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Police not classifying shooting as domestic terror event
Linford is asked about whether police are considering classifying the shooting as a domestic terror event. She says:
We are not classifying it as a domestic terror event at this point. What we can see is sentiment displayed by the three individuals, the three Train family members, that was anti-government, anti-police, conspiracy theorist … but we can’t see them connected to any particular group they were working with.
Key events
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Dreamworld to pay $2.1m over woman’s death
Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld has to pay $2.15m to the husband and two children of a woman who died when a ride malfunctioned in 2016, AAP reports.
Sydney woman Cindy Low, 42, died on the Thunder River Rapids ride along with Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett and Roozi Araghi when a water pump failed and caused the raft they were in to overturn.
Brisbane supreme court justice Susan Brown last week approved a settlement agreement between Dreamworld parent company Ardent Leisure Limited and Cindy’s husband, Matthew Low.
Low sued Ardent and filed a claim for dependency costs and economic loss in June 2019 on behalf of the couple’s two children Kieran and Isla, aged 10 and six respectively at the time of Cindy’s death.
Kieran was on the ride when his mother was killed but suffered only minor injuries.
The terms of the settlement were not revealed in court but public documents now show that Ardent Leisure agreed in September to pay $2.15m plus $280,000 in costs and outlays to the Low family.
The two children’s share of the settlement will be managed by a discretionary trust until they turn 18.
Low’s legal representatives, the firm Clayton Utz, had originally filed a claim for more than $2.46m.
Ardent Leisure was fined $3.6m in 2020 after pleading guilty in Brisbane magistrates court to breaching the Work Health and Safety Act.
The company has reportedly paid a total of more than $5m in compensation claims as of 2020 to other family members of the victims as well as emergency responders and witnesses.
Natasha May
I am bidding you au revoir for this Thursday and handing over to the fantastic Stephanie Convery!
Paul Karp
Morrison v Albanese contrast was prime vote loser: review
The Liberal election review is very, shall we say, polite about the role of the former prime minister Scott Morrison in the 2022 defeat.
The report blames a number of factors for the defeat and frames Morrison’s unpopularity as a consequence of attacks by Labor and hostile state premiers.
Still, in the bowels of the report it is clear that Morrison’s unpopularity was the biggest vote loser in the campaign.
It said:
A series of national political issues prosecuted aggressively against the government were not sufficiently and effectively addressed in a timely manner. Two, in particular, had a significant impact: perceptions that the government and the prime minister (in particular) had not adequately managed the response to the pandemic (despite Australia’s internationally leading position in responding) and, very importantly, that the prime minister was not attuned to the concerns of women and was unresponsive to issues of importance to them.
A number of issues, including some related to the management of Covid, resulted in individuals who would otherwise support the Coalition switching their support to minor parties or independents on the right. This impacted not just the party vote, but also its grassroots volunteer base.
As a consequence, the prime minister’s standing with voters deteriorated significantly through 2021 to become a significant negative. The prime minister and the party were seen as “out of touch”. The leadership choice between Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese became the most influential driver of voting intention during the campaign period.
Paul Karp
Most serious loss in Liberal party history: review
The review by senator Jane Hume and former federal director Brian Loughnane labels the 2022 result the “most serious loss for the party in its history”.
The pair said the loss was “driven by a combination of major strategic factors, reinforced by a series of individual and state and local issues”.
It said:
In the 12 months prior to the federal election, there was a loss of political capital and an accumulation of negative issues impacting on the government.
The report said this included:
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The demands of managing the pandemic and the consequent loss of political focus
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Allegations of the poor treatment of, and attitude toward, women within the government and the party, and by associated figures
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Examples of scandal, disunity and instability within the government
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The longevity of the government and lack of a clear forward agenda
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The inability of a number of state divisions to meet their responsibilities in a challenging political environment
2022 ‘not comparable’ in Australian history: Liberal review
Paul Karp
The Liberal election review describes the 2022 result as “not comparable to any previous one in Australian political history”, warning that “it poses a significant and unique challenge to the party”.
In particular, the review singles out the party’s poor performance in metro areas and among women.
It said:
The Liberal party now holds only four of the 44 inner metropolitan seats. The party has lost nearly all of its inner metropolitan seats: 13 seats lost, six to Labor, five to teal, one to Green, and one to redistribution. The Coalition now holds four. The party has not held or provided any gains in outer metropolitan seats: five seats lost; three to Labor, one to teal, one to Green. The Coalition now holds 16.
