![\"Benita](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Benita_Kolovos.png\")
Benita Kolovos<\/p>\nVictoria police don\u2019t know if Dezi Freeman is still aliveBenita Kolovos<\/p>\n
After announcing his plans to restructure the Victoria police force, the commissioner was asked for an update on the search for Dezi Freeman, who fled into the bush after killing officers Vadim de Waart-Hottart and Neal Thompson on 24 August.<\/p>\n
Bush said:<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, we have no updates. Of the three likely scenarios we\u2019re considering what weight we put to each of them. Is he still alive? We don\u2019t know. Is he alive and still in the area? We have no real information to suggest that it\u2019s occurred, but we never discount. Or has he been unable to leave the area and is being looked after by others? We don\u2019t know. All of those are assumptions, possibilities, and we plan and resource for those three.<\/p>\n
He said there had been 1,400 tips to police with \u201cevery one of those pursued twice\u201d.<\/p>\n
We encourage anyone who believes they have any information that could help us find this person, please don\u2019t hesitate to let us know.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.39 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n AFP investigating Lidia Thorpe\u2019s comments at pro-Palestine rally<\/p>\n The Australian Federal Police (AFP) are investigating whether comments made by Independent senator Lidia Thorpe at a pro-Palestine rally breached legislation.<\/p>\n Thorpe had told the rally:<\/p>\n We stand with you every day, and we will fight every day, and we will turn up every day, and if I have to burn down Parliament House to make a point \u2026 I am not there to make friends.<\/p>\n Senator Lidia Thorpe. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n An AFP spokesperson said it was aware of comments made at a protest regarding Australia\u2019s Parliament House.<\/p>\n The AFP\u2019s National Security Investigations team in Victoria began investigating almost immediately into whether the comments breach legislation. This will be done methodically.<\/p>\n It is not the usual practice of the AFP to provide a running commentary on matters. However, noting the public commentary and concern, the AFP is seeking to reassure the community that this issue is being appropriately considered and undertaken in a timely manner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.37 EDT<\/p>\n Search resumes for missing boy Gus Lamont in South Australia<\/p>\n The search for missing four-year-old Gus Lamont will resume tomorrow in South Australia.<\/p>\n Police announced on 3 October that search efforts had been scaled back<\/a> for the boy who disappeared from his family\u2019s sheep station in the remote South Australian mid-north at the end of September.<\/p>\n Gus Lamont. Photograph: SA POLICE\/AAP<\/p>\n South Australia police released a statement this afternoon, saying the search would resume at Oak Park Station, 43km south of Yunta, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The search, which will involve police and ADF personnel, will concentrate on an expanded area outside of the zone already searched extensively following Gus\u2019 disappearance on Saturday 27 September.<\/p>\n There continues to be regular and close engagement with the Lamont family who are continuing to assist with the investigation.<\/p>\n Oak Park Station is private property. The family has asked that media refrain from contacting them and [entering] their property.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.24 EDT<\/p>\n That\u2019s all from me. Natasha May will guide you through the rest of Monday. Take care!<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Medical watchdog says 95% of notifications on Gaza conflict required no regulatory action<\/p>\n About 95% of complaints to Australia\u2019s medical watchdog about health professionals sharing views on the Gaza conflict required no regulatory action.<\/p>\n The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) received 188 complaints related to the Gaza conflict between 1 October 2023 and 12 September 2025. The complaints related to 95 practitioners. The chief executive of AHPRA, Justin Untersteiner, told Senate estimates last week two cases of health professionals facing allegations of professional misconduct had been referred to the relevant tribunals.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Ahpra told Guardian Australia that of the 173 notifications about the conflict that had been closed, seven required regulatory action.<\/p>\n In addition to the tribunal referrals, three practitioners were cautioned, while two had conditions imposed on their registrations.<\/p>\n The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners wrote to AHPRA in August, urging the regulator to fast-track the investigations of GPs<\/a> who made public comments about the Gaza conflict.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.05 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018No one should live in fear of people breaking into their homes\u2019, Victoria\u2019s police commissioner says<\/p>\n Back to Victoria where its police chief commissioner is starting the press conference on the complete restructure of the force amid concerns over increasing crime in the state.