A woman with ties to the Islamic State has been denied bail after a Melbourne magistrate decided she poses an 'unacceptable risk' to the community - which is generally not the ringing endorsement you want from a judge.
Zeinab Ahmad, 31, stared resolutely ahead as Chief Magistrate Lisa Hannan delivered the news in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday. Ahmad was charged with slavery offences in May after returning to Australia with other family members of former IS fighters. The court heard she moved to Syria with her first husband, Dawod, in January 2015; he became an IS member and was killed in a drone strike in May 2016. The judge cited a lack of compelling evidence that Ahmad had renounced IS or changed her beliefs, along with no exceptional circumstances, as reasons for refusing bail.
In less geopolitically fraught news, the ATO released its 2023 - 24 statistics, revealing that net capital gains reported by individuals rose from $37.8 billion to $40.6 billion. Melbourne's postcode 3944 now boasts the highest average taxable income at $321,988 - the first time Victoria has snagged the top spot. Surgeons remain the highest-paid occupation, with 4,280 individuals averaging $519,998. Net tax from companies increased 3.3% to $145 billion. So if you're a surgeon living in southern Melbourne, congratulations: you're probably doing fine.
Tragedy struck in Sydney's Cabramatta on Wednesday afternoon when two children under five were hit by a car at the intersection of Joseph and Gilbert Streets. Emergency services arrived around 3:15 pm, treated the children at the scene, and rushed them to hospital in critical condition, where they later died. A 33-year-old woman known to the children was treated for minor injuries; the driver, a 56-year-old man, was uninjured, arrested, and taken for mandatory testing. An investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, a massive wave of support continues for Coogee shark attack survivor Leah Stewart, with a GoFundMe campaign approaching $400,000. Stewart, a 35-year-old teacher and deputy principal at Hurstville Adventist School, remains in critical condition at St Vincent's Hospital after an attack by what is believed to be a 3.5-metre great white shark on Saturday. Her arm was amputated. A community swim at Coogee Beach is scheduled for Sunday at 9 am, with drones, jetskis, and inflatable rescue boats providing 'heightened safety protocols' - because nothing says 'back in the ocean' like a small navy.
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young called Pauline Hanson's press club address 'deplorable,' accusing her of hating everyone and offering no solutions. 'Is there anyone in this country that Pauline doesn't hate?' Hanson-Young asked, apparently rhetorically. Hanson-Young said Hanson only has people to blame - immigrants, Indigenous people, NDIS recipients, young people, workers - and no ideas on how to fix anything. A leopard, she noted, never changes its spots.
In a decade-long legal battle, the High Court reduced exemplary damages for four former Don Dale youth detention centre inmates who were unlawfully teargassed in 2014, slashing the initial $200,000 per person to $50,000. Leroy O'Shea, one of the men, said the case was about recognition, not just money. 'For a long time it felt like no one was listening,' he noted. The NT government has yet to apologize or hold individual officers accountable.
Finally, the High Court rejected an appeal from Matthew Chaplin challenging the lawfulness of a method used to calculate welfare debts for nearly two decades. The method, known as income apportionment, was deemed unlawful by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, but the government retrospectively validated the debts. Chaplin's lawyers say the ruling impacts up to three million people and highlights the need for a six-year limitation period on Centrelink debt recovery - because nothing says 'fair and accountable' like chasing debts from years ago when people can't find the paperwork.