Latest news with #DawnSingleton
The Age
6 days ago
- The Age
Singleton family agree to judgment in favour of Nine in landmark court battle
The family of Bondi Junction stabbing victim Dawn Singleton has agreed on the eve of a two-day trial to court orders ending their copyright dispute against the Nine Network and The Sydney Morning Herald by entering judgment in favour of the media outlets. Had the NSW Supreme Court case proceeded to a hearing, the decision would have had implications for all Australian media outlets. The litigation was expected to involve a fight over the scope of a fair dealing exception in copyright laws, which allows images and video to be used for 'the reporting of news'. Singleton's fiance, NSW police officer Ashley Wildey, and her mother, Julie Singleton, filed the lawsuit in April before Nine's 60 Minutes aired an interview with her father, former adman John Singleton. Their claim was later expanded to include the publishing companies behind Nine-owned newspapers including the Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. Shortly before the trial, which was expected to run for two days from Tuesday, the parties agreed to orders entering judgment in favour of the Nine entities. The Supreme Court made the orders on Monday afternoon. The parties will bear their own legal costs. Loading The copyright claim centred on Nine's use of two videos and five photos from Dawn Singleton's public social media accounts. Wildey and Julie Singleton had asked the court to make a declaration that the Nine outlets had infringed their copyright in the videos and photos, an order permanently restraining them from using the films and images, and damages. In a written defence filed in court, the Nine entities admitted that 'there exists a practice within the Australian media of sourcing photos … and videos … from publicly available social media pages and using those photos and videos for the purpose of, or associated with, the reporting of news'.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Singleton family agree to judgment in favour of Nine in landmark court battle
The family of Bondi Junction stabbing victim Dawn Singleton has agreed on the eve of a two-day trial to court orders ending their copyright dispute against the Nine Network and The Sydney Morning Herald by entering judgment in favour of the media outlets. Had the NSW Supreme Court case proceeded to a hearing, the decision would have had implications for all Australian media outlets. The litigation was expected to involve a fight over the scope of a fair dealing exception in copyright laws, which allows images and video to be used for 'the reporting of news'. Singleton's fiance, NSW police officer Ashley Wildey, and her mother, Julie Singleton, filed the lawsuit in April before Nine's 60 Minutes aired an interview with her father, former adman John Singleton. Their claim was later expanded to include the publishing companies behind Nine-owned newspapers including the Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review. Shortly before the trial, which was expected to run for two days from Tuesday, the parties agreed to orders entering judgment in favour of the Nine entities. The Supreme Court made the orders on Monday afternoon. The parties will bear their own legal costs. Loading The copyright claim centred on Nine's use of two videos and five photos from Dawn Singleton's public social media accounts. Wildey and Julie Singleton had asked the court to make a declaration that the Nine outlets had infringed their copyright in the videos and photos, an order permanently restraining them from using the films and images, and damages. In a written defence filed in court, the Nine entities admitted that 'there exists a practice within the Australian media of sourcing photos … and videos … from publicly available social media pages and using those photos and videos for the purpose of, or associated with, the reporting of news'.
