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Damning first draft of Clare Nowland statement found

<p dir="ltr">New documents have brought forth allegations that the NSW police force removed key elements in their initial statement regarding the death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland. </p> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/clare-nowland-dies-officer-charged">The mother-of-eight passed away</a> in Cooma Hospital on May 24, one week after <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/furious-response-to-95-yr-old-woman-tasered-by-police">she was tasered by a police officer</a> at her Yallambee Lodge aged care facility. Nowland had reportedly been approaching law enforcement with her walking frame and a steak knife when she was tasered, before she fell backwards and fractured her skull. </p> <p dir="ltr">In the wake of the incident, Police Commissioner Karen Webb reportedly approved a 71-word press release - one that made no mention of the knife, the taser, or even Nowland’s movements. </p> <p dir="ltr">“A critical incident investigation has been launched after an elderly woman sustained injuries during an interaction with police at an aged care facility in the state’s south today,” it read. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The 95-year-old woman was taken to Cooma District Hospital, where her condition is being monitored. A critical incident team will now investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. That investigation will be subject to independent review.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No further details are available at this time.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, ‘new’ documents - obtained by the Australian Associated Press under Freedom of Information laws - have revealed that there was another draft, 100 words longer than the released statement, that mentions those key aspects of the case. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to the<em> Sydney Morning Herald</em> - who obtained the internal emails regarding the statement - that draft had been sent to NSW Police Executive Director of Public Affairs Elizabeth Deegan for review, but had been cut by more than half mere hours later, leading the <em>SMH</em> to run with the headline "<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/top-nsw-cops-covered-up-tasering-of-clare-nowland-20230621-p5di67.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Top NSW cops covered up Tasering of Clare Nowland</a>".</p> <p dir="ltr">The original 171-word document made mention of the reports that a Yallambee Lodge resident had a knife, and noted that two officers had arrived to find a woman “still armed … in a small room”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Police and paramedics attempted to speak to the woman; however, all instructions were ignored,” it continued. “When she stood up and moved towards officers, a taser was deployed by a constable.”</p> <p dir="ltr">It explained that the woman had received treatment from paramedics at the scene, leaving room for information on her condition. It even mentioned that the officer who had deployed the taser was under review.</p> <p dir="ltr">Commissioner Webb defended the decision to edit their original draft while speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham, denying that the police force had hidden anything when she told him that “early in the investigation it was necessary for us to make sure that the family were aware of what the circumstances were.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Mrs Nowland has a large family and we didn’t want that family to hear on the radio on TV what had happened to their mum, and so we had to be a bit sensitive to that, and when we were able to talk about it we did.”</p> <p dir="ltr">She added that it was “a very sensitive matter”, and that it was an “unusual” circumstance with everyone seeking answers, but that “it’s appropriate we think about and respect that family, and certainly they deserve that.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was important that the family were informed of the situation in a factual manner before we went public on it - I think that’s very necessary and I’m sure that family appreciates that now.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: 9News / Nine</em></p>

Legal

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The best way to carry travel documents

<p>If something happens overseas and you need to produce an important travel document, you want to be able to do so without having to empty half your suitcase. Keeping your travel documents organised can save you quite a lot of stress when you’re abroad.</p> <p>But what’s the best way to do so?</p> <p>We’ve taken a look at the options for getting your travel documents together, and provided some tips and tricks to do so. Organising ahead of time might be the difference between passing a border easily, and having to deal with an irate customs official.</p> <p><strong>Travel folder</strong></p> <p>There is a range of specialised travel folders on the market at the moment, but even something as simple as a standard A4 folder can do the job well enough, protecting your important documents from the elements while ensuring they all remain in the same place.</p> <p>The advantage of using a travel folder is that it’s a relatively inexpensive solution, but at the same time if it’s not specifically designed for travel, some bulkier items like your passport can be loose.</p> <p><strong>Travel wallet</strong></p> <p>These items are becoming increasingly popular and it’s easy to see why, as they provide a neat little way to store all your important documents. They can also provide a stylish accessory, as we can see in this video which shows how anyone can make their own <a href="../travel/travel-insurance/2016/03/how-to-make-a-diy-travel-wallet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">great DIY travel wallet</span></strong></a>.</p> <p>Travel wallets are lightweight, easy to carry and reliable. The only disadvantage is that they are not really suitable for larger documents like booking confirmations.</p> <p><strong>Money belts</strong></p> <p>Another neat way to carry travel documents around, money belts are generally pretty discreet. Strapped around your stomach, it can be a great way to carry around your important travel documents without running the risk of them being nabbed by pickpockets. That being said, money belts are only so big, and might not be suitable for all of your travel documents.</p> <p><strong>Additional hints and tips</strong></p> <ul> <li>Before you go, take time to make copies of your travel documents such as your passport and airfares, and be sure to carry these around in a separate place.</li> <li>Consider making digital copies of your travel documents as well. Save these on a USB, in an email or on an <a href="https://www.tripit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">itinerary</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> stor</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">age</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> website such as TripIt</span></strong></a>.</li> <li>Review the <a href="../travel/travel-insurance/2015/11/destinations-you-need-a-visa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Visa entry requirements</span></strong></a> of the destination you’re visiting.</li> <li>Be wary when a hotel or travel company asks you to <a href="../travel/travel-tips/2015/12/handing-your-passport-to-a-hotel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">hand over your passport</span></strong></a>.</li> </ul> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Travel Tips

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Surprising things that can invalidate your passport

<p dir="ltr">It goes without saying that a lot of planning goes into booking an overseas holiday, such as flights, accommodation, insurance, packing, and much more. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, what some people don’t consider for their international holiday is the condition of their passport. </p> <p dir="ltr">With many obstacles in the way of getting to your overseas destination, it's worth checking out the state of your passport before you head to the airport. </p> <p dir="ltr">Keep an eye out for these telltale signs that could render your passport invalid before you even set off on your holiday.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>A damaged document</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">As <a href="https://honey.nine.com.au/">9Honey</a> reporter Bronte Gossling recently discovered, a damaged passport will prevent you from flying. </p> <p dir="ltr">Bronte was one of the first Aussies booked to jet off to Bali after the Covid-19 restrictions eased, when she was stopped at airport security. </p> <p dir="ltr">"My passport had become a casualty of Sydney's rapidly-growing mould plague, and the resulting water damage meant my Bali dreams had gone up in smoke," she <a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/latest/bali-flights-return-from-australia-passport-mistake-completely-derailed-trip/e3456c17-0ce8-4513-870b-d715395be636">wrote</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">While some general wear and tear is expected on your passport, the <a href="https://www.passports.gov.au/">Australia Passport Office</a> says it must be minimal in order to still be valid. </p> <p dir="ltr">More serious damage such as water damage, tears or cuts in the pages, marks across your photo or in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) on the photo page can prevent you from travelling.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Imminent expiration</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">In order to travel internationally, you must have at least six months remaining on your passport. </p> <p dir="ltr">As there is no chance of extending your passport’s time of validity due to the pandemic, it’s best to renew the document sooner rather than later. </p> <p dir="ltr">If you have grand travel plans and your passport is due to expire this year, consider renewing it now to prevent being barred entry to international destinations. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Not enough blank pages</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">While everyone likes to see the stamps of different countries collected in their passport, be wary of how much space you have left. </p> <p dir="ltr">Some countries require up to three blank pages in your passport depending on how much space they need (some visas take up at least two pages), and a limit on space could see your passport rendered invalid. </p> <p dir="ltr">If you’re running low on space, consider renewing your passport and keep your old stamp-filled document as a reminder of all the places you’ve seen. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Souvenir stamps</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">While it’s all fun and games to fill your passport with stamps of everywhere you’ve been, some unofficial stamps could see your passport in big trouble. </p> <p dir="ltr">Collecting souvenir stamps at places such as Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie or a research station in Antarctica could mean your passport is now invalid. </p> <p dir="ltr">The only stamps that should grace your passport should be placed by government officials working for the destination you're visiting. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>A passport stamp from Israel</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Some countries, such as Lebanon and Iran, do not recognise the Israeli state and will deny entry to any travellers who have the stamp in their passport. </p> <p dir="ltr">In order to avoid this hassle if you’re planning a trip to Israel, simply ask for officials to not stamp your passport and instead ask for an entry card - a document you can keep with your passport until you leave. </p> <p dir="ltr">The limitations around travelling from Israel to other countries in the Middle East vary, so make sure you look up your destination and their rules before planning your trip. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images / 9Honey</em></p>

