Harris has impressed Handscomb since coming to Victoria from WA two years ago.
Loading "He's really put his hand up, but he's been doing a good job for us since he came here," Handscomb said."It's a shame that it's taken this long for his name to come up.I think he was a chance earlier, for sure." NSW captain Peter Nevill also praised Harris' innings but noted the game might have turned out much differently had they not dropped a chance from the opener when he was yet to score. Harris, 26, left WA with a stinging critique from then-WA coach Justin Langer, now in charge of the national team, who called him mediocre with flashes of brilliance. But Harris has scored 1790 Shield runs since the move, the most in that time. He has eight Shield tons, including two last season, and in 65 first class matches Harris has scored 3928 runs at an average of 35.38. Doubling up: Harris celebrates reaching 200 for Victoria in their thrashing of NSW.Credit:AAP Handscomb, another potential Test candidate, was left kicking himself when he did a lot of hard work to reach 48, only for a poor shot to end his innings. "I'm trying not to focus on the one ball I stuffed up and focus more on the 79 that I played really well," he said."I felt good out there ... unfortunately ,I made one mistake and that's the batter's game.But I'm not that worried, I'm not that frustrated and I'm just very happy with how my game's going, but more importantly how the team is going." Boland also starred for Victoria in the second innings with 6-49. Handscomb and rival captain Peter Nevill praised the new-look MCG wicket. It is the first Shield or Test result at the MCG since NSW won in February last year by an innings. "It's obviously better than it has been ... it's a great improvement," Handscomb said. Nevill was left lamenting his team's 7-56 batting collapse in the first innings and another four for nil slump on Saturday. THE INCUMBENTS SHAUN MARSH: Kept the wolves at bay with scores of 80 and 98 for Western Australia against Tasmania in a welcome return to touch after making just 14 in four Test knocks against Pakistan TRAVIS HEAD: Considered safe in the Test team after being solid on debut against Pakistan but made only 16 for South Australia against Queensland MARNUS LABUSHCAGNE: Failed to make a compelling case to retain his Test spot with scores of three and 28 for Queensland against South Australia THE CHALLENGERS MATTHEW RENSHAW: The Queensland opener made three and a duck against the Redbacks after being overlooked for a Test spot against Pakistan PETER HANDSCOMB: The Victorian made 48 against NSW but was kicking himself that he couldn't convert the promising start into an eye-catching score JAKE LEHMANN: A superb 126 for SA against the Bulls ensures the son of Darren remains in the Test selection frame JAKE WEATHERALD: The highly-rated SA opener made 69 against the Bulls but needed a big century to enhance his Test claims JOE BURNS: On the fringes of the Test squad, he made a polished 64 for the Bulls against SA in the first dig but just seven in the second innings MARCUS HARRIS: Pushed his name into the Test conversation with a brilliant unbeaten 250 - after being dropped on zero - for Victoria against NSW KURTIS PATTERSON: The New South Welshman posted scores of 63 and 50 and averages more than 40 in first-class cricket but still a Test long shot AAP https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/cricket/handscomb-backs-harris-test-claims-after-shield-shootout-for-batsmen-20181028-p50cj6.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed
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He is renowned for getting what he wants on the city fringe, where the stroke of a pen can turn paddocks into housing estates, and humble farmers into squillionaires.