News.com.au
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Heartbroken mum becomes a recluse after daughter's death
Julie Singleton's heartbreaking statement to a coronial inquest has confirmed claims the mother-of-four has become a virtual recluse in her home, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, since her daughter died in a random attack at Bondi Junction 13 months ago. Friends of the lawyer say she has been held up in her home for over a year, rarely taking phone calls and, apart from regular appearances at the Westfield inquest, barely leaves the house. Sources say the grieving mother has, since her 25-year-old's daughter's tragic death, stopped leaving the house to shop for food and provisions and now has groceries and supplies delivered to her home to help avoid public scrutiny or contact. A second statement tendered to the inquest this week also contradicted media reports the soon-to-be married Dawn had been at Westfield Bondi Junction to shop for make-up for her upcoming wedding. Friends of the deceased have previously informed this column Dawn was set to have her makeup done by a professional on her wedding day, and had no need of wedding-day cosmetics. Having received a stern rebuke from Dawn's younger sister Daisy for granting an interview to 60 Minutes, Dawn's father John Singleton has taken a lower profile since the inquest began on April 28. INTERIM AVO DISMISSED A Sydney court has dismissed an interim AVO taken out on behalf of John Singleton's daughter Sally Singleton-Hawach. The matter was set to return to Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday. According to court records, the application was dismissed in the same court a week earlier. Ms Singleton-Hawach and her estranged husband Pierre Hawach fronted Parramatta Court on March 25 following an alleged domestic incident. It was the second time Ms Singleton-Hawach, executive producer of LAMP Music, singer and art therapist, and Hawach, a Parramatta divorce lawyer, have been before the courts. A similar order was applied for 2021 but withdrawn six months later after the couple, who had briefly separated, reconciled. The couple, who have three young children under eight, have now separated a second time after a decade of marriage The one-time society debutant is the second daughter of legendary adman Singleton and his third wife Belinda Green. She is also the half-sister of Dawn Singleton, the one-time media owner's daughter by his sixth wife, Julie. Dawn was one of six people fatally stabbed by Joel Cauchi at Westfield Bondi Junction last year. ABC GOES AFTER TOP FOODIES MasterChef Australia's three original judges – Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris – are in talks to reunite for a mystery television project. Six years after Preston, Mehigan and Calombaris last collaborated, executives at the ABC are hoping the three can be brought together to recreate the MasterChef magic in a new culinary program on the public broadcaster. Industry sources last week said the trio hoped the yet-to-be-greenlit program would relaunch their prime time television careers. Flamboyant food critic Preston and restaurateur/chefs Calombaris and Mehigan enjoyed 11 seasons as presenters and judges on MasterChef before the three made a pact in 2019 to jointly walk away from the Ten Network reality series if they couldn't extract a better deal. Industry claims, reported by your scribe at the time, had it the men had each demanded a million dollar contract from Ten. This was 18 months after the financially embattled network had been acquired by American media company CBS (later rebranded Paramount) after entering into voluntary administration in 2017. Despite the program's consistently high ratings, Ten refused the trio's demands and the presenters left the program. The following year Preston and Mehigan were signed to Seven's short-lived cooking show, Plate of Origin, alongside chef Manu Feildel. The program lasted just four weeks and was cancelled due to poor ratings however both would be invited to appear on the 2022 season of Seven's My Kitchen Rules. The two have remained regular collaborators and this year have joined forces to conduct food adventure tours in Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as a tour of India. Meanwhile prior to and after his departure from MasterChef Calombaris was sunk in financial scandal after it emerged he had underpaid restaurant staff $7.83 million. Following the closure of his 21 restaurants his company went into voluntary administration. He eventually made his return to television in 2022 on Ten with a six-part docu-series entitled Hungry after working diligently to rehabilitate his career and reputation. All three men are said to be keen to re-establish the chemistry that made them household names from 2009 and to relaunch their on-screen partnership, even with the expected downsized ABC pay cuts. SEVEN'S POWER MOVE Departed Nine Network journalist Chris O'Keefe has received an approach from the Seven Network to return to television. Former Seven Perth news director Ray Kuka was only days into his new job as replacement for recently departed national news boss Anthony De Ceglie when Kuka started canvasing for an experienced hand to take the reins of his Sydney newsroom. The approach follows this column's revelation Seven's Sydney news director Sean Power, promoted under De Ceglie to move across from executive producer of Sunrise to run Seven's Sydney newsroom, is headed home to Melbourne. On Friday morning, the Seven Network released a statement confirming Power's move to Melbourne, while announcing him as the Network's new 'Director of News Integration and Strategy'. Current 7NEWS Sydney Executive Producer Geoff Dunn will step into the News Director, while revealing Gemma Acton - who was promoted to Director of News Operations - has quit the Network and will relocate with her family to Dubai 'for a new career opportunity'. O'Keefe, who was a reporter for Nine for over a decade before trying his hand at talk radio on Nine-owned Sydney station 2GB, quit the media, and Nine, at the end of last year. After announcing he was to start his own political advocacy business he surprised former colleagues by joining the Clean Energy Council as its national spokesman. According to our Seven sources, O'Keefe didn't hesitate in declining Kuka's offer leaving the Perth news veteran, another chairman's pick by Kerry Stokes or so we hear, to go hunting for a new contender. PAY PARITY TAKES BACKWARD STEP AT NINE The last word for the week must surely go to a report in The Australian earlier this week that Sarah Abo is earning $800k-a-year as co-anchor of Nine's Today show. The figure is roughly a quarter (or 28.5 per cent based on the lowest end of his estimate) of the salary currently being paid to her co-host Karl Stefanovic whose salary has been put at between $2.8 million and $3 million. Now this injustice should stick in the craw of Nine's news boss Fiona Dear, the first woman ever installed to run Nine's TV news division. If Dear (and Nine CEO Matt Stanton) has crunched the numbers, as indeed we have, the gender pay gap between the two Today co-hosts has grown since former anchor Lisa Wilkinson lost her job at Nine in 2017 for fighting hard – some have claimed too hard which we reckon is nonsense – to achieve pay parity with Stefanovic. While comedian and radio host Dave Hughes will always be a hero in our eyes for taking a pay cut in 2017 to ensure his co-host Kate Langbroek, who was on 40 per cent less, was given an equitable salary bump and even Kyle Sandilands insisted early in his radio partnership with Jackie 'O' that his 2DAYFM increase her salary from $80k to an equitable arrangement, it seems sexism is still king in television or at least in Nine's light news division.