International Travel

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1,500 secret CIA and FBI JFK assassination files released

<p dir="ltr">The US National Archives<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-16/1000s-jfk-john-f-kennedy-documents-released-assassination/100706500" target="_blank">has released</a><span> </span>nearly 1,500 documents relating to the government’s investigation into the assasination of former president John F Kennedy in 1963.</p> <p dir="ltr">The documents, including secret cables and internal memos, were released in line with federal statute, which has called for records relating to the assassination by gunman Lee Harvey Oswald to be made public.</p> <p dir="ltr">Though there was no indication that the files revealed any new information, historians who are skeptical that Oswald was solely responsible for the assassination have eagerly anticipated the release.</p> <p dir="ltr">Cables and memos from the CIA discussed Oswald’s visits to the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City, as well as discussions of Cuba’s potential involvement in Kennedy’s death.</p> <p dir="ltr">One memo described how Oswald called the Soviet embassy while in Mexico City to ask for a visa to visit the Soviet Union.</p> <p dir="ltr">He also visited the Cuban embassy to obtain a travel visa to visit Cuba and wait there for his Soviet visa.</p> <p dir="ltr">One month before Kennedy’s death, Oswald re-entered the US through a crossing point at the Texas border.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another memo, dated one day before the killing, said Oswald had communicated with a KGB officer while at the Soviet embassy that September.</p> <p dir="ltr">After Kennedy died, Mexican authorities arrested a Cuban embassy employee who had communicated with Oswald and said he had “professed to be a Communist and an admirer of Castro”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Fidel Castro, then the leader of Cuba, was an adversary of Kennedy’s administration and appeared in a CIA document that detailed what is said were government plots to assassinate him.</p> <p dir="ltr">The document, labelled “Secret Eyes Only”, mentioned one scheme that “involved the use of the criminal underworld with contacts inside Cuba”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Another document contained considerations by the US government about whether Oswald had been swayed by one of Castro’s newspaper interviews, where he warned of retribution if the US helped take out Cuban leaders.</p> <p dir="ltr">Other files included several FBI reports on the agency’s efforts in investigating and surveilling major mafia figures, including Santo Trafficante Jr and Sam Giancana.</p> <p dir="ltr">These files also revealed that the agency regularly kept tabs on anti-Castro groups in southern Florida and Puerto Rico in the 1960s.</p> <p dir="ltr">In 2017, then-president Donald Trump blocked the release of hundreds of records, after the CIA and FBI raised concerns of “potentially irreversible harm”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite these concerns, about 2,800 other records were released.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

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Woman documents her daily struggles as the “most attractive person”

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a world inundated with media perceptions of beauty, plastic surgery and many people on the constant search for superficial validation, a lot of people are striving for beauty. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But, as Ariana will tell you, being beautiful is a constant struggle. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 21-year-old American college student posted a video to her TikTok account, saying she often feels that other girls exclude her because they are so jealous of her looks. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In posting the video, a hesitant Ariana said she was worried about posting the confession in case she got “attacked”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While applying her makeup, she spoke candidly to the camera saying, “So there‘s a topic I really want to talk about, and I wanna talk about it often but I have a hard time doing it because I know I’m going to get attacked.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It goes along with pretty privilege. Obviously, pretty privilege is a thing, we know this, we know there‘s a lot of pros to that.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTXrmwzpNfb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTXrmwzpNfb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by ari;) (@arianasavannahh)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She goes on to say that there are a lot of “downsides” to being good looking, and she wanted to share her “experience as a woman”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“As I said, this topic is very difficult to talk about, because if you know you know, and if you don‘t know, you’re probably going to attack me, my personality, which I am expecting,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This is why I don‘t talk about it often.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ariana explains that she was often excluded by women, and always wondered why. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“College was really the hardest point for me. Girls will always be like oh my gosh, I love you so much, you‘re so gorgeous, we’re gonna hang out,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The time comes around and I always am left out, and talked about poorly behind my back, and it never makes sense because I am always being so kind and genuine.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTDHfpbJ9NP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTDHfpbJ9NP/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by ari;) (@arianasavannahh)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ariana assures her viewers that it was not her personality turning people away from her, but rather her blindingly good looks. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I was super outgoing, especially around girls, and loved empowering women and just being a b**ch, you know we love being b**ches, in a good way,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So I would come home from college on the weekends because I had nothing to do and I would cry to my mum.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her mum backed her up as a teenager, saying all the girls were just jealous and that was why she found it hard to socialise with other women. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ending the video that has been viewed over 350,000 times she said, “If you know me, you know I don‘t carry myself that way, I was so confused and thought this probably is not true, my whole life that this is the reason I can’t make girlfriends.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The post has racked up thousands of comments from fellow beautiful people, saying they empathise with Ariana and her difficult situation, as they have all banded together online to create a pretty privileged group of people. </span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Instagram @arianasavannahh</span></em></p>

Beauty & Style

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Centrelink under fire after threatening to cancel 102-year-old woman's pension