With Melbourne under unprecedented population pressure, planning is big business especially in burgeoning Casey, which takes in swelling suburbs such as Cranbourne, Berwick, Clyde and Hallam. It is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Australia. In any one year, Casey will sayyay or nay to hundreds of Watsons planning applications. Theres been rumblings for years at Casey about the influence of favoured property interests, especially Watsons and its many clients. The Casey council centre 'Bunjil Place' in Narre Warren.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui But this year the rumblings gave way to incredulity and exasperation from senior council insiders and some local residents who say developers have inordinate influence and councillor decision-making shows a flagrant disregard for proper process. The situation has not been helped by a revolving door of senior bureaucrats, with seven people holding or acting in the chief executive position through the year. Its all nudge-nudge, wink-wink between certain developers and some councillors, says Cranbourne resident and council-watcher Brett Hudson. Theyre mates and its way too cosy. Casey resident Brett Hudson believes developers have too much influence in the area.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui Unlawful decision-making Some calls made by councillors this year have been so questionable that the council received legal advice warning it about unlawful decision-making. In April, former mayor and Liberal party member Cr Sam Aziz surprised many at Casey when he moved to delete a requirement that developer Wolfdene provide open space and road between the councils Casey Fields sports complex and the developers Pavilion housing estate in Cranbourne East. Woodmans son Heath is a business partner of Wolfdene director, Michael Goldthorp. Cr Aziz motion ignored repeated staff advice and was at odds with three separate legal opinions from senior planning lawyers. It allowed Wolfdene more land to build on, and shifted costs to ratepayers. Casey councillor and former mayor Sam Aziz. Credit:James Taylor Clearly troubled, acting chief executive Steve Dalton asked staff for an urgent assessment of the cost. The Sunday Age understands the decision will cost Casey hundreds of thousands of dollars. Senior insiders have queried the provenance of Cr Azizs motion, noting that it appeared to be worded by someone expert in planning law. In an interview with The Sunday Age, Cr Aziz denied his motion was written by an outsider. But The Sunday Age, understands that Woodman associate, Mornington-based planner and lawyer Megan Schutz, or her office, had a hand in drafting the motion. In September, Cr Aziz again shunned the advice of council staff, and demanded progress on the construction of an intersection in Hall Road, West Cranbourne. Lawyer Megan Schutz. Two developers, Wolfdene and the Chinese-backed Dacland, are developing estates on either side of Hall Road and were to share the cost of the intersection. Cr Aziz cited legal advice but would not reveal where it came from. He successfully moved a motion that penalised Dacland to the benefit of Wolfdene. Council staff sought their own official legal opinion. It was scathing, and warned that the council was in breach of the Local Government Act. Confidential legal advice in September slammed the councils capricious decision-making and warned it risked losing public and state government confidence with respect to planning matters in particular. It seemed to be a warning that council risked being sacked. The Sunday Age unsuccessfully sought the legal opinion cited by Cr Aziz under Freedom of Information laws. Cr Aziz refused to provide a copy of the legal advice or identify who had written it. He would only say it was provided to him by the Save West Cranbourne Residents Action Group, who were concerned about traffic safety on Hall Road and surrounds. But even resident activism isnt always as it seems in this part of Casey. Astro-turfing The Save West Cranbourne group was set up in 2014 when residents started to agitate against Caseys plan for an industrial/employment precinct for much need local jobs on neighbouring land. That industrial land is owned by property giant the CIMIC Group, formerly known as Leighton. In 2014, Leighton and market gardening neighbour the Kelly family had also started to lobby for rezoning of the land to allow much more lucrative housing. Early in 2014 the council flatly rejected the rezoning push. Then in 2015, soon after the 2014 state election, the councillors stunned senior staff and others by backflipping to support the rezoning. One of the arguments for the u-turn was an unusually well-resourced protest campaign by the resident action group. In state government circles the campaign is being viewed as classic astro-turfing. Group president Ray Walker defended the integrity of his group but confirmed it had been funded in part by Leighton, a Woodman/Schutz client that stands to make tens of millions of dollars if the rezoning is approved by Planning Minister Richard Wynne. The groups website was officially registered in March 2015 by Ms Schutz. Cr Geoff Ablett. The Sunday Agedoes not suggest that Cr Aziz and other councillors have personally benefited from these controversial decisions. Nor is there evidence of Cr Aziz receiving donations from any of the developers or companies involved. However, developer donations, especially from Watsons and their clients, are a major issue more broadly at Casey. Four years ago current mayor Geoff Ablett and former mayor Amanda Stapledon were the Liberal candidates for, respectively, the state seats of Cranbourne and Narre Warren North. Leaked Liberal party documents show that their state campaigns were financially supported by property interests, notably Woodman and Schutz, and key clients including Wolfdene, Leighton and the Kelly family, Botanic Ridge Pty Ltd, which has big estate in