Zumbo guilty of indecent assault
Elias Visontay
Frank Zumbo, the chief of staff to former Liberal MP Craig Kelly, has been found guilty of indecently assaulting four women – including exposing his penis to one while sitting on a park bench – over a number of years while working together in the politician’s electorate office.
On Friday, magistrate Gareth Christofi delivered his decision in the trial that began in June 2022, over 20 charges of sexual touching and indecent assault, as well as backup charges of common assault, that occurred between 2014 and 2020.
Christofi found Zumbo guilty of seven charges of aggravated indecent assault of a victim under authority of offender, and one charge of assault with an act of indecency, which related to four women who worked in the Sutherland shire electorate office.
Zumbo was acquitted of two charges of sexual touching a fifth woman who worked in the office, with the backup charges of common assault also dismissed.
Prosecutors unsuccessfully applied for a detention application. A sentencing hearing has been set for 26 March.
Key events
A woman has died, and three people have been taken to hospital, after a crash between a bus and a car in South Australia.
About 7.15am today, emergency services were called to the intersection of Mallala road and Navvy Hill road in Korunye after reports a Fuso bus and Ford sedan had collided.
One of the passengers in the Ford, a 23-year-old woman, died at the scene. The driver, a 22-year-old man and the other passenger, a 19-year-old woman, were flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for treatment – the 19-year-old with serious injuries.
The driver of the bus, a 36-year-old man, was taken to the Lyell McEwin Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Police said the bus was not a school bus, and there were no passengers on board at the time of the crash – only the driver.
Major Crash officers are at the scene and road closures are in place. People are asked to please avoid the area if possible.
Greens say claim Great Barrier Reef protections are ‘on track’ are ‘duplicitous’
The Greens say it is “duplicitous” for the federal government to claim it is “on track” to protect the Great Barrier Reef from being declared in danger at an upcoming World Heritage Committee meeting.
In a statement, the Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, said the claim was “duplicitous” because at the same time, the government has facilitated new fossil fuel projects like Barossa – “one of the dirtiest projects in Australia’s history that’ll emit 401 million tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime”.
The World Heritage Committee first warned the Great Barrier Reef could be declared in danger due to climate change over a decade ago. Yet instead of treating the root cause of the reef’s decline – which is rising emissions from burning fossil fuels – it’s been a case of deja vu as successive governments splash cash to buy political cover.
Endless scientific reports continue to sound the alarm on the grim outlook for the reef, with scientists now concerned that back-to-back cyclones have exposed the Great Barrier Reef to extensive and persistent flood plumes. Help to mitigate the impacts of these events is of course welcome, but the Great Barrier Reef can’t be protected from the political stupidity of prioritising new coal and gas over coral.
Wong’s spokesperson denounces Dutton for ‘cheap political hit’
Daniel Hurst
The minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, has hit back at the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, after he suggested the prime minister should consider sacking her.
Dutton’s criticism came as the government considered reinstating funding to a key UN agency delivering aid to civilians in Gaza, depending on the progress of multiple investigations into the organisation.
A spokesperson for Wong said in a statement issued moments ago:
The foreign minister has acted entirely within the law. The government has received legal advice on this. Our focus is the dire humanitarian situation and what Australia can do to help – Mr Dutton is focused on making false and exaggerated claims for a cheap political hit.
Australia has suspended $6m in funding that it pledged to UNRWA in mid-January, as it pushes for action in response to allegations as many as 12 of the agency’s employees may have been involved in the 7 October Hamas attacks.
Dutton took aim at Wong earlier today, accusing her of ignoring prior warnings from Jewish community leaders about the risk of funding to UNRWA being misused. He had said:
Now, if the foreign minister is directing Australian taxpayers’ money to an organisation known to be a front or affiliated or associated with a terrorist organisation, her job is completely untenable.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily is expected to remain slow-moving around the Gulf Country in Queensland today, bringing heavy rainfall and flash flooding tomorrow.
The Bureau of Meteorology says six-hourly rainfall totals between 90 and 150mm are likely near the Queensland and Northern Territory border tomorrow. 24-hour totals of 150 to 250mm are possibly, with isolated falls up to 300mm also possible.
A separate severe thunderstorm warning will be issued if very dangerous thunderstorms with intense rainfall are detected.
