings is crucial in promoting transparency and accountability in the public sector.

“I want to applaud the whistleblowers who came forward to IBAC in Operation Harmonia. Your bravery is critical in ensuring this conduct is not only exposed but that Victoria’s public sector can take these findings and apply the learnings to their own organisations.”

The report states that $251.9m – representing 21.6 per cent of total program funds – went to applicants not registered for GST on the required cutoff date.

Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the report showed “more evidence that corruption is rife”.

“Corruption is in Labor’s DNA and the good news is that in 44 days’ time, Victorians will have the opportunity for a fresh start,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/ibac-exposes-285m-covid-government-cover-up-in-victoria/news-story/db452a51699c8b651bba1197e8b00168

https://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/IBAC-Operation-Harmonia-exposes-failure-to-alert-government-to-suspected-285-million-lost-to-ineligible-or-fraudulent-COVID-grants

https://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/Operation-Harmonia-special-report