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An Australian artist who raped multiple women will be released from prison after being deemed “very low risk” – despite one victim’s fear that he will “seek revenge” against her.

Pierre Raphael Mol, 62, who assaulted six women between 2009 and 2014, was granted parole by the NSW State Parole Authority in August and will be released from prison on October 4.

Mol lured and raped five of the six women inside his studio in Sydney’s north shore by hiring them as “models” for his “art” on Gumtree, where they were looking for casual work.

The sixth victim was assaulted after meeting him at an art competition where he was working as a judge.

The youngest victim was 19. He was 48 at the time.

The board’s decision in August came despite the objections of one of his victims, Ashley Yakimchuk, who submitted a letter revealing how she feared for her life.

“I live in fear that if Pierre gets out he will want to know where the girl is who ruined his life and put him behind bars,” she wrote ahead of their decision.

“Seeing as he confidently continued to rape women after knowing he was under investigation, this man clearly doesn’t seem as though he is afraid of the law.

“I am certain that if he gets out of prison, he will continue to harm more people and will seek revenge on me for going to the police that night.”

In a statement to news.com.au, the NSW State Parole Authority said Mol’s parole was granted after the board was given a pre-release report which assessed him as having a low risk of general reoffending.

A Corrective Services NSW psychologist also assessed him at a “very low risk of committing a further sex offence”.

“...Mol has demonstrated a high level of insight into his offending and the impact of his offending on the victims and accepts responsibility for his actions,” the statement from the NSW State Parole Authority said.

“Having evaluated all the available evidence and expert advice, the Authority determined it was in the interests of the safety of the community to grant parole for a safe reintegration while under supervision.”

During his 2024 sentencing, Mol blamed his actions on his “lifelong mission to understand the human figure” and believed that because the women were art students, they would also be “dedicated” to his “study”.

Mol was a renowned artist at the time of his offending and working as a fine arts professor at UNSW.

In 2015, Mol was sentenced to 14 years for the indecent assault and rape of the three original women.

He was due to be released on parole in August 2025, however, was sentenced again in 2024 after three more victims came forward to police.

He was handed a seven-year sentence, with a non-parole period of four years and three months.

However, the sentence was backdated to July 5, 2022 when he was hit with the fresh charges, allowing him to be eligible for release on October 4, 2026.

Upon his release, Mol will be housed at a NSW Corrective Services managed facility in Sydney.

Mol shot to fame in the early 2000s when he painted the largest mural in the Southern Hemisphere at the request of the Sultan of Brunei before moving into academia.

Ahead of the 2024 sentencing, the court heard how Mol assured the women he hired from Gumtree that the work would be “strictly professional”.

“I want to make this clear. I want people to know I am a professional artist and not a creep,” he told one of the victims.

The court heard how Mol digitally raped one of the women while sketching her, saying he needed to make her genitalia look more “colourful and flushed” for the drawing.

Mol asked if she was “getting aroused” as he did so, to which she replied “no”.

He then dropped her off at the station after the offending and gave her $100 before telling her: “I guess you won’t come back and see me again?”

The court heard how he “chuckled” as he drove away.

In one case, Mol removed the victim’s tampon with a baby wipe before raping her.

He also wrote in his letter that he has paid a “heavy price” for his mistakes through the loss of his art and academic career.

While sentencing Mol, Judge Paul McGuire SC said the rapist “continued” to blame the victims and said that they “gave him the impression they were attracted to him”.

“He lacks insight into the true meaning of consent,” Judge McGuire said.

“He also claimed his interest in his victims was not sexually motivated … but motivated by his want to understand the naked body.

“The offender has acted with complete disregard for their vulnerability.”

One of Mol’s most famous works was the ‘Brown Bear Lane’ mural in The Rocks, Sydney.

The mural was removed in 2024 by the NSW Government after one of his victims started a petition for the artwork to be taken down.

“It is not okay a serial rapist’s art is being celebrated in the city of Sydney,” she told news.com.au.

A secret report unsealed after 10 months reveals South Sudanese youths are 95 times more likely to be in custody, as adult crime syndicates exploit vulnerable teenagers to carry out high-level violence.

Organised crime gangs and violent social media networks are luring Melbourne’s vulnerable South Sudanese youth into violent crime, according to an alarming new report.

South Sudanese leaders and parents are pleading with the Carroll government to save their children from being criminalised, as shocking new statistics lay bare the scale of the crisis.

The confronting report, commissioned by Andrews government in 2022, found South Sudanese youth aged 10 to 24 were 95 times more likely to be in custody than their non-Sudanese peers in 2023-2024.

While the percentage of South Sudanese youth in detention has fallen in recent years, an additional 23 youths were detained last year amid a surge in overall youth detention numbers.

Despite making up just 0.5 per cent of Victoria’s youth population, the community group accounted for 22 per cent of young people in custody in 2024-2025.

The South Sudanese Australian Youth Justice Expert Working Group handed the 222-page report to the then-Allan government in December 2025.

But it was only released publicly on Thursday — 10 months on.

It made 59 recommendations covering education, policing and the common pathways to crime, urging the government to take immediate action to address the crisis.

The government’s five-page response gave no indication of whether it accepted or rejected almost all of the recommendations.

Architect of the report, Dr Santino Atem Deng, chairman of the working group, said the figures represented a “crisis” gripping the multicultural community group.

