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"Profoundly remorseful": Judge shows mercy to father who killed toddler

<p>A Victorian father who was responsible for the death of his two-year-old son in a quad bike crash has wept after learning he is more than likely to avoid jail time.</p> <p>Christopher Brown was behind the wheel when he lost control of the buggy doing doughnuts, a dangerous manoeuvre on the quad bike. His son died on his lap as the buggy overturned, flinging the toddler from the vehicle.</p> <p>The incident happened at the family home in Barnawartha North, near the New South Wales border.</p> <p>Lincoln was sitting on his father's knee and was only being held in place, as no one involved was wearing a helmet. Browne escaped the crash with minor injuries, as did his sister, who was in the passenger seat.</p> <p>He appeared in the County Court of Victoria on Thursday and pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and conduct endangering persons.</p> <p>Judge Michael Cahill said he accepted that Browne was "profoundly remorseful".</p> <p>"I have formed the view in all the circumstances in this case that a community correction order is the appropriate sentence for Mr Browne," the judge said.</p> <p>"Living with the loss of his child is punishment more than any court could impose." Browne, who appeared by videolink, from Wodonga, wiped away tears as the judge spoke.</p> <p>The accident happened on Christmas Day in 2020, after Browne opened presents and ate brunch with family members at his home. Just before lunchtime, Browne took his Polaris buggy out to give his guests rides.</p> <p>He got into the driver's seat and sat on top of the seatbelt, which was already clipped in, while his sister got into the passenger side and put on her restraints.</p> <p>The court documents reveal that Browne placed Lincoln, who wanted to go for a ride, on his left knee and held him in place.</p> <p>He then drove out into a paddock and performed several doughnuts before driving back up the driveway, where he reached speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour. He turned the buggy around and drove back into the paddock to perform another doughnut when he lost control of the vehicle and it flipped, flinging the toddler.</p> <p>The two-year-old died at the scene.</p> <p>"Mr Brown has been overwhelmed by his post-traumatic stress," Judge Cahill said.</p> <p>Prosecutor Erin Ramsay initially pushed for jail time but ultimately accepted that a community-based order was an appropriate sentence.</p> <p><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

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"Traumatised" shark attack witnesses condemned online

<p>Witnesses to Sydney's deadly shark attack on Wednesday have come under fire online for how they responded to the tragedy unfolding before them. </p> <p>Footage taken by a beachgoer of the attack has circulated on social media, sparking a furious response to both its grisly content and how witnesses reacted. </p> <p>Bond University Associate Professor of Environmental Science Dr Daryl McPhee, who specialises in the study of human-shark interactions, says this condemnation has to end. </p> <p>“Scapegoating of the witnesses who were at the scene must stop. They themselves are traumatised by what they have seen."</p> <p>Initial reactions from those on the shore seemed show a lack of remorse as the tragedy unfolded, but Dr McPhee said this emotionless response is common when in a state of shock. </p> <p>Dr McPhee also stressed that the victim and their loved ones should be considered in the conversation. </p> <p>“The victim’s family and friends should be foremost in our minds,” he said. </p> <p>“We need to let the authorities get on with their investigations."</p> <p>“I’d also urge news and social media outlets to take down videos of the attack and its immediate aftermath.”</p> <p>Following the deadly attack on Wednesday, NSW Ambulance inspector Lucky Phrachnanh said the swimmer “suffered catastrophic injuries and there was nothing paramedics could do”.</p> <p>Human remains and half of a wetsuit were later found in the water.</p> <p>Popular beaches in the area have closed since the attack, with Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders ensuring that  Primary Industries would work with other authorities to determine if the killer shark - or any others - remained in the vicinity.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Melissa Leong calls out Georgia Love: "I hope your remorse is real"