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
'Trauma porn': media urged to reflect on role as victims' families speak at Bondi Junction stabbing inquest
Families of some of the victims of the Bondi Junction stabbings have told the inquest that intrusive media tactics compounded their grief and that inaccurate reporting was rife. The inquest was extended to examine media reporting in the immediate aftermath of the event and the impact on the families of the deceased, giving the public a rare insight into what it's like to be at the centre of the media spotlight. Ashley Wildey, whose partner, Dawn Singleton, was one of six victims of Joel Cauchi on Saturday 13 April 2024, said reporters gathered outside a family member's home the morning after the murders 'trying to get vision of me or my family there'. He said he was bombarded by 'highly inappropriate' messages from journalists 'lacking any genuine compassion' sent to his private social media accounts. He ignored them all. 'I feel that the media involvement to date has lacked empathy and truthfulness which has only served to exacerbate my pain and that of those who actually knew Dawn,' he told the New South Wales coroner's court. Wildey said reports that Singleton had been shopping for wedding makeup were not true. 'I am not aware of any basis for this claim,' he said. 'It is false. As far as I am aware, Dawn did not go into the Chanel store in Westfield Bondi Junction on the day.' Jade Young's mother, Elizabeth Young, said TV reporters appeared outside Jade's home the morning after the tragedy. Young, 74, said she was shocked by the graphic images of the aftermath broadcast on television. 'Images of Jade's lifeless body being worked on were cast throughout the world … including on a national channel's evening news,' she said. 'I learned a new phrase in the days after April 13: trauma porn.' Dawn's mother, Julie Singleton, said she received notes, emails, text messages and phone calls from reporters for months and she felt her privacy had been violated. And while she was forbidden by police from seeing her daughter's body inside Westfield, the media were permitted to film her daughter's body being taken out of the centre on a gurney. But Singletons's family reserved their strongest criticism for former 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley who said her name on air while speaking to 3AW presenters Ross Stevenson and Russel Howcroft on the Monday morning before they had formally identified her body. 'I find it highly offensive that [he] appears to have capitalised on the unfathomable murder of my fiancee by immediately publicly broadcasting it on radio without even consulting her immediate family or myself,' Wildey said. Singleton: 'I felt that we as a family had a right to privacy. All this coverage distressed me and my family greatly.' Counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer SC, said at the start of the five-week inquest 'the media will have to reflect deeply' on graphic footage shown in reports. Families are hoping the coroner will make recommendations which may protect families in the future. Young's brother, Peter Young, told the court: 'I trust you will also consider these factors when making recommendations from this inquest: Media guidelines on reporting mass casualty events. The moral injury caused by the media's monetisation of tragic events.' Hadley has been approached for comment. The 40-year extension of the North West Shelf gas project granted by the federal environment minister, Murray Watt, this week was welcomed in some media quarters, namely those owned by Western Australian billionaire Kerry Stokes. 'COOKING WITH GAS North West Shelf a goer', declared a strap on the front page on The Nightly, the West Australian's digital newspaper. Below that it featured an arresting image of the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, portrayed as a North Korean dictator with the headline ROGUE STATE. It was a reference to the Santos boss, Kevin Gallagher's comments comparing Victoria's investment climate to North Korea. Gallagher said Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia were 'very supportive jurisdictions' for onshore investment', while 'Victoria, North Korea, they're in a different category altogether'. The publication also published a banner ad from Woodside Energy along the bottom of the page: 'Produce reliable energy for today. Invest in new energy for tomorrow. Challenge accepted.' Meanwhile the West Australian's front page said 'Shelf Life', and a double page spread inside featured a large photo of a smiling Woodside chief executive, Meg O'Neill. According to the Herald Sun, Allan told a Victorian Chamber of Commerce of Industry event that Victoria had created more jobs than other states, which was 'not bad for a place apparently run like North Korea'. The premier told the Herald Sun [the comments from Santos] were driven by fear of competition. 