“The data in this report reveal just how dire the situation is,” he wrote.

“These figures demand urgent, co-ordinated action from the Victorian Government and the wider community.

The report’s findings included that South Sudanese Australian children and young people are “drastically over‑represented” in custody and that early intervention opportunities were being missed due to cultural barriers.

It also found that alienated young people were easily exploited via social media and by organised crime figures.

Youth offenders had regularly used social media to post videos showcasing weapons, stolen vehicles and taunting between rival groups.

The findings also detailed the shocking influence adult organised crime networks had in grooming vulnerable South Sudanese youth.

“Young people may be drawn in through the promise of money, status, protection or a sense of brotherhood, without fully understanding the criminal structures they are serving,” the report read.

“Once involved, they can be coerced into escalating levels of offending, such as vehicle theft, drug trafficking, money laundering or violence, to repay debts or maintain group loyalty.”

The Herald Sun has previously revealed kids were being commissioned on encrypted apps to carry out brazen firebombings on Melbourne bars and terrifying home invasions.

Reformed youth gang member Mar Riek, 20, who is now mentoring youths, said South Sudanese kids were among the most vulnerable to adult organised crime gangs and shadowy social media networks.

“The community is one of the poorest and newest to Australia, with these kids often in single parent households,” he said.

“A lot of these boys are bigger than their mum’s, they think they can do what they want.

“And these crime gangs can just use them as dummies, pawns.”

One of the key recommendations was mandatory anti-racism training for all

school staff.

Africause chief executive Berhan Ahmed said South Sudanese kids were ostracised at school due to racism, including by teachers.

Dr Berhan said now that the report was public the community needed “action, not talk” from politicians.

Youth Justice Minister Ros Spence said the government was listening to South Sudanese young people, families, and community leaders to implement solutions.

“The Expert Working Group’s report was a multi-year project — it’s entirely appropriate that we took the time to properly consider it,” she said.

The government also pointed to its $2.2m commitment to establish a South Sudanese Community Hub in Wyndham.

A police operation is underway in Sydney’s Inner West after a serious stabbing incident.

Emergency services were called to King St in Newtown about 11.40am on Monday following reports a 48-year-old man had been stabbed in the hand.

The man has been treated for the serious injuries and taken to hospital in a stable condition.

King St, a bustling road full of restaurants and cafes, was closed in both directions as police searched the surrounding area, causing significant traffic disruptions.

Officers later found a 27-year-old woman allegedly armed with a knife.

“Police directed the woman to drop the knife; however, when she allegedly failed to follow the police direction a Taser was used and she was arrested,” NSW Police said.

“The woman has been taken to Newtown Police Station where inquiries are ongoing.”

King St reopened about two hours after the incident.

Investigations are ongoing.

Two boys aged 16 and 17 were allegedly stabbed after an altercation involving several people at the Calwell Shopping Centre on Friday night.

Police are seeking witnesses and information relating to the incident.

The two boys who suffered non-life-threatening injuries were taken to hospital. Picture by Gary Ramage

About 8.45pm on Friday, October 2, 2026, police received reports of a group of males carrying baseball bats walking within and around the Calwell Shopping Centre.

About the same time, rural patrol officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle travelling the wrong way through the shopping centre car park.

The driver told police she was travelling to hospital as two occupants of the vehicle had been stabbed.

Paramedics were called, and the boys aged 16 and 17 were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police investigators believe several people were involved in the altercation, but most had fled the scene before police arrived.

ACT Policing is seeking to speak with anyone who was near Calwell Shopping Centre between 8.30pm and 9pm on Friday who either witnessed the incident, or who may have dashcam footage of the area at that time.

Anyone who can assist police should provide their contact details to Crime Stoppers via the Crime Stoppers ACT website, quoting 8516863.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has joined calls for “practical action” as foreign emissaries gather for Australian-organised talks on the “frontline of the climate crisis”.

Representatives from more than 50 countries are attending the Pre-COP conference kicking off in Fiji on Monday.

Anthony Albanese will also meet with a handful of world leaders in Tuvalu -- a small, low-lying atoll where rising sea levels pose an existential threat.

“Our region is at the frontline of the climate crisis, where the effects of climate change are real and immediate,” Mr Bowen said.

“Hosting Pre-COP in the Pacific is bringing the focus of the world to the impacts, opportunities and priorities in our region.”

He pledged to “work closely” with COP31 president Turkey to “secure practical outcomes that strengthen economies, improve energy security and build resilience, particularly in the Pacific”.

COP is the UN’s flagship climate conference and has shaped global efforts to combat climate change.

With Australia’s smaller Pacific neighbours viewing climate change as their biggest national security risk, holding a forerunner event was a condition of Canberra withdrawing its bid for the main event.

Mr Bowen’s Tuvaluan counterpart Maina Vakafua Talia said Pre-COP “will bring global decision-makers to the frontlines of climate change” and “show both the impacts we face and the practical work underway to protect our communities”.

Noting that his country is “just an average of two metres above sea level”, he said decisions made “at Pre-COP and COP31 will be felt by our communities first” and they “must help drive stronger ambition and action now”.

Turkey’s climate change minister Murat Kurum said the Pacific event would get the world “ready to deliver results” at COP31.

“We are coming to the Pacific to bear witness for how the tide is already pressing against the door,” he said.