Meanwhile, damaging wind gusts of around 110 km/h are also possible across the Gulf Country today, extending into the northwest tomorrow.
Daniel Hurst
The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, focused on the Middle East in a phone call today.
A spokesperson for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, said Blinken and Wong swapped notes about their recent trips to the region. Miller said in a statement:
Secretary Blinken and foreign minister Wong emphasized the importance of humanitarian aid reaching those in need in Gaza.
The leaders also stressed the need to protect civilian lives in Gaza and called for Hamas to immediately release all hostages.
The secretary underscored the importance of protecting the flow of goods and holding the Houthis accountable for their reckless attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
BoM provides update on heatwaves, rains and floods
The Bureau of Meteorology has published this weather update, looking at the west coast heatwave and the ongoing rain and flooding in Queensland.
Josh Butler
The employment minister, Tony Burke, says the government welcomes news of an agreement between the Maritime Union and port operator DP World which will end a protracted dispute.
He said in a statement:
This is how enterprise bargaining is meant to work: both parties negotiating in good faith to reach an agreement that acknowledges the common interests between employers and workers.
While there are some processes still to complete, this in-principle agreement is good for the company, good for the workers and good for the Australian community.
Burke claimed that if he as the minister had intervened, as the Coalition opposition had requested, “this dispute would have dragged on for months.”
It would have been the wrong call and it highlights Mr Dutton’s appalling judgement.
The Albanese Labor government has improved the enterprise bargaining system so that more Australian businesses and workers can benefit from agreements like this, delivering more secure jobs and better pay.
Council for Civil Liberties says politicians ‘regurgitating serious allegations as fact’ caused unnecessary harm to vulnerable communities re pro-Palestine chants
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties says the findings of an NSW police investigation demonstrate that more needs to be done to ensure “civil liberties and parliamentary process are not disregarded when it is politically desirable to do so”.
The investigation into a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney found that some protestors chanted “where’s the Jews?” and not “gas the Jews” in a widely circulated video:
President Lydia Shelly said in a statement:
We stand with the protestors who continue to advocate for peace and justice. We reiterate that criticising a State power’s military campaign that disproportionally impacts civilians should be permitted in a democracy. In fact, it is essential.
The changes to S93Z of the Crimes Act came hot on the heals of the release of a wrongly captioned video on social media. The NSW premier did not wait for the review of the evidence prior to changing the law.
This is another example of how due process, civil liberties and human rights can be swept aside under the guise of ‘expediency.’ Regurgitating the serious allegation as a ‘fact’ ripped at the fabric of our social cohesion and caused unnecessary harm to vulnerable communities.
Shelly said the changes to S93Z of the Crimes Act should have been reviewed by a parliamentary inquiry before being enacted to parliament, and the current review, while welcomed, is “too little too late”.
Peter Hannam
Opera House protest scenes ‘unacceptable’, NSW opposition says
The NSW opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has commented on today’s police statement that found a 9 October protest at the Opera House did not chant the deeply offensive “gas the Jews” phrase, but “where’s the Jews?”
Speakman said:
Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community. The scenes at the Opera House were unacceptable. The Minns Labor government failed to provide a safe environment for Sydney’s Jewish community who were meeting to mourn the atrocious 7 October terror attacks in Israel.
In relation to the review of NSW’s laws related to threats and incitement to violence, led by former chief justice Tom Bathurst, the spokesperson said:
Tom Bathurst is an outstanding jurist, and we are open to considering his views on whether further changes to legislation could help make our community further free from threats of violence.
NSW premier Chris Minns has been approached for comment.
Daniel Hurst
Israeli ambassador accuses Albanese government of forgetting ‘Hamas’s culpability’ in Gaza
The Israeli ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, has taken aim at the Albanese government, accusing it of forgetting “Hamas’s culpability” for the war in Gaza.
The comment come as the government weighs up reinstating funding to a key UN agency providing aid to civilians in Gaza.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has called for a thorough investigation into the “deeply concerning” allegations that as many as 12 UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas attacks.
But Wong also said on Thursday that it was important to remember “the scale of the humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and “the absence of any alternatives if we are serious about trying to ensure that fewer children are starving”.
