Australia news live: Jefferson Lewis was unconscious when apprehended, police say; Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grandfather calls for calm in Alice Springs | Australia news
Jefferson Lewis was unconscious when apprehended, police say
Jefferson Lewis was unconscious and being treated by St John Ambulance when he was apprehended by police but has since been cleared fit for custody, the NT police commissioner has confirmed.
Martin Dole said:
double quotation mark Mr Lewis was subject to a sustained attack. He did receive treatment at the Alice Springs hospital. At the time of his apprehension by us, he was unconscious and in the process of being treated by St John’s Ambulance when they were set upon, as were the police.He has been given a “fit for custody” and has been released from Northern Territory Health and he is now with NT police in our custody. His injuries are not significant enough to keep him in hospital.
Key events
Authorities and elders are addressing the media in Alice Springs.
Elders have acknowledged the loss of the family, and called for calm. Michael Liddle said:
double quotation mark All week, the community of Alice Springs come together, service providers, business-owners, searching for a little baby that was taken by a monster, and that hard work was undone last night by some people who are very angry with the systems, the same systems that create safety and less harm, keeping people safe in Alice Springs.
Krishani Dhanji
Farley defends previous attempts to join Labor and become an independent
The One Nation candidate for Farrer, David Farley, has defended previously trying to join the Labor party and donating to his rival and independent candidate Michelle Milthorpe at the last election.
Nine newspapers also reported Farley called Milthorpe a “straight shooter” and a “good woman” in social media posts uncovered in recent weeks.
At a candidates debate last night for Farrer, hosted by veteran political journalist Barrie Cassidy, Farley said he explored the pathway to joining Labor, because “you don’t get those answers unless you get in the door.”
He said:
double quotation mark When I got in the door, it was obvious that, culturally, I didn’t fit. My comments on Gillard don’t fit them, and I got out of the door. So I said, that is a closed door.I explored the path of independence down there. And looked at can you go into Canberra as an independent without the machinery behind you? And said, no.
He said ultimately One Nation was the “only one party” that had tenacity and courage and that aligned with his views.
Josh Butler
Australia up for ‘anything that can assist’ in Hormuz reopening
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has confirmed Australia is in discussions about an operation to reopen the strait of Hormuz but was keeping his cards close to his chest about what the government would offer.
Albanese said at a press conference today:
double quotation mark We’ll have those discussions privately. We’ll engage in anything that can assist.We’re engaged with the United States but we’ve also been participating in meetings that have been convened in London as well. We want to see the strait of Hormuz open. We want to see international trade resume because this is having a devastating impact on the global economy. It’s impacting inflation here, as it is right around the world.
Asked what Australia specifically would contribute, Albanese said:
double quotation mark There hasn’t been that determination.We’ll discuss those things respectfully. What we want to see, though, is for a de-escalation. We want to see peace in the region.
Josh Taylor
Stopping Australian datacentres won’t stop AI, peak body says
The peak body for the datacentre industry in Australia has told a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the sector that preventing new datacentres being built in Australia will just mean AI will be imported from overseas, rather than developed here.
The Data Centres Australia chief executive, Belinda Dennett, told the inquiry in its first hearing on Friday morning that community anxiety about AI is being conflated with datacentre builds happening across the country:
double quotation mark We get that there is a real concern in the community about artificial intelligence and what that means for society. But we won’t stop that coming. So we either become an importer of someone else’s technology, that has no Australian culture, values or laws built into that, or we build that here and we have some say, control, over what that looks like.
The Greens chair of the committee, Abigail Boyd, revealed that individual datacentre operators were due to make submissions to the inquiry but withdrew, leaving the peak body as the sole participant. Dennett said Data Centres Australia did not stop them from making submissions, and it was a decision for each individual company.
Dennett’s appearance came after a number of Sydney councils made submissions raising concerns about the high number of new datacentre projects planned in NSW.
Dennett said most of her role is “mythbusting” about the datacentre industry. She said datacentre investment in Australia is important to reduce latency – the amount of time data takes to travel – and also the increasing requirement from governments in Australia to keep sensitive data onshore:
double quotation mark Australia is such a attractive market for datacentre investment … because we’re a strong, politically stable, law-abiding country where people feel safe about data and applications.
PM: death of Kumanjayi Little Baby ‘breaks your heart’
Josh Butler
Anthony Albanese said the federal government understands the “anger and frustration” in Alice Springs at the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby but called for the community there to come together.
“It breaks your heart,” the prime minister said this morning when asked about the incident at a Sydney press conference.
Albanese continued:
double quotation mark This is a community that are hurting. One of the things that [Indigenous affairs minister Malarndirri McCarthy] said to me, though, was that we must remember that literally hundreds and hundreds of people came together to search for this young girl before the tragic result where she was found.
Albanese added:
double quotation mark We want to see the community come together but we certainly understand people’s anger and frustration and that that was expressed.
Ima Caldwell
Whale carcass to be towed from NSW beach
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has provided an update on its endeavour to remove a sperm whale carcass from the rocks of Era beach.
