Melbourne stabbing deaths have ‘hallmarks’ of a youth gang crime, police say
Andrew Messenger
Victoria police are holding a press conference on the killing of two boys, one 12 and one 15, in Cobblebank in Melbourne’s west last night.
Det Insp Graham Banks has told media that the attacks had “the hallmarks of a youth gang crime”.
Though the two children were found on different streets, he said the two alleged murders were linked to the same offenders.
Banks urged anyone with information to come forward.
The alleged attackers “fled the scene in a vehicle that’s yet to be identified, and vision shows that they were armed with machetes and long edged weapons,” Banks said.
Updated at 22.31 EDT
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Alice Springs elects first ever Greens mayorAndrew Messenger
Lawyer Asta Hill has been elected mayor of Alice Springs.
She is the first Greens candidate ever to win the top job in the outback Northern Territory town, and one of the first badged Greens to become mayor of any council in the country.
Hill, a lawyer, received 3,005 first preference votes, topping the poll at the ballot last month. After several weeks of counting, she defeated independent candidate Eli Melky by 56 votes late on Friday night, with a two-candidate preferred count of about 50.3%.
Community advocate Aia Newport was also elected on the Greens ticket, as a councillor. Two Country Liberal party candidates, including former mayor Damien Ryan, will join them on the council alongside five independents.
Hill ran on a platform of changing the image of the remote community amid a national conversation about crime. Her predecessor, independent Matt Paterson, called on the commonwealth to deploy the army or federal police to Alice Springs and backed a controversial curfew imposed on the town by the territory government.
Updated at 23.24 EDT
Police investigate Melbourne CBD shooting
Josh Taylor
Victoria police detectives are investigating after a man died in hospital after a shooting in Melbourne’s CBD early on Sunday morning.
Emergency services were called to the corner of Franklin and Elizabeth streets just before 4am following reports of a gunshot.
A 26-year-old Seabrook man later presented at the Royal Melbourne hospital with what appeared to be a gunshot wound. He died from his injuries shortly after.
Police say the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are still being determined, and initial inquiries indicate it was a targeted shooting.
No arrests have been made.
Updated at 23.05 EDT
Josh Taylor
No arrests at Bondi Gaza gathering and counter-protest
Just taking you back to the earlier reports of protesters at Bondi beach:
NSW police say there were no arrests made after Gaza flotilla supporters were met by counter-protesters at Bondi beach on Sunday morning.
It is understood the Jews Against the Occupation ‘48 gathering on Bondi beach, which was organised to show support for the flotilla currently attempting to take food and medical aid to starving Palestinians, has wrapped up along with the counter-protest by Israel supporters.
In videos seen by Guardian Australia, the two groups were seen yelling at each other, with pro-Palestine protesters making claims the Israel supporters “supported genocide”, while the pro-Palestine rally participants were asked in return whether they “support Hamas”.
The Australian Jewish Association posted a video of the pro-Israel protest on X containing what the organisation said was a chant that was “going viral” where the group was chanting “you can stick your Palestine up your hole”.
Police confirmed no arrests were made of anyone attending the event or counter-protest. Police did not release numbers on how many attended the event.
Updated at 23.16 EDT
Andrew Messenger
Police call for tougher youth crime sentences after Melbourne stabbing deaths
Det Insp Graham Banks has finished the press conference by calling for longer sentences for youth gang crime.
He said police had made a record number of arrests, and seizures of knives, and therefore there was a need for “broader change”.
“The policing position has always been that there needs to be a strong deterrent for this type of behaviour for carrying weapons, for people who break into homes with weapons, for people who carjack, for people who assault people with weapons,” Banks said.
So whether that balance is right is really a matter for the community and the courts and ultimately the government. As I stand here before you, I think the penalties aren’t in balance with what community expectations are, or mine.
Banks told media that police could not arrest their way out of a problem he said had been growing more intense for a decade
There needs to be greater outcomes for a number of the people, but they are matters for the court and the government.
