Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

NT Police Force have arrested a 32-year-old man after he allegedly crashed through a residential fence and attempted to evade arrest by diving into a lagoon yesterday afternoon.

Around 2:20pm, police received reports that a vehicle had collided with a fence at the corner of Daniel Circuit and Girraween Road. Upon arrival, officers located the vehicle stationary and still running; however, the driver had fled the scene on foot.

A short time later, police located the driver who then entered a nearby lagoon and swam to the middle to avoid apprehension.

Additional resources were deployed, including the Search and Rescue Section, who provided a vessel to assist. During the arrest, it is alleged the man attempted to grab an officer’s firearm; however, the officer was able to block this attempt.

The 32-year-old was subsequently arrested without further incident and taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for assessment.

Investigations remain ongoing.

Police urge anyone with information to contact 131 444 and quote reference number NTP2500059377. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

**This release has been updated to include that the incident occurred yesterday afternoon being Tuesday 10 June 2025. **

Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

Motorists reminded of dangers of drink driving following crash in Kingborough area

Wednesday, 11 June 2025 – 1:17 pm.

Police are reminding motorists of the dangers of drink driving following a crash in the Kingborough area last week.
“On 5 June, police attended a single vehicle crash on Baretta Road at Baretta where a motorist had allegedly fallen asleep while driving after consuming alcohol,” said Constable Hollie Barwick.
“The driver had veered onto the left side of the road and collided with a cluster of trees which caused extensive damage to the vehicle and enabled the automatic crash detection to alert emergency personnel.”
“Police attended and the driver allegedly recorded a reading of 0.146 – more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in their system whilst driving a motor vehicle.”
Luckily the driver, a 51-year-old man from Cygnet, was not injured.
He was charged with drive a motor vehicle while exceeding prescribed alcohol limit and will appear before the Hobart Magistrates Court in September.
“This driver was extremely lucky that he didn’t kill or seriously injure himself or someone else on the roads,” said Constable Hollie Barwick.
“Drink driving is one of the ‘Fatal Five’ contributing factors to fatal and serious injury crashed on our roads and it’s lucky this crash didn’t have a devastating outcome.”
Police urge all drivers to remember the fatal five and follow them every time you travel on the roads:

Obey the speed limit – it’s there for a reason.
Never drive after drinking or taking drugs – you’ll be putting more than your life on the line.
Pay attention – one moment of distraction is all it takes to cause a crash.
Rest if you’re tired – arriving late is better than not arriving at all.
Buckle up every person in the vehicle – seatbelts save lives.

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Trawool Fire Brigade and Seymour VICSES hosted a large-scale multi-agency training exercise last month in collaboration with Victoria Police, St John Ambulance Victoria, Ambulance Victoria, V/Line and Defence Australia.

A train versus truck collision was simulated in Seymour on Friday 30 May with over 200 people participating in the event including first responders, injured passengers, and event observers.

From a hazmat incident to an amputation, the experience provided all involved with an opportunity to refine their first response skills working alongside other agencies.

Trawool Fire Brigade Captain and Exercise Director Sean Kerris was pleased with the outcomes of the exercise and thanked Seymour Railway Heritage Centre (SRHC) for hosting the successful event.

“The exercise itself was designed to utilise a real-life scenario in a high-risk local area to guide the end product,” Sean said.

“We used lessons from recent Trawalla, Kerang and Lara train incidents and the Wallan derailment to formulate the exercise, alongside coroner reports, inquiry documents and firsthand recounts to further elevate it.

“The realistic response allowed crew members to challenge themselves through real-time concerns and foster innovation when working with multiple agencies.”

CFA Deputy Group Officer Mitchell Shire Laiton Telfer said brigade members predominantly supported fire suppression and the hazmat incident on the night.

“It was great to work with the other agencies to get to know them better, as we do see them out on ground at the local incidents we respond to,” Laiton said. 

Submitted by	CFA media

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Fred Kober receiving his 60-year medal of service from Captain Michael Scroggie and MC Peter Mildenhall

Christmas Hills Fire Brigade members and their families gathered at Panton Hill Hotel on 4 June to celebrate the end of a long fire season, and to acknowledge a number of members who between them have accumulated 690 years of service.

Sixty members and their guests enjoyed dinner at the Panton Hill Hotel while the presentations were made. A special slide show celebrating the rich history of the brigade also featured throughout the evening.

“This was an important event because one of our still operational members, Fred Kober, celebrated 60 years of service with our brigade,” Captain Michael Scroggie said.

“Fred joined us as a 16-year-old and has undertaken many roles over the years including captain, and has maintained his skills and fitness and still regularly turns out at local incidents,” he said.

