Coronial investigation into death of Kumanjayi White on hold during criminal investigation, police say
Sarah Collard
The Northern Territory police force has released an update on the death of Kumanjayi White who died in police custody in Alice Springs, saying the coronial investigation will be on hold while criminal investigations are under way.
In a statement, NT police said the coronial investigation had been “paused” while the criminal investigation into the man’s death was ongoing to determine whether “any criminality was involved” after consulting with the NT coroner.
Police said the coroner would be given regular updates as the criminal investigation progressed.
In the statement, authorities said the cause of the man’s death remained undetermined and an independent examination of the autopsy findings was being conducted. They said that any footage or CCTV would not be made public before the investigation had been completed.
Key events
Krishani Dhanji
Nicolette Boele says Bradfield has “chosen a new path” in electing its first independent MP, after she was declared the winner of the seat by the Australian Electoral Commission this afternoon.
Bradfield was the last seat to be called, and Boele won it on a slim margin of just 26 votes.
She put out a statement following the formal declaration, and also thanked her volunteers and AEC officials:
This result belongs to our community. Over 1,450 volunteers came together to reinvigorate our democracy from the ground up. After 75 years, Bradfield’s long-standing hold by one party has changed.
We have chosen a new path – one that puts people above parties.
Thank you to the Australian Electoral Commission officials and all the scrutineers for their careful and professional work throughout the count and recount.
I also want to acknowledge Gisele Kapterian for the civility she’s shown as a candidate during this close contest.
I do not take this responsibility lightly. As Bradfield’s first independent Member of Parliament, I’m dedicated to serving this community with integrity, courage and care.”
Power for Victorian principals to expel students for poor behaviour outside school criticised
Victorian school principals will soon have the power to suspend or expel students for their behaviour outside school, in a move that has been described as “putting more pressure” on overworked educators.
The state education minister, Ben Carroll, on Wednesday announced the expanded authority for principals to use when “harmful behaviour” outside school and online puts other students and staff “at serious risk”. It will come into effect from term three.
Carroll told reporters it was a “commonsense change” that principals and parents had long been calling for and would bring the state into line with New South Wales and South Australia.
“Poor behaviour has consequences, whether it’s inside the classroom or out,” Carroll said.
Read more from Benita Kolovos and Caitlin Cassidy here:
Electoral commission declares Boele as Bradfield winner
Independent Nicolette Boele has been declared the winner of the Sydney electorate of Bradfield, after a nail-biting recount.
At about 3pm, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) declared the final margin after the recount to be 26 votes in Boele’s favour.
The teal independent defeated Liberal candidate Giselle Kapterian for the seat in Sydney’s north which has been held by the Liberal party since its creation in 1949.
The recount in the electoral division of Bradfield (NSW) has been finalised today. The final margin is 26 votes in favour of the Independent candidate. pic.twitter.com/BV9ZblgYyi
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) June 4, 2025
You can read more about the battle for Bradfield here, from Tom McIlroy and Krishani Dhanji:
That’s all for me today. Elias Visontay will be your guide through the rest of today’s news. Take care.
Coronial investigation into death of Kumanjayi White on hold during criminal investigation, police say
Sarah Collard
The Northern Territory police force has released an update on the death of Kumanjayi White who died in police custody in Alice Springs, saying the coronial investigation will be on hold while criminal investigations are under way.
In a statement, NT police said the coronial investigation had been “paused” while the criminal investigation into the man’s death was ongoing to determine whether “any criminality was involved” after consulting with the NT coroner.
Police said the coroner would be given regular updates as the criminal investigation progressed.
In the statement, authorities said the cause of the man’s death remained undetermined and an independent examination of the autopsy findings was being conducted. They said that any footage or CCTV would not be made public before the investigation had been completed.
Call for independent inquiry after death of man restrained by police in NT
Sarah Collard
The Central Land Council is urging the federal government to withhold funding from the Northern Territory government until it sets up an independent police conduct commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death in custody of Kumanjayi White last week.
The Warlpiri man, from the remote community of Yuendumu, died after being restrained by plain-clothed police officers in a Coles supermarket last week. The 24-year-old lived with disabilities and was reportedly subject to a guardianship order.