The carcass washed up last Saturday. You can read more about it here:
NPWS coordinated with other agencies all week to devise a removal plan for the whale, which they now estimate is 8m long and weighs 20 tonnes. A NPWS spokesperson said:
double quotation mark The location of the carcass is proving to be very difficult for removal.NPWS has engaged a contractor to tow the carcass … to a suitable loading point for retrieval.
The carcass will be disposed of in a licensed waste facility.
The date of removal, the loading point for retrieval, and the licensed waste facility were not named.
Beaches at Sydney’s Royal National Park, including Era, Wattamolla, Garie and Burning Palms, remain closed due to reports of sharks in the area. NPWS and Surf Life Saving NSW continue to advise people to stay out of the water until the beaches reopen.
NT chief minister calls for calm in Alice Springs
The NT chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, has called for calm in Alice Springs today. She said:
double quotation mark Attacks on frontline workers are never acceptable and while we appreciate and understand that people are very angry and grieving, there is never an excuse or acceptability of violence as a response. Now, police and our emergency services have a very important job to do and we have to let them do that job. And so we are very hopeful that isolated incident. It should not define what has been an incredible community effort this week.
Finocchiaro said the alcohol sales restrictions have been made to free up police resources from bottle-shop monitoring, not because they had made links between alcohol sales and the unrest on Thursday night.
Finocchiaro said:
double quotation mark I do not know that we are necessarily making links around the events last night with shops being open, but today it is very important that things do not escalate and that we have an important reprieve.Here in Alice Springs and in the Northern Territory – for people who are not from the Northern Territory, you might not be aware – but we have police standing on bottle shops as part of our precautionary measures. So when we have that it is resource-intensive drain. So today we need boots on the ground where they are needed – we need our community supported – and not standing in front of bottle shops.
Our licensees have completely shown leadership in this space recognising that they want police where community want police, and that’s not standing outside bottle shops.
Jefferson Lewis was unconscious when apprehended, police say
Jefferson Lewis was unconscious and being treated by St John Ambulance when he was apprehended by police but has since been cleared fit for custody, the NT police commissioner has confirmed.
Martin Dole said:
double quotation mark Mr Lewis was subject to a sustained attack. He did receive treatment at the Alice Springs hospital. At the time of his apprehension by us, he was unconscious and in the process of being treated by St John’s Ambulance when they were set upon, as were the police.He has been given a “fit for custody” and has been released from Northern Territory Health and he is now with NT police in our custody. His injuries are not significant enough to keep him in hospital.
One community member arrested after violent scenes in Alice Springs
The NT police commissioner has also confirmed one woman has been arrested in relation to the unrest in Alice Springs last night.
The police commissioner, Martin Dole, told media just now that the woman had been arrested for allegedly “attempting to set fire to one of our sedans”.
Dore said:
double quotation mark She’s in custody at the moment and is being investigated for attempted arson.
Police commissioner says those involved in confrontations with police will ‘face the law’
The NT police commissioner, Martin Dole, has said that those involved in the confrontations with police and emergency services will “face the law”, and that he expects arrests to occur today and tomorrow.
Dore, speaking at a press conference with the chief minister in Alice Springs just now, said:
double quotation mark Let me say, the behaviour we saw last night cannot be explained away, excused or accepted. There is absolutely no excuse for violence against emergency services that are just doing their job so for those people involved, you will face the law as Jefferson Lewis is facing the law and your behaviour will not be accepted by us.… There is one law and that one law applies to everybody, including the people involved in the violence last night.
Alice Springs imposes restrictions on takeaway alcohol in wake of unrest
NT chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, has announced there will be a ban on takeaway alcohol sales in Alice Springs today, and limited takeaway sales on Saturday in the wake of unrest in the community last night.
Speaking to media just now, Finocchiaro said the move would bring “a reprieve” to the community and frontline workers:
double quotation mark Today, there will be no takeaway alcohol here in Alice Springs. I want to thank the leadership from our bottle shops and the hospitality industry for leading that charge.It is very important and it will bring important reprieve to the community and frontline workers. Tomorrow, there will be limited takeaway between 11am and 2pm. Sunday is a really highly restricted and Monday and Tuesday are already grog-free days.
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy diagnosed with neurodegenerative disorder
Craig Bellamy has been diagnosed with an unspecified neurodegenerative disorder but will remain as coach of Melbourne Storm in the immediate future, the club has said.
The club issued a statement on Thursday night, 24 hours out from Melbourne’s NRL clash with the Dolphins in Brisbane, with the 66-year-old Bellamy recently undergoing a series of medical tests.
The club said in the statement:
double quotation mark Over recent weeks, in consultation with specialists, Craig has undergone a series of medical tests and has since been diagnosed with a form of neurodegenerative disorder.He is receiving the best possible medical treatment and has been advised by specialists that his diagnosis will not have an impact on his ability to coach the team in the immediate future.
You can read more on this story here:
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grandfather calls for calm
Robin Granites, senior Yapa (Warlpiri) elder, grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby and spokesperson for the family, has appealed for calm across the central Australian community.
In a statement this morning, Granites said:
double quotation mark It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving and remembering.Everyone is feeling very upset and emotions are very high, I understand that.
