Daily wrap
Five-year jail terms for retail crimes [The Australian paywall]
Victoria will introduce new offences carrying jail terms for assaulting or abusing retail, hospitality and transport workers, as the Allan government moves to counter rising violence.
Integrity watchdog urges WA premier to drop bill allowing ministers to rewrite laws [WA Today paywall]
A new report warns the State Development Bill exposes WA’s already fragile integrity system to further political influence.
Courts turn on coal mines over climate impacts [SMH paywall]
The NSW Land and Environment Court invalidated the approval for the Ulan coal mine expansion near Mudgee, based on a precedent set in July.
Lanlan Yang allegedly refused to take a breath test or give a version of events to police after a collision that left a person badly injured.
Queensland (and everyone else) reject call to weaken bail laws [Brisbane Times paywall]
The nation’s attorneys-general met today in Brisbane before the release of a report recommending nationwide bail law changes.
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Pauline Hanson v Mehreen Faruqi FCAFC hearing begins today - livestream available here - Federal Court of Australia - YouTube
On this episode of The Callover, we speak with Judge Dženita Balić of the Queensland District Court about her extraordinary journey from refugee to the bench.
After fleeing the Bosnian War and arriving in Australia as a teenager, Judge Balić learned English as her third language, graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 2005, and the next 17 years at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, where she rose to the position of Principal Crown Prosecutor before being appointed as a Magistrate in 2022. In 2024, her Honour was appointed to the District Court of Queensland.
We discuss her career in criminal law, the qualities that make a great advocate, and why diversity and inclusion are vital for access to justice.
Gilbert + Tobin snags KWM property partner [AFR paywall]
Murphy has overseen plenty of high-profile transactions in his career, running the gamut from investment funds and initial public offerings to public and private M&A.
This video is another in a series on the dismissal of the Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, in 1975. It addresses the role of the Queen in relation to the dismissal. Did she have any power in relation to the dismissal of an Australian Prime Minister? Could she instruct the Governor-General to reverse the dismissal of a Prime Minister? What legal advice had Whitlam received about these issues in September 1975?
[1] The Applicant has filed an originating application dated 31 October 2025 seeking:
A declaration that as per reg 69 of the Telecommunications (Emergency Call Service) Determination 2019 (Cth) (TECS Determination 2019), a carriage service provider can cease supply of carriage services to a mobile phone only if it cannot access emergency call services via at least one carriage service provider.
An order restraining the Respondent (trading as ALDI Mobile) from ceasing supply of carriage service to the Applicant’s Samsung Galaxy J5Pro, for reason of reg 69 of the TECS Determination 2019.
[5] ….The Applicant uses a Samsung Galaxy J5 Pro phone, also known as SM-J53OY. His SIM card is provided by ALDI Mobile. On 24 October 2025, he received a message from ALDI Mobile stating that his device “cannot call 000 on at least one Australian network”, and that “[w]e are legally required to network block such devices on 26/11/2025”. The Applicant says that he can access some networks to call 000, but was told by persons from the Respondent that his phone cannot access the Vodafone network. He sets out in his affidavit his reasons for wanting to keep the particular model of phone that he has.
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