<p>Centrelink is facing backlash after threatening to withdraw pension payments to a 102-year-old woman.</p> <p>Anne Hawkins, who is bed bound in her home in Punchbowl, was shocked last month when she suddenly had to provide the government agency with proof of her identity.</p> <p>The letter also stated that the documents needed to be provided in person. </p> <p>Ms Hawkins was only able to provide her Australian Citizenship certificate, due to her age, as Centrelink advised her family that she would need to obtain a NSW proof of age card. </p> <p><span>Ms Hawkins’ daughter Mary, said to do so she would, “need to be taken there by ambulance and wheeled into the Centre in a hospital bed.”</span></p> <p><span>Frank, Anne's son, told NCA Newswire that he spent several hours on the phone to Centrelink trying to resolve the problem, but to no avail. </span></p> <p><span>He said, “It was extremely frustrating for me and my family. We protected mum from as much of the aggravation as possible. Telling her was worst case scenario.”</span></p> <p><span>Anne's family were extremely concerned and shocked that the government agency were asking a 102-year-old to flout lockdown guidelines and  risk exposure to the Delta variant of COVID-19.</span></p> <p><span>“We’ve been locked down since the last week of June. This letter arrived on the 30th of July. It arrived during lockdown. It is pretty unreasonable that Centrelink should be asking people to show up to a service centre in the middle of a lockdown,” Frank said.</span></p> <p><span>Ms </span>Hawkins' local MP Tony Burke got involved in the issue, and demanded an explanation from Centrelink. </p> <p><span>“They actually wanted her to put herself at risk by leaving the house so she could jump through ridiculous bureaucratic hoops,” he told NCA Newswire.</span></p> <p><span>When Anne's family informed her of the situation, she joked she would have to get a job.</span></p> <p><span>Government Services Minister Linda Reynolds told NCA Newswire she “sincerely apologised” for the inconvenience caused.</span></p> <p><em>Image credits: 10News</em></p>

Money & Banking

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Christian Porter rape allegation documents released by Federal Court

<p><strong>WARNING: Graphic and confronting content.</strong></p> <p>An old friend of the Adelaide woman who accused Christian Porter of rape has revealed the reason why she believed her and what she registered as "sinister" elements of her allegations.</p> <p>In new documents released by the Federal Court on Thursday, a transcript of Jo Dyer's previously unpublished interview with ABC journalist Louise Milligan has detailed when she discovered that her old school friend alleged she had been anally raped by Mr Porter as a teenager.</p> <p>Mr Porter denies the allegation and is suing the ABC for defamation who reported a cabinet minister was accused of a 1988 rape, although it did not mention his name. He has since discontinued the case.</p> <p>The documents released by the Federal Court also include the "dossier" including the accuser's account of the allegations in her own words.</p> <p>His accuser died by suicide on June 24, 2020, with friends and supporters marking the one-year anniversary of her death on Thursday by lighting "candles for Kate".</p> <p>In a transcript released by the Federal Court, Milligan asks Ms Dyer, “What made you think that K was telling the truth?”</p> <p>“There are a number of reasons why I thought K was telling the truth,’’ she said.</p> <p>“First and foremost was the story that she told was so clear and so consistent and so detailed. I believed the story. Secondly, really, the incident as she described it was not … the acts that she described were not something that a 16-year-old virgin would consent to.”</p> <p>Due to the nature of the alleged events described, Ms Dyer said she found it hard to believe it could have been consensual.</p> <p>Mr Porter denies having sex with the teenager and has previously stated: “Nothing in the allegations that have been printed ever happened.”</p> <p>When recounting her version of events, the woman states the encounter started off as consensual.</p> <p>She claims Mr Porter asked her for a "pearl necklace", which she agreed to despite not knowing what it was.</p> <p>She then alleges he forced her to have oral sex.</p> <p>After she vomited on her dress, she alleged he took her to a bathroom and washed her. When she woke up later in the evening, she alleged he was anally raping her.</p> <p>“So there was no ambiguity, it seemed to me, as to whether or not this was a consensual act that got out of hand or anything of that nature,” Ms Dyer told the ABC, according to the transcript released by the court.</p> <p>“It seemed to me that it was an aggressive and violent act, that no 16-year-old having her first sexual encounter would sign up for.</p> <p>“Thirdly, there was a level of sinister detail in it which seemed to me that once the act had occurred and K had resisted that there was strategic thinking around it by C to cover up the evidence. He – K told me – that while she was practically hysterical, and gave her a bath.</p> <p>“They were staying at the Women’s College at the University of Sydney. They were shared bathrooms. Why on earth would you do something like that? After a so-called consensual sexual encounter. You wouldn’t go traipsing down the hallway to a shared bathroom in the middle of the night or early in the morning?”</p> <p>In the accuser’s unsigned affidavit however, she is unclear whether he took her to a bath or a shower.</p> <p>Ms Dyer told the ABC that Mr Porter and his accuser had been out drinking, partying, until very late one night as teenagers after a debating conference.</p> <p>“They were walking back to the university campus, C offered to walk K back to her college. He had been cracking on to her a bit. She wasn’t interested in his advances, she wasn’t in that mood, late at night. But, he walked her back to her room. Came into the room, they started kissing, she was reluctant, but no harm in a kiss.</p> <p>“At a certain point, she moved away, she resisted. She said she was not interested in pursuing anything further. C was not going to take no for an answer. I think he thought – the way she described it, there was a lot of alcohol involved, I think he thought he could persuade her as they went along.</p> <p>“There was increasing sexual activity. He was quite repulsive in the language that he used during the encounter. She resisted more strongly because of this. It was very clear, the way she described it, there was no ambiguity as to whether or not she was consenting.</p> <p>“And at a certain point, he raped her, and he raped her anally. When he finished, she was incredibly distressed, hysterical almost, in tears, on the bed, he was trying to calm her down. At a certain point, he suggested that the best course of action would be for her to take a bath. Throughout that time, he was seeking to comfort her. And the way in which he did this was to stroke her and tell her that it was all going to be OK because this was just a bad dream.</p> <p>“She was a virgin. She had not had sexual experiences. She was not a sexually experienced person. She never viewed this – in later discussions, she never viewed this as the way she lost her virginity.”</p> <p>Ms Dyer also states in the transcript when she connected with the woman some years later she was a different person.</p> <p>“In the world of debating, there were many stars shining in the firmament. But K really shone the brightest, or certainly one of the brightest,’’ she said.</p> <p>“And she did not achieve everything that the potential that she showed back then would have suggested that she would.</p> <p>“When we reconnected, K was a very different person. She was consumed with a trauma which she told me, deeply and consistently, was a result of an assault that had occurred, early in 1988, and her life at that point was really devoted to exploring how she could get some kind of justice, accountability and peace from that.</p> <p>“And I guess finally, her life was derailed.”</p>

News

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Sensitive shredded grant documents recovered