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Channel 7 reporter and former <em>Bachelorette</em> star Georgia Love has deleted her Twitter account after facing waves of criticism over offensive jokes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 33-year-old sparked widespread backlash for posting a video on Monday of a cat in the window of a Melbourne dumpling house, writing “Shop attendant or lunch?!”</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height:0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843899/cat-restaurant.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1cd99efe2540407090fecdb3997219eb" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: news.com.au</span></em></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">MasterChef</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> judge Melissa Leong has called out Love, saying she felt “betrayed” by Love’s offensive video.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leong, who is of Chinese-Singaporean descent, said she was particularly hurt as she knows Love personally.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Casual racism from nice people is possibly the most betraying and insidious kind,” the 39-year-old wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leong said she hopes Love’s apology is “real”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Not angry, just completely bummed that this video exists and that it isn’t the first joke of this kind made by her,” Leong wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Georgia, I really hope that your remorse is real and that you grow in the right direction, because this stuff hurts more people, more than you think. We must be allies for each other for a better world for all.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Love has also been accused of sharing another racist post on Instagram in 2013.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The post showed an “animal hospital” next to a restaurant called “China Chef”, with a cartoon image of a dog beneath them, alongside the text: “That’s suspicious…”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The now-deleted image was captioned with “Best”.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 375px; height:500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843898/bbb9c083cbc3d3afc0c30c5db3a6f6bd.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/216bebcce2c24c4a9c71e86bb39cf330" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: news.com.au</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Love has since deleted the most recent post but has not addressed the one from 2013.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I posted a video of a cat in a restaurant window. I meant for this to be a joke about an animal being in a restaurant at lunch service time,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I meant absolutely no insinuation about the type of animal nor the type of restaurant, but I did see that my post did not come across like that and was offensive.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I sincerely apologise for the oversight and offence I have caused. Thank you to those who called me out. This is what we need to make sure we are all accountable and do better.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Again, I apologise from the bottom of my heart for the offence caused.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In light of Love’s more recent post on social media, Channel 7 has launched an investigation into her social media posts.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

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Wife killer Borce Ristevski’s “total lack of remorse”

<p>Wife killer Borce Ristevski will spend more years in a jail cell over the senseless murder of his wife Karen.</p> <p>Ristevski has previously been handed a prison sentence of nine years but was ordered to serve a minimum of six years.</p> <p>It was a sentence that prosecutors labelled as “manifestly inadequate”.</p> <p>However, on Friday morning three judges from the Court of Appeal made a ruling on whether Ristevski deserved to be in prison for longer</p> <p>Chief Justice Anne Ferguson said this morning that his previous sentence had been set aside and he has since been sentenced to 13 years behind bars.</p> <p>His new non-parole period is now 10 years.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwawtORhSVK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwawtORhSVK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Dangerous Females (@dangerousfemales)</a> on Apr 18, 2019 at 6:09pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Ristevski, who appeared to the three judges via video link, sat emotionless with his arms folded as the judgement was read out.</p> <p>His and Karen’s daughter, Sarah Ristevski sat in the back row of the court gripping onto a scarf and left quickly after the decision was handed down.</p> <p>The young woman has always publicly supported her father but has rarely attended court. She did not attend the Court of Appeal hearing in November.</p> <p>Chief Justice Ferguson said Ristevski displayed a “total lack of remorse” for the murder of his wife.</p> <p>“His conduct after he killed his wife significantly aggravated his offending,” she said.</p> <p>“Ms Ristevski should have been safe in her own home.”</p> <p>The 55-year-old killed his wife Karen in June 2016 at the couple’s Avondale Heights home.</p> <p>He then drove with her body to the north of Melbourne to bushland at Mount Macedon where he dumped the body between two large logs.</p> <p>Karen was not to be discovered for eight long months while her husband lied to detectives and his own daughter about his involvement in her disappearance.</p> <p>Ristevski confessed to the killing on the eve of a Supreme Court trial this year but refuses to say why or how he killed his wife.</p> <p>Ristevski’s lawyer David Hallowes told the court his client was a good man last month.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaY1hoghgr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BwaY1hoghgr/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Alyce Cooper Solicitor (@alycecoopersolicitor)</a> on Apr 18, 2019 at 2:40pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>“He was a man of good character,” he said to the court.</p> <p>“He was 55, had no prior convictions. Your honours have read the character reference of (his daughter) Sarah Ristevski. He contributed to society. He worked hard.”</p> <p>However, prosecutors say his silence should mean he pays a price.</p> <p>Prosecutor Brendan Kissane said that Ristevski’s silence was an indication of the seriousness of the killing to the court last month.</p> <p>“What silence means … when one puts all of that together … what one can say about what occurred in the house is that it must’ve been something significant,” he told the court.</p> <p>“What one concludes is that something bad must have happened in the house.”</p> <p>Mr Kissane said Ristevski’s lies that began immediately after he senselessly killed his wife should also be given greater weight.</p> <p>“That continues to this day,” Mr Kissane said.</p>

