AAP Rolling News Bulletin Sep 24, 1400

Rolling News Bulletin 1400 AAP Rolling News Bulletin for Sep 24 at 1400

Legal: Claremont (PERTH) Confessed rapist Bradley Robert Edwards has been found guilty of murdering two women in Perth in the 1990s but acquitted of slaying a third woman. Edwards, 51, denied abducting and killing secretary Sarah Spiers, 18, childcare worker Jane Rimmer, 23, and solicitor Ciara Glennon, 27, after they each spent a night out with friends in the affluent Claremont suburb's pubs in 1996 and 1997. The ex-Telstra technician faced a seven-month trial in the Supreme Court of Western Australia which concluded in late June. Justice Stephen Hall on Thursday delivered his long-anticipated verdicts, finding Edwards guilty of murdering Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon but not guilty of murdering Ms Spiers. The bodies of Ms Rimmer and Ms Glennon were discovered in bushland weeks after they were killed, but Ms Spiers' body has never been found.

Virus (CANBERRA) Exasperated Australians in heart-wrenching binds have vented emotional pleas for the government to urgently lift the cap on overseas arrivals. A Senate committee scrutinising the federal government's coronavirus response has heard from citizens suffering intense hardship due to travel bans. Canberra woman Gina De Ruyter, 24, moved to the Philippines late last year to set up an animal shelter. When the pandemic hit, she began working out how to ensure the 40 animals were cared for when she returned to Australia. She then broke her leg in two places, but the initial surgery hasn't healed. "It's been badly infected for two months, just weeping pus all the time," Ms De Ruyter told the committee on Thursday. "My leg has swollen up again with pus, but the doctor can't do anything anymore because all the hospitals are filling up with coronavirus patients."

Virus Welfare (CANBERRA) More than one million unemployed Australians are about to take a $300 cut to their JobSeeker payments. The Morrison government is slashing the coronavirus supplement to $250 a fortnight on Friday. Single people with no dependents will be left with about $815 a fortnight or $58 a day. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is keen to point out the dole will still be more than it was before the coronavirus pandemic. He has signalled it will remain that way beyond December, when the reduced supplement is set to be scrapped. "We will reassess the situation closer to the end of the year," Mr Frydenberg told reporters on Thursday. "The prime minister has signalled very clearly we are leaning in to providing additional support for those who need it into next year."

Virus Vic Hotels (MELBOURNE) Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says she didn't know security guards were being used in Victoria's hotel quarantine program until a coronavirus outbreak among staff in mid-May. In a written submission to the hotel quarantine inquiry, the minister has distanced herself from the fateful decision to use the guards instead of police or Australian Defence Force personnel. "I was not part of any decision-making process to use private security contractors as part of the HQP (hotel quarantine program)," Ms Mikakos' statement reads. She said she first became aware of the decision following an outbreak among security guards and hotel staff at the Rydges on Swanston in mid-May. About nine-in-10 second wave cases of coronavirus in Victoria can be traced back to the outbreak.

Austrac (CANBERRA) Westpac has agreed to pay a record $1.3 billion fine for major breaches of money laundering and terror financing laws. It will be the largest civil penalty in Australian history. Attorney-General Christian Porter said the massive fine should serve as a wake- up call for the banking industry. Westpac has admitted to breaking international fund transfer laws 23 million times, leaving the country's financial system exposed to criminal exploitation. Some suspicious transactions that slipped under the radar were linked to child abuse. Westpac chief executive Peter King has apologised for the bank's failings. "We are committed to fixing the issues to ensure that these mistakes do not happen again," he said on Thursday. "We have also closed down relevant products and reported all relevant historical transactions."

Virus Vic (MELBOURNE) Victoria has had two more coronavirus deaths, taking the state toll to 773 and the national figure to 861, as new case numbers continue to drop. There were 12 new cases on Thursday and the 14-day rolling average for Melbourne dropped to 26.7. The regional Victorian average remains steady at 1.1. Cases with an unknown source in Melbourne between September 8 and 21 were down to 37 and there were none in regional areas. The figures come as the Health Workers Union called for the dismissal of Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos, accusing her of "breathtaking incompetence". The union's letter to Premier Daniel Andrews has been made public ahead of Ms Mikakos' appearance before an inquiry into Victoria's hotel quarantine program, which led to the state's devastating second wave of coronavirus.

Stab (BRISBANE) Police say they're fed up with "young idiots" carrying knives and acting like they're playing Grand Theft Auto after a man was stabbed to death on the Gold Coast. Raymond Harris, 27, died after being stabbed with what police described as a "Rambo knife" during a brawl on Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise about 9pm on Wednesday. Police have charged 21-year-old Jarod James Miller from Tinana and 18-year-old Jye Sebastian Webb-Italia from Pimpama with murder. Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith says police are still looking for two other men who could possibly assist with enquiries. He says a group of "complete idiots" armed themselves and went to Cavill Avenue looking to start a confrontation with the other group. "This is just a group of young idiots, who think it's cool to enforce their will by using knives," Det Supt Smith said.

Bushfires (CANBERRA) Calls to the dedicated bushfire support line are "steadily increasing" and are already at 1700 a week, the natural disaster royal commission has been told. The inquiry is at its tail-end and on Thursday heard from Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Phil Gaetjens and National Bushfire Recovery Agency co-ordinator Andrew Colvin. Mr Colvin said communities recovering from the fires had an overwhelming sentiment of fatigue and anxiety, with another high-risk weather season approaching. "There's still 1700 calls a week to the dedicated lifeline number," he said. "And that is steadily increasing." Mr Colvin said 600 people a week were also accessing telehealth or face-to-face medical support for trauma in relation to the bushfires. Commissioners are looking at a single, scalable body responsible for natural disaster recovery and resilience at a national level.

Legal: Claremont Reax (PERTH) Western Australia's police commissioner has vowed to never stop trying to find the body of Sarah Spiers after Bradley Robert Edwards was acquitted of her murder. Edwards has been found guilty of abducting and killing childcare worker Jane Rimmer, 23, and solicitor Ciara Glennon, 27 in Perth in the 1990s but acquitted of slaying 18-year-old secretary Ms Spiers, whose body has never been found. WA Supreme Court Justice Stephen Hall said he was satisfied Ms Spiers, who disappeared after a night out in Claremont in 1996, had also been abducted and killed. Justice Hall said the evidence showing Edwards' propensity for violent abductions "makes it more likely" that Edwards was the killer of Ms Spiers. But he said it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt in the absence of any other evidence about the killer's identity.

Legal: Pisasale (BRISBANE) Former Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale has admitted sexually assaulting a woman in council chambers, official corruption and unlawful drug possession. The 69-year-old persistently pursued a woman