<p>Documents the NSW Premier’s office tried to destroy relating to a grants scandal have been forensically recovered and are set to be handed over to a pork-barrelling probe.</p> <p>The documents, obtained by NCA NewsWire, reveal the Premier’s staff decided which projects will received funding from the Stronger Community Fund grants program, which is a more hands-on level on involvement than Gladys and her team have previously let on.</p> <p>The documents also expose the sudden decision to make changes to the program’s guidelines so money could be funneled to help settle a legal clash between two councils in a Liberal-held area of Sydney.</p> <p>There are also references to other ministers and Liberal members getting involved to steer funding to councils in their electorates.</p> <p>Berejiklian is facing increasing pressure to explain how she headlined the $252 million fund after an opposition analysis discovered 95 per cent of funds went to projects in Coalition-held seats on the eve of the 2019 election.</p> <p>The three documents were made by the Premier’s senior policy advisor Sarah Lau in 2018, as the government was preparing to allocate money from the program, which was set up the previous year to support merged councils.</p> <p>Ms Lau was interrogated by the NSW upper house’s inquiry into the fund last month by MPs from the Labor and Greens party, who were hoping to find out how the allocation decisions were made.</p> <p>The probe heard the Premier had used working advice notes prepared for her to indicate her approval of the funding decisions. But those notes have disappeared, according to Ms Lau, and the only records that still exist are of the Premier’s involvement were email summaries she wrote to Local Government NSW chief Tim Hurst.</p> <p>“It is likely that they would have been shredded,” Ms Lau said of the notes, adding that electronic copies were also deleted in line with her “normal record management practices”.</p> <p>Those electronic copies are the ones that have now been recovered from computer system backups after an order by the upper house.</p> <p>The notes bear the letterhead of the Office of the Premier and have Ms Lau’s name printed in bold up top.</p> <p>All three documents contain references to Hornsby Shire Council, a local government area in Energy Minister Matt Kean’s electorate that has received a substantial amount of attention as the grants scandal has unfolded because it received a hefty $90 million, more than a third of the total funds.</p> <p>The Premier’s office’s handling of the working advice notes is also the subject of a probe by the State Archives and Records Authority.</p> <p>“The complaint raised provides a sufficient basis and meets the threshold … to commence a record-keeping assessment,” the body previously wrote in a statement.</p>

Legal

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The rise of DIY wills and why you shouldn’t go there

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you don’t have a legal background, navigating through a will can be an incredibly daunting experience. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And although they can be an expensive process when going through the official hoops to sort one out for yourself or a loved one, it is an important and necessary cost. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Without proper legal guidance, navigating through the correct procedure can often mean your creation and estate planning process can be an experience that can result in complications, drawn out time periods and costly court proceedings. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bennett &amp; Philip lawyer, Geoff Armstrong says “Do it yourself” wills is not the best process to choose even if they may be cost-effective. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It is common for us to see homemade wills that don’t meet legal requirements,” he explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The difference is if you have a professionally drawn will and you have to apply for a probate in the court, there’s rarely a problem. If you have a homemade will that isn’t correct, you may have to go to a judge to get it accepted as a valid will and it would cost a lot of money, in many cases between $30,000 and $50,000.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Armstrong urges those with a professional or DIY will to review them every two or three years. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“…If there has been a big life change for example a marriage, divorce, having children or grandchildren, something you’ve gifted no longer exists or a beneficiary dying or losing capacity – these changes can significantly affect a will and an appropriate amendment is required,” he said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Armstrong advises those managing wills of their own or loved ones to implement these questions if you want to go down the correct path. </span></p> <p>Who will your executors and beneficiaries be?</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Choosing the key people who will play a huge part in dividing all your interests and assets in your will can be a difficult decision to make. While executors have the responsibility of looking after your will and dictate your funeral wishes or gifts, beneficiaries are the people who inherit what is yours. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Typically, children, spouse, or other family members are chosen as beneficiaries, but you are not required to do this. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Charities, organisations or trusts can obtain your belongings, after all it is a decision that is completely yours alone. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But whoever you do decide, it’s important to ask them first and include their full names with as much detail as you can,” Mr Armstrong said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Some people choose a professional executor such as a lawyer or accountant because they are independent from the family and managing at arms-length.”</span></p> <p>What are your funeral wishes or special gifts to give?</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You may wish to have your body cremated and ashes scattered in a special place. If so, it is important to include this in your will. While it is not a legally binding agreement, it is still important you make clear what you want to happen for yourself when you go. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mr Armstrong said: “I previously had a case in England where a woman wished for her Jack Russel to be euthanised immediately after she passed away, so they could meet up on the ‘other side’. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When she did pass her dog was with the neighbour, who sent the dog away because it was perfectly healthy and did not need to be put down. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Upon further discussion, it was decided not to focus our efforts in locating the canine as it would cost thousands of pounds in the process at the expense of the ultimate beneficiary.”</span></p> <p>Who will look after your pets if you have any?</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While you cannot physically leave items or money to your pets, you can decide to leave them to someone else with a gift of money to cover the cost it would take to look after them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Whatever future you want for your pet, be sure to include it in your will.” Mr Armstrong advises.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Because it is not legally binding, people do forget about their pets but in an emergency, the executor can take care of them.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">While it may be difficult to decide what to put in your will, you can always start by asking yourself these simple questions. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Should you require expert legal advice on wills and estates or any other legal matter, Bennett &amp; Philp’s Geoffrey Armstrong can be contacted at </span><a href="mailto:garmstrong@bennettphilp.com.au"><span style="font-weight: 400;">garmstrong@bennettphilp.com.au</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> or on (07) 3001 2960.</span></p>

Legal

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8 revealing everyday documents you never knew you should shred

<p><strong>1. Boarding passes</strong></p> <p>Shred them after you land: Your boarding pass has your name, your travel plans, and a bar code that free websites can decipher.</p> <p>This code often reveals your frequent flier number, which crooks can use to log in to airline accounts to view upcoming travel plans, check in to flights, and even cancel trips.</p> <p><strong>2. Prescription labels</strong></p> <p>Whether stapled to the bag or on the bottle, these labels may list your name, the date of initial dispensing, the name and strength of the drug, and the dispensing pharmacist’s name.</p> <p>Thieves may use this info to refill prescriptions or steal your identity.</p> <p><strong>3. Receipts</strong></p> <p>Shred all receipts you don’t save. Those from credit card purchases reveal the last digits of your card number and possibly your signature.</p> <p>Crooks can also use receipts for fraudulent returns and benefit from your store credit.</p> <p>If you really want to play it safe, switch to paperless receipts wherever you can – you'll be helping the environment, too!</p> <p><strong>4. Pet medical papers</strong></p> <p>Keep records of major events, and shred the rest. Papers from a vet visit show a pet’s name – which a Google Apps survey of 2,000 people found is the most common password choice.</p> <p><strong>5. Return labels</strong></p> <p>Shred free return labels you receive in the mail, along with any envelopes with your name and address.</p> <p>Thieves often pair this with what you post on social media (family member names, work history) to piece together your identity.</p> <p>When writing your return address on an envelope, omit your name.</p> <p><strong>6. Resumes</strong></p> <p>Don’t toss resume copies or drafts without shredding. Resumes hand crooks your name, phone number, address, email address, employment past and education history in one convenient piece of paper.</p> <p><strong>7. Extra birth announcements</strong></p> <p>Children are 51 percent more likely to be victims of identity theft than adults. Shred birth announcements you don’t save, which typically have the child’s name, birth date, weight, eye colour and other personal identifiers.</p> <p><strong>8. Extra funeral pamphlets</strong></p> <p>Thieves use the identities of millions of deceased people every year to apply for loans, open credit card accounts or file tax returns, collecting billions of dollars in refunds. Shred extra funeral pamphlets or obituaries you don’t save. If a loved one passes, list age in the obituary but not the birth date or mother’s maiden name – these personal identifiers are handy for ID thieves.</p> <p>Did you know you should shred these documents? Let us know in the comments below.</p>

Legal

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The documents you need when travelling with your grandkids

