{"id":623392,"date":"2026-04-22T11:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/623392\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T11:19:16","slug":"police-drop-nipple-cripple-charges-against-offspring-star-alicia-gardiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/623392\/","title":{"rendered":"Police drop \u2018nipple cripple\u2019 charges against Offspring star Alicia Gardiner"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 22, 2026 \u2014 7:57pm<\/p>\n

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The gripping court appearance of Offspring star<\/a> Alicia Gardiner over allegations that she twisted the nipple of a tour guide during a protest at Victoria\u2019s Parliament House delivered a twist of another kind on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The actor, 50, was charged with assaulting the worker when she joined about a dozen pro-Palestine protesters in disrupting parliament \u2013 and then-treasurer Tim Pallas\u2019<\/a> carefully rehearsed budget speech \u2013 on May 7, 2024. The group had chanted and held up signs from the public gallery, calling for action to help Palestinians dying under Israel\u2019s bombardment of Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

As they were escorted out by security, it\u2019s alleged Gardiner tried to enter the legislative chamber below. She was blocked by two of the building\u2019s staffers.<\/p>\n

One worker accused Gardiner of then \u201cbreaking the girl code\u201d by latching onto her breast and twisting her nipple, leaving bruises.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt a really sharp stabbing pain. I thought it was a knife,\u201d the woman told a contested hearing this week in the Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court.<\/p>\n

She said she believed Gardiner had come at her with \u201ca bit of vengeance\u201d because she had stopped her from entering the parliamentary chamber.<\/p>\n

\"AliciaAlicia Gardiner outside the Melbourne Magistrates\u2019 Court on Wednesday. AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n

But Gardiner\u2019s lawyer argued that the actor had been knocked into the staffer during the scuffle with security and had only reached out to brace herself.<\/p>\n

After two excruciating days of lawyers and witnesses going back and forth over the finer points of this alleged \u201ctwist\u201d, Gardiner was set to take the witness stand when the prosecution suddenly dropped the assault charge.<\/p>\n

Gardiner was instead ordered to pay a fine of $500, with no conviction recorded, after admitting she had failed to immediately comply with police directions to leave parliament.<\/p>\n

Her lawyer Angeline Centrone fought, without success, the public release of bodycam footage from the protest, despairing at the \u201cnipple cripple\u201d headlines that appeared in the Herald Sun that morning.<\/p>\n

\"AliciaAlicia Gardiner as Cath York in the crime comedy series Deadloch. <\/p>\n

Gardiner, who most recently appeared in the crime comedy Deadloch,<\/a> was flanked in court by a small group of supporters, including actor Louisa Mignone.<\/p>\n

Late on Wednesday night, the court released police bodycam footage of the chaotic scenes as officers removed the protesters from parliament.<\/p>\n

Mystery new gig for top lawyer<\/p>\n

Josh Bornstein, the high-profile workplace lawyer<\/a> known for his wins against Qantas on behalf of workers and the ABC on behalf of Antoinette Lattouf<\/a>, will start a mystery new gig after stepping down as principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn on July 1.<\/p>\n

An author, media opinionist, and briefly a political aspirant, the labour \u2013 or should that be Labor \u2013 lawyer will take on the role of consulting principal at the firm as part of his shift in direction.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Bornstein is stepping down as principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn. Oscar Colman<\/p>\n

His colleagues were informed on Tuesday of Bornstein\u2019s decision to call time with the heavy hitting firm after nearly 29 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cJosh is a legend of this firm and a giant of labour law in this country,\u201d Maurice Blackburn chief executive Jacob Varghese said in a message to staff seen by CBD. \u201cHis contribution to extending access to justice for Australian workers has, in several cases, been historic. He really has helped make the firm the national institution it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well known in Melbourne\u2019s business, political, legal and union circles, Bornstein\u2019s next move remains unclear at this stage \u2013 but CBD imagines we won\u2019t need to wait too long to find out.<\/p>\n

He joined the Labor and union-linked Maurice Blackburn in 1997 from Slater & Gordon and has gone on to successfully helm high-profile workplace disputes including the Transport Workers\u2019 Union win over Qantas in which the airline was found to have illegally sacked 1700 ground staff<\/a> during the COVID pandemic, and the Beaconsfield mine disaster where he represented the Australian Workers\u2019 Union and the family of Larry Knight<\/a>, the miner who died in the mine collapse.<\/p>\n

He also represented journalist Lattouf in her successful unfair dismissal action against the<\/a> ABC in 2025 after the national broadcaster axed her for reposting a Human Rights Watch report on her Instagram, while employed on a five-day casual contract.<\/p>\n

A man of many interests, Bornstein published a book, Working for the Brand, in 2024. He has also harboured political ambition, although a potential Senate run for Labor in 2021 was scuttled after media scrutiny of his prolific use of Twitter, now known as X, uncovered posts critical of Labor identities<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bornstein was recently appointed adjunct associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney and is on the advisory board of the University of Melbourne\u2019s Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law.<\/p>\n

\"SportsbetSportsbet chief executive Barni Evans.InternetCorporate empath Barni Evans swings the axe at Sportsbet<\/p>\n

Few executives across corporate Australia have gone to quite the same lengths as Sportsbet<\/a> chief executive Barni Evans to show that they get it. On what it\u2019s like to be a teenager addicted to the pokies, the gambling boss told The Australian newspaper in 2023 that \u201cI\u2019ve been through that\u201d.<\/p>\n

A couple of years later, when US President Donald Trump was vapourising the US government\u2019s diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programs, Evans reportedly emailed staff to explain why he and other members of the leadership team adorned themselves with \u201cAlly\u201d T-shirts.<\/p>\n

That email, which reportedly carried the subject line \u201cHaving each other\u2019s back\u201d, told staff: \u201cHow we show up is important and makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, this week, roughly 4 per cent of the company was informed that it wouldn\u2019t be long before they wouldn\u2019t have roles to show up for.<\/p>\n

The Irish-owned gambling company informed affected staff that their roles would be made redundant on Wednesday morning. The headcount reduction will see Sportsbet cut 50 roles, CBD hears, accounting for about 4 per cent of the company\u2019s total workforce of about 1200 people.<\/p>\n

Confirming the cuts, a Sportsbet spokesman said the changes were made in response to a \u201cmore competitive and challenging environment\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese changes are focused on simplifying how teams work together, improving accountability and ensuring our business is set up for the long term,\u201d the spokesman told CBD. \u201cThe impact on headcount is limited and we are currently in a consultation phase with affected employees. Our priority is supporting our people through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"FionaFiona Byrne<\/a> is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.\"JohnJohn Buckley<\/a> is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.\"SherrynSherryn Groch<\/a> is a journalist at The Age covering crime. Email her at s.groch@nine.com.au or contact her securely on Signal @SherrynG.70Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 22, 2026 \u2014 7:57pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-623392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}