{"id":852464,"date":"2026-08-12T09:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/852464\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:36:11","slug":"afternoon-update-how-police-mistook-sex-doll-for-a-body-bondi-hero-has-assault-charges-dropped-and-dust-removal-australia-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/852464\/","title":{"rendered":"Afternoon Update: how police mistook sex doll for a body; Bondi hero has assault charges dropped; and dust removal | Australia news"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">How did New South Wales police mistake a sex doll for a \u201cbody\u201d? By following the correct procedure, police say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">On Sunday, NSW police were called to a rural locality near Goulburn after a suitcase containing what was believed to be human remains was found dumped on the side of the road. After police arrived, the suitcase was sent off to forensics, and police released a statement saying the body was believed to be female.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">But after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2026\/aug\/09\/body-woman-found-suitcase-regional-nsw-road-ntwnfb\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">many headlines<\/a> \u2013 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2026\/aug\/12\/female-body-suitcase-sex-doll-nsw-police-explained\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">a bit of embarrassment<\/a> \u2013 police confirmed the \u201cbody\u201d was actually a life-like doll, understood to be a sex doll, dressed in clothes that had hair, a nose piercing and markings that resembled bruises and grazes. Reporter Kat Wong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2026\/aug\/12\/female-body-suitcase-sex-doll-nsw-police-explained\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">spoke to experts<\/a> who said that officers actually did the right thing, and did not fully unzip the bag to avoid destroying evidence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Investigations have now concluded and Supt Linda Bradbury maintains police have \u201cno regrets\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Top newsIn videoNew research sheds light on the genetic basis of the venomous arachnid\u2019s \u2018weird mating behaviour\u2019. Photograph: Ken Jones\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">If you think you\u2019ve had a bad one-night stand, spare a thought for the male redback spider, whose sole reproductive partner eats him after sex.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">You can watch a male redback appear to invite this cannibalism through a \u201cself-sacrificial somersault\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PhEaH0keSys\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>, and read more about the new research shedding light on the genetic basis of the behaviour <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/aug\/12\/male-redback-spiders-invite-cannibalism-through-a-self-sacrificial-somersault-during-sex-but-why\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What they said \u2026Should energy efficiency standards in housing be optional? The opposition is considering it. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAP<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cSome people call it putting a jumper on.\u201d \u2013 Tim Wilson<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">As the Coalition releases its plan to tackle the housing crisis, including radically cutting Australia\u2019s building code from 2,000 pages to just 80, Tim Wilson suggests that housing energy efficiency standards could be optional.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">But the Australian Council of Social Service is \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d by the Coalition\u2019s proposal and its chief executive, Cassandra Goldie, says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/live\/2026\/aug\/12\/australia-politics-live-question-time-anthony-albanese-angus-taylor-coalition-andrew-bragg-housing-construction-immigration-one-nation-pauline-hanson-gambling-melon-gift-japan-ndis-ntwnfb?page=with%3Ablock-6a7bd7428f08bd3e82541b2b#block-6a7bd7428f08bd3e82541b2b\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cutting energy efficiency<\/a> in homes would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2025\/jul\/09\/australians-could-cut-power-bills-by-90-if-they-made-their-homes-more-energy-efficient-report-finds\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">leave renters with high power bills<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>PodcastReading has a wealth of cognitive benefits that we\u2019re in danger of missing out on. Photograph: Juice Images\/Alamy<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/audio\/2026\/aug\/11\/were-reading-less-and-its-making-us-stupid-podcast\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">We\u2019re reading less. And it\u2019s making us stupid<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Books have never been trendier, but studies show that as more and more things compete for our frazzled attention spans, we\u2019re reading less and less. <\/p>\n<p>To find out why declining literacy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/audio\/2026\/aug\/11\/were-reading-less-and-its-making-us-stupid-podcast\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">could affect everything from memory to IQ<\/a>, Madeleine Finlay speaks to the Guardian\u2019s science editor, Ian Sample. She also hears from Prof Falk Huettig, an experimental psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and author of The Perks of Being a Bookworm<\/p>\n<p><a data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" href=\"#EmailSignup-skip-link-20\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Weekdays<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-vf9hps\">Sign up to Afternoon Update<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1r7my33\">Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783932670_981_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"dcr-xiq31o\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"EmailSignup-skip-link-20\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-label=\"after newsletter promotion\" role=\"note\" class=\"dcr-76akua\">after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Listen to the episode <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/audio\/2026\/aug\/11\/were-reading-less-and-its-making-us-stupid-podcast\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Before bed readSome surfaces really are better at collecting dust. Composite: Guardian Design<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">For years, Ilana Bean complained about an Ikea shelf in her home that seemed to attract dust at an impossible speed. Eventually, frustration gave way to curiosity: can their house be made less dusty? Bean spent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/2026\/aug\/12\/can-i-make-my-house-less-dusty-i-spent-four-weeks-experimenting-to-find-out\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">four weeks experimenting <\/a>to find out.<\/p>\n<p>Daily word game Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Today\u2019s starter word is: UNIT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordiply.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Play Wordiply<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sign up<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you\u2019ll love <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2022\/sep\/23\/morning-mail-newsletter-best-daily-news-email-guardian-australia-free-sign-up-inbox-subscribe?CMP=copyembed\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup. <\/p>\n<p>And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/apr\/25\/election-newsletter-sign-up-stakes\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This Week in Trumpland<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and\/or digital subscriptions, please email customer.help@guardian.co.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How did New South Wales police mistake a sex doll for a \u201cbody\u201d? By following the correct procedure,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-852464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852464","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=852464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}