High Court of Australia
Crime
High Court to hear Obeid, Macdonald appeal over coal licence convictions
The nation's highest court will examine the convictions of NSW Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid, his son Moses, and his former ministerial ally, Ian Macdonald.
Michaela Whitbourn
Latest
Australia votes
'Looks and smells like a tax': Dutton's gas plan flagged as unconstitutional
Dutton's Australian gas scheme could spark a High Court battle with fossil fuel giants and legal experts warn the policy appears discriminatory.
April 17, 2025
Nick Toscano and Mike Foley
Opinion
Gender equality
A kick in the guts for women: The legal profession's re-embrace of a disgraced judge
What message does it send when judges and lawyers lionise former High Court judge Dyson Heydon, who was found to have sexually harassed a number of associates and who drove women from the profession?
March 20, 2025
Gabrielle Appleby
Opinion
Australia votes
This referendum folly is as mad an idea as I have heard in years. Dutton must rule it out
The last thing Australians want is the distraction of yet another ideologically inspired constitutional referendum.
March 18, 2025
George Brandis
Exclusive
Australia votes
Dutton wants referendum on giving politicians ability to deport dual citizens
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his senior MPs have held high-level talks about a referendum on powers to strip citizenship for dual nationals who commit serious crimes.
March 17, 2025
Paul Sakkal
For subscribers
Controversial High Court ruling could be used against sex abuse victims like Greg
Greg Barclay was sexually assaulted by a Marist brother in 1970, but his quest for compensation has been blocked by a controversial High Court judgment that found the Catholic Church was not legally responsible for the misconduct of its clerics.
March 1, 2025
Cameron Houston
Updated
Building Bad
High Court appeal 'stymying' push to weed out CFMEU corruption
Administrator Mark Irving has found addressing corruption in the shadow of an unresolved High Court challenge has 'impeded the prompt implementation' of reforms.
February 25, 2025
Olivia Ireland
Immigration
Murderer among former detainees to be shifted to Nauru
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the Pacific island nation has approached Australia to take three violent criminal members of a group of former immigration detainees.
February 16, 2025
Paul Sakkal
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7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Victorian influencer Jordan van den Lamb, known as ‘Purple Pingers' sparks Aussie housing war
When a Victorian woman returned to her investment property in Melbourne's outer suburbs, she didn't expect to find squatters inside — or to learn that her home's address had been shared online by a Federal Senate candidate. The woman, who had been managing her late father's estate, reportedly arrived to find the locks changed, security cameras installed, and new heating fitted to the exterior. Police were called to force entry, where she discovered most of her father's belongings were missing, including sentimental items like antique furniture and family heirlooms. The damage left her about $70,000 out of pocket after her insurance claim was denied. The property had been vacant and was publicly shared by Jordan van den Lamb, known online as 'Purple Pingers', as part of his campaign encouraging people to identify and use unused homes for shelter. Mr van den Lamb has become a lightning rod in the national housing debate. But as his TikTok-fuelled activism escalates, so too do the consequences for homeowners, real estate agents, and authorities caught in the fallout. While some of his followers see occupying vacant properties as a form of protest, the legal reality is more complicated. A squatter is someone who enters and uses an abandoned or unoccupied property, often through unlocked access. While entering through an open door is not technically illegal, remaining after being asked to leave by the rightful owner constitutes trespassing, which is a criminal offence in all Australian states. The influencer rose to prominence online through his viral TikTok account and website Sh.t Rentals, where he publicly exposed unoccupied, poor-quality or overpriced rental properties. But his campaign has since evolved into something more confrontational. Mr van den Lamb said he shared the address of the Victorian property online in a bid to raise awareness and attract more submissions of vacant homes. 'Yes, that was shared by me,' he said. 'That property had been empty, off the top of my head, for like 17 years. We don't know whether the squatters moved in before or after I posted the address.' He said the situation was brought to his attention by a news organisation and confirmed, 'I had no interaction with her (the homeowner).' When asked about the impact on the Victorian woman, Mr van den Lamb told The Nightly he felt 'bad' but claimed there were bigger issues at play. 'I feel bad that her belongings were taken, especially if they had sentimental value,' he said. 