<p>Multi-generational travel was the biggest travel trend of 2018. More and more families are heading overseas with their extended family to make unforgettable memories together, but what if it’s just you and the grandkids?</p> <p>You may need certain documents to travel with grandkids.</p> <p>You might be surprised to know some countries require special documentation to prove your relationship to your grandchildren. For example, the South African Government now requires incoming passengers under 18 to carry an unabridged birth certificate and/or sworn affidavit in order to enter the country. While this is an extreme case, most countries have their own laws regarding who can accompany a minor abroad. Getting the ‘all-clear’ becomes even trickier when you don’t share the same last name as your grandchildren.</p> <p>We believe it is always best to be over prepared than underprepared. We encourage all travellers heading off with their grandkids to carry a written letter of consent from the children’s parents or legal guardians. You can find templates you fill download online, but handwritten notes are adequate and should include the following:</p> <ul> <li>Full names of children, parents or legal guardians, people who will be travelling with the kids</li> <li>Description of the relationship between traveller and children</li> <li>Parents’ or guardians’ contact details</li> <li>Destinations and dates of travel</li> <li>Insurance policy details</li> <li>Necessary medical information</li> </ul> <p>The document should ideally have the signatures of both parents or legal guardians. Having it witnessed and signed by a justice of the peace is even better.</p> <p>Here are a few other things you should know before you take a holiday with your grandkids.</p> <p><strong>Flying with grandkids</strong></p> <p>Children under the age of 18 tend not to need any form of ID when flying domestic. However, it’s always a good idea to carry some anyway. A birth certificate or Medicare card will usually suffice.</p> <p>When flying internationally, the rules vary between countries and airlines. Children require a passport as per usual but, in some cases, a visa or further documentation may be required. Check directly with the airline before you travel to make sure you have all the correct documentation to board the flight.</p> <p><strong>On the ground</strong></p> <p>When travelling abroad, some hotels may want to scan your passport for security reasons. This may include your grandchildren’s passports. In Australia, this is uncommon.</p> <p>When catching trains and buses, ID for adults is rarely needed as long as you have a valid ticket. However, if you plan to take advantage of concession and student discounts, kids may need to show proof-of-age in order to redeem discounted tickets.</p> <p><strong>Before you go</strong></p> <p>Organise and compile all necessary documents. Keep these in a plastic sleeve or folder in an easily accessible part of your bag.</p> <p>Be aware of any medical conditions your grandchildren may have and put a plan in place if things go wrong. You may need a note from the doctor for certain medications. For example, some medications for ADHD are banned overseas. Check these details carefully as the importation of drugs comes with strict penalties. Make sure you have the emergency contact numbers of relatives, emergency services and embassies.</p> <p>Register your travel plans with <a href="https://smartraveller.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx?utm_source=MYDISCOVERIES.com.au">smartraveller.com.au</a></p> <p>Ensure you have the correct travel insurance to cover everyone in your party.</p> <p><em>Written by Bethany Plint. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.mydiscoveries.com.au/stories/documents-travel-with-grandkids/">MyDiscoveries</a>.</em></p>

Travel Tips

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5 ways thieves steal your identity

<p>Thieves are getting more and more crafty by the day. Keep an eye out! Here are some ways they are able to steal your identity.</p> <p><strong>1. Watch your back</strong></p> <p>In line at the grocery store, some thieves hold their smartphone like they are looking at the screen and take a photograph of your credit card as you’re using it. Next thing you know they can order things online with your account.</p> <p><strong>2. Watch your bank account</strong></p> <p>Check your bank and credit card balances at least once a week. Identity thieves can do a lot of damage in the 30 days between monthly statements. </p> <p><strong>3. Check out ATMs before you use them</strong></p> <p>If you see something that looks like it doesn’t belong on the ATM or sticks out from the card slot, walk away. Thieves can make and install a 'skimmer' that can be used to capture your ATM card information and PIN.</p> <p><strong>4. Don't use unsecured Wi-Fi</strong></p> <p>Sure, it may be nice not to have to put in your password when you use an unsecured Wi-Fi connection, but thieves have software that can scoop up all the data your computer transmits, including your passwords and other sensitive information.</p> <p><strong>5. Tear up important documents before you throw them away</strong></p> <div class="views-field views-field-field-slides"> <div class="field-content"> <div class="field-collection-view clearfix view-mode-full field-collection-view-final"> <div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-slides clearfix"> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-slide-content field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"> <div class="field-items"> <div class="field-item even"> <p>Thieves will drive through your neighbourhood at 3 a.m. on garbage day in order to fill their boot with bags of garbage from different houses, and then sort through it later looking for important information.</p> <p class="p1">Written by Michelle Crouch. This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/healthsmart/tips/11-ways-thieves-steal-your-identity">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRA87V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p><img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" /></p> </div>

Technology

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How to sign a document without printing it out

<p><em><strong>Lisa Du is director of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a></span>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology. </strong></em></p> <p>There are often times when you need to sign or fill in a PDF form that has been sent to you. You could print out the document, fill it in, sign it, scan it and then email it back but that's all such a hassle for something that should be so simple.</p> <p>Thankfully with Microsoft Edge (previously known as Internet Explorer), you can do all that without having to print the document!</p> <p>Here’s how:</p> <p>Step 1: Right click on the PDF file.</p> <p>Step 2: Go to "Open with" and then click on "Microsoft Edge"</p> <p>Step 3: Click on the pencil icon located at the top right.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="600" height="NaN" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e785dd9ba906ed79fad48bd7e/images/04a179b2-1e01-4c08-a4e3-4cf46008b44d.png" style="width: 240px; height: 120px; margin: 0px; line-height: 100%; outline: none;"/></p> <p>Step 4: Click on the "pen" icon and choose the right colour and size for you signature.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="320" height="148" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e785dd9ba906ed79fad48bd7e/images/11f3ba9a-4647-40e1-bced-1a137714ef37.png" style="width: 320px; height: 148px; margin: 0px; line-height: 100%; outline: none;"/></p> <p>Step 5: Draw your signature by holding down left click and dragging your mouse. If you're unhappy with the signature (or you've made a mistake) click on the "eraser" icon in the top right and 'draw' over your signature to erase it.</p> <p>Step 6: When you're satisfied with your signature, right click on the open PDF and click on "Save-As" to the document!</p> <p>Have fun signing documents in a jiffy!</p>

Technology

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“Secret” documents reveal doctors are charging 10 times more than they should

<p>If you’ve recently undergone surgery only to be slugged with an outrageous bill, you’re not alone. A “secret” Australian Medical Association “List of Services and Fees” file explains why Aussies are being left $1.6 billion out of pocket each year.</p> <p>In some cases, doctors were charging up to 10 times the fee recommended by Medicare for everything from births to hip replacements and cancer treatments.</p> <p>AMA President Dr Michael Gannon defended the document, saying Medicare rates have not changed since 2014 but that AMA rates had been consistent with inflation and wage growth.</p> <p>“The vast majority of doctors deliver services well below the AMA fees, but certainly the AMA list is closer to a list of truth than the Medicare schedule, which lost pace with the true cost of health care 10, 15, 20 years ago,” he told <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/health/2018/03/25/10/44/medical-payments-that-leave-patients-ill" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">9 News</span></strong></a>.</p> <p>However, Dr Gannon did admit that some doctors are charging even more than the AMA recommended rate. “If a doctor charges more than the AMA fee they need to explain to their patients why that is the case.”</p> <p>Dwayne Crombie, Head of Health Insurance for Bupa Australia, told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5540541/Doctors-charging-three-times-Medicare-fee.html" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Daily Mail</span></strong></em></a> the excessive charges undermined the value of health insurance.</p> <p>“If customers have to pay out of pocket gaps because a fee is high, then people question what benefit insurance provides them, without realising where the cost is coming from and why they are having to pay it.”</p>