“We want to remind world leaders that promises do not hold back the sea or shield homes from the fire.

“Only delivery can save us.”

Recently, the City of Sydney’s proposal for Town Hall Square was called in by the state government for review after a public outcry. Critics either opposed the demolition of buildings to create a square as a waste of public money or opposed the design itself.

Meanwhile, the City has spent decades of bipartisan planning and property acquisition to achieve its vision. This has set the stage for a battle not only between two tiers of government, but also of ideology, with fiscal conservatism versus the common good.

The concept for a square was originally proposed by then-lord mayor Doug Sutherland in 1982, with Sydney City Council resolving to acquire the seven properties required to complete the square. The first property was purchased in 1985 and acquisition continued up until 2019, leaving one remaining property for compulsory acquisition. These buildings will be demolished to create a public space.

This is not the first time a government has demolished property to create open space for the public – indeed it is one of the hallmarks of making memorable spaces in great cities. Perhaps the best-known example is French official Baron Haussmann’s creation of streets and boulevards that cut through the dense medieval fabric of Paris, bringing modern amenities of light, air, sewage drains and vehicle movement to a clogged city.

Of course, cities need roads to function, but what about a public square like the one proposed? It’s not essential for the city to function but as our cities become denser and as we experience the effects of global warming, we need to provide spaces for people.

Piazzas in Italian cities often grew organically around urban life and focused on civic or religious monuments. In the 19th century as the industrial revolution made cities denser and more crowded, municipal reformers identified the need for more open space. John Nash’s Trafalgar Square or Plaza Reial in Barcelona were both created through demolition of existing buildings. Indeed, many Spanish cities used demolition to create geometrically perfect plazas architecturally framed by colonnades. These spaces are now some of the most visited urban spaces on the planet. They were created under monarchies or authoritarian governments but it is harder to do in a democratic society.

Today’s neoliberal governments celebrate the public generosity of private developers when they create public space. Spaces such as Rockefeller Plaza or Seagram Plaza in New York or our own Australia Square are seen as providing both public amenity and commercial benefits. It is ironic then that we now criticise a public authority for having the audacity to want to add a public space for the common good of people.

Have we so forgotten how great cities are made that our only salvation is for developers to create new public space on private land? Instead, we should be celebrating a city government prepared to create a public space for the common good. This new square sits in the heart of the city, and would be opposite the historic seat of the municipal government, itself an ornate sandstone civic monument.

Regarding the design – the geometry is an elegant resolution of a complex space and is appropriately aligned with the Town Hall spire. The trees, while adding much needed shade and greenery, could struggle to reach the density and maturity shown in the images, given the sunlight and environmental conditions of an urban setting.

Finally, a public space should have active edges, places where people can buy lunch, a coffee or a snack. How dynamic would Venice’s Piazza San Marco be without cafés? Notwithstanding these minor quibbles, the City of Sydney is undertaking one of the greatest civic acts in making a public space for people.

This is not a vanity project; it’s a legacy for future generations and shouldn’t be evaluated just on the financial cost. It’s important that we continue to improve our cities for people. As we plan for the future let us remember the Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit.”

Now let our lord mayor plant trees for the people!

Philip Vivian is an architect, urban designer and managing director of Bates Smart, a contributor to Town Hall Vision in Sydney 2030-2050.

A group of teenagers arrested in sweeping raids after the Wakeley attack in 2024 have pleaded guilty to preparing a terror attack in Sydney before they were foiled by state and federal police counter-terrorism investigators.

The group, who The Saturday Telegraph revealed at the time were making plans to use a “stash house” to hold weapons ahead of a “kuffar plan” (kuffar means “disbelievers” in Arabic), appeared on Friday at the NSW Supreme Court and will be sentenced next year.

They were arrested shortly after the April 2024 Wakeley terror attack in which Assyrian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was set upon in a stabbing attack that was inadvertently livestreamed online.

The Telegraph can reveal that the four teens – who were all minors at the time of the offending and can’t be named – have pleaded guilty to conspiring to prepare a terrorist attack.

Previously, in the Children’s Court, two of those teenagers pleaded guilty to a further charge of sharing violent extremist material, while the third pleaded guilty to illegally supplying a firearm.

The development marks more than two years of investigations and legal proceedings, and the charges are among the most-severe of those filed against a total of seven teenage boys who the NSW Joint Counter-Terrorism Team arrested in April 2024. At the time of that operation, 12 people were raided, seven teenagers arrested and six later charged.

The Telegraph reported at the time of their arrest how the boys’ terror plot was foiled thanks to an associate being arrested about a week prior for an unrelated offence, giving investigators access to their phone and group chats on encrypted messaging application Signal.

In one Signal group chat, called “Plans”, the teens talked about obtaining firearms, including “dirty guns” and a “shotty”.

“I really want to target the yahud (Jewish people)... We will plan it,” one of the teens said in that Signal group.

That teen asked another: “how long will all this planning take?”

As conversations between the boys progressed, the teenagers talked about being excited to “to die and kill”, needing to be “patient”, as their plot needed to be planned “for a while”.

When the teens realised their associate had been arrested they talked panickedly among themselves.

“Oh s..t… we were planning big stuff bro, it’s a conspiracy for a terror attack, I think,” one teenager said when he realised their group chat had been discovered.

