A convicted murderer has lost a Victorian Supreme Court case over a ban on Vegemite in prisons. Andre McKechnie argued that being refused the spread breached his human right to enjoy his culture as an Australian. Justice Claire Harris found the ban was a proportionate measure by prison authorities and dismissed the case. The ban was introduced in Victorian prisons in 2006 over concerns it could interfere with narcotic detection dogs and that its yeast could be used to brew alcohol. McKechnie is serving a life sentence for a 1996 stabbing murder in Queensland.
A bail-breach charge against federal Labor MP Luke Gosling has been withdrawn by prosecutor Jo Poole in Darwin Local Court. No reason was given. Gosling's lawyer, Marty Aust SC, said the decision was only the first step in defending all charges. Gosling continues to deny the allegations. He still faces two counts of assaulting Northern Territory Administrator David Connolly at a Darwin festival in July. The assault matters return to court on November 25.
A convicted killer has lost a legal bid to overturn Victoria's ban on Vegemite in prisons. Andre McKechnie, held at Barwon Prison, argued the ban breached his human right to enjoy Australian culture and was needed for his wellbeing. Supreme Court judge Claire Harris rejected the claim, finding the state's Corrections Act did not require prisons to supply culturally significant foods. She said McKechnie's isolation was more likely caused by imprisonment than by a lack of Vegemite. Corrections Victoria has argued the spread could hamper sniffer dogs and be used to make alcohol.
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A convicted murderer has failed in a Victorian court bid to overturn a prison ban on Vegemite. Andre McKechnie argued that being refused the spread denied him his right to enjoy Australian culture. Justice Claire Harris dismissed the case on Monday, finding the ban was a proportionate measure by authorities. Vegemite has been banned in Victorian prisons since 2006 over concerns it could interfere with drug-detection dogs and be used to brew alcohol. McKechnie is serving a life sentence for a stabbing murder in Queensland.
A convicted murderer has lost his bid to overturn Victoria's ban on Vegemite in prisons. Andre McKechnie sued the Department of Justice and Community Safety and Corrections, arguing the refusal breached his human rights. The Victorian Supreme Court dismissed the case on Monday. Justice Claire Harris found the ban was a proportionate measure by prison authorities. Victorian prisons have banned the spread since 2006, reportedly over concerns about sniffer dogs and its potential use in brewing alcohol.
A company holding exclusive salvage rights to the Titanic wreck wants to auction more than 100 recovered artefacts, but the United States government is challenging the plan in court. The rights were granted in 1994 on condition that the collection be kept together for study and public display. In March, a Virginia court heard the proposal, and the dispute has since moved through the courts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration argues that a sale would breach the company's obligations, while historians and archaeologists have also objected.
An alleged Sydney gangster, Masood Zakaria, is seeking to have his murder charges thrown out in the NSW Supreme Court. He claims he was illegally deported from Türkiye. The Australian Federal Police paid Hart International, a security firm, to bring him back in 2023, and the AFP says its actions were lawful. Zakaria's lawyers have compared the operation to a kidnapping. In court this week, a prosecutor conceded he was illegally deported, a key point in his defence. Senior AFP figures are yet to give evidence.
Actor Rebel Wilson has won a second court case over her directorial debut, The Deb. UK production company AI Film sued her in the Supreme Court of NSW for $15 million, but Justice Elisabeth Peden dismissed the claim. The court found AI Film had not shown that Ms Wilson's statements caused it financial loss. The company was awarded $10 in nominal damages for technical breaches of its social media contract. Ms Wilson's company, Camp Sugar, was awarded $359,000 in unpaid producer fees and her legal costs.
The mother of Complainant A has denied taking advantage of Alan Jones's generosity during cross-examination in the NSW Local Court. Jones has pleaded not guilty to 21 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. Defence barrister Claire O'Neill questioned the woman about continuing to seek Jones's help while encouraging her son to report the alleged assault. The woman agreed she was no longer financially desperate, but said she was in a web of dependency with Jones. Complainant A alleges Jones kissed and touched him when he was 17.