What has happened this week is not our way. Our children are precious, of course we are feeling angry and hurt at what has happened.
This man has been caught, thanks to community action, and we must now let justice take its course while we take the time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family.
Granites has asked people in bush communities to carefully consider their need to travel to Mparntwe/Alice Springs at this time:
double quotation mark If you need to come to join sorry business, that’s fine. But just come for that, then return home please.Now is not the time to be heroes on social media or make trouble.
We must be mindful Mparntwe is traditional country for central Arrernte, and east and western Arrernte as well. We must respect that and their ways.
We need to be strong for each other, we must respect family and cultural practice. This is the Yapa way.
Seven fighting for lives after four-car pile-up
Seven people have been left fighting for their lives after a 14-year-old boy lost control of the vehicle he was driving, causing a horrific four-car pile-up, AAP reports.
Police said the boy was driving north with three other teenagers along Maryborough-Hervey Bay Road on Queensland’s Fraser Coast at 6.10pm on Thursday when he veered on to the opposite side of the road.
The Mitsubishi Lancer then swiped a small Suzuki Swift before colliding with an orange Kona, which was then hit from the rear by a following Volkswagen Polo.
There were lengthy delays as emergency services rushed to the scene, with multiple people needing to be freed from their vehicles.
All four teenagers in the Mitsubishi sustained potentially life-threatening injuries, with a 16-year-old girl later airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a critical condition.
The driver, a 14-year-old Urangan boy, and two other passengers – a 14-year-old Granville boy and a 16-year-old Maryborough girl – were transported to Hervey Bay hospital with various head, limb, abdominal and pelvic injuries.
The driver of the Suzuki, an 18-year-old Wondunna woman, was airlifted to Maryborough hospital with limb injuries in a stable condition. Her 58-year-old passenger was taken to Maryborough hospital with chest and abdominal injuries in a stable condition.
The driver of the Kona, a 40-year-old Eli Waters man, was trapped along with a 40-year-old woman and a two-year-old girl, all of whom were taken to Hervey Bay hospital in potentially life-threatening conditions.
The sole occupant of the Volkswagen, a 19-year-old male, was taken to Maryborough hospital in a stable condition with limb injuries.
Drivers must be at least 17 years old to qualify for a provisional driver’s licence in Queensland.
Police have urged anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage to come forward.
Caitlin Cassidy
Australian who is part of the flotilla to Gaza says ‘many boats have been broken’
An Australian who is part of the flotilla convoy attempting to transport aid to Gaza says multiple boats have been broken as about 175 activists remain detained by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Anny Mokotow, who is onboard the ship Bye-Luby, said their boat had to do search and rescue to find stranded boats and passengers after the flotilla was intercepted on Wednesday evening off the coast of Greece in international waters:
double quotation mark Many boats have been broken, engines destroyed and rigging cut. Some like Tam Tam have passengers. Others are unknown.Political pressure needs to be put on US, Australia, Greece and the rest of the world.
The Israel Foreign Ministry said the detained activists, including six Australians, were being transported “peacefully” to Israel. Twenty-two boats have been intercepted, and 45 are continuing to sail to Gaza.
Qantas reduces capacity and eyes Europe demand
Jonathan Barrett
Qantas will reduce its trans-Tasman services, and shift more aircraft on to Europe-bound routes, as it overhauls its schedule to save fuel and take advantage of in-demand flights.
The airline said today that it has extended previously announced schedule changes, with its additional Perth-Rome flights now running until the end of October.
Qantas and subsidiary Jetstar have trimmed capacity across the Tasman, while Qantas’s Sydney to Bengaluru service will be temporarily suspended from August.
Qantas said the decisions were made to mitigate the impact of the Middle East conflict, including high jet fuel prices, while responding to strong demand for travel to Europe.
The new changes will reduce its international capacity by a further 2%. While the Australian airline is benefiting from demand for flights that transit through Asia and avoid the Middle East, its jet fuel bill has risen sharply.
Qantas and Jetstar are also extending capacity reductions on their domestic network, predominantly on major capital city routes, until at least the end of September.
Call for investigation into correctional systems’ actions that led to release of Jefferson Lewis
The national commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, Sue-Anne Hunter, has said she will call for “a wider investigation into the correctional systems” that led to the release of Jefferson Lewis, who was arrested last night in connection with the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby.
Police previously said Lewis was known to authorities for domestic and family violence-related offences, and confirmed he had recently been released from prison but was not subject to any supervision orders.
Hunter said on Friday:
double quotation mark This is an extremely sad day for our people. It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the devastating loss of Kumanjayi Little Baby. Our thoughts are with her family, her community, the wider Northern Territory public, and all those across the nation carrying grief at this time.As we call for justice, we also call for unity, and we remember the loss that sits at the centre of this. The hope we held for Kumanjayi Little Baby’s safe discovery and return must now be held for the futures of our children. This must compel us to be better and do better for them.
Every child has a right to safety and a bright future. The wellbeing, rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people are the grounding principles for the work we do at the National Commission for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People.
We call for a wider investigation into the correctional systems that led to his release.