The CLC is also calling for any independent inquiry to be led by the NT coroner and be finalised within 12 months.
The Central Land Council chairman, Warren Williams, who is the uncle of the man, said in a statement that the territory lacks an independent authority to investigate any alleged police misconduct. Williams said:
Unlike most jurisdictions, the NT lacks a body to investigate police misconduct and has failed to overhaul the culture of its police force.
Williams said the community lacked trust in the appropriateness of the NT police to lead the inquiry. Members of the NT police force have been at the centre of alleged racist conduct during the long-running coronial inquest into Kumanjai Walker, who died in police custody, also from Yuendumu. Williams went on:
But let me be clear, only money will force the NT government to act. Our lives are worth less than a chocolate bar to those in power and money is the only language they understand.
We don’t trust this government and its police force to keep us safe.
NT police talk of reform and anti-racism strategies is just that, talk. It’s time for the federal government to hold the NT accountable and force the change we so desperately need.
The NT police has rejected any outside inquiry, saying that White’s death will be thoroughly probed with “full transparency” and the investigation will also be “independently reviewed” by the NT coroner during the coronial process.
Tory Shepherd
Final resting place of James Cook’s Endeavour confirmed by National Maritime Museum
More than two-and-a-half centuries after Capt James Cook arrived in Australia on the HM Bark Endeavour, the Australian National Maritime Museum has published its final report on the ship’s resting place.
The museum published a preliminary report in 2022 that a wreck in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island was the Lord Sandwich, which was previously known as the Endeavour. The museum was confident of its identification but there was some transatlantic pushback and the museum continued its research for three more years.
On Wednesday, the museum’s director, Daryl Karp, said it stood by its 2022 conclusions – the culmination of 25 years of research.
Read more about that process here:
Police release CCTV footage after man’s body found in bin near Hobart
Tasmania police have released CCTV images of two women seen near an industrial-sized bin where a man’s body was found by a garbage contractor on Monday, AAP reports.
The body of Luke Jon Telega, 45, was discovered by a garbage contractor about 9am on Monday, behind a hairdresser and Salvation Army store in Bellerive, Hobart. Telega was last seen alive at 10pm on Saturday, but police said there was a significant gap in the timeline leading up to the discovery of his body.
Police have identified two people of interest, including a woman seen on CCTV standing outside a shopfront in the area at 7.50pm on Sunday. She may have spoken with someone on the street at the time and was seen driving what is believed to be a light-coloured Toyota Prado. Police have identified another woman, who was seen on the footage at 8.05pm on Sunday. She was driving a red SUV.
Tom McIlroy
More from Chalmers on the tobacco excise: not ‘convinced’ cut would end illegal sales
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said earlier Labor won’t cut or freeze tobacco excise, despite calls from the New South Wales premier for action from the federal government.
Chris Minns says the huge surge in illegal tobacco sales across his state shows the federal excise is pushing smokers to illegal options, and driving down revenue for the federal government.
Other states are dealing with crime related to illegal tobacco sales and some health experts believe recent increases in the excise levels are not driving down smoking rates in Australia.
I’m not convinced that cutting the excise on cigarettes would mean that that would be the end of illegal activity.
He also confirmed a freeze was not under consideration.
Man in custody in ongoing investigation into missing teen Pheobe Bishop
Queensland police say a man, 34, is in custody as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of missing teen Pheobe Bishop.
Police said the man is assisting with enquires. No charges have been laid or allegations made against him.
Bishop has been missing since 15 May. She was last seen near Bundaberg airport, where she was meant to board a flight to Western Australia. Officials say she never made it inside the airport.
Greg Jericho breaks down Labor’s super tax plan
The Albanese government wants to reduce the tax breaks for those with more than $3m in superannuation. And while sections of the media are highly critical of the changes, others say the proposal does little to address intergenerational inequality in the tax system.
Columnist Greg Jericho speaks to Reged Ahmad about why the media debate over a smaller tax break for Australia’s wealthiest 0.5% is divorced from reality.