Rebel Wilson has been ordered to pay her co-producers $10 in damages after a legal dispute over her film The Deb. A New South Wales judge dismissed the co-producers' claims in a brief decision, and a written judgment will follow. Wilson had countersued, and the court awarded her $359,000 plus interest. The co-producers allege that Wilson's public statements caused the film's poor box office takings, which she denies. Wilson said defending herself had come at a heavy personal, emotional and financial cost.
Ben Roberts-Smith says he lost his defamation case against Nine newspapers because he did not understand the civil court system, not because he is guilty. In a two-and-a-half-hour interview with 2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham, he denied murdering Afghan prisoners. A Federal Court judge found he was responsible for four unlawful killings on the balance of probabilities. He faces five counts of the war crime of murder, which he vehemently denies. He has not yet stood trial.
A California man has pleaded not guilty in federal court in Portland, Oregon, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors allege Daejon Labrayae Love, 35, posed as a wealthy Swiss real estate investor and a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver to win women's trust through dating apps. They claim he persuaded at least 26 victims to hand over about $US1.3 million for fake investments. Prosecutors allege his co-conspirator, Taylor Jamie Chan, posed as his financial adviser. Love will remain in custody until his trial begins on December 15.
Prosecutors defending an alleged Sydney gangster against a bid to have his murder charges dismissed have admitted he was illegally deported to Australia in 2023. The admission came four days into Masood Zakaria's challenge in the NSW Supreme Court. Mr Zakaria is charged over the 2021 murders of Salim and Toufik Hamze. The case centres on whether his return from Istanbul was lawful, after the Australian Federal Police paid $1.1 million to two companies to secure it. Senior police and AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett are expected to give evidence.
Ben Roberts-Smith has rejected claims he drank from the prosthetic leg of an unarmed Afghan man he shot, in a radio interview with 2GB host Ben Fordham. The former SAS soldier, who has been charged with murdering or ordering the murder of five unarmed detainees in Afghanistan, said he had never committed a war crime. He denied shooting prisoners and said he had acted within the laws of armed conflict. A Federal Court judge previously found he was responsible for a number of killings, a finding he has not accepted in the interview.
Brendan Nugent, accused of attacking Indi MP Helen Haines, was remanded in custody after his first court appearance in Wangaratta. Police have been ordered to serve their brief of evidence on the defence by Christmas Eve. He faces charges including dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official. Police said a charge of attempted murder is being considered. A committal mention hearing is scheduled for February 4, 2027.
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Brendan Nugent appeared in court charged with dangerous driving causing serious injury, intentionally causing serious injury, and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official, as well as cultivating and processing cannabis. Independent MP Helen Haines has lost both legs, her husband Phil Haines said, and is in stable condition in hospital. Nugent's lawyer, Chirag Patel, said his client had a concussion and idiopathic transverse myelitis. Transverse myelitis is a rare neurological condition caused by inflammation of the spinal cord. It can cause weakness, numbness, paralysis and pain, and there is no cure, though treatments can help.
Prosecutors have withdrawn the entire case against a 50-year-old woman accused of assaulting an off-duty police sergeant. Maysoon Ibrahim Jubran had been charged over four children, aged between seven and 11, left in an unlocked car at a Bass Hill shopping centre in southwest Sydney on December 9. Police alleged the officer removed the distressed children from the car before Ms Jubran approached her, became aggressive and assaulted her. The charges were withdrawn when the matter was mentioned in Bankstown Local Court. Ms Jubran had previously attended court with supporters and indicated she was willing to resolve the matter.
Actor and director Rebel Wilson has listed her Birchgrove cottage in Sydney, with a buyer's guide of $3.8m. The 1890s freestanding four-bedroom home sits near the Snails Bay waterfront and opposite Birchgrove Oval. Wilson bought the property in 2022 through her investment company, Camp Sugar Productions. The listing follows the sale of her Balmain penthouse last year. Wilson is also facing a court case brought by AI Film and its producers over the release of her directorial debut, The Deb.
Former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith and his partner Sarah Matulin have launched a workout supplements business. Mr Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, faces five counts of war crime murder over alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. He has yet to enter pleas and has long maintained his innocence. Ms Matulin posted a video saying the couple wanted financial stability and chose to build their own business. The matter is next scheduled to be called in court in December.