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Bill Cosby gives first prison interview: no “remorse”

<p>For the first time, disgraced star Bill Cosby has given an interview in prison. </p> <p>The 82-year-old continues to remain defiant about the sexual assault that landed him behind bars, and further insisted he’s not guilty and the jurors were “imposters.”</p> <p>Cosby said he will never admit to any wrongdoing, even if it means losing out on winning parole from SCI Phoenix, near Philadelphia, USA - where he is serving up to 10 years for drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004. </p> <p>“When I come up for parole, they’re not going to hear me say that I have remorse,” Cosby said in a series of prison phone calls, as reported by<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://blackpressusa.com/nnpa-newswire-exclusive-bill-cosby-speaks-from-prison/" target="_blank">BlackPressUSA</a>.com.</em></p> <p>The disgraced comedian added he believes he will be serving his full sentence. </p> <p><em>The Cosby Show </em>star further said his trial was unjust as his jurors were going to convict him no matter what evidence was presented. </p> <p>“It’s all a set-up. That whole jury thing. They were impostors,” Cosby said, and noted that one juror was overheard saying before the trial, “he’s guilty, we can all go home now.”</p> <p>Cosby - who refers to his jail cell as his “penthouse” - told a reporter he now spends his time in lockup lecturing fellow inmates during Saturday sessions of a prison reform program. </p> <p>“I go into my penthouse and lay down and start to think about how I can relay a message and give it on Saturdays so that they would hear it and feel it,” Cosby said.</p>

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"No remorse": Ivan Milat dies aged 74

