Man killed by police 'had mental health issues'

It is believed a 43-year-old man shot dead by police near Newcastle last Friday had a history of drug abuse and mental health issues.

About 5:00pm AEDT last Friday, police officers were called to Spinnakers Leisure Park on the Pacific Highway at Belmont on the mid-north coast of New South Wales to investigate reports of a domestic dispute.

There was then a stand-off between police and long-time park resident Michael Capel in a children's play area.

Mr Capel, who was armed with a knife, refused several police requests to drop the weapon.

Officers used capsicum spray in an attempt to subdue him but when it had no affect, police shot Mr Capel dead.

Mr Capel had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse but was also dealing with mental health issues.

The critical incident team and homicide squad are investigating. Police are also preparing a report for the coroner.

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Brother, sister Tasered 'after vandalism spree'
When police tried to arrest the man they say he attacked the five officers and had to be Tasered.

Mother gets good behaviour bond

A Lake Macquarie woman who admitted dumping the body of her newborn baby at Belmont has been given a good behaviour bond by a Newcastle court.

The 33-year-old woman who cannot be identified pleaded guilty to dumping her newborn baby in a vacant lot beside the Pacific Highway at Belmont in December last year, after earlier giving birth in a nearby hotel.

Newcastle Local Court was told today a coroner's report confirmed that the baby died soon after the mother had given birth.

Magistrate Elaine Truscott told the court she was satisfied the mother was suffering from depression and post traumatic stress at the time and had very little recollection of the events.

Ms Truscott placed the woman on an 18-month good behaviour bond and an inquest into the baby's death which was due to commence on August 8 will not proceed.

Greenpeace protesters shut power station

Eight Greenpeace protestors have chained themselves to a coal conveyor belt at Erarang Power Station on the Central Coast, shutting it down in protest against climate change.

About 27 supporters of the environment group breached security to gain access to the power station this morning.

Police rescue personnel are on site, and the protestors are expected to be removed soon. Nineteen of them have already been arrested.

The power station, one of eight in NSW that rely on coal to produce electricity, reduced its power output as a safety precaution but is still supplying power to the grid, a spokeswoman said.

"They have prevented about 2000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being released," a Greenpeace spokeswoman said.

The protest action comes eight months after Greenpeace temporarily shut down the nearby Munmorah Power Station, to highlight that plant's contribution to global warming.

Coal-fired electricity production accounts for almost half of the state's carbon emissions, the group said.

"Coal communities have been taken advantage of by coal companies and governments," Greenpeace said in a statement. "Renewable energy is the future and it's bright. Workers must be retrained and re-skilled so that they don't miss out."

Suicide soldier's dad compensation wait

Australian soldier Private Jeremy Williams killed himself after being bullied

The father of an Australian soldier who committed suicide says he is tired of waiting for the Federal Government to decide if it will compensate him for his loss.

Private Jeremy Williams took his own life in 2003 after being bullied at the Singleton Army Base.

His family and the families of three other soldiers have spent years seeking an ex gratia payment over the deaths of their children.

Charles Williams says he just wants an answer.

"It is pointed out with respect that this is now the Government of the day's problem and we ... feel that it's a perfectly reasonable request to ask for some form of timeline so that we may have some expectation on when we can obtain some closure on this," he said.

Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says he is familiar with Private Williams's case and sympathises with his family.

"The incident did occur in my own electorate and I feel deeply for the family," he said.

"It's quite clear that the hearings have demonstrated that Defence had a case to answer and if Jeremy Williams did have a wife and or kids, the compensation would have been paid long ago.

"He doesn't, he doesn't have any dependants and I'm disappointed that the former Government took more than five years to do nothing."

There's more to scandal: Orkopoulus family

THE family of convicted paedophile Milton Orkopoulos last night broke their silence saying there was more to the scandal than had so far been revealed.

Orkopoulos's mother Stamata and brother George Orkopoulos stated just hours after the sentence was handed down in Newcastle District Court that while maintaining his support for his brother, George Orkopoulos said he believed his brother had suffered at the hands of people motivated by money and greed.