<\/p>\n Bush has begun his press conference by saying Victoria police \u201chave exceptional people who do a wonderful job under challenging circumstances\u201d, but the force is facing two significant issues.<\/p>\n Firstly, he noted a \u201cmajor crime problem in Victoria\u201d, with the state \u201cway overrepresented\u201d and that there are \u201cfar too many victims\u201d.<\/p>\n No one should live in fear of people breaking into their homes overnight, stealing cars, violence in the street, violence at retail outlets, knife crime.<\/p>\n The second problem, he said, was \u201cthe lack of trust and confidence in the Victoria police\u201d:<\/p>\n In terms of those two very significant issues, we need to police differently. We need a reset. We need to reorganise ourselves.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.00 EDT<\/p>\n Ted O\u2019Brien says super tax changes a \u2018victory for common sense\u2019<\/p>\n Deputy opposition leader Ted O\u2019Brien says treasurer Jim Chalmers\u2019 new superannuation tax plans are a \u201cvictory for common sense\u201d.<\/p>\n O\u2019Brien just said during a press conference:<\/p>\n I welcome today\u2019s decision, to dump a tax which was always super big and super bad. \u2026<\/p>\n We have known for a very long time that this tax is very bad for Australians. But the treasurer refused to budge. Now, finally, the government has made the right decision, to dump its superannuation tax regime.<\/p>\n Today is indeed a humiliating day for the treasurer. But it is a victory for common sense; it is a victory for everyday Australians who are otherwise going to be stung by this tax which was fundamentally unfair.<\/p>\n Deputy opposition leader Ted O\u2019Brien. Photograph: Dean Lewins\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.25 EDT<\/p>\n Getting ahead of crime \u2018problem\u2019 will require \u2018fundamental shift\u2019, commissioner says<\/p>\n Bush said in a statement before the press conference that there was \u201cno escaping\u201d the fact that there was a \u201ccrime problem here in Victoria\u201d.<\/p>\n Getting ahead of this crime problem requires consequences for those offenders who drive fear in our communities combined with ongoing swift arrests and proactive operations. But it will also require a fundamental shift in how Victoria Police operates. We need to change how we police, so that we can get ahead of the criminals and stop the offending before it happens.<\/p>\n Victoria police chief commissioner Mike Bush. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAP<\/p>\n He said there were 22,000 police, protective service officers and public sector staff across the state, but those on the frontline were not being given enough support. Bush said:<\/p>\n While specialist services within Victoria Police have benefited from considerable investment \u2013 and necessarily so \u2013 our general duties officers, the backbone of our organisation, have not received the same levels of focus or investment.<\/p>\n They are loaded past their capacity, burdened by bureaucracy and systems that don\u2019t talk to each other. Our structures do not support them as effectively as is needed and nor do our back-of-house functions, technology or processes. If we are to prevent crime, then it starts with properly resourcing and enabling our frontline police officers.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.33 EDT<\/p>\n Victoria police executive to be \u2018slimmed down\u2019 in significant restructure amid crime surge fears Victoria police\u2019s chief commissioner, Mike Bush, is holding a press conference at 2.30pm to announce a complete restructure of the force amid concerns over increasing crime in the state.<\/p>\n Under the plan \u2013 the most significant structural changes to the force in years \u2013 Victoria police\u2019s executive team will be \u201cslimmed down\u201d. There will be a reduction in centralised commands and departments, and frontline police will spend less time on administrative work, such as manning reception desks.<\/p>\n The restructure will also include the following measures:<\/p>\n A new state crime coordination centre, described by Victoria police as a 24\/7 \u201chigh-tech hub, that will bring together information, intelligence, and operational capability under one roof\u201d to \u201cidentify links between crimes, uncover patterns, and provide real time insights to frontline police\u201d.<\/p>\n A trial to release sworn officers from police station reception counter duties and replace them with \u201calternate staff\u201d.<\/p>\n A trial of \u201cinvestigation support units\u201d \u2013 dedicated admin staff, including former police officers, who will complete arrest paperwork in stations to free up members.<\/p>\n If the trials are successful, Bush said they would be implemented statewide as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.48 EDT<\/p>\n Two legal challenges to Woodside\u2019s North West Shelf extension filed on environmental and cultural grounds<\/p>\n Two groups have filed separate legal challenges to the federal environment minister\u2019s approval of Woodside\u2019s North West Shelf extension, one of the world\u2019s biggest liquified natural gas projects.