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New host for ABC News Breakfast revealed

Six weeks after Lisa Millar announced she would be <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/abc-host-quits-live-on-air" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaving</a> her role on ABC News Breakfast, her replacement has finally been announced. Millar, after hosting the show since 2018, announced in July the she would be leaving the hosting role with the public broadcaster, telling viewers that her final day on the air would be August 23rd. Now, just one week out from her departure, the ABC announced that Bridget Brennan would be taking over the coveted gig. "I'm really honoured and excited to be taking up this spot on the couch, alongside our amazing team," Bridget said. "I'm so grateful to Lisa and Michael for showing me the ropes and being wonderful mentors while I've adjusted to early starts and all the twists and turns that live television throws at you!" A Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta woman, Brennan joined the ABC in 2010 as a cadet journalist, with previous roles included working as the ABC's Indigenous Affairs Editor, Europe correspondent and National Indigenous Affairs correspondent. <div data-component="EmphasisedText"> "I didn't grow up watching Aboriginal women on the news, so it's really an important moment for my mob as well," she said. </div> ABC News Breakfast co-host Michael Rowland is thrilled to welcome Brennan to the program, saying, "Bridget has been such a breath of fresh air since joining the show and I am delighted she'll now be my main co-presenter." "Bridget brings to the job enormous news heft, but also a love of music, film, food and bad jokes (mine, mostly). All the things that make News Breakfast tick!" Millar also commented on her successor's role, wishing her all the best for her time on the show. "Bridget is such a delightful friend and workmate – smart, intuitive and kind," Millar said. "I can't wait to see the impact she'll have in this role, especially with our audience, who have already enthusiastically embraced her as a familiar part of their morning." Image credits: ABC

Woman found in wheelie bin identified as English teacher

The body of a woman found in a wheelie bin at a waste management facility has been identified as a 67-year-old teacher. Staff at Repurpose It in the north Melbourne suburb of Epping found the body of Annette Brennan while moving green waste last Wednesday. Police believe that the 67-year-old was inside a bin picked up outside a home in Coolaroo on Tuesday July 2nd, which was then taken to the facility in Epping. Brennan spent most of her life teaching English to students, many of whom were international, and has been described as “gentle and kind”. Police have arrested a 45-year-old man in connection to Brennan's death, who has since been charged with murder and will appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. Homicide detectives believe the pair were known to each other. On Monday night, Repurpose It CEO George Hatzimanolis said staff were “deeply saddened” by the incident. “Our staff members who made this tragic discovery are understandably shaken, and we are ensuring they receive the support and counselling they need,” he said. “We ask for privacy and understanding for our employees as we navigate through this challenging situation. We are fully co-operating with the police as they conduct their investigations.” Police are still combing through CCTV in the Coolaroo area and have urged anyone who may have video from between June 23rd and July 2nd to contact them. Detectives are also keen to speak to anyone who noticed any suspicious behaviour in the area. Image credits: Sunrise

Caring

Hope Gap shows what can happen when a marriage ends

A couple's visit with their son in the quaint seaside town of Seaford in England, takes a dramatic turn when the father tells him he plans on leaving his mother. As well-trodden as this subject might be, there’s still something terribly compelling about watching the end of a marriage play out on screen. Annette Bening plays the woman whose life crumbles as her husband leaves her and Bill Nighy plays the husband. Josh O'Connor plays the couple's son. This drama is tastefully restrained to a fault in a particularly British manner. Veteran screenwriter William Nicholson, a two-time Oscar nominee, based the film on his Tony-nominated play The Retreat from Moscow – shows his talents here. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oAP1fA-bp5k" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The title of the film was inspired by Napoleon’s invasion of—and messy withdrawal from—the Russian city, a subject which fascinates Nighy’s character and serves as an obvious metaphor for the destruction of his own marriage. It’s obvious we have all the makings of a genuine story here in Hope Gap but some reviewers have said the film doesn't have the emotional depth for the areas being covered. As well, Annette Bening has come in for some criticism about her ill-fitting British accent. But there are glimmers of insight along the way, particularly in how Grace (Bening’s character) compares a divorce to a murder and how spurned women are devalued in comparison with widows. Throughout the story, we're served up some stunning coastal vistas from Seaford which is close to Brighton in southern England. Hope Gap is worth it if just for these vistas and the great performances from Nighy and Bening. Hope Gap is streaming now on Amazon Prime. Photo: Amazon Prime