<p>Ivan Milat, Australia’s most notorious serial killer has died while serving seven life sentences for the murders of seven backpackers at 74-years-old. </p> <p>Milat was diagnosed with terminal oesophagus and stomach cancer in May and was transferred for advanced pain relief treatment to Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital on October 11. </p> <p>The terminally ill Milat had been under heavy guard surveillance in the intensive care unit but was returned to jail when it became clear that death was imminent. </p> <p>New South Wales Minister for Counter Terrorism and Corrections Anthony Roberts told<span> </span><a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/"><em>The Daily Telegraph</em></a><span> </span>Milat had shown no remorse for his crimes and deserved no mercy on his deathbed. </p> <p>Mr Roberts added he could “rot in hell”. </p> <p>“He was sentenced to die in jail and he was going to die in jail,” Mr Roberts said.</p> <p>“I wasn’t going to have him take up a public hospital bed. Both the commissioner and I were of that opinion.</p> <p>“We had him removed from a hospital and sent back to Long Bay Jail. He can rot in hell.</p> <p>“He showed no remorse. We ensured the sentence was carried out.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz9lLXzAq7u/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz9lLXzAq7u/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by True Crime Talk (@truecrimetalk)</a> on Jul 15, 2019 at 8:15pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Milat has been in prison since being arrested in 1994 for the murders of seven backpackers whose remains  were found in Belanglo State Forest. </p> <p>He was convicted in 1996 and given seven consecutive life sentences. </p> <p>Detectives have always feared his murder tally is much higher, with up to six more victims whose bodies have never been found.</p> <p>Despite pleas from police and families of his suspected victims, Milat died with his secrets. </p> <p>A spokesperson told<span> </span><a href="https://www.news.com.au/">news.com.au</a><span> </span>the serial killer was “found dead in his cell” just after 4am.</p> <p>Milat’s victims were all hitchhikers travelling along the Hume highway, near Liverpool in Western Sydney.</p> <p>His victims included Deborah Everist and James Gibson, both 19, from Victoria, Simone Schmidl, 21, from Germany, Anja Habschied, 20, and Gabor Neugebauer, 21, a couple from Germany, and Caroline Clarke, 21, and Joanne Walters, 22, from Britain.</p> <p>Two of the victims were found shot multiple times in the head, as if though they were being used for target practice. </p> <p>Another victim had been decapitated while three others had stab wounds that would have caused paralysis. </p> <p>His other two victims had their spinal cords completely severed. </p> <p>All but one of his seven victims had been subjected to “sexual interference, either before or after death”. </p> <p>Ivan Robert Marko Milat was born on December 27, 1944 in Guildford, Western Sydney, to a Croatian father, Steven, and an Australian mother, Margaret.</p> <p>He was the fifth of 14 children, brought up in a violent and financially struggling home.</p> <p>By the time Milat reached 17-years-old, he had been sent to juvenile detention for six months on burglary charges, beginning adulthood in and out of prison for a number of theft offences. </p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Gs-x0Fc8p/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B4Gs-x0Fc8p/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Tyler Dunstan (@dunstan.tyler)</a> on Oct 26, 2019 at 7:22pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>In 1971, he was accused of abducting two 18-year-old female hitchhikers. </p> <p>He threatened them at knifepoint and raping one of them before they both escaped. </p> <p>He was acquitted of his charges in1974, after his lawyer, John Marsden, accused the two women of being lesbians. </p> <p>In 1990, Milat picked up a British hitchhiker by the name of Paul Onions, then aged 24, in Casula, near Liverpool, after introducing himself as "Bill".</p> <p>Mr Onions managed to escape after Milat pulled a gun on him and he was rescued by a passing car and taken to a police station.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BV7mhxbl9hq/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BV7mhxbl9hq/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by The Generation Why Podcast (@generationwhypodcast)</a> on Jun 29, 2017 at 10:07am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Onions' account was remarkably not followed up by police at the time.</p> <p>After an international appeal for information following the horrifying discovery of the bodies in theBelanglo State Forest, Mr Onions once again contacted police and was flown back to Sydney in 1994, where he identified a photo of Milat — by then of interest to police due to other tip-offs — as "Bill".</p> <p>A few weeks after Mr Onions' identification, police raided Milat's home to find multiple incriminating possessions.</p> <p>This included clothing, camping equipment and other items belonging to the dead backpackers, and various weapons and ammunition.</p> <p>Milat was found guilty in July of 1996 of the murders of the seven backpackers and of the abduction of Mr Onions.</p> <p>While it is believed Milat has a much longer list of victims, he kept his secrets closely to his chest and maintained his innocence. </p> <p>His death means some of NSW’s unsolved murders remain a mystery.</p>

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How to avoid buyer's remorse in retirement