'But we hear from people like this every day. We never hear from someone sleeping rough — and frankly, their voices matter more, because they're the ones who are dying.' How it works Mr van den Lamb said he personally ran the operation using a Google Form to collect submissions of empty homes and verify them through online tools. 'I call for submissions... ask people to submit an empty property, the address, how long they think it's been vacant... then I check Google Maps, street view, last sold, last rented, planning applications.' He added: 'Once someone reaches out via email, I might ask if they're alone — I prefer not to send solo people just for safety. I go through the list, send through what I know, and tell them to verify it themselves.' 'I only post very few online — just to get more submissions,' he said. 'Most properties are shared privately via email with those in need.' In one of his TikTok videos, Mr van den Lamb instructs viewers on how to detect long-term vacancies by searching real estate websites and analysing listing duration. But one real estate agent says Mr van den Lamb's actions have changed how some sellers think about signage and advertising. Victorian real estate agent manager Mark Vorstenbosch from BigginScott said, 'There's this idea that putting up a 'for sale' board might alert people that a home is empty, but I think not putting one up puts you in more danger, because you don't know when someone might turn up.' Loading TikTok Post Kelly Ryan, former chief executive officer of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), described Mr van den Lamb's tactics as concerning. 'Encouraging people to squat in properties that aren't theirs isn't good social behaviour — it's not a good service to anybody,' she told The Nightly. Ms Ryan warned that the broader risk is a chilling effect on landlords and property providers. 'This kind of behaviour is counterproductive to tackling the housing crisis,' she said. 'If you discourage private property owners from staying in the market, you risk starving supply not just now, but five years down the track.' Ms Ryan also addressed common misconceptions about who owned investment properties. 'There's this idea that all property owners are wealthy. But the second biggest group of landlords in Australia are school teachers, often owning just one investment property. These are the people being affected.' According to Homes Victoria's Rental Report for December 2024, the number of new rental lettings, which is a key indicator of housing availability, declined statewide by 1.8 per cent in the December quarter compared to the same period the year before. Metropolitan Melbourne saw a 1.3 per cent drop, while regional Victoria experienced a sharper 4.1 per cent fall. The total number of active rental bonds held by the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority also declined by 3.6 per cent, a significant shift, given that bond volumes had averaged 1.0 per cent annual growth over the past five years. 'These early indicators suggest a contraction in the overall rental stock,' REIV noted at the time, 'reflecting a waning of investor confidence in the market.' Victoria Police declined to comment on specific incidents related to Mr van den Lamb's activism but said homelessness was 'not an offence'. 'Should an offence be detected, police will deal with that as per normal practice,' the spokesperson said. 'The priority for Victoria Police is to link people who are homeless or sleeping rough to the services available to them.' Police advised concerned property owners to report issues to their local council and referred inquiries about broader trends to the Crime Statistics Agency. Mark Donchi, manager of a Victorian homelessness program for St Mary's House of Welcome, said he doesn't encourage squatting but understands why it happens. He said his service has noticed a clear demographic shift, 'We're now seeing more families and single women coming to seek our services. The volume has definitely increased over the last five years.' Mr Donchi said that the increase is largely driven by a massive shortfall in affordable housing. 'And the process of getting into public housing is becoming longer and more complicated,' he said. However, Ms Ryan said for those on the receiving end of such activism, the consequences were anything but theoretical. If a squatter refuses to leave after being asked, the property owner must typically seek a possession order through legal channels — a process that can be lengthy and complex. Real estate agents say the process of removing unauthorised occupants from a property is far from straightforward, especially if the owner lives interstate. Mr Vorstenbosch said one of the problems was the lack of recourse for property owners if something happened to their homes. 'If the property owner is interstate, you can't even go through VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) anymore, you're redirected to the Magistrates Court, which can take up to six months. And that court isn't specialised in tenancy law, so mistakes happen.' But Mr van den Lamb argues that the real problem isn't scarcity, but distribution. 