Caring

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Secret documents reveal teen tried to kill Queen in NZ

<p>Declassified secret documents have confirmed an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II in Dunedin, and potentially implicate New Zealand police in a "cover-up".</p> <p>On October 14, 1981, teen criminal Christopher John Lewis hid in a deserted toilet cubicle on the fifth floor of a building overlooking the Royal parade. He wanted to assassinate the Queen but his gunshot missed. Incredibly, although the 17-year-old was arrested he was never charged with attempted murder and media, who heard the shot, were told it was a falling sign.</p> <p>Why?</p> <p>The Security Intelligence Service (SIS) has now released previously classified information to <em>Stuff</em> after <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99760154/the-snowman-and-the-queen-the-story-of-a-kiwi-teen-terrorist-and-wouldbe-assassin" target="_blank"><em>The Snowman and the Queen</em> series</a></strong></span> was published in January.</p> <p>The SIS documents include the file <em>Possible Attempt on the Life of Queen Elizabeth II by National Imperial Guerilla Army</em>, which is dated November 9, 1981 and marked 'SECRET'. </p> <p>The documents, released under an Official Information Act (OIA) request to the intelligence agency, reveal unnamed SIS officials were investigating the assassination attempt, after initial media reports questioning whether an attempt had been made.</p> <p>The documents confirm police officers and members of the public heard "what they took to be a shot".</p> <p>Police initially downplayed the incident, telling local and international media the sound of what appeared to be a gunshot was, in fact, a council sign falling over.</p> <p>It was later revealed the then 17-year-old Christopher Lewis <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99877641/the-snowman-and-the-queen--chapter-two-the-shot" title="">fired a shot</a></strong></span> as the Queen exited her motorcade at the Otago Museum on the afternoon of October 14, 1981.</p> <p>An SIS official was given access to police reports, including interview notes, after the arrest of Christopher Lewis and two of his teenage off-siders.</p> <p>The newly released SIS file references "two persons who may well be fictitious whom Lewis would only describe as Snowman and Polar Bear respectively".</p> <p>According to Lewis' police interviews he commanded the National Imperial Guerilla Army, alongside a higher ranker person known as the Polar Bear while The Snowman was the leader who ordered the fledgling army<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99877641/the-snowman-and-the-queen--chapter-two-the-shot"> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>"to terrorise Dunedin".</strong></span></a></p> <p>While police expressed doubts over Lewis' claims over the existence of the shadowy pair, the SIS investigated the allegations.</p> <p>SIS had "no knowledge" of the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99877641/the-snowman-and-the-queen--chapter-two-the-shot" title="">National Imperial Guerilla Army</a> </strong></span>organisation, and did not believe it was linked to the right-wing National Front movement, which was pro-monarchy.</p> <p>"They are a figment of my imagination," Lewis later conceded to police.</p> <p>The SIS documents appear to vindicate claims made by Tom Lewis, a former Dunedin detective who went public about the assassination attempt in 1997.</p> <p>After he <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99979652/the-snowman-and-the-queen--chapter-three-the-coverup.html" target="_blank">went public</a></strong></span> it prompted another memo from SIS - also released under the OIA - to an undisclosed recipient. </p> <p>"(Christopher) Lewis did indeed originally intend to assassinate the Queen, however did not have a suitable vantage point from which to fire, nor a sufficiently high-powered rifle for the range from the target," the memo concluded.</p> <p>Tom Lewis, who is no relation to Christopher Lewis doubted the complete truth would ever come out.</p> <p>"It will be like ripping the scab off . . . so much pus would come out."</p> <p><img width="435" height="253" src="https://static3.stuff.co.nz/snowman1-b91dd7dc.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>A memo confirming Christopher Lewis did intend to kill the Queen.</em></p> <p><strong>CLASSIFIED INFORMATION</strong></p> <p>The released information, which included a hand-drawn map, confirmed the shot was heard in the vicinity of Dunedin's Walsh St, metres from the royal motorcade.</p> <p>That supports statements by two witnesses - including a former soldier -  who told <em>Stuff</em> they heard a shot nearby.</p> <p><img width="446" height="259" src="https://static3.stuff.co.nz/snowman4-2e09a554.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>A hand-drawn map confirms the shot was heard near Walsh St, metres from where the Queen travelled. </em></p> <p>The documents noted the same unnamed SIS official asked questions of the Police Terrorist Intelligence Unit (PTIU) following media reports of the shot.</p> <p>According to the SIS file, Lewis gave a "long meandering story" to police about his self-styled army, known as National Imperial Guerilla Army, which he used to keep his accomplices in line "to feed his own delusions".</p> <p>It took police some time to get the full story from Lewis, but when coupled with the multitude of charges, "the following points appeared certain", the SIS document said.</p> <p>Those include: </p> <p>- The possibility a firearm was <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99877641/the-snowman-and-the-queen--chapter-two-the-shot" target="_blank">discharged in the vicinity of the Queen</a> </strong></span>was highly likely although it may not have been aimed directly at the Queen or the royal party.</p> <p>- The police received a .22 rifle with a discharged cartridge in the breech from the fifth floor of the Adams Building as a result of Lewis' admissions.</p> <p>- Lewis possibly fired a shot at a nearby road at the time in question, although he does say that he changed his mind about wanting to hurt anyone.</p> <p>- The angle of fire and range would have made it difficult for the Queen to have been a target. Buildings screened her from the firing point except on four occasions of about two seconds duration.</p> <p>- Police ballistic tests subsequently found the bullet's trajectory was more likely to have passed high above the crowd than to have been fired at a road. Lewis will not countenance this suggestion.</p> <p><strong>MEDIA MISLED?</strong></p> <p>The earliest SIS memo was written after Christopher Lewis appeared on initial armed robbery and burglary charges, and while his accomplices were bailed he was remanded in custody.</p> <p>"Current police investigations into the shots have been conducted discreetly and most media representatives probably have the impression that the noise was caused by a firework of some description," the report said.</p> <p>"There is a worry, however, that in court the press may make the connections between the date of the offence and the Queen's visit."</p> <p>Former news editor at Dunedin radio station 4XO, Allan Dick, recalled being called into a meeting with a high ranking detective who said reports of a shot being fired were not true.</p> <p>"We all left that meeting more mystified about what had happened," Dick said.</p> <p>"I have no doubt the matter was covered-up, the cops were embarrassed - they didn't want the media to know and we got embarrassed that we allowed ourselves to be snowballed to such a degree."</p> <p><img width="417" height="242" src="https://static3.stuff.co.nz/15-dp-lewis962-1-68085563.jpg" class="NSImage_photoborder DT_NSImage_photoborder" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Christopher Lewis pictured in December 1996, less than a year before his death.</em></p> <p>Tom Lewis said despite the initial "push from journalists", the latest tranche of released documents confirmed police <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99979652/the-snowman-and-the-queen--chapter-three-the-coverup.html" target="_blank">wanted the matter to disappear</a> from the outset.</p> <p>"Once you start to cover-up, you then have to keep covering up the cover-up," Tom Lewis said.</p> <p>The documents revealed that while the police investigation was ongoing, police did not intend to charge Christopher Lewis with anything more than unlawful possession and/or discharge of a firearm.</p> <p>That revelation stunned Tom Lewis, who said the teen was facing a charge of treason, and then attempted treason.</p> <p>"We knew we would get home on attempted treason."</p> <p>Those close to the case alleged political interference came into play over fears the country would lose future royal tours due to the security lapse.</p> <p>After the incident police told media that Christopher Lewis, who was never charged with treason or attempted treason, shot at a road. </p> <p>He was sentenced to three years jail.</p> <p>Christopher Lewis went on to commit a string of armed robberies, sparked a mass police manhunt, was given a taxpayer-funded holiday and was then charged with murder.</p> <p>He <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/100176797/the-snowman-and-the-queen--chapter-five-the-end" target="_blank">electrocuted himself</a></strong></span> in his Mt Eden prison cell while on remand on September 23, 1997.</p> <p>After being approached by <em>Stuff</em> about claims of a cover-up, a police spokesman said: "Given the interest in this historic matter, the Police Commissioner Mike Bush has asked the Deputy Commissioner National Operations, Mike Clement, to oversee an examination by current investigation staff of the relevant case file.  </p> <p>"Given the passage of time, it is anticipated this examination of the old file and its associated material will take some time. NZ Police will share the outcome of this examination once it has been completed."</p> <div> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/99760154/the-snowman-and-the-queen-the-story-of-a-kiwi-teen-terrorist-and-wouldbe-assassin" target="_blank">The Snowman and the Queen is a Stuff series</a></span> looking at the life and crimes of Christopher John Lewis, a self-styled teen terrorist and trained "ninja" whose bizarre criminal antics kept police busy from his school days until his strange suicide in prison at age 33.</em></strong></p> </div> <div> <div class="NSImage"> <p><strong><em>The series was meant to be five parts but newly declassified information meant we produced a sixth chapter. </em></strong></p> </div> </div> <p><em>Written by Hamish McNeilly. Republished with permission of <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/101794948/the-snowman-and-the-queen-declassified-nz-intelligence-service-documents-confirm-assassination-attempt-on-queen">Stuff.co.nz.</a></span></strong></em></p>