Maimon wrote on X a short time ago:
At a time when Australia is “coordinating with like-minded partners as well as UNRWA” in response to the damning evidence of UNRWA employees’ participation in the October 7th massacre, it’s worth thinking about the following. It’s been 118 days during which the UN, its General Assembly, and its many agencies have failed to condemn Hamas.
It’s been 118 days during which Israeli hostages – 136 of them, including infants – have been held in Hamas dungeons without any trace of assistance from the UN or any of its agencies. 118 days of total silence from the UN and its agencies about the heinous crimes against Israeli women.
The UN and many of its member states, including Australia, voted for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza that would only help Hamas to reorganize – a resolution that again failed to condemn Hamas, and again failed to call for the release of all hostages.
Now, listening to the most recent remarks by Australian officials, it seems that Hamas’s culpability has been forgotten – along with the fate of tens of thousands of displaced Israelis and the starvation of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Maimon did not directly name Wong, but the comments came a day after Wong noted reports from the UN “that 400,000 Palestinians in Gaza are actually starving and a one million are at risk of starvation”. She also noted that “an estimated 1.7 million people in Gaza are internally displaced and there are increasingly few safe places for Palestinians to go”.
The Australian government has repeatedly condemned Hamas. When voting with the majority of countries in favour of a ceasefire motion at the UN general assembly in December, Australia renewed calls for the release of hostages and called on Hamas to surrender. The government has said it supports Israel’s right to defend itself, but that this must be in line with international law.
Docks industrial dispute resolved
The maritime workers union have come to an agreement with DP World, bringing months of stalemates and stoppages to an end, AAP reports.
DP World, which runs several port terminals across Australia, had been in dispute with unions over pay, with the multinational logistics company threatening to dock the wages of workers involved in industrial action.
But on Friday, the Maritime Union of Australia’s assistant national secretary, Adrian Evans, announced the two parties had come to an “in-principle agreement” after three days of negotiations before the Fair Work Commission.
The new four-year agreement would provide fair pay, safety and fatigue management measures, improved job security and a better world-life balance for wharfies, the union said.
The deal was yet to be endorsed by union members, but Mr Evans said the MUA was pleased negotiations had ended.
“Wharfies perform hard, physical work on a 24-hour, seven-day working week in all conditions and all seasons,” Evans said. “The past fortnight has shown how quickly a fair and sustainable deal can be solved once both the workforce and the employer are fully engaged in the negotiation process.”
All industrial action has been withdrawn and the DP World employees are set to return to work.
Zumbo guilty of indecent assault
Elias Visontay
Frank Zumbo, the chief of staff to former Liberal MP Craig Kelly, has been found guilty of indecently assaulting four women – including exposing his penis to one while sitting on a park bench – over a number of years while working together in the politician’s electorate office.
On Friday, magistrate Gareth Christofi delivered his decision in the trial that began in June 2022, over 20 charges of sexual touching and indecent assault, as well as backup charges of common assault, that occurred between 2014 and 2020.
Christofi found Zumbo guilty of seven charges of aggravated indecent assault of a victim under authority of offender, and one charge of assault with an act of indecency, which related to four women who worked in the Sutherland shire electorate office.
Zumbo was acquitted of two charges of sexual touching a fifth woman who worked in the office, with the backup charges of common assault also dismissed.
Prosecutors unsuccessfully applied for a detention application. A sentencing hearing has been set for 26 March.
Not guilty plea entered over Hillcrest jumping castle deaths
A jumping castle operator charged with workplace safety breaches over the Hillcrest Primary School tragedy in which six children died has pleaded not guilty, AAP reports.
Chace Harrison, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, Zane Mellor, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan and Peter Dodt were killed after the inflatable castle was lifted into the air in December 2021. They were enjoying end-of-year ce lebrations with classmates on the oval of the school in Devonport in Tasmania’s north-west.
Rosemary Anne Gamble, the operator of a company called Taz-Zorb which supplied and set up the castle, was charged in November with failing to comply with workplace health and safety requirements.
Gamble appeared in Devonport magistrates court this morning and entered a plea of not guilty. She was granted bail and is expected to next appear in court in March.
It is alleged the castle was tethered at four of its eight anchorage points. It is also alleged pegs were not installed at the recommended 45-degree angle and pegs recommended by the manufacturer, or a suitable alternative, were not used.