"By all means punish him for what he did that was wrong, absolutely, but there are things he has been convicted of which are just not true," Mr Orkopoulos said.

He claimed there was a lot more to the case that was not revealed throughout the lengthy trial and hoped one day the truth may come to light.

"There are certain people who should hang their heads in shame, and they know who they are," George said.

"I just sincerely hope at some stage the full truth comes out, because at the moment we are a long way from the truth."

He described the behaviour of some Labor MPs as "the height of hypocrisy" in raising money to support Orkopoulos' family, after they voted to freeze his superannuation entitlements.

Labor MPs had been sent a letter asking them to donate money to Orkopoulos's former wife Kathy and daughter Anastasia.

"It is shameful that politicians in Macquarie St, who were so eager to vote in favour of Milton's superannuation being frozen, now passing the hat around ... it's the height of hypocrisy," George said.

Related:

Orkopoulos predator gets 9 years
Former NSW frontbencher Milton Orkopoulos has been sentenced to a minimum of nine years and three months in jail. In the Newcastle District Court today, Judge Ralph Coolahan set a maximum jail term of 13 years and 11 months for the former Aboriginal affairs minister.

Whistleblower rejects payment offer
She has been on stress leave and unable to work since she was locked out of Orkopoulos's office in 2006, after he became aware she was helping police with their investigation into the then Aboriginal affairs minister.

Orkopoulos betrayed me: victim
Sexual abuse victims of former NSW MP Milton Orkopoulos have told a court his attacks were a betrayal of their trust. Orkopoulos appeared in the Newcastle District Court today for a sentencing hearing on 40 child sex and drugs charges. He was convicted in March of 28 offences, after pleading guilty to a further two at the outset of his trial.

The last act of Orkopoulos: skewering the Darkinjung
The murky story of former NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos, who is awaiting sentence on 28 sex and drug charges, is becoming murkier. One of his last ministerial decisions was to sign, just before midnight – and seven hours prior to his arrest – an instrument to appoint a handpicked administrator for the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council on the NSW Central Coast.

Orkopolous whistleblower sues NSW Govt
The aide who blew the whistle on convicted paedophile and former New South Wales Labor minister Milton Orkopolous is suing the State Government, claiming she can never work again.

Orkopoulos predator gets 9 years

Eligible for parole in 2017: Predator Milton Orkopoulos

Former NSW frontbencher Milton Orkopoulos has been sentenced to a minimum of nine years and three months in jail.

In the Newcastle District Court today, Judge Ralph Coolahan set a maximum jail term of 13 years and 11 months for the former Aboriginal affairs minister.

His 30 child sex and drug charge crimes were "premeditated, predatory and manipulative" with far reaching impacts, said the judge.

Sporting grey stubble and struggling to keep his eyes open, the 50-year-old former Aboriginal affairs minister was pale as he took his seat in the dock.

All three of his victims and a number of their family and friends were present in court to learn the former MP's fate.

A number of Orkopoulos' family members also sat in the public gallery.

Judge Ralph Coolahan spent more than an hour detailing the MP's crimes which date between 1995 and 2006 and involved the grooming of three young boys with drugs and alcohol in exchange for sex.

He said Orkopoulos used his position of authority and power to win the trust of his victims and introduced one to heroin, an act which he described as "a very serious offence".

"His conduct was premeditated, predatory and manipulative with far reaching impacts," Judge Coolahan told the court.

"The offender was frequently arrogant and often flippant in his evidence and made a number of claims which were patently false."

The judge said significant periods of fulltime imprisonment were the only appropriate sentences for such serious crimes.

Ensuring Orkopoulos was adequately punished, the community was protected and and his actions denounced by way of general deterrence were more important considerations than his rehabilitation, the judge said.

The judge said the crimes of former NSW frontbencher Milton Orkopoulos, were "premeditated, predatory and manipulative" with far reaching impacts.

