Pensioner takes big bank to court to prove a point
Two years later, the 73-year-old is taking on NAB at the Supreme Court, where he's seeking more than $300m in damages for how the banking giant dealt with his claim.
As reporter Rachel Clayton discovered, he doesn't even have any lawyers to help.
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ABC News
22 minutes ago
- ABC News
Parkwood mother allegedly stabbed teen daughter's boyfriend with kitchen knife, trial told
A mother stabbed a 14-year-old boy who was involved in a secret romance with her daughter after discovering him partially clothed in a bedroom with her, a prosecutor has told a Perth court. Jennifer Mui Len Chin, 49, allegedly stabbed the boy four times with a kitchen knife as he tried to flee her house, after she found him lying shirtless in bed in her husband's room, despite her daughter's attempts to stop her from entering the room. The pair had been having consensual sex, the court heard, and Ms Chin became suspicious when she noticed the door to the room was closed. Ms Chin is on trial in the Perth District Court, accused of causing bodily harm to the boy in the Perth suburb of Parkwood in October 2023. But Ms Chin's lawyer Mark Andrews said her actions were motivated by fear, not anger, because she thought the boy was an intruder. Prosecutor Chadd Graham told the court Ms Chin's 14-year-old daughter was not allowed to have a boyfriend because of her mother's Christian beliefs, but she had been carrying out a romantic relationship for months. Mr Graham said the girl secretly brought the boy into the home, and they went to the father's bedroom where they had sex as "willing participants". When she heard her mother outside the room, the girl unsuccessfully "tried to block her" from entering, as her boyfriend hid under the bedcovers without a shirt on, the prosecutor said. Calling out "intruder", Ms Chin grabbed the boy by the wrists as he said "sorry" multiple times, Mr Graham said. Ms Chin then asked her six-year-old son to fetch a knife, the prosecutor said, while her daughter told her the "intruder" was a friend who had been kicked out of home. Ms Chin held the knife above her head, the court heard, as her daughter said "Ma, you'll be the one who goes to jail for this". "I don't care, he's an intruder," was Ms Chin's alleged response. The teenager was stabbed twice to the chest and twice to his shoulder after he tried to get out the front door, causing him to bleed heavily, Mr Graham said. The two teenagers ran from the home and the daughter called police. But Mr Andrews told the court Ms Chin had felt "extremely threatened" by someone she genuinely thought was an intruder. He said she had gone to the father's bedroom door because it was unexpectedly closed, and suspected her daughter was using the internet. Ms Chin didn't know or think the teenager was her daughter's boyfriend, he told the court, and the "last thing" she thought was that the pair had been engaging in consensual sex. He told the jury she had a "whirlwind of fears and thoughts" after her daughter said he was a "homeless person". "Everything just seemed surreal," Mr Andrews said. He told the court Ms Chin used the knife in a "forward, stabbing motion" as the teenager moved towards her, but only caused superficial injuries. Ms Chin was "frozen in shock and disbelief" as she went outside to find her daughter. It was when she went back into the father's bedroom that she saw a condom wrapper and "for the first time, the penny dropped," Mr Andrews said. He said she adhered "to Christian beliefs and values" and she did not approve of her daughter having a boyfriend at the age of 14. The trial is continuing.