<p>We have all heard a story about someone who moved to a retirement community and then suffered buyers regret. Another kind of ‘buyer regret’ is not making the move sooner.</p> <p>So, what do you need to know before making such a big decision? Realising this is an issue, two industry insiders, Rachel Lane and Noel Whittaker teamed up to write<span> </span><em><a rel="noopener" href="http://t.dgm-au.com/c/185116/71095/1880?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.booktopia.com.au%2Fretirement-living-handbook-rachel-whittaker-noel-lane%2Fprod9780987440464.html" target="_blank"><span>The Retirement Living Handbook</span>.</a></em></p> <p>Both Noel and Rachel have heard these stories again and again. Rachel says, “The biggest problem with both types of regret is that it is too late to do anything about it. You can’t wind back the clock and move into the village sooner and if you are at the point of leaving the village it is too late to negotiate a different financial arrangement.”</p> <p>Noel adds, “What they needed was someone to help identify the village or villages that would meet their lifestyle needs and explain the legal and financial aspects to them well before they chose a village.” Of course, that’s easier said than done as many of the legal and financial arrangements are complicated.</p> <p><strong>How does it work?</strong></p> <p>Retirement communities can be broadly grouped into Retirement Villages and Over 55 Communities (sometimes called Manufactured Home Parks). Retirement Villages operate under the relevant state or territory legislation, often<span> </span><em>The Retirement Villages Act</em>, which set age requirements and deal with some but not all financial arrangements, while a small number operate under residential tenancy laws. Over 55’s on the other hand operate under caravan park or residential tenancies arrangements or a combination of the two. </p> <p><strong>Legal issues</strong></p> <p>The legal contract for a retirement village unit can take a number of forms, from strata title to more common leasehold and licence arrangements through to company share and unit trust arrangements where the right to occupy a unit is granted in exchange for the purchase of shares in a company or units in a trust. The biggest difference between a retirement village and an over 55’s community is that the contract is over the land rather than a unit - the purchaser buys the unit and has a leasehold or lease over the land.</p> <p>Of course there is a very big difference between having a 12 month lease and having a 99 year leasehold arrangement. It also creates the very interesting situation of being a homeowner and a tenant at exactly the same time. The form of legal ownership the person has will dictate their rights and responsibilities in relation to their unit and the costs associated with it while they live in the community and after they leave, so it is important to understand.</p> <p><strong>Be aware of extra costs</strong></p> <p>The costs associated with retirement communities can be summarised as the ingoing, the ongoing and the outgoing. The ingoing is the amount the person pays for their right to occupy their unit together with other costs such as contract preparation fees or stamp duty.</p> <p>The ongoing costs of living in a retirement community will relate to the costs associated with the facilities and management of the community, in a retirement village these are often called general service charges or recurrent charges and in over 55 communities they are known as site fees. Of course you still have your own personal expenses too.</p> <p>In many retirement communities the operator delivers (or engages with external providers to deliver) extra services, such a domestic help, meals and in some cases care. These services are normally offered on a user pays basis and are in addition to the standard charges.</p> <p>Doing a budget that incorporates all of the costs together with your pension entitlement, rent assistance and other income is a good idea. The cost of leaving a retirement community is the aspect that normally causes the greatest confusion. There are many different exit fee models, most are based on either the purchase price or the sale price and are for a percentage multiplied by the number of years you stay in the village.</p> <p>A common model historically has been 3 per cent per year for 10 years based on the sale price. In more recent times, exit fee models have tended to be higher - anywhere between 35 per cent and 50 per cent is not uncommon. What many people fail to appreciate is that there is more to the exit fee calculation than just the percentage based cost, often referred to as the Deferred Management Fee or DMF.</p> <p>There can be sales commissions to the village or to an agent that the resident appoints and refurbishment costs to bring the unit up to the current standard within the village. Understanding all of the fees and charges and putting them into dollar terms is important, although it often involves the imperfect science of predicting how long you will live in the village and what your unit will be worth when it sells.</p> <p><strong>Expert tips</strong></p> <p>To help people navigate the maze and avoid some of the traps, Noel and Rachel wrote<span> </span><span><em>The Retirement Living Handbook</em></span><span> </span>which covers all of the important aspects of moving to a retirement community, from finding the right retirement community to the different forms of legal contract and financial arrangements through to the impacts on pension entitlement and eligibility for rent assistance.</p> <p>There’s more than a dozen case studies from real Australian retirement communities so you can see how the concepts play out in practice, and at the back of the book is a directory of over 1,000 retirement communities broken down by lifestyle with a lexicon of key features to help readers identify the retirement communities that may best suit you.</p> <p>What are the biggest concerns you have about retirement? Join the conversation below.</p> <p><em>Republished with permission of <span><a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/property/insider-tips-for-buying-into-an-aged-care-facility.aspx">Wyza.com.au</a></span>.</em></p>

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