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WikiLeaks releases thousands of CIA documents

<p>A cache of the US intelligence community's most closely guarded cyber weapons has been put online.</p> <p>It includes secret Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) code to steal data and turn devices such as cellphones, computers and television sets into snooping devices.</p> <p>WikiLeaks published thousands of documents purportedly taken from the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, a dramatic release that appears to provide an eye-opening look at the intimate details of America's cyber-espionage toolkit.</p> <p>The dump of more than 8000 documents on Wednesday, could not immediately be authenticated by media and the CIA declined comment, but WikiLeaks has a long track record of releasing top secret government documents.</p> <p>It includes claims the spy agency had worked on a system to "infect" the system of modern vehicles, allowing it to carry out "largely undetectable assassinations".</p> <p>"As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks," WikiLeaks claimed.</p> <p>"The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations."</p> <p>Experts who've started to sift through the material said it appeared legitimate - and that the release was almost certain to shake the CIA.</p> <p>"There's no question that there's a fire drill going on right now," said Jake Williams, a security expert with Augusta, Georgia-based Rendition Infosec. "It wouldn't surprise me that there are people changing careers - and ending careers - as we speak."</p> <p>Bob Ayers, a retired US intelligence official currently working as a security analyst, agreed, saying that the release was "real bad" for the agency.</p> <p>If the authenticity of the dump were officially confirmed, it would represent yet another catastrophic breach for the US intelligence community at the hands of WikiLeaks and its allies, which have repeatedly humbled Washington with the mass release of classified material, including hundreds of thousands of documents from the US State Department and the Pentagon.</p> <p>WikiLeaks, which had been dropping cryptic hints about the release for a month, said in a lengthy statement that the CIA had "recently" lost control of a massive arsenal of CIA hacking tools as well as associated documentation.</p> <p>The radical transparency organisation said that "the archive appears to have been circulated among former US government hackers and contractors in an unauthorised manner" and that one of them "provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive."</p> <p>Jonathan Liu, a spokesman for the CIA, said: "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents."</p> <p>Williams, who had experience dealing with government hackers, said that the voluminous files' extensive references to operation security meant they were almost certainly government-backed.</p> <p>"I can't fathom anyone fabricated that amount of operational security concern," he said. "It rings true to me."</p> <p>"The only people who are having that conversation are people who are engaging in nation-state-level hacking," he said.</p> <p>The documents covered a range of topics, including what appeared to be a discussion about how to compromise smart televisions and turn them into improvised surveillance devices.</p> <p>WikiLeaks said the leaked data also included details on the agency's efforts to subvert American software products and smartphones, including Apple's iPhone, Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows.</p> <p>A "substantial library" of digital espionage techniques borrowed from Russia and other countries was in the data as well, WikiLeaks said.</p> <p>Ayers noted that WikiLeaks had promised to release more CIA documents, saying the latest publication was just "the first full part of the series."</p> <p>"The damage right now is relatively high-level," he said. "(But) the potential for really detailed damage will come in the following releases."</p> <p>What’s your view on this controversy?</p> <p><em>Written by Raphael Satter. First appeared on <a href="http://www.Stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Stuff.co.nz</strong></span></a>. Image credit: Twitter / The WEDA Coalition.</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2017/01/how-to-take-a-screenshot/"><em>How to take a screenshot</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2016/12/internet-tips-to-make-your-life-better/"><em>4 internet tips to make your life better</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2016/12/what-to-do-to-when-you-lose-unsaved-documents/"><em>What to do to when you lose unsaved documents</em></a></strong></span></p>

Technology

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How to disaster-proof your finances

