Former William Tyrrell suspect Bill Spedding to receive $1.5 million in compensation from police.

Washing machine repairman Bill Spedding will receive almost $1.5 million in compensation after being maliciously pursued by NSW Police in their investigation into William Tyrrell's disappearance.

On Thursday, Justice Ian Harrison ordered the State of NSW pay $1.48 million plus interest after police charged the 71-year-old with historical child sex allegations while searching for the three-year-old after he vanished in September 2014.

The judge found the accusations brought against Mr Spedding in 2015 were "concocted and false and could not be supported" and were brought against him for the collateral purpose of furthering the investigation into William's location.

"I am satisfied that the institution and maintenance of the criminal prosecution was malicious. It was borne of malice directed to Mr Spedding and unrelated to the proper pursuit of the criminal law," Justice Harrison said.

As former detective inspector Gary Jubelin later said in his book I Catch Killers, he hoped the pressure of the additional charges would be "enough to crack (Mr Spedding) open".

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Spedding said he hoped the case would deter the police from taking such steps again.

"No sum of money will restore the life I enjoyed before this terrible nightmare. I brought this case to show that police decisions to prosecute must not be taken lightly and, more importantly, must not be taken to achieve some ulterior purpose."

The tradesman was an early high-profile suspect in William's disappearance from a home on the NSW mid-north coast.

Police searched Mr Spedding's Bonny Hills home and drained his septic tank in January 2015, but found no evidence linking him to William.

Before being categorically ruled out in the investigations, he was charged in April 2015 over child abuse claims alleged to have taken place in the 1980s, spending 56 days in custody and then being released on strict bail conditions.

Clear evidence emerged that the complainants had been coached by another person to make the allegations and another person's evidence undermined the case.

In March 2018, Mr Spedding was found not guilty.

An early suspect in the investigation of missing three-year-old William Tyrrell has successfully sued NSW Police for matters including false imprisonment.https://t.co/iFiL7B9F6d

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) December 1, 2022

Mr Spedding said he was charged for crimes he did not commit, all to further the police prosecution of him as a suspect in William's disappearance.

"The criminal charges brought maliciously against me by police destroyed me and publicly portrayed me as a paedophile," Mr Spedding said. "My reputation was severely and permanently damaged. My family life was torn apart. Our grandkids were taken from us, and their lives have also changed forever."

Justice Harrison awarded Mr Spedding $550,000 for non-economic loss, $300,000 for reputational damage, $200,000 for aggravated damages as further compensation, $300,000 in exemplary damages to punish the NSW government, and $25,000 in future treatment expenses.

"Mr Spedding was subjected to a long and painful ordeal. It never should have occurred. The allegations for which he was prosecuted were old and discredited. They were frail and notoriously so," the judge said.

"Notwithstanding those facts, Mr Spedding's experience left him distressed, confused, wrongly imprisoned and separated from his family. His release from custody, which I find to have been extremely distressing and painful, did not restore to him the family from which he had been so improperly removed. Nor has it recovered even now."

The judge also ordered NSW to pay almost $110,000 in Mr Spedding's legal costs.

A spokesperson from NSW Police said it would be reviewing the judgement.

With AAP.

The glamorisation of tanning on social media is like a "kick in the guts" for a Brisbane woman fighting advanced skin cancer and she says the narrative urgently needs to be flipped.

"Watching people glamorise a tan across social media is honestly a kick in the guts, when myself and so many others are fighting for our lives," advanced melanoma patient Gina Savage told AAP.

Her comments come as social media giant TikTok makes a pledge to remove harmful pro-tanning content from its platform on the first day of summer.

The company will scrub content with the #sunburnchallenge hashtag from the platform and will to share links with information about tanning, summer and sunburn from the Melanoma Institute Australia.

The "Tanning - That's Cooked" campaign will be seen by every TikTok user between the ages of 20 and 39.

The campaign invites TikTok creators to use humour and throw shade at tanning, helping to spread the word and change the perception of tanning.

Melanoma Institute Australia CEO Matthew Browne noted that one person in Australia is diagnosed with melanoma every 30 minutes and it claims more lives than the national road toll - so campaigns like this are necessary to make a different in societal attitudes towards tanning.

With AAP.

The first trailer for the third season of the Emmy-nominated series (let that sink in) Emily In Paris is here and we have extreme thoughts about where this show is going next and when you should watch it.

And it’s Spotify Wrapped day, meaning we now know the most streamed artists both across the world and in Australia, and this information might surprise you. Plus, The Spill hosts share their own Spotify lists and one of them is definitely getting fired.

Plus, Jennifer Lopez has taken part in Vogue’s iconic 73 Questions series, and one of her answers, in particular, is really making headlines. However, we’ve figured out exactly what Jennifer Lopez is up to with the pattern of information she’s been sharing lately, and nothing is being done by accident.

Get today’s episode of The Spill in your ears below:

Fleetwood Mac star Christine McVie has died following a short illness at the age of 79, her family have confirmed.

In a statement, her family said the singer passed away at a hospital on Wednesday, November 30.

"It is with a heavy heart we are informing you of Christine's death. She passed away peacefully at the hospital this morning, Wednesday, November 30th 2022, following a short illness."

"She was in the company of her family."

"We kindly ask that you respect the family's privacy at this extremely painful time and we would like everyone to keep Christine in their hearts and remember the life of an incredible human being, and revered musician who was loved universally."

Fleetwood Mac became one of the best-known rock bands of the 1970s and 80s, comprising Mick Fleetwood, Christine and John McVie, as well as Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.

