The latest national news update from the National Indigenous Radio Service.
Crown urges life for killer NSW ex-cops
Former NSW detectives Roger Rogerson and Glen McNamara should spend the rest of their lives in jail for executing a young drug dealer for financial gain, a judge has been told.
They applied their police experience, training and cunning to achieve “two crimes right at the top of the criminal calendar,” said crown prosecutor Chris Maxwell QC.
A NSW Supreme Court jury found Rogerson, 75, and McNamara, 57, guilty in June of murdering university student and dealer Jamie Gao, 20, and stealing 2.7kg of the drug ice in May 2014.
At their sentence hearing yesterday, Mr Maxwell called for the pair to be given a life term, noting contract killings were one category attracting that sentence.
The pair will be sentenced on September 2.
SA:Embryo selfies could shorten time in IVF
Women undergoing IVF could become pregnant more easily because of a new technique that analyses embryo “selfies”, a South Australian university says.
University of Adelaide researchers have successfully trialled a technique for mapping the inside of an embryo using only a simple photo of it.
The researchers have also determined several factors inside embryo cells that influence how likely it is they would lead to a pregnancy.
Lead researcher Hannah Brown says they’ve worked with mice but she is confident the technique can help fertility clinics pick the best embryos to implant in women.
WA:Sick boy’s battle goes back to Perth court
The parents of a six-year-old Perth boy with cancer have returned to court to battle doctors over the child’s treatment, arguing he should be given palliative care so he can die with dignity.
Oshin Kiszko was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour last year, but his parents, Angela Kiszko and Adrian Strachan, opposed the treatment recommended by doctors due to the severe side effects.
A court order in March forced Oshin to receive chemotherapy and he was given two cycles of the treatment.
Family Court Chief Justice Stephen Thackray then considered whether Oshin should also be given radiotherapy and handed down his judgement in May, saying the parents had given an undertaking to continue chemotherapy instead.
But the case was back in court yesterday after both sides agreed there was no longer any benefit to continuing chemotherapy alone.
Justice Richard O’Brien has reserved his decision until next week.
VIC:Vic bros discussed hurting witness: court
Two Melbourne brothers charged over an armed robbery where a passerby was shot, discussed cutting the head off a witness, a court has heard.
Wayne Vitale, 25, applied for bail in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
He and Craig Vitale, 27, were recorded by police in June, allegedly talking about harming witnesses following a bottle shop armed robbery they’re accused of committing in Kingsville in 2011, the court heard.
Both brothers were also recorded allegedly commentating on CCTV footage aired on the TV news about the robbery, where they discuss the shooting in detail.
NT children need tough decisions: Giles
Successive governments had shied away from removing indigenous children from their families for fear of being accused of launching a new stolen generation, the Northern Territory’s chief minister says.
The Northern Territory’s leaders have gone head-to-head at the final of four debates ahead of tomorrow’s election, with 50 undecided voters asking them a range of questions about special education, land release, affordable housing and the environment.
When questioned about neglected and abused children in the wake of the Don Dale juvenile justice scandal, Mr Giles there are many families who are broken but children need to be prioritised.
Shark capture gear set at Perth beach
Shark capture gear has been set offshore from a Perth beach after an unprecedented 61 sightings in just over two months.
White sharks and bronze whalers are among the species spotted since June 6, mostly over a two-kilometre distance from Mettams Pool to Watermans Bay.
The department said there was no evidence of obvious or continuing environmental factors that could explain the large number of sightings or what might have attracted sharks to the area.
Beaches one kilometre either side of Bennion Beach have been closed, including the popular Trigg beach, until 7.30am on Friday.