Movies

Married couple at the centre of bizarre billion-dollar drug bust

A recently married couple from Melbourne alongside an IT worker have been arrested and charged with running a customs importing business which dealt with over $1 billion worth of 1.6 tonnes of ice and heroin. It is the nation’s largest uncovered methamphetamine haul. Rachel Annette Cachia and Donovan Mark Rodrigues, both 37, have been described as “trusted insiders” in the customs industry and advised clients on the logistics of importing and exporting goods through their independently owned business. However, the couple have suffered a violent fall from grace as they may be met with life imprisonment if convicted over the seizure of 1.6 tonnes of ice and heroin found hidden inside speakers being shipped to Melbourne in April 2019. On social media, the couple showed off their lavish lifestyle, including holidays with their two young children and luxury sports cars. Alongside Ms Cachia and Mr Rodrigues is Bayside IT worker Stephen Mizzi, 38, who has also been charged after the Australian Federal Police raided properties in the Melbourne suburbs of Darley, Sunshine West, Brooklyn, Elwood and Murrumbeena. All three individuals are to face numerous charges of importing illicit drugs. Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan alleged the couple were "middle to high up" in the drug operation. "We feel to a certain extent that they’ve been used," he said. "They [allegedly] used their positions of trust to circumvent the border control. It will be alleged that two of the three suspects charged are trusted industry insiders." Australian Border Forces uncovered the drugs after they asked for sea cargo sipped from Bangkok, Thailand to be inspected at a container examination facility, in April. Officers spotted “anomalies” inside the speakers after an X-ray and took them apart in result. They found numerous packages containing methamphetamine and heroin that had been vacuum-packed and stuffed inside the speakers. Court documents allege that Mr Rodrigues and Ms Cachia had begun dealing with proceeds of crime in December 2016. Then, between June 2017 and July this year, the couple allegedly began arranging the movement of goods without authorisation through ports on numerous occasions between West Melbourne and Brooklyn. By December 2018, it’s alleged that Mr Mizzi joined in on the drug operation with the plan to help ship heroin and ice to Australia. Mr Mizzi has also been additionally charged with dishonestly obtaining identification information from a mobile phone in April this year. The trio faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, where lawyers said it was the first time in custody for both men and that Mr Mizzi had a "blood pressure issue". Liliana Dubroja, the lawyer representing Ms Cachia, requested a nurse assess her client due to kidney and mental health concerns. Commonwealth prosecutor Jamey Ellis said police required extra time to compile their brief of evidence due to the extensive number of phone taps. "There is a significant amount of listening device and telephone material," he said. The trio was remanded in custody to face court again on May 7. They have not applied for bail.

Money & Banking

105-year-old Aucklander shares her secret to long life

Joan Brennan is 105 and credits her long life to home grown herbs – she discovered natural therapies in her 50s – and friendships. Brennan celebrated her latest birthday on Saturday at a party with friends and family at Point Chevalier's Selwyn Village. She said looking after her health had always been important to her. <img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/35801/2_497x280.jpg" alt="2 (169)"/> She said she tried to stay away from taking conventional pills and tablets whenever possible. Some of the plants she had grown included milk thistle and arum lily - which she put on septic sores. Friendship had always been very important to her as well, she said. Her son, Barry Brennan said he believed she had lived so long because she had good genes, developed excellent survival skills from living through the 1920's and 1930's and had lived healthy by eating wisely and exercising every day. Brennan continued to volunteer every Tuesday at an opportunity shop. Selwyn Village senior administrator Lisa Hulton said Brennan regularly caught three buses from the village to buy organic vegetables on Richmond Rd. She's also the grand master of the 500 club at the village. Its members said she ran the weekly club, baked something different for it every week, did the dishes afterwards and still played a good game. Brennan was born in England in 1912 and moved to Australia in 1922 with her mother and sister, after her father was killed in WWI. She moved to New Zealand and trained as a nurse before returning overseas to the Isle of Man. Brennan met her husband Tom while in England and they relocated to New Zealand after getting married in 1935. For seven years they were lighthouse keepers on Portland Island in Hawkes Bay, looking for submarines and reporting on the weather. "These were very happy times - we did a lot of fishing together," she said. The couple relocated to Auckland, first to St Mary's Bay and then to Campbells Bay. In 1990 the Brennans shifted into Selwyn Village and Tom died in 1998. Written by Mary Fitzgerald. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank">Stuff.co.nz.</a>

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