One teenager changed their social-media profile picture to the ISIS flag and posted the terror group’s propaganda videos on another account, while also sharing links to websites where the boys could buy pocket knives.

“I’m ready to go to war, don’t worry,” one of the teens told the group.

In late April, after the Wakeley terror attack, police swooped on the network of boys.

In the JCTT’s sweeping Sydney raids, investigators seized – from across the more than 10 teenagers raided or arrested – a knife, mobile phones, laptops, batons, machete, a PlayStation 4, hard drives, two hand-drawn ISIS flags, a large hunting knife and a tomahawk.

The network of teenagers targeted in those raids is broad and disparate. Police also investigated some among the group for violent anti-LGBT offences and bashings, while others have later been arrested for extremism offences and some have ties to known-ISIS extremists.

All four of the teenagers will now proceed to a sentence hearing next April in the Supreme Court on the charge of conspiring to prepare a terrorist attack. The pleas entered at the Children’s Court to the additional offences, as 16BA offences, will be taken into account on sentencing.

A Sudanese refugee involved in a vicious bashing that left an 18-year-old dead has been spared deportation after the Administrative Review Tribunal overturned the cancellation of his visa, in a setback for the government’s attempts to toughen visa decisions in the wake of the Direction 99 ­debacle.

The man, who migrated to Australia at the age of four and who can be identified only as BCQR, was himself 18 when he joined three other men in the late-night pursuit of the victim through Melbourne streets in 2021.

After chasing him by car and by foot, BCQR and his three co-offenders bashed the victim, who sustained eight stab wounds to his buttock during the attack.

Witnesses heard the attackers saying “You dog, you rat, this is what mutts get”.

The man was left on the ground and died two hours later.

BCQR was convicted of manslaughter over the incident and sentenced to seven years and six months in jail, with a minimum non-parole period of 4½ years.

A delegate of then-­immigration minister Andrew Giles cancelled BCQR’s humanitarian visa in June 2024, noting that any risk of reoffending was unacceptable even allowing for the fact he had lived in Australia for most of his life.

In a decision published late last week, ART general member Anna Burke, a former Labor MP and parliamentary Speaker, ruled that the man should have his visa reinstated, citing the uncertainty over his future if the visa remained cancelled, the strength, nature and duration of his ties to Australia, and his “full” rehabilitation in prison.

Ms Burke was the same tribunal member whose decision to spare from deportation a child rapist who attacked his stepdaughter while his wife was giving birth sparked intense scrutiny of the Albanese government’s Direction 99, which had given tribunal members greater scope to consider the ties of criminal non-citizens to Australia when weighing whether they should lose their visas.

The government ultimately replaced Direction 99 with a tougher Direction 110 and dumped Mr Giles from the immigration portfolio.

Counsel for BCQR argued during the ART hearing that upholding the visa cancellation would leave their client facing ­either deportation to Sudan, indefinite legal limbo on one of the bridging visas created for the NZYQ cohort, or removal to a third country such as Nauru.

In her decision, Ms Burke noted that not revoking the visa cancellation would leave BCQR in “perpetual uncertainty of his fate” and could make him of even more risk to the public.

“The consequences of living in a state of perpetual uncertainty on the evidence before the tribunal indicates BCQR’s mental health would decline, which in turn could lead to substance abuse, engaging with poor peer choices and further offending,” she said in her decision. She also noted that the man had strong ties to Australia in the form of his fiance, mother, siblings, nieces and nephews, and was involved in the Sudanese community and church.

BCQR is the youngest of seven children who moved to Australia with their mother in August 2006 after fleeing the war in Sudan. His father had been killed by rebels in Ethiopia. He was born in a refugee camp in Kenya and has never set foot in Sudan.

While BCQR’s lawyers argued that their client had been successfully rehabilitated in prison, counsel for the Immigration Minister told the tribunal that a clinician in November 2023 had found the man was a moderate risk of violent reoffending. He had also been involved in several “particularly violent” incidents during his time behind bars.

Ms Burke said BCQR’s remorse, his steps towards rehabilitation and his low risk of reoffending all weighed in favour of overturning the visa revocation. “The tribunal found the evidence clearly demonstrated BCQR has used his time in prison to fully rehabilitate himself, to use every opportunity to learn from this tragic incident and his part in it,” Ms Burke wrote.

“The tribunal found the evidence clearly indicated BCQR was remorseful and took full responsibility for his part in the tragic death of the victim. The tribunal also considers the evidence clearly indicated BCQR is no longer simply being led by others, has clearly been motivated to change and has matured into a considerate, respectful young man.”

Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam said he believed non-citizens who committed serious offences should not be allowed to remain in Australia. “This is a dangerous immigrant who has inflicted a heinous crime on an Australian citizen. The community expectation would clearly be to proceed with this deportation,” he said.

“Whilst it is a matter for the ART, the Coalition has long taken the view that if you are not a citizen and you commit a crime here, you should be deported.”

The p-plate driver who is alleged to have lost control of a car at Wallsend on Saturday morning before it ploughed into a crowd hundreds of Newcastle Knights supporters has been charged.

Police released a statement late Saturday night confirming an 18-year-old who was arrested at the scene now faces a string of charges in relation to the incident that left a young girl and a man in his 60s fighting for life in hospital, and eight others injured.

The man, who has since been identified in court listings as Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, has been charged with three counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, another three instances of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, and three further counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct.

