We’ve rounded up all the latest stories from Australia and around the world – so you don’t have to go searching.
1. Father meticulously planned murder-suicide of his family.
Darren Milne had meticulously planned the murder of his wife and two young children, and his own suicide, when he drove the family car into a tree on the New South Wales Central coast last year.
Milne, an engineer, wrote detailed notes about his plan, including plans to disable the car’s airbags and remove an incriminating dash cam.
Milne’s wife, Susana Estevez Castillo, 39, and their son Liam Milne, 11, both died in the horror smash, but their youngest son, Benjamin, 7, survived.
Susana was pregnant at the time.
A detailed note made months before the deaths revealed Milne believed his family had to die because there was “too much conspiring” against them and that it was a “good time to go — it is only going to get tougher as time goes on”.
The weight of the evidence has prompted coroner David Day to single Milne’s actions out as among the worst examples of murder-suicide in his coronial report into the family’s deaths.
The report, released yesterday, says “the actions of Darren Milne should attract more than the usual disapproval attached to murder and suicide” and finds that Milne did not consider there could have been survivors from the crash, News.com.au reports.
Or, that the boys could have survived, and be seriously injured by the crash.
“He assumed successful execution of his plan without regard to the possibility that the front seat occupants, he and Susana may not survive, but that one or both the rear-seat passengers would survive, terribly injured, severely disabled or otherwise, or worse, be conscious, trapped inside the cabin when the car caught fire,” the coroner said.
Benjamin is now living with his mother’s family in the United Kingdom.
2. Sydney Siege: Tori Johnson’s mum lashes out at police.
The mother of Lindt Cafe manager Tori Johnson, killed by Man Horin Monis during the Sydney Siege in late 2014, has lashed out at a senior police officer at the inquest.
Tori’s parents, Rosie Connellan and Ken Johnson, stormed out of the inquest after hearing a police forward commander say Monis had the same rights as the hostages he took.
Ms Connellan yelled at the commander, a senior police officer who cannot be identified, “you’re an absolute disgrace” as she walked out.
The exchange was sparked by comments made under cross examination, when the commander described the process of trying to get Monis out of the cafe as a “high stakes game”.
3. Furor as Sydney girls school reportedly bans use of ‘girls’ and ‘ladies’ to refer to students.
Cheltenham Girls High in Sydney’s north-west has reportedly banned the use of “girls”, “ladies” and “women” and asked all staff to use “gender neutral” terms to refer to students.
The Daily Telegraph reports that staff were told of the decision at a recent staff meeting, where they were also told not complying with the policy would be a breach of human rights.
New South Wales education minister Adrian Piccoli is reportedly investigating the “ban”, said to a consequence of the Safe Schools anti-bullying program and an attempt to make transgender students more comfortable.