Updated at 22.40 EDT
Andrew Messenger
Child victims not believed to be gang members, police say
Continuing on the Victoria police press conference:
Det Insp Graham Banks says the alleged murders may have been a case of mistaken identity, though it may also have been a targeted attack, and the two child victims were not members of a gang.
“It is one of the most horrific crimes in a substantial and growing list of crimes of this nature. The children who were murdered were not gang members and it is not OK to remain silent,” Banks said.
He said the youngest victim, just 12, was so young he would be highly unlikely to be a gang member.
The two were part of a group of three who’d just hopped off a bus, he said.
Police are searching for about eight offenders, Banks said.
Updated at 22.35 EDT
Melbourne stabbing deaths have ‘hallmarks’ of a youth gang crime, police sayAndrew Messenger
Victoria police are holding a press conference on the killing of two boys, one 12 and one 15, in Cobblebank in Melbourne’s west last night.
Det Insp Graham Banks has told media that the attacks had “the hallmarks of a youth gang crime”.
Though the two children were found on different streets, he said the two alleged murders were linked to the same offenders.
Banks urged anyone with information to come forward.
The alleged attackers “fled the scene in a vehicle that’s yet to be identified, and vision shows that they were armed with machetes and long edged weapons,” Banks said.
Updated at 22.31 EDT
Gaza flotilla supporters met by counter-protesters at Bondi beach
A gathering was taking place on Bondi beach this morning in solidarity with the Sumud flotilla currently sailing towards Gaza.
Jews Against the Occupation ‘48 said it was holding a gathering to show support for the flotilla that is trying to bring food and medical aid to starving Palestinians.
Video seen by the Guardian shows the group was met by a counter protest, a large group, some waving Israeli and Australian flags, which had assembled on the steps at Bondi beach. Some police could be seen in the video.
We will bring you more on this as it develops.
Updated at 22.00 EDT
Police looking for owner of ‘distinctive’ 50-cent coin
South Australia police are looking to reunite a distinctive coin which was discovered during a search at Seaton with its owner.
The coin is a 2022 Australia decoration Christmas beetle 50c coin. Police said they suspected the coin was stolen and were looking to reunite it with its rightful owner.
Anyone who recognises the coin or has information on its owner is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
2022 Australia decoration Christmas beetle 50c coin found in South Australia and suspected to be stolen. Photograph: SA PoliceShare
Updated at 21.38 EDT
Anne Davies
NSW opposition proposes redevelopment of Long Bay jail site for 12,000 homes
The NSW opposition has unveiled its alternative for housing close to Sydney’s CBD, with a plan to redevelop Long Bay jail at Malabar for 12,000 homes.
The site, currently used as NSW’s main remand centre, is located just 15km from the city centre. It would be sold and redeveloped into housing, parks, childcare, schools and healthcare services.
The opposition said its plan would unlock $3bn in funding, and that 30% of the housing on the site would be reserved for social and affordable housing.
It pledged that the new development would be planned in consultation with local communities to create a model environment which would respect the heritage values of the area.
An aerial view of Long Bay jail complex in Sydney. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
With the NSW election just 18 months away, housing has become the most pressing political issue.
The Minns government has promised to complete the half-built Woollahra station in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and develop up to 10,000 homes as part of its plans to unlock more housing. But it is already meeting resistance from the council. The development is in the Liberal held seat of Vaucluse.
The opposition’s plan is in the seat of Maroubra, held by Labor’s Michael Daley. In the past, when the idea has been floated by both Liberal and Labor governments, it has met with strong opposition from the local community, because of the lack of transport.
The area is served by buses but the light rail now terminates at nearby Maroubra.
The plan also requires constructing a new jail close to Sydney.
The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, said the development would be “a beacon of hope” for young homebuyers.
Updated at 21.25 EDT
Ley urges PM not to be a ‘bystander’ to deteriorating US-India relationship
Sarah Basford Canales
The opposition leader has called on Anthony Albanese to repair ties between the US and India, and not be a “bystander”, as relations between two of the four Quad pact leaders break down.