Not only did Fred receive a 60-year service medal but also a National Emergency clasp for his role as part of a District 14 strike team during the Black Summer fires of 2019-20. This clasp is in addition to his medal awarded for his service in the Black Saturday fires of 2009 which had a strong impact on the Christmas Hills community.

Acting Commander Matt Baber also presented Pete Rae and John Roberts with National Emergency Medals for their service in the Black Summer fires. He also presented service awards to more than 30 other members of the brigade.

This included four five-year certificates of service, five 10-year medals, nine 15-year medals (these were members who joined in the aftermath of the Black Saturday fires), four 25-year medals, two 30-year medals, one 35-year medal, two 40-year medals, two 45-year medals, a 50-year medal, and Fred’s 60-year medal.

Michael Scroggie paid particular tribute to two active members who received 45-year medals.

“Di Simmons and Robyn Adams have provided outstanding service to the brigade as active firefighters, but more particularly as members of the Brigade Management Team over the past 40 years or so,” he said. 

“They have performed nearly all the BMT roles over extended periods of time, from captain in Di’s case to all levels of lieutenant roles, secretary/treasurer, training, OHS and comms. I don’t think there has a been a time in the past 40 years when one or the other or both haven’t been on the BMT.”

Nillumbik Group Officer Matt Knight also paid tribute to Di and Robyn’s leadership and support at the group and district level as well and noted their strong role in the mentoring of women firefighters and leaders across CFA.

Their previous professional lives as lecturers and researchers into fire science and environmental studies at Deakin was also instrumental in the development of the brigade mantra ‘Red truck green heart’ which underlies our approach to fire management and suppression in Christmas Hills.

“While we took this opportunity to thank them for their enormous contribution to the effectiveness of our brigade up until now,” said Michael Scroggie, “we are further grateful that Dianne and Robyn will continue as active firefighters at Christmas Hills and in management roles at Nillumbik Group”.

Submitted by	Peter Mildenhall

Source: New South Wales Community and Justice

Boost to search operation at Cradle Mountain

Wednesday, 11 June 2025 – 9:42 am.

The search for a Victorian man believed to be in the Cradle Mountain area will resume this morning.
Members of the Tasmania Police Search and Rescue unit, State Emergency Service volunteers and Parks and Wildlife Service rangers will be involved in ground patrols, while helicopter resources will conduct aerial searches.
Concerns for the welfare of 52-year-old Christopher Inwood were raised on Tuesday morning, after his white Toyota HiAce van was found at the car park of a ranger station on Cradle Mountain Road.
A backpack believed to belong to Mr Inwood was found alongside the road about 500m from the station, heading in the direction of Dove Lake.
Mr Inwood was last seen at Kindred, in Tasmania’s north, about 8.30pm on Monday and police believe he drove to Cradle Mountain later that night.
Preliminary searches of the Cradle Mountain area on Tuesday by PWS rangers, with the assistance of a police drone, did not locate Mr Inwood.
Temperatures were below freezing in the Cradle Mountain area overnight.
Anyone who has information that could assist police locate Mr Inwood, pictured, is urged to call 131 444.

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Newstead Captain awarded CFA Outstanding Service Medal

On 24 May 2025 Newstead Fire Brigade held its Annual Awards night.

It was a great night attended by about 70 people, including most of the brigade’s operational and support members and their families.

Well known to almost everyone in Newstead, Captain Doug Richardson has been an integral part of the Newstead brigade for more than 45 years and has been the Captain for almost 40 of those years; a feat not matched by many.

He has seen significant change in the brigade not only in membership, but equipment, buildings, vehicles, tactics and techniques during his many years of service.  Not only that, but he has also seen his fair share of major fires, road accidents, grass fires, floods and anything else you can think of that CFA attends.

This year, Doug was awarded the CFA Outstanding Service Medal, CFA’s highest award apart from valor awards. It’s a fitting tribute to a man who has dedicated so many years to the protection of life and property in Newstead and surrounding districts.

This year, the brigade also instituted its own awards to recognise the special efforts of some of the members.

Firefighter Scott Chaney was awarded the inaugural Rookie of the Year award in recognition of his enthusiasm and commitment to developing his firefighting skills since joining the brigade. 

Firefighter Chris Simmins was awarded the Captain’s Award and was also presented with the Simmins Family Memorial Plaque in honour of his family being the driving force behind the brigade’s support of the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal for more than 10 years.

The ‘Russell Hodges’ Memorial Shield for Brigade Member of the Year, was awarded to Firefighter Ron Archer. This award is in recognition of our late friend Russell Hodges who passed away suddenly two years ago. During his time in the brigade, Russell became a highly valued member who was always around and could always be relied upon for just about anything. Ron is one of our most reliable members, always on hand when the pager goes off and doing sterling work in running the Newstead Community Market.