Police said Samarasinghe's licence had been suspended. He was expected to face a bail court on Sunday, October 4.

The car has been seized, police said in a statement late Saturday night.

Ten people, including three children, were injured when a car entered the roundabout on Newcastle Link Road at the intersection of Transfield Avenue at Wallsend about 9.30am, lost control and crashed into the crowd.

Two of those injured - a five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man - remained in a critical condition, though police said the condition of the child had since stabilised.

The 67-year-old man who was initially in a critical condition was in a serious but stable condition.

Four other people - a second 5-year-old girl, a 2-year-old girl, a 31-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man - remain hospitalised in a stable condition.

Three men - aged 24, 25 and 27 - along with a 63-year-old woman have since been discharged from hospital.

The horror crash marred what had supposed to be a weekend's celebration as the Newcastle Knights departed the Hunter on Saturday morning bound for Sydney and their first grand final appearance in 25 years.

Assistant police commissioner David Waddell. Picture by Marina Neil

The team and club officials boarded the bus at the Knights' Centre of Excellence at Broadmeadow just after 9.30am, cheered on by a crowd of supporters.

More than 10,000 of the Hunter's faithful lined the 20 kilometre route that players were expected to take to the motorway under a green-light police escort before the tragedy unfolded at Wallsend.

The route was changed in transit to avoid the scene, as the club was guided by police in real time, while emergency services scrambled at crash site.

Assistant police commissioner David Waddell estimated on Saturday afternoon that the crowd at Wallsend numbered close to 1000 when the car entered the roundabout and crashed.

A highway patrol officer stationed at the intersection, ready to close the road to allow for the bus's passage, was the first on the scene.

NSW Ambulance representative Tim Troon later said, as a dozen ambulances and multiple helicopters arrived, paramedics were met with an "erratic scene".

"There was chaos initially," he said, adding that bystanders had raced to help those injured in the moments after the crash.

"It took a lot of effort just to sort out where the patients were and who was affected."

Assistant commissioner Waddell said officers had to act quickly as the crowd turned on the driver, who he said was known to police, and two others who were in the car at the time of the crash.

Police said the two passengers, aged 18 and 19, were uninjured.

"There was a lot of angst from the crowd, and probably understandably so," he told reporters at the scene. "But likewise, as I said, the crowd jumped in and helped out and provided first aid."

Newcastle Knights boss Peter Parr said in a statement that the club was thinking of the Hunter community, shaken by the tragedy, and all those injured and in care at John Hunter Hospital.

"Our thoughts and prayers are first and foremost with everyone who has been injured, their families and loved ones, and everyone who witnessed what occurred this morning," he said.

"What was meant to be a special morning for our community, thousands of Novocastrians coming together to farewell our team and show their support ahead of the grand final, has understandably turned into a distressing morning.

"We want to thank our incredible fans for the passion and support they showed our team this morning. The scenes across Newcastle demonstrated once again what this football club means to our community."

Scenes from the crash site at Wallsend. Picture by Marina Neil

The Knights' teammates similarly sent messages of support to the injured following the incident, including in a flood of posts to injured fan Chris Clancy, who had posted an image of himself from his hospital bed captioned "Up the Knights".

Mr Clancy told the Newcastle Herald on Saturday night that he was awaiting surgery to mend a broken collarbone, and had sustained multiple small fractures to his ribs, spine and foot when he was struck.

Still, he said, his thoughts were for those others who had been injured, and for his nephews Matt and Tom, who he was with and who were briefly hospitalised with him.

Knights captain Kalyn Ponga said online that "our hearts are with everyone affected in Wallsend this morning".

"We're thinking of you, your families and everyone in our Newcastle community," he said. "Sending our love and support."

Scenes from the crash site at Wallsend. Picture by Marina Neil

Dane Gagai said in a similar post: "Our hearts go out to the families impacted by this situation, and thoughts and prayers are with you."

Hunter New England Health put out an SOS to hospital staff, calling for any who are able to work to assist with the multiple traumas.

Police began investigating and said initial inquiries indicated the incident was not terror related.

"There are no concerns other than this being a tragic incident," Assistant commissioner Waddell told reporters. "There is no suggestion at all that this was targeted or that there was any ill motive."

Newcastle Link Road re-opened Saturday afternoon after hours of closures in both directions as investigators combed the scene.

Police said their investigations were continuing on Saturday night.

One fan, who had travelled to Wallsend from Port Stephens with his children to see the bus leave, said the atmosphere changed dramatically within minutes as emergency crews were seen racing to the scene.

"It was really exciting; everyone was pumped and happy," he said.

"But as more and more emergency vehicles went past, there was a noticeable shift in the crowd's mood.

"People became worried and you just felt the whole atmosphere change from celebratory to fear."

Newcastle lord mayor Gavin Morris said the city was heartbroken.

"There's no doubt about it. This was going to be a big day. It started out so joyous. It's going to be a day of celebration, and in one moment, in one second, a bad decision has a ripple effect," he said.

"So it's tough to go from an extreme high to an extreme low for us, but as I said, I mean, this is what we do well here in Newcastle. You know, we look after each other and we're going to do that."

NSW Premier Chris Minns thanked emergency crews in a statement at the weekend.

"It's heartbreaking to see fans who were sending off their grand final team involved in such a terrible incident," he said.