<p>If a disaster strikes your important documents are probably the last thing you’re thinking about, but they can be some of the most difficult things to replace. How can you protect these items from being destroyed, if the worst happens to your home?</p> <p>We’ve put together some tips and tricks to protect your important documents from disaster. If something happens, having these documents backed up and in an easily-accessible place might just make it that little bit easier to get back on your feet.</p> <p><strong>What documents should I consider safeguarding?</strong></p> <p>The <a href="https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Australian Securities and Investment Commission</span></strong></a> recommends taking measure to ensure the following documents are kept in a safe place:</p> <ul> <li>Birth certificate</li> <li>Marriage certificate</li> <li>Will and powers of attorney</li> <li>House deeds</li> <li>Insurance policies</li> <li>Bank account details</li> <li>Passports</li> <li>Copies of your driver's licence, Medicare card, bank and credit cards</li> <li>Superannuation papers</li> <li>Investment documents</li> <li>Details of funeral investments or arrangements</li> <li>A selection of photos, especially of valuable items like jewellery, furniture or paintings</li> </ul> <p><strong>What can I do to make sure these documents are safe?</strong></p> <p>The good news is there is a variety of measures you can take, to ensure these documents are protected in the event of a disaster, including:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Keep an electronic copy offsite</strong> – Consider backing up your important documents on an external hard drive. These are much more portable, and an easy way to carry around scanned or electronic copies of important documents and personal items. Consider storing this hard drive at a secure place, like the home of a close friend or relative. </li> <li><strong>Back it up in the cloud</strong> – Cloud computing is becoming increasingly popular and allows you to access important documents anywhere you have an internet connection. That being said, “clouds” are not impervious to data breaches, so it’s important to think carefully before storing personal documents. This is a much better method for items like photos.</li> <li><strong>Physical methods of storage</strong> – In the right circumstances, more-traditional, physical methods of storage can provide an effective way to store your documents. Placing important documents in a fire-resistant, waterproof safe or in a safe deposit box with your bank can be a useful way to protect your important documents from a range of types of damage.</li> </ul> <p><em>Source: Australian Securities and Investment Commission</em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/finance/retirement-income/2016/03/hidden-costs-to-retirement-village-contracts/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Hidden costs to retirement village contracts</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/finance/retirement-income/2016/03/wealthiest-people-in-australia/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>10 wealthiest people in Australia</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/finance/retirement-income/2016/03/cost-of-residential-aged-care/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The costs involved with residential aged care</strong></em></span></a></p>

Insurance

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The best way to preserve photos and documents

<p>There’s nothing more important than memories. Especially those from long ago and even family ones that came before your time. The preservation of such memories usually comes in the form of precious photos and documents. We’ve done the legwork for you and come up with the tips and tricks you need to know to ensure your black and white pics and old documents stand the test of time.</p><p><strong>Work out its future use</strong><br>It is important to think about how you want to use your documents and photos in the future. This will impact how and where you store them. For instance, if it’s your birth certificate there may be times when you need to use the original and therefore you will need to store it somewhere that you can easily retrieve it without unsettling other documents it's stored with. So it’s a good idea to separate photos and documents into frequent use and non-frequent use. You may also want to do the same for very precious ones and not so precious ones. Then you can make/label your folder, boxes and so on accordingly for storage.</p><p><strong>Go digital</strong><br>As well as physical copies, it's worthwhile to have digital copies of everything too. For instance, you may need to get a document out of storage for a date rather than having the supply a document to someone – and in the case it would be much easier if you had a folder on a computer that housed all of your documents and photos in sub folders. Ah, isn’t organisation grand! Remember if you’re naming lots of documents, be sure to be as descriptive as possible so that you can use the search tool rather than going into various folders and trawling through countless images and documents. For example, for an image you may want to use something like, “Mother’s Day picnic Sydney 1984” or “Grandma Jennifer Coles birth certificate”. Then you can further organise folders by creating them by event, family, surname or by type of record. Creating digital versions of your documents also makes them easier to print and share, too, which is very handy.</p><p><strong>Make it compatible</strong><br>When saving your photos and documents, make sure you save them in a format that will be compatible when sending, sharing and printing too. Jpeg and Pdf are the most common format for these uses.</p><p><strong>Handling and care</strong><br>It should go without saying that you should never eat food and drinks around your documents and photos. You should also ensure any surface areas surrounding where you get documents out and place them onto, should be clean and dry. And the most important one, always ensure hands are clean or that you wear disposable cotton or surgical-type gloves and you hold documents and photos on the sides and corners to minimise fingerprints and other damage. When carrying these types of things from room to room or around, use a rigid support system, such a piece of cardboard to transport things around.</p><p><strong>Preserve and storage</strong><br>Photographs and paper documents are prone to various types of deterioration. The prime causes being atmospheric pollutants, physical fragility and chemical instability. A storage area with a stable climate is recommended. Avoid high temperatures and humidity levels. Temps between 18 to 20<span class="st">°C</span> ad at a relative humidity between 45 to 50% are desirable. Note that wide fluctuations in this can physically stress documents and accelerate their deterioration. A sustained relative humidity over 65% is when mould growth can occur. A cupboard in an internal room that does not contact external walls can help buffer photographic records from daily temperature and humidity fluctuations. Ensure you turn off the light when you don’t need it on and inspect storage areas regularly for insects, water leaks, structured damage or other events that may threaten them. Lighting is an important one as material degrade more quickly when exposed to light. Don’t apply labels or stamps directly onto photographs or documents – this should be done to the packaging. The best thing to use is a soft, 2B graphite pencil. Never use metal pins, staples, paper clips, rubber bands or adhesive tape to secure these things. Corrugated board storage boxes can provide a convenient micro environment by buffering documents from the full effects of temperature and humidity. For storage within the boxes or cupboards, simple archival enclosure such as folders, wallets and paper cards protect paper-based items against things like light and dust. Choose a high-quality paper product for long-term storage.</p>

Family & Pets

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Photographer documents the days in the life of 80-plus women in New York City

<p>“Life Ever After documents a community of women that live alone after losing companions, relatives or friends. To look at them is also to look at the beauty of life, that definitely does not end when you reach your 80s,” says photographer Patricia Monteiro on her website.</p><p>“Even with all the rush and fast pace of New York City, many elderly women manage to keep up with their lives in their own rhythm and grace,” she continues.</p><p>Patricia Monteiro has been documenting the daily lives of over-80 women in New York City for her photography series Life Ever After. Monteiro was inspired to take on the series by her own grandmother, who battled the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.</p><p>“I wanted to show a positive side of growing old, to try to remind people that life is not over just because you reached your 80s -- there's still so much you can do for yourself and your community," Monteiro told The Huffington Post. She said, the ladies “made me think about aging in a different way.”</p><p>The featured women - Rita Immermann, Claire Gottfried and Molly Kanner and Sonia Goldstein – all enjoy independent lives with days full of activities. Monterio said she attempted to capture the sense of adventure that sees them gazing at masterpieces to playing bridge to enjoying a glass of wine before a trip to the theatre.</p><p>“We should look after our elders more and I see this very little, not only in the US, but in Brazil, my home country, too,” Monteiro concluded. “After doing this project, I am more aware of people and more considerate, I'd say. It made me realize how easily we can underestimate elderly's opinions, for example, when they can be so thoughtful and helpful. Knowing these ladies taught me a lot about appreciating life as it is.”</p><p><em>Image credit: <a href="http://www.patriciapmonteiro.com" target="_blank">Patricia Monteir website</a>&nbsp;</em></p><p><strong>Related links:&nbsp;</strong></p><p><a href="http://oversixty.com.au/health/wellbeing/2014/09/73-year-old-aussie-grandma-to-attempt-channel-swim-today/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>73-year-old Aussie grandma to attempt Channel swim today</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="http://oversixty.com.au/health/wellbeing/2015/01/make-this-your-best-year/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>How to make this your happiest year yet</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="http://oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/technology/2014/10/the-74-year-old-on-a-mission-to-make-technology-easy-for-all-seniors/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>The 74 year-old on a mission to make technology easy for ALL&nbsp;</strong></em></span></a></p>

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