Edward John Herbert sets his children on fire

In a suburban street in Perth just after midnight, a woman ran out of her house screaming "Help, help, he's set the kids on fire."

A 43 year old man heard her cries and raced into her house, grabbed Edward John Herbert and put him in a choke hold.  "He was out in a couple of seconds" said the man who doesn't want to be named.

While his 3 year old daughter was sleeping in her cot, her father poured flammable liquid over her and set her on fire.  She suffered horrendous burns to her face and upper body and is fighting for life in hospital.

An off-duty policewoman living across the street plunged the 3 year old into a cold bath.  Her 6 year old sister and 7 year old brother were also doused in fuel but escaped serious injury and were later released from hospital.

The father stood shirtless before Magistrate Jennifer Hawkins, supported by four police officers. Pulling strange faces, he bowed his head, closed his eyes and lapsed into a unresponsive state. Ms Hawkins said he needed to be seen by a psychiatric nurse and will reappear in court on Tuesday. He then collapsed and was dragged out of the dock.

His facebook page says he's proud of his tattooes and loves his Staffordshire Terrier cross Mastiff dog. He also has his childrens' names tattooed on his neck and posted photos of them draped in the Australian flag.

One photo reads "My baby boy asleep, love him to bits" and in another he describes one of his daughters as "my baby girl."

I can hear Herbert now telling anyone who will listen in the future that he was under the influence of drugs so it wasn't really his fault.

The mind boggles.

Homeless man living on Point Piper Beach

Point Piper is one of Sydney's most exclusive harbour suburbs where the median house price is almost $10 million.  Yet Joseph Wales lives there for free.

Point Piper Kayak Centre

Although angry locals have complained to the council and want him removed, Mr Wales says he is the caretaker and security for Point Piper Kayak Centre, owned by Lance Connor.  And Mr Connor agrees.

"When someone kicks up a stink and wants to get rid of him, they live in Bellevue Hill or Dover Heights and have never been in his position.....so just leave him be" Mr Connor said.

So what's all the fuss about"

Woollahra councillor Andrew Petrie said "It's because he has allegedly been aggressive - if he's been scaring children and being offensive or threatening, whether deliberate or otherwise, it is an issue."

A staffer said the council had contacted Rose Bay police who said they hadn't received any complaints and that "being homeless is not an offence."

".....I am not an indoor person, I get claustrophobic so I just stay outdoors, it's good, it's peaceful, you can hear a pin drop some days, it is very meditative and probably the nicest part of the harbour" Mr Wales said.

Sydney school accused of promoting gay life

Parents of students of Burwood Girls High School were informed that their daughter will be attending a compulsory gay parenting documentary instead of their normal classes on Friday.

After the school received an unexpected outpouring of fury from parents, they hastily send a letter home, giving the girls an alternative - if they had a written request from their parents, they were allowed to sit in the library instead.

Former student, Maya Newell wrote the movie who grew up with two mothers.  It tells the story of four children, about to face puberty, who all have gay parents.

Presbyterian minister Mark Powell said he was contacted by angry parents who thought the film was an attempt to promote a gay way of life.

But it's not going to happen the way the school planned.  Education Minister Adrian Piccoli told Radio 2GB this morning that the department had made the decision the film was not to be played during school hours because it was not part of the curriculum. However, the school could organise a screening after hours, provided they have permission from their parents.

"We do promote and accept diversity in NSW generally but.... during school hours, parents rightly expect that students will be doing curriculum subjects and that's what I expect too" he said.

"The government expects schools to remain apolitical and they must comply with all department policies."

Roseanne Beckett wins $2.3 million

Yesterday, Justice Ian Harrison awarded Roseanne Beckett $2 million plus costs for wrongful imprisonment involving 'malicious prosecution.'

She spent over 10 years in prison for a crime she didn't commit. She was framed for trying to solicit others to kill her husband, Barry Catt, and attempting to poison him with lithium.  She was found guilty and served most her her 12 year sentence.

In 2001 she was released and in 2005 her conviction was quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal after it was found she had been framed.  