Updated: 7:46 am (AEST) May 22

There's more to scandal, Orkopoulus family say

THE family of convicted paedophile Milton Orkopoulos last night broke their silence saying there was more to the scandal than had so far been revealed.

Orkopoulos's mother Stamata and brother George Orkopoulos spoke exclusively to The Daily Telegraph just hours after the sentence was handed down in Newcastle District Court.

While maintaining his support for his brother, George Orkopoulos said he believed his brother had suffered at the hands of people motivated by money and greed.

"By all means punish him for what he did that was wrong, absolutely, but there are things he has been convicted of which are just not true," Mr Orkopoulos said.

He claimed there was a lot more to the case that was not revealed throughout the lengthy trial and hoped one day the truth may come to light.

"There are certain people who should hang their heads in shame, and they know who they are," George said.

"I just sincerely hope at some stage the full truth comes out, because at the moment we are a long way from the truth."

He described the behaviour of some Labor MPs as "the height of hypocrisy" in raising money to support Orkopoulos' family, after they voted to freeze his superannuation entitlements.

Labor MPs had been sent a letter asking them to donate money to Orkopoulos's former wife Kathy and daughter Anastasia.

"It is shameful that politicians in Macquarie St, who were so eager to vote in favour of Milton's superannuation being frozen, now passing the hat around ... it's the height of hypocrisy," George said.


Related:

Whistleblower rejects payment offer
She has been on stress leave and unable to work since she was locked out of Orkopoulos's office in 2006, after he became aware she was helping police with their investigation into the then Aboriginal affairs minister.

Orkopoulos betrayed me: victim
Sexual abuse victims of former NSW MP Milton Orkopoulos have told a court his attacks were a betrayal of their trust. Orkopoulos appeared in the Newcastle District Court today for a sentencing hearing on 40 child sex and drugs charges. He was convicted in March of 28 offences, after pleading guilty to a further two at the outset of his trial.

The last act of Orkopoulos: skewering the Darkinjung
The murky story of former NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos, who is awaiting sentence on 28 sex and drug charges, is becoming murkier. One of his last ministerial decisions was to sign, just before midnight – and seven hours prior to his arrest – an instrument to appoint a handpicked administrator for the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council on the NSW Central Coast.

Orkopolous whistleblower sues NSW Govt
The aide who blew the whistle on convicted paedophile and former New South Wales Labor minister Milton Orkopolous is suing the State Government, claiming she can never work again.

Whistleblower rejects payment offer

Gillian Sneddon … described offer as "an absolute insult".

THE whistleblower who was sacked after raising the alarm about the now convicted pedophile Milton Orkopoulos has been offered a $100,000 payment by the State Government.

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, independent MP Richard Torbay, made the confidential offer two weeks ago. It comprises a $33,166.06 "apology" payment and a redundancy entitlement of $66,830.94.

Ms Sneddon, 51, Orkopoulos's former electorate officer in Swansea, called the offer "an absolute insult".

She has been on stress leave and unable to work since she was locked out of Orkopoulos's office in 2006, after he became aware she was helping police with their investigation into the then Aboriginal affairs minister.

"How can I get my life back together when this offer shows they're not really concerned at all?" she said yesterday.

The unemployed Ms Sneddon said she was struggling to pay her bills and her only income was a workers' compensation payment of about $600 a fortnight. Her salary as an electorate officer before she went on stress leave was almost $70,000 a year.

She was arranging to sell her Swansea Heads house, which she has lived in for about 20 years, because she could not afford the mortgage repayments, she said.

Mr Torbay, who has inherited the issue from the previous speaker, the Labor MP John Aquilina, said he had not received a formal reply to the offer.

"I made the offer in good faith, and she is still able to make her workers' compensation claim," Mr Torbay said yesterday. "Whilst this issue predates me as Speaker, I believed an ex gratia payment is appropriate."

Ms Sneddon was sacked by Parliament the same day she began to give evidence at the Orkopoulos trial.