<\/p>\n The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) and Friends of Australian Rock Art have commenced federal court proceedings in a bid to have the decision overturned.<\/p>\n A gas flare at the Woodside operated North West Shelf venture. Photograph: Greg Wood\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The environment minister, Murray Watt, gave final approval last month to Woodside\u2019s proposal to extend the life of its North West Shelf gas processing plant, on the Burrup peninsula in northern Western Australia, from 2030 to 2070. ACF\u2019s general counsel, Adam Beeson, said:<\/p>\n We\u2019re challenging the lawfulness of Minister Watt\u2019s approval of this gas hub extension, which is the centrepiece of the most polluting gas project in the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.26 EDT<\/p>\n Greens concerned new super tax rules \u2018a gift to the super-rich\u2019<\/p>\n Nick McKim, the Greens\u2019 economic justice spokesperson, says the party remains concerned the government\u2019s new superannuation tax plan will \u201cfurther [weaken] what should be a tax to ensure the super wealthy top 0.5% pay their fair share\u201d.<\/p>\n McKim said in a statement the proposal made it clear Labor \u201cdoesn\u2019t have the guts to tax big corporations and billionaires fairly\u201d, adding:<\/p>\n Of course low income people need some tax relief on their super contributions. This is something the Greens have called for for some time, so we will run the ruler over the changes to low income earners\u2019 superannuation.<\/p>\n Labor has stripped out the tax on unrealised gains and indexed the $3 million threshold, a gift to the super-rich that will cost the budget billions. This is a capitulation to the wealthiest people in the country, and a slap in the face to everyone else who pays their tax straight out of their pay packet.<\/p>\n Greens senator Nick McKim. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAP<\/p>\n He said the Greens would look at the full legislation when it is introduced.<\/p>\n The Greens said earlier this year <\/a>that the party would support a shift in taxation rules to a lower threshold of $2m rather than $3m, but also called for indexation rules to be added to the proposal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.25 EDT<\/p>\n Keating hails new super tax rules a \u2018huge policy achievement\u2019<\/p>\n The former prime minister Paul Keating has just responded to the new superannuation tax changes, saying they will resolve a political \u201cimpasse\u201d and ensure \u201cthat superannuation accumulations will be successfully taxed\u201d.<\/p>\n Keating released a long statement, pointing to changes by John Howard and Peter Costello in 2007 to abolish the Keating government\u2019s \u201creasonable benefit limits\u201d for superannuation that placed an upper limit on the tax benefits you could obtain in the system. He wrote:<\/p>\n The government and Treasurer Chalmers have spent well over a year seeking to [devise] a method whereby the Howard\/Costello runaway scheme could, with all reasonableness, be brought under control by setting new permissible limits and above which taxation applied at a higher rate. \u2026<\/p>\n The Treasurer\u2019s success in working through and resolving this impasse will now mean that superannuation accumulations will be successfully taxed but taxed only on a basis of realisation, but more than that, taxed at a new limit and at a higher rate, restoring much needed equity following the Howard\/Costello rampage of 2007.<\/p>\n Former prime minister Paul Keating. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi\/AAP<\/p>\n Keating went on to say there was little doubt Chalmers had seen \u201cgreat difficulty\u201d setting new upper limits, but said the changes would be a \u201chuge policy achievement\u201d.<\/p>\n It is reform of a kind that shares substance with necessity. Necessity that every government since 2007 has conveniently overlooked or simply regarded as too difficult.<\/p>\n Importantly, these decisions solidify superannuation tax arrangements in a manner the community can now rely upon for the long-term security of their retirement savings and with it, their peace of mind.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.35 EDT<\/p>\n Yahoo probed on \u2018inappropriate\u2019 bald heads on site<\/p>\n Yahoo, which was a popular search engine years before Google\u2019s domination but is now considered a \u201cchallenger\u201d site, has faced questions from Liberal senator Sarah Henderson over a BuzzFeed article featured on its homepage during a Senate inquiry.<\/p>\n The inquiry is examining search engine and social media age verification, as well as other incoming internet codes.<\/p>\n Allow content provided by a third party?<\/p>\n This article includes content hosted on embed.bsky.app. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as the provider may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Henderson asked Yahoo\u2019s director of public policy, Logan Smith, why the BuzzFeed article, which featured the bald heads of two men behind a woman, was on the website\u2019s homepage:<\/p>\n I\u2019ve just had a look at your website, and you\u2019re displaying on the front page, the homepage of the website, a photograph which looks like a woman exposing her buttocks. Then when you go into it, you see that there are two bald heads in front of the woman. But it was clearly designed to look as if a woman was in a very inappropriate and sexually explicit position, can I ask you to explain why that\u2019s on your homepage?