But she didn't stop there.  She described public prosecutors as "monsters" and wanted to sue for 'malicious prosecution.'  Not possible, they said, she had to prove her innocence first.  

Undaunted, she took the matter to the High Court, asking them to review the law and in 2013 she won the right to sue for malicious prosecution.  

The first time she met Detective Sergeant Peter Thomas was in 1983. He was investigating a fire in her delicatessen in the north coast country town of Taree.  

But when he started making unwanted advances towards her, she lodged a series of complaints against him to police and that's when the trouble started.  She was then harassed and eventually charged with arson herself, a case that was never followed up.

Then in 1987, she married local panel beater Barry Catt, who was a friend of Sgt Thomas.

Justice Harrison found that Sgt Thomas harboured an intense dislike for Ms Beckett and that the fallout from the delicatessen fire was the cause of it.  "Detective Thomas utilized the legal system in a way that did not secure justice, but prevented it" he found.

A jubilant Ms Beckett said "The DPP is totally flawed, it's broken, ineffectual...we all saw that with the Man Monis case."

"Peter Thomas ran this case right up until he died last year.... the public have a right to know how their money is wasted .....they are monsters, they have dragged me through hell, court after court, costing the taxpayer...

...."Peter Thomas had his own legal team, my legal team and my bills are enormous, many millions, but Thomas paid not a cent because he had the Crown at his fingertips."

"Victory, at long last victory....thank God for Justice Harrison, he's a decent learned man, he's seen it for what it is....I've had to stay on my feet and they've kicked me and kicked me at every turn."

The DPP should hang their heads in shame for letting mad gunman Man Monis out on bail when police strongly recommended that he stay locked up.  He had scores of serious charges against him, one was even an accessory to the murder of his wife, yet they let him out and he went on to take hostages at the Lindt Cafe.

And the way they treated this brave woman, Roseanne Beckett, is a disgrace.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) is the independent prosecuting authority for the State of New South Wales.

We prosecute serious criminal offences in NSW courts.

We provide the people of NSW with an independent, just and efficient prosecution service.

Edit 10 November 2015.  Today, the state of New South Wales has been ordered by the Supreme Court to pay $4 million, plus legal costs to Rosanne Beckett for malicious prosecution of a woman who was wrongfully convicted of soliciting to murder her husband.

Outside court today

Simon Bunce, an innocent man

Simon Bunce broke the golden rule - he bought something on the internet and paid for it with his credit card.  Then someone in Indonesia hacked into his account and bought child pornography with it.

Four years ago he had a visit from the police involved in Operation Ore, the UKs largest ever police hunt for internet paedophiles. They took away his computer and all his storage  devices, flash drives, CD and floppy disks.  Unfortunately, they also went to his place of business to check his computer there.

When his employer found out what he had been arrested for, he was immediately sacked from his 125,000 pound a year job and his family shunned him.  The only person who stuck by him was his wife who trusted him completely.

"I made the mistake of telling my father and he cut me off" he said. "He then told all my siblings and they also cut me off."

Mr Bunce knew he was innocent and that police would not find anything on his computer, but several months went by before they got around to looking at it.

And after months of mental torture, he finally got lucky. He discovered that when the hacker in Jakarta used his credit card to buy child pornography, Mr Bunce could prove he used the same card, on the same day, at a restaurant in South London.

In September 2004, the police told Mr Bunce they now knew he was innocent and confirmed there was nothing on his computer, but the damage was done.  It took six more months before he got another job, earning one quarter of what he was earning before.  

And now we see this man's true character after being shunned by his family.  "I've forgiven them" he said.  "There's no point in bearing a grudge."

Four years on, he is bringing a high court action against the shopping website for allowing his personal details to be stolen. 

And he doesn't use credit cards anymore either. 

Maggie Kirkpatrick guilty of indecent assault

Actress Maggie Kirkpatrick 74, has been found guilty of two charges of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency with a 14 year old girl thirty one years ago.

She was best known for playing a vicious lesbian prison guard known as 'The Freak' in the Australian drama Prisoner.