According to court documents, seven students were on the castle when a “significant” weather event occurred, causing it to become dislodged and airborne. They fell from the castle, while a blower attached to the castle to keep it inflated struck a nearby student.
It is alleged Gamble failed to ensure the anchorage system was sufficient to prevent the castle from lifting and failed to ensure there was a peg at each anchor point in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Gamble arrived at the school with two workers and set up the castle and zorb balls. It is also alleged she failed to provide the workers with information, including the manufacturer’s operating manual for the castle.
Council for Australian Jewry says ‘exact words used in chants not the core issue’ on pro-Palestine protests
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has responded to the NSW police investigation into a pro-Palestine rally, which found no evidence of the phrase “gas the Jews” being used in audio-video files from the demonstration.
The council’s Co-CEO, Alex Ryvchin, said in a statement:
Multiple independent witnesses have verified and declared that the ‘gas the Jews’ phrase was used. We know what we heard, and the world knows what was said.
Ryvchin said that the “exact words used in these chants is not the core issue”, but the demonstration itself.
‘Where’s the Jews’ is as bad as ‘gas the Jews’. ‘Fuck the Jews’ is as dangerous and abhorrent as ‘gas the Jews’.
This is the issue and no matter what efforts some will go to, to deflect or confuse the public, the issue was and remains violence on our streets and threats to our social cohesion.
Palestinian advocates say NSW police investigation ‘damning indictment’ on those who demonised protestors
The president of the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN), Nasser Mashni, says the police investigation that found protestors at a pro-Palestine rally chanted “Where’s the Jews?” and not “gas the Jews” is a “damning indictment” on those who shared the video to demonise protestors.
In a statement from APAN and the Sydney-based Palestine Action Group, Mashni said politicians across the state and federal parliaments used the video from 9 October, which was “deliberately inaccurate and maliciously subtitled”, to “sow discord and hate towards Palestinians and our supporters”:
We heard opposition leader Peter Dutton call for people who chanted ‘Gas the Jews’ – a phrase this investigation has confirmed as false – to be deported.
We heard our prime minister [Anthony Albanese] and foreign minister [Penny Wong] condemn protesters based on this video, and the NSW premier Chris Minns use the video to create a sense of fear in the community, restrict the right to protest and ‘strengthen’ hate speech laws.
And we’ve seen the mainstream media publish stories about this video, using it to smear people protesting in support of Palestinians, and to sow division and hate in our community.
This has all caused very real harm and damage.
Mashni has called on politicians and media outlets who relied on the video to “spread hate and fear” to issue a public apology or issue front-page corrections.
In a statement earlier, NSW police said an independent forensic analysis found no evidence of the phrase “gas the Jews” being used in audio-video files from the demonstration. Police obtained statements from individuals who claimed the hear the phrase, but these could not be attributed to any specific individual.
Police also said that audio and visual files that circulated had not been doctored, but were “cuts from a more parent file”, and subtitles are “an opinion” of what someone hears.
For all the details on the NSW police investigation into a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney – where it has been determined people said “where’s the Jews?” in a widely-circulated video – my colleague Peter Hannam has the full story:
Northern Queensland could be hit by severe thunderstorms today
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting severe thunderstorms for parts of northern Queensland today.
It said heavy rainfall and flash flooding was possible between Port Douglas and Paluma.
Intense rainfall and intense winds was also possible in the northwest near ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.
⛈️Storm forecast today 2 Feb: Severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall/flash flooding possible in northern #Qld between Port Douglas and Paluma, intense rainfall & damaging winds a risk in the northwest near ex-TC Kirrily. Warnings: https://t.co/qdVyFCN94p pic.twitter.com/4nLh2RZIlS
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 1, 2024
Tropical low east of Queensland could become a cyclone
The Bureau of Meteorology is monitoring a weak tropical low “well to the east” of the Queensland coast, which has an increasing chance of becoming a cyclone in the Coral Sea from mid next week.
The BoM says the sub-tropical low is moving north-east away from the coast, and is likely to move outside the Australian region by Saturday.
The likelihood of it developing into a tropical cyclone increases to low on Tuesday (10-15%), and moderate (25%) from Thursday.
The most likely scenario is that [the low] begins to move to the west across the Coral Sea next week, although there is a considerably large spread in area where 06U may move.
The potential for an impact to the Queensland coast late next week will continue to be monitored …