The offer came after a meeting with Mr Torbay in April about her plight. The payment is conditional on Ms Sneddon signing a deed of release against Parliament but leaves the way open for her to take action against Parliament's insurer, Allianz.

Ms Sneddon still has a submission for a workers' compensation case with Parliament and Allianz. She said no amount had been specified in the claim and denied a report saying she was claiming $600,000.

She has accused the Labor Party and her former employer, the Parliament, of in effect abandoning her after it became public she was helping police collect evidence.

She also said she had been made a pariah by her former colleagues and her difficulties ignored by the State Government.

"This is all because of me being a decent human being and telling the truth," she said.

Ms Sneddon has not limited her criticism to the NSW Labor Party. She has also criticised the clerk of the Parliament, Russell Grove, and another parliamentary officer over the Orkopoulos investigation.

Mr Grove has denied the allegations and cleared himself of any wrongdoing in a report he wrote at the request of Mr Torbay last month.

Orkopoulos was found guilty of 28 pedophilia and drugs charges in March and will be sentenced tomorrow.

Related;

Orkopoulos betrayed me: victim
Sexual abuse victims of former NSW MP Milton Orkopoulos have told a court his attacks were a betrayal of their trust. Orkopoulos appeared in the Newcastle District Court today for a sentencing hearing on 40 child sex and drugs charges. He was convicted in March of 28 offences, after pleading guilty to a further two at the outset of his trial.

The last act of Orkopoulos: skewering the Darkinjung
The murky story of former NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos, who is awaiting sentence on 28 sex and drug charges, is becoming murkier. One of his last ministerial decisions was to sign, just before midnight – and seven hours prior to his arrest – an instrument to appoint a handpicked administrator for the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council on the NSW Central Coast.

Orkopolous whistleblower sues NSW Govt
The aide who blew the whistle on convicted paedophile and former New South Wales Labor minister Milton Orkopolous is suing the State Government, claiming she can never work again.

Orkopoulos betrayed me: victim

Sexual abuse victims of former NSW MP Milton Orkopoulos have told a court his attacks were a betrayal of their trust.

Orkopoulos appeared in the Newcastle District Court today for a sentencing hearing on 40 child sex and drugs charges.

He was convicted in March of 28 offences, after pleading guilty to a further two at the outset of his trial.

Dressed in a grey suit and blue shirt, Orkopoulos looked drawn, with weight loss visible on his face.

The former Aboriginal affairs minister sat with his head cocked to one side, listening intently as two of his victims told the court of the impact of his crimes on their lives.

One of the men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said his academic and personal life had suffered as a result of the politician's indecent assault of him at the 2004 National Labor Conference.

"I felt that Milton had exploited me for his own perverted sexual gratification," the man, now 20, told the court.

"I felt betrayed by the NSW Labor Party for protecting Milton politically."

The man looked Orkopoulos directly in the eye, muttering: "Burn in hell, you grub" as he passed the dock.

Related:

The last act of Orkopoulos: skewering the Darkinjung
The murky story of former NSW Aboriginal Affairs Minister Milton Orkopoulos, who is awaiting sentence on 28 sex and drug charges, is becoming murkier. One of his last ministerial decisions was to sign, just before midnight – and seven hours prior to his arrest – an instrument to appoint a handpicked administrator for the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council on the NSW Central Coast.

Orkopolous whistleblower sues NSW Govt
The aide who blew the whistle on convicted paedophile and former New South Wales Labor minister Milton Orkopolous is suing the State Government, claiming she can never work again.

Disabled 'deserve secret ballot'

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission says it is time for New South Wales to introduce better voting methods for people with disabilities.

The call comes after the New South Wales Electoral Commission was found to have discriminated against a blind man, who was not able to cast a secret ballot in braille during the 2004 local government elections.

Darren Fittler asked for an application in braille four weeks before the Randwick City Council election so he could vote in secret.

But the commission failed to provide him with one.