The court heard that the girl was an obsessed Prisoner fan and had organised a meeting with the actor through a person she met while admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Melbourne.

Kirkpatrick collected the girl from the hospital and the pair went back to the actor's home and shared a meal.  They ended up in Kirkpatrick's bedroom where the alleged abuse took place, and then she was taken back to the hospital.

In a recorded police interview played in court, Kirkpatrick maintained she took the girl home for dinner but there was no abuse, she gave her "a day out in an act of kindness."

But Magistrate Peter Mealy wasn't convinced.

"The defendant has had the opportunity of watching the unedifying spectacle of the victim recounting the offences and being subjected to extensive and vigorous cross examination" he said.

The victim didn't report the abuse until 2012 because she thought everyone would think she was crazy and wouldn't believe her.

The actor was sentenced to an 18 month community corrections order involving 100 hours of unpaid work over 12 months and will also be placed on the sex offenders register for eight years.

Magistrate Mealy said a jail term would have been appropriate if not for the fact there had been no more allegations made against her since then.

Outside court, the victim said the thirty one years of silence had been traumatic but she now felt vindicated.

"I feel deeply grateful for this verdict, I feel believed, and can now finally begin the process of healing" she said. "I wish to thank my family and friends for their unwavering support and kindness through this traumatic process."

Kirkpatrick has been acting for 50 years and has just finished a seven year run of Wicked.  She has maintained her innocence throughout and intends to appeal the sentence.

Josh Duggar apologises - again

Josh and wife when she was expected their fourth child

Josh Duggar is the oldest child of the Duggar family's reality tv show "19 Kids and Counting."  The show has since been cancelled.

In 2013, Josh Duggar was named executive director of the Family Research Council - a conservative group dedicated to "champion marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue and the wellspring and society."

While he held this position, he was a paid up member of Ashley Madison, the website created for the sole purpose of cheating on your spouse.

When John was 14 years old, he admitted to sexually molesting his sisters and a baby sitter.  He committed at least seven acts of sexual molestation, according to a police report.

The Duggar family

Josh confessed to his father Jim Bob Duggar on three separate occasions but his parents waited 16 months before telling police, even though his behaviour was ongoing and getting worse, police allege. During that period, his parents did not get professional counselling for Josh or his sisters.

In March 2002, Josh went to his father very upset and confessed to sneaking into his sisters' bedroom at night.  The fondling was done over the girls' clothes, except in two cases, and happened when the girls were asleep, Jim Bob said.

Jim Bob took his son's problem to the church elders and it was decided that Josh should enter a treatment program and spent four months in Little Rock helping a family friend remodel a building.

And now he's been outed as a client of Ashley Madison.

In a statement released yesterday Duggar said "I have been the biggest hypocrite ever.  While espousing faith and family values, I have secretly over the last several years been viewing pornography on the internet and I became unfaithful to my wife."

"As I am learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not get to choose our consequences.   I deeply regret all hurt I have caused so many by being such a bad example, and I humbly ask your forgiveness."

Ashley Madison's slogan is "Life is short. Have an affair."

University degree not enough

Accounting cadets Justine Radnedge and Jemma Chandler being tutored by Paul Fiumara 

Some Australian employers aren't necessarily impressed with a university degree anymore. Instead, they are picking cadets straight out of high school.

Accounting boss Paul Fiumara, a partner at Brisbane firm DFK Hirn Newey said he has stopped hiring graduates.  "There are a few problems with graduates" he said.  "They have this over-inflated view of their worth, they come out of university thinking they are ready for the world, but clients don't pay us to get some kid who doesn't understand what their needs are."

But he says it's not their fault, it's the institutions pumping them out and that's why he's stopped hiring graduates.

Graduate employment is the lowest it's been since the 1992/93 recession.

To employers like Mr Fiumara, he knows what the problem is. "Universities are just pushing people out without having more practical experience along the way."

He's employing accounting students straight out of high school and keeping them on until they complete their accounting degree.  They come out more marketable than their peers who have worked in unrelated fields like hospitality or retail.