News.com.au
43 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Chinese interference the new norm for Australia, expert warns
China will only continue ramping up secretive efforts to advance its domestic and international agenda in Australia this century despite the Albanese government's attempts to normalise relations, a leading national security expert says. The assessment comes a day after the Australian Federal Police charged a Chinese national with 'reckless foreign interference' in Canberra. The woman, a permanent resident of Australia, is accused of covertly collecting information about the Canberra branch of a Buddhist association called Guan Yin Citta on behalf of China's Public Security Bureau. The Guan Yin Citta association is banned in China. Chris Taylor of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) told NewsWire it reflects 'the reality of espionage and foreign interference directed against Australia'. 'It's an actual, real thing – it exists,' Mr Taylor said. Pointing to an espionage report released by Australia's domestic intelligence agency, he said there was 'a clear intensification of foreign intelligence interest in Australia'. 'Australia is paying a lot more attention to these issues than it may have in the past, not so much at the governmental level … but at a public level too,' Mr Taylor said. 'The messaging that's gone out from government about espionage, about foreign interference, over the last couple of years means that people in the community are more alive to it as a potential issue.' The other factor is 'the big picture, strategic changes that are occurring'. 'The fact that international politics, international power, is concentrating in the Indo-Pacific, concentrating in East Asia, means that it's no surprise that Australia's moved to the front lines of that contest in a way that we really weren't a couple of decades ago.' As for why Beijing would target a Buddhist group in the Australian capital, Mr Taylor said it was about keeping its diaspora in line abroad. This is not new for China. Analysts have long warned of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence suppressing free speech on university campuses, with students dobbing in fellow students who voice views that rub Beijing up the wrong way. 'For a lot of authoritarian regimes, they have an abiding interest in what they see as their nationals overseas, whether that's students, whether that's members of diaspora communities,' Mr Taylor said. 'So that kind of foreign intelligence activity ends up bounding that objective. 'It's actually not so much how we might imagine classical espionage directed towards the secrets of the Australian state. 'It's directed towards finding out what those communities are doing and trying to influence what those communities are doing, in a kind of focus on the interests of a regime, rather than the interests of a foreign country as such.' '21st century for Australia' Foreign interference was not among the issues Anthony Albanese broached with reporters on his lengthy state visit to China last month. Instead, the Prime Minister opted for less touchy topics, such as cash-splashing Chinese holiday-makers pumping billions into Australia's thirsty tourism sector. His hosts were also eager to spruik the potential gains of deepening economic ties amid global turmoil driven by Donald Trump's tariffs. Xi Jinping talked of 'unswervingly' pursuing deeper Sino-Australian co-operation regardless of 'how the international landscape may evolve' when he met Mr Albanese. The message was in line with Mr Albanese's own words as he met with business leaders and CCP top brass, championing Australia's trade and research offerings in Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu. While he often repeated his mantra of working with Beijing 'where we can' and disagreeing 'where we must', he made clear he saw China as key to Australia's economic future. Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Tuesday was hesitant to say if news of the suspected Chinese agent in Canberra would harm that relationship, but vowed the Albanese government 'will safeguard our democracy'. 'Our democracy is about who we are,' Senator Wong told the ABC. 'And that means we will stand together against any foreign interference. 'We have strong frameworks in place. 'We will not tolerate collectively or as a government, Australians being harassed or surveilled. We will continue to safeguard the democracy.' On relations with Beijing, she said 'dialogue matters'. 'Dialogue is important. Dialogue enables us to manage difference but it doesn't eliminate it,' Senator Wong said. Echoing Australia's chief diplomat, Mr Taylor said it was just a reality that China would spy and meddle in Australia, no matter how 'incongruous' with what Beijing and Canberra say. 'We're being realistic that countries spy on each other, that China and Australia's interests security interests will differ,' he said. 'This is the 21st Century for Australia. 'It's dealing with these incongruities. 'It's dealing with living in a region that has become this increasingly contested space.' He added that 'we shouldn't be we should any less aggrieved, but we should be probably less surprised that people are engaged in espionage against us.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
NSW Corrective Services officer charged with corrupt conduct offences after allegedly smuggling encrypted phone into jail
A NSW Corrective Services officer has been charged with corrupt conduct offences after allegedly smuggling an encrypted phone into a prison. The man, 25, was identified by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) following the arrest of multiple Sydney men as part of Operation Kraken-Kamino in September 2024. The men are alleged to have used the encrypted app Ghost to organise drug importations and manufacture a false terrorism plot. 'Examinations of an encrypted device found in the possession of one of the men allegedly suggested a serving corrections officer exploited his position for the benefit of a criminal organisation,' the AFP said in a statement. Police allege this person smuggled a 'dedicated encrypted communications device' into a prison in exchange for money. AFP officers executed a search warrant at the man's Gables home, in Sydney's northwest, on September 27, 2024, allegedly seizing pistol rounds and electronic devices during the search. He was charged on May 16 this year with one count each of corruptly receiving a benefit less than $2000 and committing an offence for the benefit of, or at the direction of, a criminal organisation. The maximum penalty for both offences is seven years' imprisonment. The man was granted police bail and had his matter heard before Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday. AFP Detective Superintendent Peter Fogarty said Australian taxpayers put trust in public officials to perform their roles prudently and act with integrity. 'Taking bribes, however big or small, erodes trust and weakens democracy,' Det Supt Fogarty said. 'Such actions have ripple effects. In this instance, we allege the man assisted a criminal syndicate alleged to be involved in drug and firearms trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. 'The AFP owes it to the Australian public to prosecute these matters to the full extent of the law.'