"My thoughts are with the families and friends of loved ones who have been involved or injured in the crash.

"I also want to thank emergency services, including police and ambulance, who are responding to this tragedy.

"We've seen how this grand final has brought Newcastle and Hunter communities together, and I hope the world community remains united as we continue to respond.

"As large numbers of fans and families make their way down to Sydney for the grand final, please drive safely and take caution on roads."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the federal government had extended offers of support to the state after speaking with Mr Minns at the weekend.

"Rugby league brings people together, and this should have been a weekend of excitement and pride for Newcastle fans," the Prime Minister said.

"My thoughts are with everyone injured or involved in the horrible incident this morning in Newcastle."

The driver of the car that allegedly ploughed into a crowd of Newcastle Knights supporters has been charged.

Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe, 18, has been charged with three instances of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, three instances of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and three instances of cause bodily harm by misconduct, according to court documents viewed by the ABC.

NSW Police said in a statement he has had his P1 Provisional licence suspended and the vehicle was seized prior to undergoing forensic examination.

Mr Samarasinghe will appear in Newcastle Bail Court on Sunday.

He was arrested at the scene after a car that police allege he was driving crashed into a crowd at a roundabout on Newcastle Link Road, at Wallsend in Newcastle's west at about 9:30am on Saturday. 

The crash injured 10 people, who were taken to John Hunter Hospital, including a five-year-old girl who is now in a serious but now stable condition.

A 67-year-old man was also injured and is in a serious but stable condition.

Police said four other people — a second five-year-old girl, a two-year-old girl, a 31-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man — remain hospitalised in stable conditions.

Three men — aged 24, 25 and 27 — along with a 63-year-old woman have been discharged from hospital.

Thousands gathered to send off the Newcastle Knights ahead of their grand final appearance at 7:30 on Sunday. 

The Newcastle Knights team bus was due to pass through the area on its way to Sydney when police responded to reports of the crash. 

The Knights bus diverted to a different route away from the procession of fans.

At the scene of the crash, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said "what happened is an absolute tragedy — a tragedy that needn't have happened".

Following the incident crowds shouted at Mr Samarasinghe as he was bundled into a police car and driven away from the scene.

Two other people were removed from the car by authorities after the "crowd turned on them".

Police said the two passengers, both males aged 18 and 19, were not injured.

Knights director of football Chris James made a brief statement when the team arrived in Sydney.

"The thoughts of everyone at our club are with those impacted by this event [including] their families and … those on scene," he said.

CEO Peter Parr praised the efforts of first responders and the staff of John Hunter Hospital. 

"What was meant to be a special morning for our community, thousands of Novocastrians coming together to farewell our team and show their support ahead of the grand final, has understandably turned into a distressing morning," Mr Parr said.

Crash victim Chris Clancy shared his condition from within the hospital, giving a thumbs-up from his bed despite suffering a broken collarbone and possibly broken foot. 

"I will be JJH [John Hunter Hospital] for a couple of days but will let you all know," Mr Clancy said. 

Newcastle Knights captain Kalyn Ponga saw Clancy's post and told him "the team and community are with yas [sic]".

"All the best with recovery mate," Mr Ponga said.

The best thing I’ve heard in the whole catastrophe around boys at school is this: a headmaster at a Catholic boys school, Sydney’s St Joseph’s College, imploring his students to be better men.
Principal Michael Blake gave this all-school speech at the end of August. That was the week we’d heard about multiple alleged sexual assaults and endless reports of chaos in schools. And that was on top of all the stuff that never gets reported.

He said: “The way we educate young men is under scrutiny. So, it has been a tough week to be a man.”

And just when you thought he was going to tell us “not all men”, instead he talked about how much harder it is to be a woman. “As tough as this week might have been to hear the media stories, it has been infinitely harder to be a female.”

You said it, brother. Every day. Every week. And mostly when we hear from headmasters, principals, whatever they are called, we hear defensiveness. That the horrors were a weird blip, that the offending boy was a really good guy.

Then we hear, as a fix, a chorus on the importance of respectful relationship training in schools and suggestions of behaviour curriculums. I have no faith in the latter for reasons I’ll get to – and respectful relationship training in high schools comes about 10 years too late. Way, way too late. I think it is meant to be a top-up – but so many boys come to school with no basics in place. Speaking of Catholics (the principal of Joey’s), let me remind you what the Jesuits say: “Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man”.

Now, guess who has kids until they are seven? Could it possibly be, ah, the parents? Instead of endless complaining about what goes on in the classroom, take a long hard look at your own parenting. And then, when you dislike what you see in your children, go stand in front of a mirror.

Your job is to bring up kids who don’t behave like dickheads, either at school or anywhere else. And that means not undermining what the school says, not undermining teachers at every turn, not blaming your child’s behaviour on someone else when, believe me, it’s your fault.

I know this as a parent myself. When one of my kid’s teachers described my kid as insouciant, I knew exactly what that teacher meant. As a person who has spent her entire life being way too souciant (not really a word but you know exactly what I mean), it was a source to me of pride that at least one of my kids could appear as if they couldn’t GAF. Whereas me? Worry every single day of my life, even about things I know I can’t change. Still, we took it on board and wrangled our kid to hand in all the homework, not just the bits of interest.