Mr Fiumara pays his cadets a clerical rate and reviews their salary every six months. So by the time they finish their degree, they'll be earning around $10,000 more than a graduate with no real life work experience.

The median starting salary for bachelor graduates under 25 in the field of accounting is $50,000.  "With a cadet program, by the time they graduate, they've matured a lot more and are better placed to get a higher position which is where a lot of graduates expect to start without having any experienced at all" he said.

"Obviously, while we are training a first year university student, they are cheaper than a graduate, so it makes sense for us as a business too."

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Kate Carnell said "The number of young people not working while they're in school is one of the problems - parents allow them the luxury of focusing on their studies, but this deprives them of the vital work skills they need before they take up a full time role."

Universities have been accused of being "disconnected with the workforce" but there is now a push for vocational learning and encouraging internships, something they should have been doing all along.

Mr Fiumara would like to see apprentice-style training or compulsory work placements as in medical degrees, to be enforced across more industries.

Jessica Hayes marries Jesus Christ

It's unusual these days to find a Catholic woman so devout, she is prepared to remain celibate and forego marriage and the joy of motherhood.  And that's why when American Jessica Hayes married Jesus Christ on the weekend, it made headlines around the world.

Jessica teaches theology at Bishop Twenger High School in Fort Wayne and decided to become a 'consecrated virgin' after years of prayer and soul-searching.

She joined the elite group who live chaste lives, not in a convent, but in the outside world, and dedicate their lives to the service of the church.

She will never be able to get married or have sex for the rest of her life and will continue to live her normal life at home.

The practice was revived by Pope VI in 1970.  There are currently 3,500 consecrated virgins worldwide and around 230 in the US.

To become a consecrated virgin, you must be a mature woman
who has never had sex, although no physical examination is carried out to prove it.

Widows or women who have lived with a sexual partner cannot become a consecrated virgin but women who have been victims of sexual abuse are eligible, since victimhood is not considered a violation of chastity or a sin.

Salim Mehajer has opened Pandora's Box

It seems that Salim Mehajer had no idea that his ostentatious wedding would arouse such fury. He doesn't understand that showing off by throwing your money around is beyond bad taste - it's vulgar. His 'wedding of the century' extravaganza has well and truly backfired and now everyone knows that his father has been in jail.

So how did he acquire 6 companies and real estate property in Lidcombe?

Blame the state government.  In April 2012, the NSW government changed the rules and allowed councillors who are property developers to vote on broad planning regulations that directly affect their own interests. And herein lies the goose that laid the golden egg.   All they have to do is buy property they know will soon be developed, and another few million goes straight into the bank. 

We can only imagine what went on behind the scenes to bring about this change in the law.

Article from the Sun Herald today:

In June, Mr Mehajer’s company Sydney Project Group got approval for a 13-storey building with 192 units and 16 commercial units, and an investment value of $30 million in John St, Lidcombe. The original application had been for a nine-storey building of 40 apartments.

Last year he fought a decision to be suspended from council for a month for failing to declare pecuniary interests saying: “I can’t be compared to your average human”. 

The businessman had “over 30 properties to declare” and reportedly claimed there wasn’t enough space on the form for his investments.

 There is no suggestion Mr Mehajer broke any law but the 2012 change to planning rules sparked concern from politicians who claim it creates potential for a conflict of interest.

One of Mr Mehajer’s companies — SM Engineering & Construction — was wound up by the Australian Taxation Office in June 2013 because of unpaid tax. Ten days later, he registered the business SM Engineering & Construction (NSW). Other details of Mr Mehajer’s colourful past include:He was banned from serving as a councillor for a month in June 2014 after failing to make full pecuniary interest disclosures in 2012. The punishment was overturned in December 2014 and the Supreme Court stripped Mr Mehajer of three months’ council wages instead.

 NSW Fair Trading also ruled Mr Mehajer was not a “fit and proper person” to hold a building contractor’s licence in June 2014 after concerns about the answers he gave in a licence application for his former company SM NSW. The decision was later set aside and Mr Mehajer and his company were granted new contractor licences. 