<\/p>\n Smith replied that it was likely partner content from a third party. Henderson said:\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t matter, it\u2019s on your homepage.\u201d She said:<\/p>\n I\u2019m concerned, based on your assurances that there is, there isn\u2019t inappropriate content on your homepage, and that Yahoo is not taking that obligation seriously enough.<\/p>\n Smith said no policy or filter was foolproof, meaning Yahoo would rely on manual user reports.<\/p>\n Henderson also said she saw an ad by Temu \u201cpromoting what I can only say is an explicit BDM type costume, which I won\u2019t describe in detail, but I would put to you is also very inappropriate for a younger audience\u201d.<\/p>\n Smith took the questions on notice, but said there were ad policies in place.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.21 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018No good reason\u2019 for high and low income earners to get same super tax concessions, Chalmers says<\/p>\n Chalmers just summed up one of the baseline ideas behind some of the changes in a quick sentence:<\/p>\n Really what I\u2019m saying here is there is no good reason for people with hundreds of millions of dollars in super to get the same kind of tax concessions as people with smaller balances, and that\u2019s what this change reflects.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.44 EDT<\/p>\n Chalmers has had \u2018initial\u2019 conversation on changes with the Greens<\/p>\n Chalmers said he has had an \u201cinitial conversation\u201d about the changes with the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, after cabinet agreed to the recommendations. The treasurer said Waters would confer with her colleagues and the Greens would make their position on the matter known \u201cin due course\u201d.<\/p>\n Chalmers said:<\/p>\n I have appreciated throughout and I appreciate today the opportunity to engage constructively with the Greens in the Senate \u2026<\/p>\n It was a constructive conversation [and] I do not want to pre-empt the Greens party room. They will consider this.<\/p>\n Guardian Australia has reached out to Waters for comment.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.39 EDT<\/p>\n Chalmers says government always takes feedback \u2018seriously\u2019, reflecting changes to super tax plans<\/p>\n Chalmers was asked if this is a major retreat from the initial plans to change the superannuation tax system. He said:<\/p>\n As treasurer and as a government we always try to take feedback seriously. We always try to find the best way through \u2026<\/p>\n We found another way to satisfy the same objectives. It means a fairer superannuation system from top to bottom, and means a better outcome for people on the lowest incomes and better targeted concessions for people with the biggest balances.<\/p>\n And that is a good outcome from our point of view.<\/p>\n Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.28 EDT<\/p>\n Fourteen times more people will benefit from new super thresholds than be adversely affected, Chalmers says<\/p>\n Summing up these changes (and justifying them), Chalmers says:<\/p>\n This is a government which takes feedback seriously, which works through issues and advice in a methodical and a considered way, and you\u2019re seeing the fruits of that today. Our superannuation system is the envy of the world. It is a proud Labor creation, but it has its imperfections, and today, with these announcements, we are addressing at least two of them \u2013 the sustainability of concessions in the highest balances, and also adequacy for women and low income earners. And in doing that, we are reinforcing the objective of super as a vehicle for decent retirement savings. This goes hand in hand with our other reforms. We\u2019ve actually done a lot to strengthen super, to make it fairer and more sustainable. We\u2019ve legislated the objective. We got super to 12% \u2013 we\u2019re making the changes so that we have payday super, we\u2019re paying the superannuation guarantee on paid parental leave, and we\u2019ll also make sure that the performance test is doing its job as well.<\/p>\n I wanted to leave you with this comparison: 14 times more people will benefit from the low income super changes than will be impacted by the better targeted tax concessions. This is a fairer superannuation system from top to bottom, and it\u2019s another part of us ensuring, as a Labor government, that more Australians are earning more, keeping more of what they earn, and also retiring with more.<\/p>\n![\"Nick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Nick_Visser.png\")
Nick Visser<\/p>\n![\"Adeshola](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Adeshola_Ore.png\")
Adeshola Ore<\/p>\nBenita Kolovos<\/p>\nBenita Kolovos<\/p>\nBenita Kolovos<\/p>\n![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lisa_Cox.png\")
Lisa Cox<\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Josh_Taylor.png\")
Josh Taylor<\/p>\n