Search efforts are currently underway for a cruise ship passenger who went overboard near Sydney, while Melbourne clubs turn to youth for their QClash win and we examine fashion trends at Met Gala 2018.

An attack in Perth bears all the hallmarks of terrorism, while counter-terror experts admit deradicalisation programs do not always work. Furthermore, Future Made in Australia agenda may exacerbate inflation.

Murder charges

Australia has recently seen several murder charges and disturbing incidents, such as when a woman poisoned her dinner guests; police are currently probing an apparent suicide in Sydney; 29 long-finned pilot whales that beached near a town in Western Australia have also died as well as many others that died recently in other incidents across Australia.

Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty said Friday that during their search of Baird’s home, officers discovered items with blood on them as well as bullets ballistically matched to NSW police weapons. Under certain circumstances police officers can bring their service weapons home but Doherty did not specify whether this was true for this incident.

Authorities believe the man responsible for stabbing another to death at a Perth Bunnings car park was an “radicalized” 16-year-old known to them and having previously served in an elite SAS unit of the army.

Student debt

Australian university students’ debts are currently tied to inflation, meaning loans keep accruing faster than people can repay them. To make repayment more manageable, the government wants to change Hecs-HELP loans’ indexation rate from CPI (Consumer Price Index) to another figure such as Wage Price Index.

Australians owe $74 billion in Hecs and Help debt. A change would reduce this year’s staggering 7.1 per cent accrued debt growth to just 3.2 per cent – and would wipe off an average Hecs loan of $26,500 by about $1,200!

It is part of a package of cost-of-living relief measures for Hecs-HELP debtors introduced into the 2024 budget, including unpaid mandatory placement stipends and reduced student contribution amounts based on recommendations from Universities Accord’s final report.

Terrorism

Australia possesses an expansive body of laws to prosecute individuals who commit terrorism crimes, while at the same time working to combat its financing. Australia is a member of the Financial Action Task Force and co-chairs its Asia-Pacific group.

Police and ASIO agents conducted raids across Sydney’s west in connection with last week’s stabbing of a bishop and priest, searching 13 locations including Bankstown, Prestons, Casula, Lurnea, Rydalmere and Greenacre. A 16-year-old suspect has been charged with terrorism offences following his arrest for this act of religiously motivated violent extremism – however this investigation continues.

Domestic violence

Recent high-profile domestic violence cases have prompted many Australians to call for a more comprehensive response, with cases like Luke Batty’s murder by his father prompting a royal commission and widespread media attention being drawn towards family violence as well as Rosie Batty’s advocacy efforts.

Domestic violence varies in incidence and severity across socioeconomic, age and cultural groups. Indigenous women in particular are at a heightened risk of experiencing various forms of abuse (NCRVWC 2009b). Furthermore, people living with disabilities are also at increased risk for experiencing family and domestic violence.

Although a great deal needs to be done, government responses often fall short in meeting community needs, especially when tailored responses are required for Indigenous or other cultural communities.

Drugs

Australian police have successfully dismantled an international cocaine smuggling operation by arresting five individuals suspected of trying to transport 30 kilograms of drugs with an estimated street value of $10 million into Melbourne from Los Angeles via plane. Officials estimate this could have provided the means for at least 30,000 drug deals, officials stated.

Investigators conducted raids at homes and businesses as part of Operation Vitreus – an inter-state and territory operation designed to target criminal drug syndicates – targeting methamphetamine buried in bushland buried by law enforcement officers from all 50 states and territories.

Maribyrnong man has been charged with trafficking commercial quantities of methylamphetamine and dealing with proceeds of crime, potentially facing life imprisonment. Australia faces an ongoing issue with ice, an analogue commonly used in recreational drugs that has been linked to thefts and murders.