Of particular concern in the results is that in seats with high numbers of female professional voters, the Liberal party only holds three of the top 30 seats where previously it held 15. In the top 50 seats by female professionals, the Liberal party only holds 10 seats where previously it held 25.
The party performed better in provincial seats but still went backwards: one seat lost to Labor. The Coalition now holds 10 of the 24 provincial seats.
Paul Karp
Liberal party releases review into ‘disappointing’ 2022 election defeat
The Liberal party has released its 2022 election review, available here.
The federal president of the party, John Olsen, said in a statement:
The federal executive of the Liberal party of Australia has received the final report of the review of the 2022 federal election.
I would like to thank Brian Loughnane AO and Senator the Hon Jane Hume and the many people who assisted, including Liberal party members and supporters who made over 600 submissions.
The review is thorough and forward looking. It makes 49 recommendations relating to: the parliamentary team; party structure; executives and memberships; preselections and candidates; demographics; and campaign preparedness.
While acknowledging the party has a numbers of strengths, the review also makes frank assessments about where we can do better.
While the election result in May was disappointing, the Liberal party is determined to rebuild and offer Australians the strongest possible alternative at the next election.
The federal executive will carefully consider the review and its recommendations, with a clear focus on making our party stronger and returning to government.
Queensland police reveal lines of inquiry in Wieambilla shooting
Returning to the press conference with the deputy Queensland police commissioner Tracy Linford, she also provided examples of some of the lines of inquiry in Queensland that they’re “currently undertaking”.
First, and most importantly, there’s the combing of the crime scene that took many, many days. And as a consequence of that work, many items and exhibits had been seized. Each of those now have to be examined.
Our intelligence personnel completing profiles of each of the Train family members. Those profiles and the work that they are doing, they’ll help us create a timeline of all the things that the Train family members were involved in in the weeks and months leading up to Monday last week.
We’re also creating a timeline, everything that we knew in our policing system, and we’ve now got contact with other policing agencies, namely NSW police about what information they had as well and creating a timeline of all of that information. Now that involves looking at Q-prime system, the NSW cops’ system, it looks at email exchanges, phone calls that have taken place, police communications transmissions as well.
We’ve been trawling through social media, and I’ve been using the expertise of the AFP in that work. Trying to understand and trying to find any postings or information about the Trains on social media and some of that media are aware of already. That’s difficult piece of work. I can tell you in some of the things we’ve been able to find so far there are names other than the actual Train family names.
We are taking statements from all the police involved. We had 16 members attend in the very early stages of the siege situation to assist the two police officers who had managed to escape from the scene. They were all the Cert members who ultimately resolved the incident later that evening.
We’ve got to take statements from family members of the Trains, friends that we identify, associates, past employers, neighbours and other local community members who may have known them.
Because I said we’re trying to create a timeline of everything they did in the weeks and months leading up to last Monday, that means looking at all the phone data, texts, call charge records, emails, examining all their electronic devices, examining all documents that were seized. We trawling through all their bank accounts, looking at what purchases have been made and that might lead us into other avenues of inquiry.
And we’re also following up on many Crime Stoppers reports that have been submitted to the Queensland police service. I’m also talking about Crime Stoppers so I might take this opportunity to appeal to anybody who might have information that might be able to assist us around this investigation to contact police.
Severe thunderstorms possible across much of Victoria
Josh Butler
ACT DPP welcomes inquiry into handling of Lehrmann trial
The ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, has welcomed an inquiry into the handling of the Bruce Lehrmann trial. Despite the explosive allegations between police and prosecutors, Drumgold said the relationship remains “strong”.
On Wednesday the Australian Capital Territory chief minister, Andrew Barr, and the attorney general, Shane Rattenbury, announced an inquiry into Lehrmann’s case after the prosecutor’s explosive allegations the police “aligned” with the defence in his trial for the alleged rape of former colleague Brittany Higgins. The investigation was announced three weeks after prosecutors said they would not pursue a retrial as it would pose an “unacceptable risk” to Higgins’ health.
In a written statement on Thursday, Drumgold responded.
The director of public prosecutions welcomes the establishment of a board of inquiry into DPP v Lehrmann.
Notwithstanding the independence of both institutions, the DPP and ACT Policing relationship remains strong and collegiate, and the joint support for this inquiry speaks to this strength and collegiality.
Last night, it was reported Lehrmann’s lawyers had sent concerns notices to several media outlets over their reporting of the allegations.
The Linford press conference has now ended.
Tara officers first over the fence
Linford is asked about whether all four police officers arrived on the scene at the same time. She says:
They all went together.
But that the two police officers from Tara were the first over the fence.
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