Cranbourne, and Peter and Sandy Carpenter from the former Brompton Lodge egg farm, also in Cranbourne. The Carpenters have made a $50 million-plus windfall in recent years after Casey successfully pushed the Baillieu government for approval for their farm to be developed for housing. As far back as 2011 The Age revealed that the Carpenters were donors to the Liberal party, including to Cr Ablett. Cr Susan Serey. A third councillor Susan Serey, was the Liberal candidate for Narre Warren South. She is running again at the November state poll. Liberal insiders insist she has received Watsons donations. There is no public evidence of this, however, she refused to confirm or deny it when asked by The Sunday Age. Donations and other in-kind support such as Mr Woodman donating helicopter rides have long been a key part of the Watsons strategy for planning success. At times it has contributed to Labor at state and local government level. In the 2014 state campaign Watsons donated $80,000 to the Liberal party, the single biggest property industry donation to the party that year. The money was disclosed to the Australian Electoral Commission as a general donation to the Victorian Liberals. However, in a 2015 investigation Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass summonsed Liberal Party accounts to find that Watsons had earmarked the bulk of the $80,000 specifically for the Ablett and Stapledon campaigns. Since 2014, Cr Ablett, Cr Stapledon and Cr Serey appear to have been increasingly conscious of declaring conflicts of interests and not voting on matters involving Watsons or their clients. Cr Ablett only appears to have declared joint ownership of a horse with a Watsons employee, not donations. Bullying claims Behind the scenes Cr Ablett and Cr Aziz in particular are renowned for pushing staff on planning approvals. Cr Amanda Stapledon, Documents seen by The Sunday Age include an email from Ablett last year complaining about the time taken to process planning approvals and asking Is there a major problem with the Casey planning department? He appears to have been echoing developer complaints, including by Woodman and Schutz who are well known for pressuring staff. A memo from former chief executive Steve Dalton notes concerns from staff about bullying and harassment by Woodman and Schutz. He imposed a temporary ban on Woodman communicating with some council staff. In July the council appointed a new permanent chief executive, Glenn Patterson, formerly from the Yarra Ranges Shire. He declined a request for an interview. It remains to be seen whether the new chief executive will be able to rein in the more capricious of Caseys decision-making. In a written statement Cr Amanda Stapledon said: I have always acted with strictest probity in my decision making, ensuring that I conduct myself with integrity, adhering to the local law and the local government act. Also in writing Cr Serey said: My (state election) campaign is in full compliance with all Victorian electoral legislation, including donation disclosure requirements. I have declared conflicts of interest on record in the Council chamber whenever I perceived that a conflict existed. Cr Ablett did not respond to calls and emails. Mr Woodman and Ms Schutz also did not respond to calls and emails. Nor did Leightons (CIMIC) executive Tom Kenessey return calls. Casey resident Brett Hudson has long wondered about the sway of developers and the murky confluence of property, planning, and political money in the south-east growth corridor. Why else would developers give money, he says other than to buy a little bit of favour. Do you know more? Contact us securely via Journotips Royce Millar is an investigative journalist with a special interest in public policy and government decision-making. Ben Schneiders is an investigative reporter at The Age with a background reporting on industrial relations, business, politics and social issues. A two-time Walkley Award winner, he has been part of The Ages investigative unit since 2015. Clay Lucas is city editor for The Age. Clay has worked at The Age since 2005, covering state politics, urban affairs, transport, local government and workplace relations for The Age and Sunday Age. https://www.watoday.com.au/national/victoria/casey-council-where-riches-are-made-with-the-stroke-of-a-pen-20181027-p50ce6.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Several social media users had previously noticed the distinct white van that authorities believe Cesar Sayoc jnr owned.Credit:Twitter/Mahmud Mohamed Florida records show that Sayoc has a lengthy criminal record in the state, including a 2002 arrest for a bomb threat and others for larceny and fraud. MSNBC reported that he was a registered Republican. His social media profiles are littered with bizarre messages threatening liberal donors and media outlets, and photos from a Trump rally in 2016. He describes himself as a booking agent at Hard Rock casino and a former wrestler, cage fighter and professional soccer player. Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, said a review of social media pages didn't indicate affiliation with far-right extremist organisations but show "an intense support" for Trump as well as Islamophobic sentiments and the promotion of conspiracy theories Cesar Sayoc jnr.Credit:Broward County Sheriff Shortly after the arrest, Trump called the suspected mail bombs "terrorising acts" and praised law enforcement officers. "We will prosecute them, him, her, whoever it may be, to the fullest extent of the law," he said at a White House event. "We must never allow political violence to take root in America and I'm committed to doing everything in my power as president to stop it and stop it now." However, just before Sayoc was taken into custody,Trump posted a tweet that seemed to question the timing and veracity of the bomb scares. The arrest came hours after two more suspicious packages were found on Friday - one addressed to Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and another to former national intelligence chief James Clapper, another frequent target of criticism from the far right. The former was intercepted in Florida, the latter at a mail sorting facility on New York City's Upper West Side. Senator Cory Booker was the target of a suspicious package.Credit:AP The packages were similar to 10 other crude pipe bombs mailed to prominent Democrats and liberal supporters, and progressively discovered in sorting facilities and mail boxes since Monday. None of the devices have exploded. The first package was detected on Monday at the New York home of billionaire philanthropist and Democrat donor George Soros. All the packages looked similar and contained similar pipe bomb devices.Credit:ABC via AP Since then, packages have been intercepted that were addressed to Obama, Hillary Clinton, Biden, former CIA director John Brennan, actor Robert De Niro, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, former Attorney-General Eric Holder, Senator Kamala Harris, Clapper and Booker. Booker, Harris and Holder are all potential 2020 presidential contender. Loading At a press conference on Thursday, officials in New York would not discuss possible motives or details on how the packages found their way into the US postal system. Nor would they say why none of the packages had detonated, but they stressed they were still treating them as "live devices". "As far as a hoax device, we're not treating it that way," Commissioner James O'Neill said. Details suggested a pattern - that the items were packaged in manila envelopes, addressed to prominent Trump critics, carried US postage stamps and had the same return address for Florida-based Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The devices were being examined by technicians at the FBI's forensic lab in Quantico, Virginia. The packages stoked nationwide tensions and fears as voters prepared to vote November 6 to determine partisan control of Congress - a campaign both major political parties have described in near-apocalyptic terms. Even with the sender still unknown, politicians from both parties used the threats to decry a toxic political climate and lay blame. "A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media that I refer to as Fake News," Trump said on Twitter on Thursday. "It has gotten so bad and hateful that it is beyond description. Mainstream Media must clean up its act, FAST!" with AP Rachel Olding is a Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in the United States. https://www.watoday.com.au/world/north-america/suspicious-package-sent-to-senator-fbi-says-20181027-p50cak.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Police have found a 13-year-old boy, who went missing from the Blue Mountains at the start of the week.
Atreyu Davis, aged 13, was last seen by his family at a home in Katoomba on Monday.Credit:NSW Police Atreyu Davis was last seen by his family at a home in Katoomba on Monday. Officers from the Blue Mountains Police District held serious concerns for his welfare and had spent the week searching for him. It was initially believed Atreyu might have been travelling and busking with a 15-year-old friend. However, that boy was found safe and well at Broadway on Wednesday, and further investigation revealed the pair had not been together, a police spokeswoman said. Police said Atreyu was known to frequent the Sydney CBD as well as Newtown, Dulwich Hill and Summer Hill. It was not immediately known where Atreyu was found, but on Friday afternoon a police spokeswoman confirmed the boy had been located safe and well. https://www.watoday.com.au/national/nsw/serious-concerns-for-welfare-of-missing-13-year-old-boy-police-20181025-p50bsk.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed "He is nice and fresh," Connett told Fairfax Media.
"He is a sprinter [and] we try to keep him on that fresher side. [We] don't want to see him too flat." Jungle Cat will miss the group 1 Manikato Stakes on Friday night at Moonee Valley but Godolphin will be well represented with the Aidan O'Brien-trained US Navy Flag working on the dirt track at Werribee alongside travelling companion Somerset Maugham on Thursday. The four-year-old didn't appreciate the soft ground in The Everest at Randwick when he finished ninth and an improved performance is expected as he takes on locally-trained stars Kementari, Brave Smash and Sunlight in the group 1. O'Brien also has the impressive Spirit of Valor, Intelligence Cross and Fleet Review entered in the dash under lights. https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/racing/jungle-cat-to-have-last-hurrah-at-flemington-20181025-p50buz.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Shane Mumford is not in a "great place" after three-year-old footage of the former ruckman snorting a white powder was made public.
Former Australian cricketer and Greater Western Sydneycommunity liaison officer Gavin Robertson said Mumford was suffering after the revelation cast doubt on his potential AFL comeback with GWS next season. Shane Mumford is not in a good place, according to GWS' community liaison officer.Credit:AAP "I know Shane reasonably well," Robertson told Fox Sports. "He's made a mistake in life but he's not sitting back on a banana chair at home lapping life up. He's not in a great place and he's really upset with the choices that he's made." The GWS Giants were reportedly made aware of the situation on Sunday and soon after contacted Mumford, who appears to have recently returned to Australia from an end-of-season family holiday overseas. https://www.watoday.com.au/sport/afl/mumford-upset-over-powder-vision-giants-20181024-p50bl1.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Senator Abetz - a relentless critic of the ABC - said it was highly concerning that Mr Anderson "may havesought to game the system to get a redundancy where no redundancy would have existed".