Natasha May
Health minister also throws water on Minns’ call to lower tobacco tax
The health minister has quashed the NSW premier Chris Minns’ suggestion the federal government consider lowering the tobacco excise because it may be contributing to the rise of illegal tobacco across the country.
Mark Butler said:
I want to be very clear, since the increase in tobacco excise started a little more than a decade ago, 1 million fewer Australians are smoking. That is having a profound impact, not just on their health most importantly, but also on the health system itself.
It’s quite clear from evidence all around the world that in the toolbox of tobacco control, lifting the price of cigarettes is the most effective tool.
Government data at the end of last year showed that as a result of smoking rates declining, obesity last year overtook tobacco smoking as the leading risk factor contributing to disease in 2024.
Butler said:
I also make the point that a number of other countries, most countries that have lower-priced cigarettes than Australia, also have burgeoning illicit or black-market cigarette markets. This is just the nature of organised crime around the world. They recognise illicit cigarettes as a low-risk, high-reward way in which to make money, to bankroll all of their other criminal activities.
… We can’t raise the white flag on big tobacco and organised crime.
Wait is on for official AEC verdict as multiple media outlets declare Nicolette Boele winner in Bradfield
Krishani Dhanji
Nicolette Boele is close to being declared the winner for Bradfield, 27 votes ahead of Liberal Gisele Kapterian according to the latest updated count by the Australian Electoral Commission.
But we’ll have to wait a couple more hours before the AEC formally makes the call, as their state manager for NSW reviews a few final challenged ballot papers. But those few remaining ballots to be confirmed are unlikely to change the result.
Multiple outlets have declared the count for Boele.
It’s been one of the tightest seat contests in history, and the candidates were tied at one point while the counts were taking place.
Chalmers defends super tax changes, will make system ‘fairer’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said earlier that Labor had spent years open to comment on the proposed changes to taxes on large superannuation balances north of $3m, but no one had come forward with a better plan. He said during a press conference:
We said to people, if there is a better, fairer way of making this calculation, tell us about it. …
We provided years of opportunities for people to suggest different ways of liability and nobody has come up with one.
Anne Davies
More from Chris Minns on the tobacco excise
NSW will raise cutting the tobacco excise to deter illegal tobacco sales at the next health ministers’ meeting later this month, the premier, Chris Minns, said on Kiis FM this morning. He said:
Look, it’s probably not a popular thing for a premier to say, because there’s been a tax on cigarettes and excise on cigarettes for decades, and I understand that. But they’ve been radically increased since 2019 so a packet in 2020 had a $16 tax on it. Today it’s $28.
Minns said that the high taxes were causing ordinary citizens, who would never usually break the law, to buy illegal tobacco:
They wouldn’t break the law in a million years, but they’re being dragged into a black market where they go to the store, they can either buy a $17 or $20 packet of illegal cigarettes or a $60 packet of cigarettes.
He also said that tobacco shops, often associated with organised crime, were driving out legitimate businesses like bread shops from shopping strips because of the higher rent they could afford to pay.
I mean, every tax and every tax change starts with an idea. Every single one of them, someone’s saying, “Look, I don’t think this is working. We need to change and so we might as well get the ball rolling here.”
Multiple media outlets call Bradfield for teal independent Nicolette Boele
Multiple media outlets have declared Nicolette Boele the winner of the NSW seat of Bradfield after a recount, defeating Liberal challenger Gisele Kapterian.
The ABC declared Boele the winner, saying even though the margin is just 27 votes, only a “very small number” of ballot papers are awaiting final adjudication. AAP has also called Bradfield for Boele, as have the Sydney Morning Herald and Sky News.
Chalmers says government won’t cut tobacco taxes despite call from Chris Minns
Chalmers was asked about a recent call from the NSW premier, Chris Minns, to lower the tobacco excise in an attempt to undercut the sale of illegal cigarettes and other products. Chalmers said he wouldn’t move to make cigarettes “cheaper for people”:
We’ve seen tax revenue for cigarettes come down for two reasons … fewer people smoking, the bad reason is we know that we’ve got a challenge when it comes to illegal tobacco. …
I respectfully disagree with Chris. … I don’t think the answer here is to make cigarettes cheaper for people.