“I have asked the Office of Local Government for a full report on this matter,” Local Government Minister Paul Toole said. “I’m concerned about any suggestion a councillor would use his or her position on council for personal benefit, but it’s important we wait until all the facts are known.”

But Mr Mehajer has really done us a favour, his narcissistic craving for fame has informed the public that all property developers in Sydney are currently raking it in and there's not a thing anyone can do about it.

The mind boggles.

Salim Mehajer’s big fat Sydney wedding

Happy couple

Property developer Salim Mehajer and his new wife Aysha were married in an Islamic ceremony earlier this month, but their wedding party, which the groom promised would be 'the wedding of the century', took place on Saturday in Sydney.

While it may not have been 'the wedding of the century', it was certainly one of the most extravagant.  The groom and his groomsmen arrived in four helicopters in a suburban park, there was a cavalcade of luxury cars worth $50 million, a private jet fly-over, and lots of motor bikes.

At the reception, the groomsmen entered the building to the roar of motor cycles, while the bride and groom followed to the sound of drums and exploding fireworks.

But some of the locals weren't happy.  A dozen police officers had to be called to manage the traffic congestion caused by the event and residents were told to remove their cars off the street on the day.

But Auburn Councillor Irene Simms described the chaos caused by the wedding as 'deplorable' and said she would grill Mr Mehajer when Council meets this Wednesday.  "A Councillor should be an example and follow the rules" she said.  "It's atrocious how residents were treated, it's embarrassing for the Council."

So who is Salim Mehajer?

In October 2012, he was driving his $500,000 black Ferrari along the Boulevarde in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe at night, when he hit two women pedestrians, standing at the rear of their parked car.

Mother and daughter Teyet La 40, and Nhu Hua 68, both spent one month in hospital recovering from the accident and Mehajer was charged with negligent driving causing grievous bodily harm.  But in 2013 he was acquitted on appeal.

Mehajer ran as an Independent for the seat of Auburn in the NSW state elections.  His campaign included a free dinner for 350 voters a fortnight before the election but he only received a small amount of votes.  Nevertheless, he was under investigation for failing to disclose where the money for his campaign and political donations came from.

Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer's house is a storey higher than others in the street.

The wedding had to be postponed until Salim's father got out of jail. Local property developer Mohamad Mehajer was sentenced to three and a half years for his part in a conspiracy to cheat and defraud the National Australia Bank of three million dollars.  The court found that Mr Mehajer's loan application included false documents intended to show his financial position was "rosier than it really was."

Mohamad Mehajer

It was alleged that Mr Mehajer gave a bank employee $2000 to process the loan with false documents but told the employee 'this is not a bribe' when he handed over the money, but the judge thought otherwise.

Salim with Auburn Mayor Ronney Oueik

A Facebook page has been set up calling for Mr Mehajer's sacking and an online petition is gaining momentum.   Unphased and basking in the publicity, Mehajer said in a radio interview he still has ambitions of entering NSW state politics.  "I'll continue to run Independent though" he said.  "My vision won't change and I won't change for anyone."

He also asked for assistance to get to Hollywood, directing listeners to his pre-wedding video. "I want to be the next superstar" he said.

Bronwyn Bishop dumped as Speaker

Oh what a come down.  Poor Bronny had to sit in economy on a flight back to Sydney on Friday after being dumped as Speaker.  

She had one of the worst weeks of her life and it showed.  Sources said she acted like a "petulant princess" when she had to vacate her plush office and take a seat on the back bench.

But what we did learn from this sorry saga was that MPs on all sides have been at it too.  Labor MP Tony Burke took his family to Uluru in the school holidays at taxpayers expense and many others made similar claims, all supposed to be "within the guidelines." 

Well those guidelines have to be changed because they stink to high heaven and the outrage of the electorate is real.

Tony Smith

Victorian Liberal Tony Smith was elected by his colleagues as the new Speaker for the House of Representatives at a meeting of 74 Liberal MPs in Canberra on Monday.  He's promised to be fair to both sides, unlike his predecessor, Ms Bishop who was known to unashamedly favour the LNP.