'Victoria is growing, open for business, and investing in energy – including gas.' The Australian meanwhile chimed in with fart jokes. 'Is Victoria about to pass gas project despite discomfort with LNG?, the august organ asked on the eve of the decision. Sign up to Weekly Beast Amanda Meade's weekly diary on the latest in Australian media, free every Friday after newsletter promotion 'When it comes to gas Victoria is more likely to pass wind projects …' Comedian Kitty Flanagan told a Women in Media gala dinner on Wednesday night how delighted she was to be invited to give the second annual oration at the black tie event. The star of ABC TV hit Fisk said she thought the gig was a good fit given who had delivered the first oration in 2024. That was until she realised it was not fellow comic Kate McLennan of Katering Show fame but Kate McClymont, a 'serious investigative journalist' from the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age. Flanagan brought the house down, and McClymont, who was a 'prize' in the silent auction, did not appear offended by the name mix-up. The comedian inspired the audience by tracing her career trajectory from a failing standup performer to a regular spot on Ten's The Project which raised her profile and allowed her to tour her act successfully. 'My advice to young women, stick around,' she said. 'Work harder than you think you have to, and try not to get angry or disappointed when things fall over. And things fall over in this industry a lot.' Two of Australia's most prominent newspapers came under fire during a single session at the Sydney Writers festival last week, when Michael Gawenda, former editor-in-chief of the Age, and Philippe Sands, a British barrister and author spoke on a panel about antisemitism and xenophobia. Gawenda took aim at his former paper, saying he had not been published in the Age, the paper he had worked at for four decades, since the 7 October attacks. The comments came as Gawenda was recounting stories of Jewish Australians working in the arts who had been refused gigs because of their political stance on Israel. 'In terms of not getting gigs, I worked for The Age for 40 years, I ended up editor-in-chief of The Age. Since October the seventh, I have not been published in the Age,' he said. 'I don't know why not, I can't tell you exactly why not. But it seems to me that it has something to do with whatever I wrote in my book about my position on Israel.' Gawenda later told Weekly Beast that while he had discussions with the paper's editor since 7 October about writing for the Age, these discussions were not followed up. He said that at this point in his career he doesn't pitch individual articles, but writes when approached by editors and 'The Age has never asked, despite our conversations about it, and they've made it clear they don't want me.' He said he has never been told specifically that his views on Israel were precluding him from writing for the paper, but said: 'What other reason could there be, my work isn't good enough? I can't think of another reason.' The Age declined to comment. It was Murdoch's The Australian newspaper which came under attack from Gawenda's fellow panellist, Sands, who said an article in the broadsheet in February was 'totally ridiculous'. Sands, who is Jewish, has written extensively about the origins of the legal definition of genocide and crimes against humanity, most famously in his family memoir East West Street. 'When an article appears in the Australian and some of you would have seen it, which is how outrageous it is that the Sydney writers' festival has invited Sands to speak because he acted for the Palestinian Authority … It was just totally ridiculous. It was offensive. It was stupid.' Headlined 'Sydney Writers festival invite for barrister Philippe Sands who took on Israel' the Australian framed Sands as 'a barrister who represented Palestine in a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and argued for the immediate withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories'. Many of the commenters expressed their fury about Sands' invitation underneath the story. He said he was part of a team that had been retained to argue for the right to self determination before the International Court of Justice and all of a sudden it was said 'he's anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, it's a nonsense'. A spokesperson for The Australian strongly rejected that the story was in any way an attempt to criticise Sands and pointed out that the author, Caroline Overington, wrote columns in which she encouraged readers to see him and said he is a brilliant mind. Additional reporting by Kate Lyons
ABC News
29-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Key failings revealed by coronial inquest into Bondi Junction Westfield stabbing attack
