Horrific death of Kardell Lomas sparks urgent calls for new independent oversight of police
Members of the federal government’s own expert advisory panel on sexual violence have called for “urgent” independent national oversight of police after new revelations about Queensland police failures before the killing of the First Nations woman Kardell Lomas.Guardian Australia’s Broken trust investigation revealed that Lomas, a 31-year-old Kamilaroi and Mununjali woman, had sought help from police and other agencies in the months before she was killed.Her family has applied for an inquest to examine, among other things, failures by police to help Lomas, protect her from her dangerous partner, or investigate evidence of domestic violence.A statement signed by 16 of the 20 members of the expert panel selected to advise the federal government about sexual violence law reform has called on the attorney general, Michelle Rowland, to take “urgent, decisive action” in relation to the case.They said the case highlighted issues they had raised throughout the Australian Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into justice responses to sexual violence but that the inquiry’s recommendations had not gone far enough.
“Expert advisory group members repeatedly warned of the chronic failure of police to investigate violence,” the statement says.Sign up: AU Breaking News email“We brought forward lived experience, organisational data, and decades of frontline insight.We made clear that victim-survivors, especially those already marginalised, cannot rely on a system that routinely dismisses or delays their pleas for help.”The inquiry report, they said, “does not address these issues to the extent that is urgently required”.“For many victim-survivors, including First Nations women, this reflects a broad systemic pattern in which very serious concerns about egregious policing responses or failures to respond are not adequately confronted.
“Women continue to pay the price, sometimes with their lives, for this ongoing pattern of dismissal, delay and inadequate responses that leave them unprotected in critical moments.“This moment requires national leadership.”The statement called for an inquest into Lomas’s death.Her family has made an application for this and the Queensland attorney general, Deb Frecklington, is considering it.Sign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksafter newsletter promotionIt also called for “immediate national action to establish truly independent oversight of police responses to violence in every state and territory”.
“Without meaningful accountability, preventable deaths will continue.”In Queensland, a 2022 inquiry recommended the establishment of a civilian-led integrity unit to handle complaints about police.The implementation of that recommendation has stalled and its future is unclear.The vast majority of complaints about police are investigated by other police.In one case investigated as part of the Broken trust series, a whistleblower complained to the Crime and Corruption Commission about police failing to properly investigate the police response before the murder of Hannah Clarke and her children.
The CCC sought to refer the complaint back the police.Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support.In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732.Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.
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Diaries, artworks and more to be auctioned from Marianne Faithfull’s personal belongings
Diaries and a gift from actor Carrie Fisher are among the personal items from Marianne Faithfull that are going up for auction in London.The musician died in January aged 78, leaving behind a cache of fascinating portraits, photographs and ephemera from a glamorous, sometimes troubled life. “Each piece tells a story and reflects her spirit and inimitable taste,” her son Nicholas Dunbar said. “It is time now for these belongings to find new homes and I hope that they will bring as much joy to their new owners as they did Marianne.”The diaries include one from 1959 when Faithfull was in her early teens, and a 1989 journal entitled Goals
Donald Glover reveals he had a stroke on Childish Gambino tour in 2024
Donald Glover, who performs under the name Childish Gambino, has revealed he had a stroke last year which forced him to cancel world tour dates.At the time the 42-year-old said he was dealing with an “ailment” after performing in New Orleans and had gone to a hospital in Houston, where he discovered he needed surgery. He subsequently postponed, then entirely cancelled the remainder of his US tour, as well as all of his UK, European and Australian dates, writing: “Unfortunately, my path to recovery is taking longer than expected.”While performing at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles on Saturday night, Glover told the audience that he’d had a stroke.“I was doing this world tour,” he said
‘He was just trying to earn a few kopecks’: how newly translated stories reveal Chekhov’s silly side
Few writers are as universally admired as Chekhov. As Booker winner George Saunders puts it, “Chekhov – shall I be blunt? – is the greatest short story writer who ever lived.” Novelists from Ann Patchett to Zadie Smith cite him as an inspiration. His plays The Seagull, Three Sisters, Uncle Vanya and The Cherry Orchard still pack out theatres internationally. In the past year alone, Andrew Scott wowed audiences in his one-man Vanya for London’s National Theatre and Cate Blanchett took on the role of Arkadina in The Seagull at the Barbican
From Wicked: For Good to Stranger Things: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Ariana Grande sparkles in the concluding part of the Wicked Witch tale, and the first batch of final episodes of the retro sci-fi juggernaut are unleashedWicked: For GoodOut nowWas the decision to split this Broadway musical big-screen adaptation into two parts motivated by art or money? Part two is here, so you can judge for yourself. The Wizard of Oz-inspired story picks up with defiant “Wicked Witch” Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) living in exile, while Glinda (Ariana Grande) relishes her own popularity.The Thing With FeathersOut nowMax Porter’s novel Grief Is the Thing With Feathers gets the big-screen treatment, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as the dad who must raise his two young children alone after his wife dies unexpectedly. With David Thewlis as the voice of the crow who appears to him.The Ice TowerOut nowMarion Cotillard stars as a star: an actor called Cristina, who is playing the beautiful Snow Queen in a 1960s adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen classic that also inspired Frozen
Kristen Bell and Brian Cox among actors shocked they’re attached to Fox News podcast
The Fox News announcement of a new podcast series on Jesus Christ has turned into a bizarre holiday tale in Hollywood, as several actors attached to massive, 52-episode project claim their recordings date back 15 years and are being released without their prior knowledge.The new audiobook titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced on Wednesday as part of a splashy rollout for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, purports to guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ”, with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.The announcement boasted that more than 100 actors had signed on to participate in the project, with a voice cast including Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Sean Astin as Matthew, Neal McDonough as Jesus, Brian Cox as the Voice of God, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, John Rhys-Davies as the narrator and Julia Ormond as Mary.But reps for Bell claim that the actor was blindsided by the announcement, as she had recorded the audio 15 years ago. She only learned that Fox planned to release a podcast with her name attached the day before the announcement, when her team received an invitation to appear on Fox & Friends the following day, her reps told Rolling Stone
The Guide #218: For gen Zers like me, YouTube isn’t an app or a website – it’s the backdrop to our waking lives
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