O7540 Justice

Abusers caught in the act

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Original article by Rachel Olding
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 1 : 21-Oct-14

New South Wales (NSW) Police Minister Stuart Ayres, Attorney-General Brad Hazzard and Minister for Women Pru Goward have announced new legislation that will provide for officers using body-mounted video cameras to take footage during domestic violence call-outs. This will be able to be used as evidence in court. While the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service and the Police Association applaud the initiative, others have voiced concerns about female victims being recorded while in emotional distress and more likely to make statements they could later regret

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NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE FORCE, NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE ASSOCIATION, NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY FOR POLICE, NEW SOUTH WALES. MINISTRY FOR THE STATUS AND ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL AND JUSTICE, WOMEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COURT ADVOCACY SERVICE NSW INCORPORATED, VICTIMS OF CRIME ASSISTANCE LEAGUE, WOMEN’S LEGAL SERVICE

Chief prosecutor attacks ‘extreme’ sentencing laws

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Original article by Steve Butcher
The Age – Page: 8 : 20-Oct-14

Victorian Attorney-General Robert Clark in August 2014 announced new baseline sentencing for serious offences. Supreme Court Chief Justice Marilyn Warren and County Court Chief judge Michael Rozenes criticised the move, and chief Crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert QC has now also labelled the Government’s decision an over-reaction and a dangerous path to a mandatory sentencing regime. However, he acknowledged that the often complex and obscure verdicts of a number of Court of Appeal judges had prompted the Government’s action

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VICTORIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, COURT OF APPEAL (VICTORIA), CRIMINAL BAR ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA

Coles was ‘entitled’ to payments

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Oct-14

Ian McLeod, CEO of the Coles retailing arm of Wesfarmers for six years until mid-2014, has rejected allegations by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). The watchdog claims that the supermarkets chain in 2010 acted unconscionably, when it demanded suppliers bear the cost of wastage as well as make payments so that Coles could reach its profit goals. McLeod says no unethical practices were engaged in during the group’s relationships with grocery companies. The ACCC court action names five suppliers as having been affected

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WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Spring St porn ring mars Parliament’s final day

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 17-Oct-14

The County Court of Victoria is set to hear an unfair dismissal claim by ex-freedom of information officer Don Coulson. He was terminated a week after Premier Denis Napthine took office, and was then denied $A30,000 in severance pay due to pornography being found on a data storage device in his office. Coulson claims this was due to a ring of Coalition MPs swapping such material. Napthine has rejected the allegations as coming from a disgruntled ex-employee

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Daughter of prominent Melbourne legal family on drug traffic counts

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Original article by Cameron Houston, Chris Vedelago
The Age – Page: 2 : 17-Oct-14

Victoria Police has acknowledged reports that four charges of trafficking cocaine have been laid against a woman following a raid on her residential premises in mid-August 2014. The accused, who will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 6 November, is the daughter of ex-Supreme Court of Victoria judge George Hampel QC, and the step-daughter of current County Court judge Felicity Hampel SC

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VICTORIA POLICE, COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, LIBERTY VICTORIA, VICTORIAN LAW REFORM COMMISSION, MELBOURNE MAGISTRATES’ COURT, CORONER’S COURT (VICTORIA)

Man loses bid for share of ex-wife’s $6m lotto win

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Original article by Michaela Whitbourn
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 12 : 15-Oct-14

Family Court of Australia judges Stephen Thackray, Peter Murphy and Murray Aldridge have dismissed an appeal against an earlier ruling by judge Janine Stevenson. She had heard that a lottery ticket had been bought by a woman six months after she separated from her husband of two decades. The man sought to claim part of the $A6m won on the ticket, but Stevenson cited a 2011 decision in the Family Division of the High Court of the UK and rejected his case

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FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF ENGLAND AND WALES

Sentences not lenient: Chief Justice

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Original article by Amanda Banks
The West Australian – Page: 18 : 15-Oct-14

Western Australia’s Chief Justice Wayne Martin says there is a perception among the general public that judges in Australia are too soft on crime and impose lenient sentences, which in turn is leading to higher crime rates. However, he has told a conference in Singapore that courts in all Australian jurisdictions are in fact imposing harsher sentences, with the result that crime rates are falling. He noted that the state’s appeal courts are handing down tougher sentences for crimes such as glassing and manslaughter

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SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, SINGAPORE ACADEMY OF LAW

After the wipeout, Great Southern investors stand to lose homes

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Oct-14

The Supreme Court of Victoria will in late October 2014 rule on whether a settlement can be ratified that will mean Bendigo & Adelaide Bank can bring bankruptcy proceedings against investment loan borrowers. The about 47,000 customers had bought into the rural managed investment schemes of Great Southern between 2005 and 2008, and owe some $A398m. They will also claw back less than $A16 for every $A10,000 they lost in the collapse. Law firm MacPherson & Kelley, representing the investors, will gain close to $A20m

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BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, GREAT SOUTHERN LIMITED, MACPHERSON AND KELLEY LAWYERS PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, TIMBERCORP LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

One in 270 people charged with crimes are bikies

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Original article by Nino Bucci
The Age – Page: 4 : 14-Oct-14

Victorian Attorney-General Robert Clark has reaffirmed the State Government’s determination to pursue outlaw motorcycle gangs, after recently enacting special legislation to deal with them. This is despite official data showing that just 0.36% of all suspects charged by Victoria Police during 2013 were "bikies", and for violent crimes the ratio was only 0.34%. The Opposition claims that the expensive focus on this small minority of offenders means crime rates overall are rising

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VICTORIA POLICE, VICTORIA. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HELLS ANGELS MOTORCYCLE CORPORATION, COMANCHERO MC AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Nudie boss lied, taxman claims

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Original article by Ben Butler, Leo Shanahan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 14-Oct-14

The family of ex-Nudie Juice CEO Andrew Binetter scored a victory over the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in 2013, as a previous ruling by Federal Court judge Richard Edmonds was overturned. The case relates to alleged use of overseas tax havens by Binetter, uncovered in the "Project Wickenby" multi-agency investigation. The ATO now says it has found new evidence and may appeal the court’s decision, and it also claims Binetter committed perjury. Thomas Arnold of law firm Maddocks is acting on behalf of the ATO

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NUDIE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MADDOCKS, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL, MERCANTILE DISCOUNT BANK LIMITED, RAWSON FINANCES PTY LTD, SIGNET LAWYERS PTY LTD, BCI FINANCES PTY LTD, BANK HAPOALIM