"This is extremely troubling and inappropriate conduct which brings into question Mr Andersons judgment and fitness to continue in the substantive managing directors role," he said. In a difficult appearance before the Senate - the first since Ms Guthrie was sacked and former chairman Justin Milne resigned - the ABC and the communications department gave contradictory evidence about a government inquiry into last month's events. Mr Anderson said that he did not recall department secretary Mike Mrdak specifically requesting to see a crucial 11-page document - the so-called Guthrie dossier - given to the ABC board by Ms Guthrie two days before she was fired. But Mr Anderson also said he sought legal advice about handing over the document, and declined because it was "a confidential document between the former managing director and the board". Mr Mrdak said he believed he requested the dossier in writing and during discussions with Mr Anderson. Early in Tuesday's hearing, he acknowledged the dossier was "very relevant" to his inquiry, but later agreed it was "not relevant" to establishing the facts of what had transpired. Fairfax Media obtained a copy of the dossier the week Ms Guthrie was sacked and reported its contents - but neither the ABC, Ms Guthrie nor Mr Milne handed it over to Mr Mrdak's inquiry. The dossier made a number of allegations about Mr Milne's attempted interventions into ABC staff and editorial matters, and raised concerns about the former chairman's conduct towards Ms Guthrie. Mr Mrdak conceded he did not seek the document from any member of the ABC board - including acting chair Kirstin Ferguson - nor did he attempt to interview any board members, arguing it was unnecessary. In the dossier, Ms Guthrie says she complained to Dr Ferguson as early as May 3 about Mr Milne's behaviour, stating in an email "I can't do this any more", and expressing "huge frustration" in a subsequent phone call with Dr Ferguson. At Tuesday's hearing, Mr Anderson said no member of the ABC board had sought his opinion about Ms Guthrie's performance, and nor had the senior leadership team discussed any concerns. He said he was "surprised" by Ms Guthrie's termination, describing it as "extraordinary". Communications Minister Mitch Fifield would not guarantee the next ABC chair will be appointed through the merit-based independent selection panel, noting the decision is a matter for the Prime Minister. If the PM ignores the panel's advice, he is required to table his reasons in Parliament. Michael Koziol is the immigration and legal affairs reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Parliament House https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/federal/aspiring-abc-boss-david-anderson-sought-a-redundancy-from-michelle-guthrie-20181023-p50bel.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Vacate cleaning is a tiresome job and requires a lot of time and effort. Guys, my experience with vacate cleaning has not been good as my landlord found a lot of flaws in my cleaning and I failed my house inspection at the end of the lease. As a result, I had to forgo a substantial portion of my bond money in favour of my landlord. This is the reason I often advise people to hire a professional cleaning company for the job who can guarantee to get your bond back in full. But, hiring bond cleaners is also not an easy task as there are a lot of companies making various claims and quotes; thus making it difficult to make the right choice. Here are a few points which you should look for when hiring them for your residential property. Find them here
https://www.bondcleaninginperth.com.au/what-to-look-for-when-hiring-vacate-cleaners-in-perth/ Best of Fairfax cartoons October 14, 2018
Skip to sections navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer Advertisement 6 ImagesFairfax Media's talented team of artists, illustrators and cartoonists give us their humorous version of the news of the day.13 October 2018 9:18pm1/6 Illustration Matt GoldingCredit:SMH 2/6 Illustration: Oslo Davis 3/6 Illustration: Reg Lynch 4/6 Illustration Matt Golding Advertisement 5/6 Illustration Matt Golding 6/6 Illustration Matt DavidsonCredit: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/victoria/best-of-fairfax-cartoons-october-14-2018-20181013-h16lrp.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Police officers who had to retire due to a work-related illness or injury have been granted a $16 million new redress scheme announced by the WA state government on Saturday.
Former top cop Karl O'Callaghan will lead the panel. The scheme will involve a tailored, ex gratia-type payment to recognise police officers' service and acknowledge the circumstances and treatment of some ill or injured former officers. The payments will be available in the new year and all applications will be assessed by a panel, with a maximum sum of $150,000 per case. Police minister Michelle Roberts said the payments were not to be considered a compensation scheme. This is not a compensation scheme, it will provide recognition and an ex gratia payment to acknowledge past treatment of medically retired former officers. https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/medically-retired-wa-cops-get-16-million-as-mcgowan-announces-redress-scheme-20181013-p509g1.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed |