Key Points
- Police officer to appeal conviction over teen’s death
- Police arrest two people in investigation into Sydney shooting
- Pat Cummins to miss the second Ashes test
TRANSCRIPT
A New South Wales Police sergeant has been found guilty of dangerous driving occasioning death, in the case of a crash that killed an Aboriginal teenager.
Sixteen-year-old Jai Kalani Wright died in hospital with serious injuries after a motorbike he was riding collided with an unmarked police car in Sydney.
Police alleged the bike and a car were both stolen and that they had been sighted by police nearby, before the collision.
Police officer Benedict Bryant had pleaded not guilty over the crash in inner Sydney suburb of Alexandria in February 2022.
But Judge Jane Culver ruled Bryant should have known that placing his car without its lights and sirens activated could have caused a collision which posed a serious risk to the 16-year-old.
Outside court, Jai's father Lachlan Wright said the family had fought hard to see the case come to court.
"It doesn't completely change anything for our family and all our friends here, because we don't have joy and Jai is not with us, but we're clear, as a family, as a community, that you know things like this shouldn't, shouldn't happen. And if things can change in the future in regard to relationships between Aboriginal people in this country and the police force, maybe this won't happen again."
Bryant's lawyer, Paul McGirr, says his client plans to appeal the decision.
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Two people have been arrested, following a fatal daylight shooting in Sydney's west.
Police arrived at the scene at Carinya Street in Blacktown, to find a man with gunshot wounds to his neck, chest and leg.
He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.
Two people were seen fleeing the area in a Mazda vehicle - and were pursued and then arrested by police.
They have been taken to Blacktown Police Station.
Superintendent Brendan Gorman says New South Wales Police have commenced an investigation, including probing any gang links.
“At this stage, that will form part of the investigation. The homicide squad is here assisting Blacktown police detectives with that investigation."
Anyone with information is urged to come forward or contact Crime Stoppers [[on 1800 333 000]].
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The long-awaited Environment Protection Reforms Bill has passed the House of Representatives today, following a late-stage deal between Labor and the Greens this week.
A key amendment to the environment laws is a provision to protect native forests from clearing, by closing an existing loophole under current laws, that has seen legal logging of high-risk forest areas.
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt says the move will block the logging of trees that have regrown and been in the ground for more than 15 years.
"And we're also removing the exemption for the clearing of land within 50 metres of the rivers and creeks that are in the Great Barrier Reef catchment. And that is to do with sediment runoff."
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A review of the My Aged Care system has been found it to be inaccessible to many older Australians.
The Aged Care Inspector-General, Natalie Siegel-Brown, says the system was signed to set up the supports for older Australians - but it is not fit for purpose.
She says the platform - both online and over the phone - complicates and delays older people's access to necessary care and services, putting their independence and health at risk.
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Widespread floods have seen mass evacuations across Southeast Asia, with Sri Lanka reporting 40 deaths overnight.
The country has halted its train network and closed roads in areas impacted by heavy rainfall that has triggered landslides.
The government’s disaster management center said 25 people have died in the mountainous tea-growing region in the country's central province, about 300 kilometerseast of the capital, Colombo.
Another 21 people are missing.
There are desperate scenes with people filmed stranded on roofs as they wait for help - with similar footage being recorded in Thailand, which is also suffering from severe flooding.
A Thai woman managed to find her brother, after floods swept through his badly flooded neighbourhood in Hat Yai.
She says they are fortunate, but many people need help.
"I feel so sorry for people. Some were stuck on rooftops without food, some were asking for help, some were about to give birth and couldn’t get assistance."
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To sport now and in cricket, Australian team selectors have made some big calls in the line-up for the second Ashes test, naming an unchanged squad with captain Pat Cummins ruled out.
Cummins had sparked hopes he'd return to the pitch, spending an hour pitching to teammate Steve Smith at the SCG this morning.
But he won't play until at least the third Test in Adelaide on the 17th of December, as selectors monitors his recovery from a back injury.
Usman Khawaja has held his spot in the 14 man group, as he battles his own back issues.
A call on the final 11 won't be made until closer to Thursday, when the series resumes in Brisbane.