I wanted to tell this teacher that insouciance was a source of parental pride, but I pulled my head in. And I knew of other parents at the school who spent a lot of time, including engaging lawyers, to dispute assessments, to dispute punishments. Look, I love to argue the point myself (and did when I discovered that one teacher based her marks on feels rather than rubrics) but mostly, just back the hell off. Use your passion for social justice for kids who don’t have your clout. Or money.

• Former lawyer

Later, I heard about a huge uptick in parent complaints about teachers. Paul Kidson, associate professor in educational leadership at the Australian Catholic University, told the Herald’s education reporter Christopher Harris back in 2023 that parents and children were often given a free pass on behaviour, when really, parents need to step up and discipline their kids.

Kidson, ever the diplomat, tells me there are some great relationships in schools: teachers, kids, parents. But there is an increase in inappropriate behaviour from parents directed towards teachers. And how does that end? Principals and teachers leaving teaching.

Behaviour. Which brings me back to the newly published “research” by the Centre for Independent (of rigorous research methods) Studies. It’s trying to blame teachers. I would have thought parental responsibility should have been more the vibe. I won’t bore you with all the details of what was wrong with claims that a third of class time is spent dealing with disruption. Except that when you look at the detail, it is hard to be confident that it is a really representative group.

Now, let me introduce you to Sally Larsen, a researcher at the University of New England, who pointed me to one of the extreme flaws.

The timing. It’s a week before the end of term and kids are disruptive. John Buchanan, productivity expert and professor in the University of Sydney’s business school and actual researcher tells me that it’s well recognised when doing social research that you have to take account of the “distinctive seasonal effects”. Don’t do it at the extreme points.

Because let me tell you what happens in university classes in the days before the Easter long weekend! Or in a newsroom when holidays are approaching. I wish I could say the behaviour was as normal. Far from it.

One other thing about the survey, as it is described by the CIS. Larsen pointed out that over 80 per cent of teachers said they felt confident or fairly confident about managing misbehaviour. The report then claimed that maybe that was because low-level disruption had become normalised.

Um, I spent my entire high school years trying to make the class laugh, sometimes, I am ashamed to say, at the teacher’s expense. That was last century. And I wasn’t the only one.

As for a behaviour curriculum, this makes me laugh. Unless the CIS was thinking of implementing one in families. Now there’s a very good idea.

Australian internet users will be given the choice to opt out of algorithms under reforms to social media.

Draft laws setting up a digital duty of care were introduced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday.

As part of the measures, social media companies will need to provide tools for people to choose what they see in their online feeds, under a government initiative called My Feed, My Way.

"This is not about giving government control. It's about giving people control. It's about putting choice back into the hands of Australians online," Mr Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

Social media companies will be also required to protect people from harmful content online.

Harmful content will conclude the promotion of eating disorders, misogynistic content, pornography or things that glorify crime.

Companies could face fines of $100 million if they don't enact the duty of care.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said the duty of care would build on the world-leading ban on social media for under-16s.

"The digital duty of care is not about controlling adults online. It is about giving adults a choice," she said.

"Tech companies can still move fast, but they will no longer be allowed to break things because online harms have real-world consequences.

"There is a global reckoning coming for big tech."

It follows the government looking to pursue stronger penalties for social media companies as part of measures to bolster the under-16s ban.

Former Qantas workers who were illegally sacked five years ago have finally received their court-ordered payouts from a multimillion-dollar fine imposed on the airline, after a prolonged process that drew the ire of victims and the court.

The vast majority of 1800 ground crew workers illegally sacked by Qantas in 2021 received their court-ordered penalty payments worth thousands of dollars late last week, though they are still awaiting further money from a compensation fund.

Workers received about $2000 a year for each full year of service and $1700 for each partial year.

Brisbane-based Tony Mora, who had worked as a truck driver for the airline before being sacked, said that after waiting for so long he was really “over it”.

“Anyways, it’s something,” he said. “Nothing to retire on.”

The disbursement of funds, derived from the $90 million penalty imposed by Federal Court Judge Michael Lee in August 2025, is separate from the $120 million in compensation for the firings Qantas has agreed to pay.

The payment comes six years after the ground crew learnt they would be fired by Qantas. William Roberts Lawyers principal Robert Ishak confirmed that late last week “the Federal Court of Australia released payment to affected workers”.

“Of the over 1800 affected workers, approximately 20 have not yet been paid,” he said, adding that his law firm was working on getting those paid as soon as possible as well.

Mora said that after seeing the money go into his account he thought, “well, it’s something”.

“There was no joy or elation,” he said. “It’s not over. That’s the problem. There’s still loss and pain and suffering monies still to come.”

Maurice Blackburn, the law firm that argued the case and is administering the compensation, has been given until October 31 to complete the process. Mora was sceptical the law firm would meet the deadline.

The slow pace of the compensation process has drawn the ire of the victims and the court. Last month, Justice Lee intervened to ensure the workers’ $35 million in penalty payments were decoupled from Qantas’ $120 million compensation fund.

Half of the $90 million went to the Transport Workers Union, which brought the case, with the remaining $40 million going to workers. Qantas had already paid out about $5 million before Christmas, when workers saw a $3333 interim payment land in their bank accounts.

One worker, “Natalie”, who had received an eviction notice soon after losing her job in 2021 when the sackings became official, said last week’s payment was helpful.

The former Qantas cleaner, who didn’t want her name to be published, said she felt “a little sense of relief as some of us were struggling”.