The British-American rock band sold more than 100 million records worldwide, with their best-known songs including Dreams, Go Your Own Way and Everywhere.

In a statement shared on Twitter, the band said, "There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie. She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure."

"She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life.

"We were so lucky to have a life with her. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be so very missed."

pic.twitter.com/NhXmJjWLtt

— Fleetwood Mac (@fleetwoodmac) November 30, 2022

McVie's death comes two years after Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green died at the age of 73.

- With AAP.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern shut down a reporter who asked if she was meeting with Finland's Sanna Marin because they are... both women of a similar age.

"A lot of people will be wondering are you two meeting just because you’re similar in age and, you know, got a lot of common stuff there," the journalist asked during a joint news conference. 

In a video shared online, Ardern is seen cutting him off saying, "I wonder whether or not anyone ever asked (ex-US president) Barack Obama and (former New Zealand prime minister) John Key if they met because they were of similar age."

"We, of course, have a higher proportion of men in politics, it’s reality. Because two women meet it’s not simply because of their gender."

Watch NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pick apart this reporter's question during a joint press conference with Finnish PM Sanna Marin. He asked the pair 'are you two meeting because you're similar in age and got a lot of common stuff there?'
Read more: https://t.co/eTtJEqJoFZ pic.twitter.com/UBEZs1kzvF

— SBS News (@SBSNews) November 30, 2022

Marin, who is visiting New Zealand for the first time as PM, responded with a laugh, before saying, "We are meeting because we are prime ministers".

"It's our job to further [our countries' economic opportunities], regardless of our gender," she concluded.

Many were quick to point on the sexism and misogyny behind the question online. 

I can't believe I have to spell this out: Sanna Marin and Jacinda Ardern meeting has nothing to do with their age or gender. We wouldn't link two middle-aged male, pale and stale world leaders meeting to their maleness, paleness and staleness. Let these women do their jobs!

— Tarang / तरंग (@tarang_chawla) November 30, 2022

Joey Dwyer’s question that Jacinda Arden and Sanna Marin met up because they’re “a similar age… and… common stuff…” is so embarrassing and sexist.

He was one sentence away from asking the prime ministers if they met to talk about boys and if their periods have synced up yet.

— Robyn (will use caps) (@robynjournalist) November 30, 2022

A member of the British royal family's household has left her role after making "unacceptable and deeply regrettable" comments about race to a woman at Buckingham Palace, a spokesperson says.

Ngozi Fulani, who was born in the United Kingdom and works for a domestic abuse support group, wrote on Twitter that the royal aide had repeatedly asked her: "What part of Africa are you from?" when she attended an event hosted by Camilla, the Queen consort, on Tuesday.

Ngozi Fulani is the founder of @Sistah_Space—an award winning non-profit supporting women and families affected by domestic abuse while ensuring cultural factors are considered and understood. This is her experience at Tuesday's Buckingham Palace gender-based violence reception: https://t.co/XV7IjGmFJB

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) November 30, 2022

In a statement, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, "We take this incident extremely seriously and have investigated immediately to establish the full details. In this instance, unacceptable and deeply regrettable comments have been made."

The spokesperson said the individual concerned, referred to by Fulani as Lady SH, wanted to apologise for the hurt caused and had stepped aside from her honorary role with immediate effect.

Neither Fulani nor the palace identified the aide in question, with the spokesperson saying the individual would not be offering any comment.

However, UK media have identified her as Lady Susan Hussey, the 83-year-old godmother of Prince William.

William's spokesperson said he was really disappointed to hear about the incident.

"Obviously, I wasn't there but racism has no place in our society," the spokesperson said.

"The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect."

- With AAP.

Scott Morrison has become the first former prime minister to be censured by the parliament over his secret appointments to multiple ministerial portfolios.

The censure motion passed the House of Representatives yesterday 86 votes to 50. The motions do not have any legal consequences, but they are rare and give parliamentarians the chance to formally disapprove of their colleagues.

Liberal MP Bridget Archer urged her party to draw a line in the sand over their former leader before she voted for the censure.

Archer said while the coalition made many good decisions to protect the nation during the pandemic, Morrison's actions were "entirely unnecessary".

"I do not accept any of the explanations put forward by the former prime minister and I'm deeply disappointed by the lack of a genuine apology or, importantly, understanding of the impact of his decisions," she said.

Poigniant image from today of Liberal Bridget Archer speaking in Federal parliament about Morrisons actions - Before being the only single Coalition MP to cross the floor to censure him.

You may disagree with their leaning in politics, but their move is to be respected #auspol pic.twitter.com/AGBQB5svCT

— Anth 🌏 - @anth0888@aus.social (@anth0888) November 30, 2022

Morrison, who secretly appointed himself minister of health, finance, industry, science, energy and resources, treasury and home affairs between 2020 and 2021, defended his decision and described the powers as a "dormant redundancy". 

The former Liberal leader is now facing further consequences over his secret ministries, with Greens leader Adam Bandt saying he would look to write to House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick to refer Morrison to the privileges committee over his actions.

While Bandt had attempted to refer Morrison previously when news of the secret ministries emerged, he said further evidence had emerged in light of former High Court judge Virginia Bell's report on the ministries.

"We now know more than we did at the time of the previous referral," he said.

- With AAP.

Recently, Aussie superstar Chris Hemsworth was given some pretty life changing news.

With the revelation that he carries a gene that could lead to a life altering diagnosis of Alzheimers later on in his life, it had us wondering, would you choose to get the test if you knew you had a genetic threat laying in wait?

Today, we look at what genetic testing can actually help with, or whether not knowing is actually a better option for some.

Feature Image: AAP.