The New South Wales Administrative Decisions' Tribunal ordered the state electoral commission to pay $5,000 for hurt and humiliation suffered.

The Electoral Commission says it will offer ballot papers in braille in the future.

But Human Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes says New South Wales lags way behind other states and territories in providing equality.

"This is a real wake-up call for the New South Wales Electoral Commission," he said.

"Many of us have been drawing it to their attention for some years. It really sends a signal that it's about time that they let everyone have a secret ballot and not just the majority of people in New South Wales."

Quote: The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission may be right here but everyone knows that they are just another stooge and arm of government and will only push what the government will allow them to. In other words if it is too hard for them and the government won't allow it then they wouldn't take any legal action to providing equality. So I particlularly don't think there is any need whatsoever to give them any credit, at all, for the likes of this article, opposed to all the other inequality and human rights abuses, right under their noses, that they have overlooked, especially during the John Howard government. For the likes of Graeme Innes all human rights abuse and inequality is a real wake up call for Australia. Not just when someone else has to take the action. Quote: "Many of us have been drawing it to their attention for some years."

Huge party erupts into wild brawl

Three people have been taken to hospital after a gathering of hundreds of young people ended in a wild brawl involving baseball bats in the New South Wales Hunter region last night.

One man remains in hospital with head injuries after the brawl in a Newcastle car park, but two others were treated and released from hospital last night.

Newcastle Duty officer Sergeant Darren Holmes says police were called to the Nobbys Beach car park just after 9:00pm (AEST) and found two large groups of young men fighting.

"There was probably about 300 young people collected around the Nobbys area as they usually do on Thursday night," he said.

"There's believed to be a dispute between two large groups which had gotten out of hand, and we believe baseball bats were produced and a fight ensued."

Sergeant Holmes says there is so far no indication of what sparked the brawl.

"The police that attended the scene did an excellent job," he said. "They dispersed the crowd fairly quickly and kept the people that were involved there so we could speak to them."

Ban on late spirit sales

THE late-night sale of straight spirits and the strongest ready-to-drink alcopops has been banned at 15 of Newcastle's most violent pubs, and a 1am curfew imposed.

In a victory that will be used as a precedent by community groups, the Liquor Administration Board yesterday banned the sale after 10pm of straight shots, mixed drinks with more than 30 millilitres of alcohol, and premixed drinks commonly known as alcopops with more than 5 per cent alcohol.

The pubs, where 179 assaults occurred last year, have also been slapped with a 1am curfew, which means no one will be allowed in after this time. Closing hours will be earlier: 3am for those that opened until 5am and 2.30am for those that closed at 3am.

The hotels include Fanny's of Newcastle (40 assaults), the Crown and Anchor Hotel (28), the Queens Wharf Brewery (32) and the King Street Hotel (18).

The decision is the outcome of an application from police to the board under section 104 of the Liquor Act. It is thought to have been the first application of its kind in NSW, and has brought renewed energy to communities across Sydney lobbying for similar restrictions.

The restrictions were greeted with cautious optimism in Newcastle yesterday, but some campaigners feared hotel owners would use their financial and political clout to overturn the decision.

A Randwick councillor, Margaret Woodsmith, said the decision was a fillip for those campaigning for tighter restrictions on the Coogee Bay Hotel, named on Monday on the list of NSW's most violent pubs obtained by the Herald. "We will be taking this up," she said.

The Australian Hotels Association had "some concerns" with the decision but had not had time to review the document in detail.

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Not enough help for teen binge drinkers: report
Millions abused during boozy Christmas hols: study
Stress and debt make Sydney a violent city

Baby shaker jailed for nine years

A 33-year-old man from the New South Wales Hunter Valley will spend at least five years in jail for shaking a 17-month-old girl to death.

The child was found dead in the bedroom of her family's home at Mount Hutton in January 2005.

A post-mortem examination found she died from head injuries.

The man, who cannot be named, has been sentenced to nine years jail.

He will be eligible for parole in March 2013 because of time served.