CFA service awards were presented to 13 brigade members ranging from 10 years, up to 45 years of service, including three CFA Life Members. Notably, four members of the former ladies’ auxiliary – Bev Richardson, Joan Sartori, Lorraine Burgess and Carmel Longmire – were recognised for their unwavering support of the brigade by receiving their 45-year service medals.

Also presented on the night was some long overdue National Medals. The National Medal recognises prolonged exposure to hazardous circumstances in the service of the community. This year 17 members of the brigade were presented with this honour, including Don Hepburn who was recognised for his 45+ years of service to the Newstead community.

All in all, a great night was had by all who attended with some coming from interstate to share in the event.

On behalf of the members of the Newstead Fire Brigade we would like to congratulate Doug Richardson and all the members who received awards and on behalf of the community, thank you for your service to Newstead and surrounding districts.

Submitted by	Hilton Hazeltine

Source: Australian Ministers for Regional Development

Three major retailers have paid penalties for allegedly making false and misleading representations about their Black Friday sales. Each retailer paid a penalty of $19,800 after the ACCC issued them with one infringement notice each.

This follows an ACCC sweep of dozens of sales advertisements for last year’s Black Friday and post-Christmas sales events which identified concerns that the ads misrepresented the size and scope of discounts being offered to consumers.

The ACCC issued one infringement notice each to Michael Hill Jeweller (Australia) Pty Ltd (Michael Hill), Global Retail Brands Australia Pty Ltd (GRBA) in relation to its homewares business MyHouse, and Hairhouse Warehouse Online Pty Ltd (Hairhouse Online) which operates the Hairhouse hair and beauty website, because the ACCC alleged that the businesses were misrepresenting the nature of their sales, including by falsely describing discounts as applying ‘sitewide’.

“We allege these claims misled consumers that all goods in the physical or online store were discounted, or that the discounts were greater than was actually the case,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.

“Advertisements that talk about ‘sitewide’ or ‘storewide’ sales or promise discounts ‘off everything’ should deliver what customers expect, and not be used by retailers to hook consumers under false pretences.”

“Businesses are legally obliged to accurately describe their sale offers and should not use small point disclaimers to terms and conditions to disguise the real extent of their offers,” Ms Lowe said.

“During the EOFY sales, retailers should be aware that we will continue to keep an eye on sales promotions to ensure consumers are not being misled, and retailers may face enforcement action if they make sales representations that contravene the Australian Consumer Law.”

Michael Hill pays penalty for “25% off Sitewide” sale ad

Jewellery business Michael Hill, a subsidiary of Michael Hill International Limited (ASX: MHJ), has paid one infringement notice issued by the ACCC, totalling $19,800 in relation to an alleged misleading representation about its Black Friday sale.

Its online advertisement promoted the sale with the words ‘Member Event 25% off Sitewide’.

“Michael Hill’s statement may have misled consumers, and contravened the Australian Consumer Law, because some of the products in its online store were not part of the sale and were not discounted,” Ms Lowe said.

MyHouse pays penalty amid ACCC concern its ad was misleading

Homewares retailer GRBA paid its $19,800 penalty after the ACCC issued it with one infringement notice in relation to its MyHouse store’s online Black Friday sale ad which the ACCC alleges was misleading.

The ad displayed on the MyHouse website during the sale included:

• a ribbon banner stating ‘Black Friday Up to 60% Off Sitewide + EXTRA 20% off’; and
• a large headline graphic stating ‘Up to 60% OFF RRP EVERYTHING ON SALE’ followed by the text ‘+EXTRA 20% OFF’

“We say this was misleading because the extra 20 per cent discount was not available on all of its products,” Ms Lowe said.

“Retailers need to ensure that their advertising makes it clear to consumers which products are discounted, and by how much.”

Hairhouse Online allegedly misleads consumers with ‘Save 20% to 50% sitewide’ ads

Hairhouse Online paid one infringement notice of $19,800, in relation to its online ad for its Black Friday sale with the statement: ‘SAVE 20% to 50% SITEWIDE’.

The ACCC considered the statement misled consumers that all items on its website would be discounted by between 20 and 50 per cent for the duration of the Black Friday sale, when in fact more than a quarter of the products on its website were not included in the sale offer.

“Businesses that make false discount claims not only risk misleading consumers, they also compete unfairly against other businesses which correctly state the nature of their sales,” Ms Lowe said.

Notes to editors

The ACCC can issue an infringement notice when it has reasonable grounds to believe a person or business has contravened certain consumer protection provisions in the Australian Consumer Law.

The payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law. The Australian Consumer Law sets the penalty amount.

Background

Michael Hill Jeweller (Australia) Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Michael Hill International Limited which has its headquarters in Brisbane. The Michael Hill retail group is a specialty retailer of jewellery which operates about 170 bricks-and-mortar stores in Australia and also operates in New Zealand and Canada.

Homewares business MyHouse is operated by homewares and kitchen goods retailer GRBA as an online business and in 28 physical stores in Australia. GRBA also operates a range of similar businesses such as House, Robins Kitchen, House Bed & Bath and Baccarat.

Hairhouse Online is a related entity of The Hairhouse Warehouse Pty Ltd, a private company based in Melbourne with 125 stores across Australia, offering haircuts, hair extensions spray tans, manicures, waxing, make-up and other hair and beauty services.

In December 2024, following a sweep of advertisements, the ACCC raised concerns about a range of concerning practices in Black Friday sales promotions, from ‘sitewide’ discounts that were not in fact sitewide, potentially misleading ‘was/now’ pricing, as well as dubious claims about the value of discounts on offer.

One of the ACCC’s Compliance and Enforcement Priorities for 2025-26 is ‘consumer and fair trading concerns in the supermarket and retail sectors, with a focus on misleading pricing practices’.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

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11 June 2025

Whether it’s a personal challenge, for charity, or on your bucket list, marathons are one of the most sought-after goals for amateur and recreational runners worldwide.

Now, a world-first study from the University of South Australia and the University of North Dakota suggests that a person’s marathon potential may be identified through a simple check of their hands.

In a meta-analysis of 22 studies (representing 5293 participants and 12 countries) researchers found that a lower digit ratio – when a person’s ring finger is longer than their index finger – is a biomarker of cardiorespiratory fitness, specifically exercise tolerance and endurance performance.                                      

The findings indicate that someone with longer ring fingers than index fingers may perform better in endurance sports like marathons or long-distance cycling.

While previous studies have explored digit ratio and sports performance, this is the most comprehensive synthesis of evidence for digit ratio and cardiorespiratory fitness, and the first meta-analysis to link it specifically to exercise tolerance and endurance performance.

Exercise tolerance is the level of physical activity an individual can endure before experiencing excessive fatigue. Endurance performance is the ability to sustain physical activity for long periods, often at a moderate to high intensity.

UniSA researcher and PhD candidate Bethany Gower says that digit ratios could present a useful, low-cost screening tool for spotting potential in high-performance endurance athletes.

“Measuring and comparing finger lengths might seem like a novelty, but research shows that this is a proven and biologically sound method for identifying muscle strength – and now, endurance performance,” Gower says.

“Our research found that digit ratio is significantly linked to exercise tolerance, which reflects the highest intensity of exercise you can tolerate for a long time before it becomes too challenging to continue.

“What this means is that people with lower digit ratios – a ring finger longer than their index finger – are more likely to tolerate increasing exercise intensity and perform better in longer-duration activities, such as marathons or distance cycling.

“It’s a significant finding that could help coaches and sports scientists identify talent, or help recreational athletes better understand their endurance potential.”

With elite athletes soon to compete in the Tour de France (5 July – 20 July) or the TCS Sydney Marathon (31 August), it’s a curiosity that could be put to the test.

Prof Grant Tomkinson says that digit ratios are determined during early foetal development.

“Greater exposure to testosterone in the womb has been linked with the development of lower digit ratios, which could influence a person’s ability to exercise intensely,” Prof Tomkinson says.  

“It also has short-term benefits in later life by helping ‘charge’ the endocrine system to respond to challenging situations, like intense exercise, by suddenly spiking testosterone levels.

“This could manifest as people having stronger body systems or organs that physically improve their ability to tolerate intense aerobic exercise, or as a stronger psychosocial, competitive response to being challenged when exercising.”

For everyday athletes curious about their fitness potential, Gower says there’s a simple way to get a clue – just look at your fingers.

“Digit ratio is easy to measure – just compare the length of your index and ring fingers of your hand. If your ring finger is longer, you’ve got a lower ratio.

“You never know – your fingers might just reveal you’re built for endurance.”

The University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide are joining forces to become Australia’s new major university – Adelaide University. Building on the strengths, legacies and resources of two leading universities, Adelaide University will deliver globally relevant research at scale, innovative, industry-informed teaching and an outstanding student experience. Adelaide University will open its doors in January 2026. Find out more on the Adelaide University website.

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Contacts for interview:

Bethany Gower E: bethany.gower@unisa.edu.au

Prof Grant Tomkinson E: grant.tomkinson@unisa.edu.au

UniSA media contacts:

Josh Owen-Thomas M: +61 428 715 401 E: josh.owen-thomas@unisa.edu.au

Annabel Mansfield M: +61 479 182 489 E: Annabel.Mansfield@unisa.edu.au