Speaking to ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning, Sussan Ley, said the Quad pact between Australia, the US, Japan and India was vital and Australia should “step in” and calm tensions for the sake of its future.
Ley, who said she did not agree with Donald Trump’s negative comments about India, criticised Albanese for not having secured a face-to-face meeting with the US president to discuss the “laundry list of issues” that has arisen since the Trump administration took office.
She continued:
Look, pleasantries and small talk are fine. I think we need more at this time. There’s a laundry list of issues that we need to raise with the US, and that should be done face to face, man to man.
The tensions between Trump and the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, have deteriorated in recent months after the US president took credit for de-escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan in May. Trump has since called India a “dead economy” while his trade adviser, Pete Navarro, accused India of profiteering off Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by buying and selling discounted Russian oil. In late August, the US imposed 50% import tariffs on India in response.
Analysts have said Modi’s warm meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, was a message of defiance to Trump.
Updated at 21.02 EDT
Great koala national park could be ‘iconic’ attraction alongside Great Barrier Reef and Uluru, minister says
Sharpe said the NSW government hoped the great koala national park, would “be an iconic park, not just for locals”.
We want it to be when people come to Australia, you know, they go and see the Great Barrier Reef, they go and see Uluru and they come and see the great koala national park.
She said the government was planning to formally legislate the park next year but issues related to wood supply needed to be worked through with industry first as did a proposal to establish a carbon credit project within the park that is being considered by the Albanese government.
Updated at 20.57 EDT
NSW environment minister says forestry will continue outside great koala national park
The NSW environment minister, Penny Sharpe, has spoken to the ABC about the government’s announcement confirming its long-awaited great koala national park.
The decision comes with a moratorium on logging within the park’s boundaries.
Sharpe said the government had been “as careful as possible” to ensure there would still be a continuation of forestry in other areas of the north coast. But the decision would have an impact on some mills and about 300 jobs with affected workers to receive “immediate support”:
At the end of the day, there are people who won’t like this decision, but we think this is incredibly important.
This is about … looking after one of our most precious iconic species. This area is home to over 100 threatened species. It’s a very important conservation outcome, but it’s also a really exciting opportunity for the mid-north coast in New South Wales.
Penny Sharpe, the NSW environment minister. Photograph: Bec Lorrimer/The GuardianShare
Updated at 20.57 EDT
AFP records 41% jump in reports of online child sexual exploitation
The Australian federal police reported a 41% increase in reports of online child sexual exploitation in the 2024-25 financial year, with 82,764 reports in the 12 months compared with 58,503 in the previous financial year.
The commander of the AFP’s human exploitation unit, Helen Schneider, said:
The 41% rise in reports of online child sexual exploitation is hugely confronting, as it represents acts of unspeakable horror and trauma that involve Australians as both victims and offenders.
These acts range from the creation, distribution and consumption of child abuse material through to the livestreaming of child sexual abuse overseas.
Schneider said people should be mindful about what material is posted online.
It’s a natural impulse for parents and carers to want to celebrate and share their children’s lives, but it’s important to think about where this material could end up and what could be done with it.
Our message is: take a minute to think before hitting publish, and also be mindful of factors such as who has access to your posts and videos.
Updated at 20.30 EDT
Seventh person charged over alleged attack on Camp SovereigntyJosh Taylor
A 25-year-old Camperdown man has been charged with violent disorder, affray, unlawful assault and discharge missile over the alleged attack on the sacred Indigenous burial site in Melbourne known as Camp Sovereignty last Sunday.
Victoria police announced the charge on Saturday afternoon. He was bailed to appear in Melbourne magistrates’ court on 9 September.
The man is the seventh person charged over the alleged attack, and police say they will allege the men assaulted people in Kings Domain around 5pm after an anti-immigration protest in Melbourne last weekend.
Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell was also charged over the alleged attack and denied bail last week.
Police have said the alleged attack is still under investigation and have urged anyone with information or footage to make contact.
Camp Sovereignty in Kings Domain in Melbourne. Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Guardian AustraliaShare
Updated at 20.16 EDT