For five weeks the coronial inquest into the Bondi Junction Westfield attack tried to comprehend what could have been done to prevent the tragedy and how to better respond to similar acts. Testimony was shared, tears wept and uncomfortable truths acknowledged. On April 13, 2024, Joel Cauchi murdered six people and injured another 10 during a stabbing rampage. Over one year on, here are some of the key failings uncovered during the inquest's hearings. The profound impact of media reporting on the day of the attack and in the aftermath was examined at the request of the bereaved. Sue Chrysanthou SC, who represents some of the victims' families, said her clients asked media companies to "take extreme care to address sensitivities". Counsel assisting the coroner Peggy Dwyer SC said "the media will have to reflect deeply" on graphic footage shown in reports. Julie Singleton, the mother of Dawn Singleton, provided a statement to the inquest, where she described the personal toll. "Very soon after Dawn's death was first reported in the media, reporters appeared and took up position outside my house," she wrote. "Reporters rang my doorbell and left notes in my mailbox seeking comment and/or information for a story. My family and I found this intrusive." Many of Dawn's loved ones were informed of her death via media reports, with Ms Singleton saying their family's privacy was "violated". Dawn's fiancé, Ashley Wildey, also criticised how Dawn's identity as one of the victims of the attack was revealed on talkback radio, Mr Wildey saying it was "extremely upsetting" for this to be done without consent. In his statement to the inquest, he noted several printed inaccuracies in reporting of Dawn, as well as criticising unsolicited communication from journalists. "The cumulative effect of the reporting has caused me and members of Dawn's family immense and immeasurable pain," he said. Elizabeth Young, the mother of 47-year-old victim Jade Young, said of the media: "Our current world has lost site of decency. "Images of Jade's lifeless body being worked on were cast around the world. At the exact minute Cauchi stabbed his first victim, the sole security guard in the Westfield control room, referred to trhoughout the hearings as CR1, happened to be in the bathroom, leaving the CCTV screens unmonitored. CR1's capability was reflected upon in the inquest, as well as the liability of her employer. An independent security expert deemed CR1 to be incompetent as a control room operator due to her limited "skill set" for the role. "You need to have good decision-making skills. You need to be able to multitask. You need to be able to give direction. You need to coordinate," the expert said of security guards reviewing CCTV. "She wasn't obviously up to speed with her competence." Glad Group, a subcontractor for security staff, and Scentre, the parent company of Westfield, were asked about their level of responsibility. A former training manager from Glad Group, who trained CR1, was asked why some induction process documents pertaining to CR1 were not signed off. "There was pressure for recruitment. I hope that didn't affect my training," said the manager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. A security manager from Scentre, whose name also remains under a non-publication order, acknowledged the pressure on guards to be informed, comfortable and confident in responding to extreme crisis events. Scentre has since implemented stab resistant vests, made training more rigorous, and strengthened policies and procedures. There were clear signs Cauchi had chronic schizophrenia. Despite this, his long-term psychiatrist in Queensland, Andrea Boros-Lavack, weaned Cauchi off his anti-psychotic medication entirely by 2019. "There was no evidence that he heard voices," Dr Boros-Lavack said during her evidence, to which Ms Chrysanthou acknowledged an email from Cauchi's mother to Dr Boros-Lavack's clinic in 2019. Ms Cauchi had reported concerns her son was "now hearing voices" and writing notes he was "under satanic control". A panel of five psychiatrists later told the inquest Cauchi's worsening mental health was "not taken seriously enough" by Dr Boros-Lavack. They agreed Cauchi was experiencing psychosis during the 2024 attack — contradicting Dr Boros-Lavack's claim he was not. A senior Queensland Police officer conceded the state's current mental health legislation was too confusing for officers to interpret. Two officers who attended Cauchi's family home in Queensland in 2023 did not believe his mental health reached the threshold to detain him. Currently, the legislation only provides a risk of suicide as an example for police to force someone to seek mental health support. Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Kelly said: "Our police are attending incidents every day. They maintain their professionalism, they're very considered, balanced, but they've got to operate within the legislation and our values, and also in terms of human rights." Formal findings from the inquest will be released in months to come. Regardless, for those directly affected by the events of April 13, 2024, their grief will remain "truly unfathomable", as Ms Dwyer noted.