The 2025 ruling ended an industrial relations saga that began in 2020 when, facing the prospect of looming pandemic lockdowns, Qantas moved to outsource ground handling operations at 10 Australian airports. The decision wiped out more than 1800 jobs.

In August 2025, Justice Lee acknowledged that Qantas was apologetic for the illegal outsourcing, but described it as “the wrong kind of sorry” and imposed one of the largest fines ever in Australian corporate history.

CANBERRA — Australian support for the U.S. alliance is strong despite concern over its durability under President Donald Trump, new data suggests.

A survey for the United States Studies Centre, conducted by YouGov, polled a thousand people in each Quad nation — India, the U.S., Japan and Australia — and uncovers a distinct and growing generational divide among Australians.

Younger Australians are more likely to be skeptical about the U.S. alliance and AUKUS and less likely to view China as a threat.

Fewer than 1 in 3 Australians — 31 percent — agreed with the statement: “My country’s government has properly explained why my country needs its alliance with the United States.”

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty, which commits Washington to come to Canberra’s aid in the event of an attack.

Just 68 percent of Australians believe the U.S. would meet their promise if Australia were attacked by China, compared to 84 percent under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. Only 29 percent think it is “very likely” the U.S. would come to Australia’s aid.

Samuel Garrett, USSC senior research associate and the report’s co-author, said that while Australians remain “deeply concerned” about the state of U.S. politics and democracy, those views had largely stabilized since Trump’s inauguration last year.

“There was an initial shock factor of Trump coming in that had a very significant impact on public opinion in Australia and across the region,” he told POLITICO. “But on our numbers, it seems that Australians have now largely made up their minds about the Trump administration. More recent events haven’t really shifted the needle in terms of support for the U.S. alliance.”

The data shows that while Australian views on China are softening, half would support turning the Quad, designed to counterbalance Beijing in the Indo-Pacific, into a formal alliance as concerns over war in the region grow.

Garrett said this is consistent with nearly three-quarters of Australians supporting deepening ties with middle powers, which include India, Japan and also Canada.

“To the extent that Australians understand the Quad, they’re seeing it as potential cooperation — not as a replacement for the U.S. alliance — but building a network of partnerships around the region,” he said.

While only 15 percent want Canberra to withdraw from the U.S. alliance, a relatively low cohort of 42 percent believe it makes the country more secure — a 22 percentage point decline since the midway point of the Biden administration.

The AUKUS pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australia, which has tied Canberra to the U.S.’s staying power in the Indo-Pacific, continues to be viewed favorably by Australians — 48 percent think it is a “good idea” for Australia to have nuclear powered submarines, compared to 20 percent who do not.

Only 23 percent of Australians surveyed believe the government has adequately explained the rationale for AUKUS, compared to 44 percent who believe the government has failed to adequately lay out the rationale.

While there is bipartisan support for AUKUS in Parliament, backlash prompted the creation of public inquiry — which has received evidence from senior former ministers, including former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The inquiry, which has no formal powers and was not created by Parliament, will hand down its report on Oct. 1.

Australians are unsure about AUKUS delivery, with 46 percent uncertain on whether Australia will receive Virginia-class submarines promised by the U.S. — compared with 31 percent who were confident and 23 percent who were not.

Australians’ views on China also appear to be softening, despite Beijing’s recent testing of a ballistic missile in the Pacific reviving concerns about conflict in Australia’s region.

Australians are also the only group in the Quad to view China, Australia’s largest trading relationship, as more of an economic partner (64 percent) than a danger (47 percent).

That’s in sharp contrast with Japan, which has taken a harder stance on Beijing under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — two-thirds of respondents view Beijing as a threat, compared to just 28 percent who view it as an economic partner.

Both Australians and Japanese lean toward stronger bilateral ties. A majority of Australians (54 percent) believe an alliance with Japan would make Australia more secure, compared with just 8 percent who disagreed. In Japan, 45 percent agreed and just 4 percent disagreed.

Australians remain doggedly accepting of economic consequences for holding China to account on human rights and economic coercion: 58 percent accept there is a price to be paid for standing up to Beijing. In 2023, when a trade war launched by Beijing on Canberra was still in force, that number was 75 percent.

Australia’s oldest woman has died aged 112.

South Australian Lorna Henstridge marked her 112th birthday in June, but on Monday her daughter confirmed her death to The Adelaide Advertiser.

Ms Henstridge lived independently until the age of 105, and leaves nine great-grandchildren.

Ms Henstridge was born in Adelaide on June 6, 1914, the month before WWI officially began.

She then grew up on a farm at Bute, about 130km north of Adelaide.

She and her husband Alan then settled in the town of Keith, 200km southeast of the capital.

Ms Henstridge was only eight months younger than Australia’s oldest living person – Ken Weeks, who lives in Grafton on the NSW north coast.

Mr Weeks is the oldest Australian on record.

She has also lived through two global pandemics and 26 Australian Prime Ministers.

In 2024, Ms Henstridge spoke about her longevity and the importance of “moving all the time” both physically and “in your thoughts”.

“You can’t led old-fashioned ideas take over your life,” she said.

“You’ve got to live today, by today’s standards. And keep going with it, and be happy with it.

“And you’ll find most people are very happy to come and help you get there.”

Her family have confirmed she was ill with pneumonia in her final weeks.