'At the last census, there were 30,000 people experiencing homelessness in Victoria. In metropolitan Melbourne alone, there are 100,000 empty homes... This isn't a supply issue. It's a distribution problem.' He also pushed back on criticism that his campaign might discourage landlords from renting out homes. 'These homes aren't being rented out,' he said. 'So that criticism doesn't really apply.' 'And if landlords are afraid to rent out homes that people could die in — then maybe that's a good thing, especially if we're talking about the substandard properties shown on Shit Rentals.' When asked whether he worked with homelessness services, he said there was 'informal collaboration' at times, but services were stretched. 'I think that would be unfortunately damaging to their reputations,' he said of formal partnerships, 'but I've spoken with many workers who have support and sympathy... and who've said there's literally nothing more they can do through their work.' Ms Ryan said for those on the receiving end of such activism, the consequences were anything but theoretical. 'As a society, we rely heavily on the private rental market,' Ms Ryan said. 'If we continue to make landlords feel vulnerable or vilified, we're only accelerating the very housing crisis we're trying to solve.'
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
EU-Aust free trade deal: a "middle finger to Trump"
There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations. There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations. There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations. There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Channel 7 journalist forced to hide between buildings as Iran launches ballistic missiles into Israel day on eight of conflict
An Australian journalist has been forced to shelter out in the open as Iranian ballistic missiles slammed into parts of Israel while others were intercepted in the sky. Channel Seven's Europe Correspondent Jacquelin Robson has been in the region covering Israel and Iran's deadly conflict, which entered its second week on Friday. While on the road in Tel Aviv, the reporter and her cameraman received a "rare" nationwide text alerting them to seek shelter as rockets had been fired by Tehran. Robson told Sunrise she was caught in the middle of the carnage. "We were forced to pull over and try to seek shelter," she said on Saturday. Viewers were shown vision of Robson and her crew running through a Tel Aviv neighbourhood as they scrambled to put on their body armour and helmets. "There were some locals who were calling us over to a bunker and we soon discovered that bunker did not exist. The final siren then sounded and we were forced to run to find shelter and found some space between buildings," the journalist said. A large explosion was then heard in the background of the clip. Robson said that was the moment a missile was intercepted by Israeli air defences. The two nations on Friday continued to launch missiles at one another on day eight of the conflict, targeting missile production sites in Iran and industrial facilities in Israel. Iran also hit the southern Israeli city of Beersheba for the second day in a row, causing serious damage to homes, businesses and leaving at least seven people injured. Israel hit dozens of military targets it claimed were involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran, in addition to surface-to-air missile batteries in Iran's south. The Israeli city of Haifa was another location to be hit, leaving 23 people seriously injured. Among that group includes a boy, 16, and two men aged 40 and 54. Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir has warned it will likely be a "prolonged" conflict. "We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude. The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days ahead," he said in a video statement. Peace talks were held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday between European foreign ministers and their Iranian counterparts about a de-escalation of the conflict. The foreign ministers of Germany, Britain, France, known as the E3, plus the European Union, urged Iran to engage with the United States over its nuclear programme. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Switzerland that officials are "ready to consider diplomacy" but demanded Israel "stop the aggression". 'Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful and has always been under the IAEA safeguards and monitoring. Hence, armed attacks against safeguarded nuclear facilities by a regime which is not a party to any WMD (weapons of mass destruction) treaties is a serious crime and violation of international law," he said on Friday. 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again – once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed. 'In this regard, I made it crystal clear that Iran's defence capabilities are not negotiable.' President Trump dismissed Europe's attempts to get Iran to agree to diplomacy. 'They didn't help. Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help on this one," the US commander-in-chief said. Asked about a ceasefire in the conflict, the President said he "might" support it.
