Victoria police say they will not proceed with charges against three people as part of their wider investigation into the alleged fatal shooting of two police officers by fugitive Dezi Freeman due to “insufficient evidence”.
There have been no confirmed sightings of Freeman, 56, since he allegedly killed two police officers at a rural Victorian property last August. Police last month said they believed he died only hours after he fled into bushland after allegedly shooting the two officers.
In a statement released this afternoon, police said:
Victoria Police can confirm that we will not be proceeding with charges at this time against three people as part of the broader investigation into the fatal shooting of two police officers in Porepunkah last year.
Police said a 42-year-old Porepunkah woman and a 56-year-old Porepunkah man were interviewed by investigators for allegedly obstructing police. A third person was interviewed for an alleged attempted theft.
Police said briefs of evidence were “not authorised” due to “insufficient evidence to support a prosecution at this time”.
ASX closes on sour note with almost $200bn wiped since start of conflict
Australian shares closed slightly lower today, ending a tumultuous two-week period marked by heavy losses and investor concerns of more upheaval to come.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,617.1 points, down more than 6% from levels reached before the US and Israeli strikes on Iran started in late February.
That equates to almost $200bn in lost market value.
Two weeks ago, the initial reaction from investors was modest amid expectations of a contained conflict.
Sentiment has now soured due to concerns the US does not have a clean exit strategy that can guarantee a stable resumption of the oil trade, and other freight, through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Morningstar market strategist Lochlan Halloway says oil analysts have been surprised by how severely energy flows from the Persian Gulf have been disrupted.:
What we had previously characterised as a bear case, in which persistent attacks choke off commercial transit, is now our base case.
An elevated oil price is a major global inflation trigger given it drives up costs across goods and services in the economy, which weighs on equity markets.
Australian travellers pivot to Asian destinations amid Middle East conflict
Australians are shifting their travel plans to destinations in Asia amid uncertainty about long-haul travel during the Middle East conflict, according to Webjet’s booking data.
Data from the bookings site between 1 March and yesterday show that Australians are continuing to book international travel but are switching to short-haul trips to Asia and other closer destinations.
Compared with the same period in March 2025, there was a 43% increase in bookings to Ho Chi Minh City, a 30% increase in bookings to Bali, and a 21% increase in tips to Tokyo.
Katrina Barry, chief executive and managing director at Webjet Group, said:
Australians still have a strong appetite to travel, but we’re seeing them adapt their plans in response to global uncertainty.
Rather than cancelling trips altogether, many travellers are pivoting towards destinations that are closer to home or feel easier to access, including domestic holidays and short-haul travel across Asia and the Pacific.
Nationals raise concern over fuel supply to regional areas
The new deputy Nationals leader, Darren Chester, spoke to the ABC earlier about Australia’s fuel supply.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, announced that the country would begin releasing its fuel stockpile amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Chester said he did not believe fuel rations needed to be implemented in cities. But he said it was vital the federal government ensured that fuel got to the “places that need it the most”. He said:
It’s not across every part of rural and regional Australia, but certainly there were areas that weren’t getting their fuel.
I don’t believe that the minister fully understood the distribution challenges and how our regional communities depend so heavily on large amounts of fuel to get the food to us.
Pocock says ‘contingencies’ needed such as gas export tax as fuel supply concerns persist
The independent ACT senator David Pocock says the federal government needs to have “contingencies” in place amid concerns about fuel supply due to the Middle East conflict.
Speaking to the ABC, he has reiterated calls for the Albanese government to introduce a 25% tax on gas exports:
I do think this is an opportunity to actually say, let’s bring in a 25% tax on gas exports and use some of that money to help people who are really struggling.
I think if the federal government was actually willing to tax things like our gas exports, to potentially bring in a windfall profit tax, because we can we know that gas exporters, potentially fuel companies, are going to be making windfall profits off this war in the Middle East.
Pocock said state governments could also provide financial incentives for people to catch public transport and not drive as a way to ease demands on fuel.
Thistlethwaite asked about former spy chief quitting antisemitism royal commission
Matt Thistlethwaite was also asked about the former spy chief Dennis Richardson quitting the antisemitism royal commission just a fortnight after its opening hearing.
Richardson told the ABC he came to the decision that he was “surplus” to the needs of the body.
Asked about media reports Richardson was frustrated with the timing of potential intelligence and security reforms, Thistlethwaite says such inquiries must be independent from government:
It’s a decision for the commissioner. It’s an independent commission … We’ve got every confidence that Virginia Bell is the right person for that job and will do a thorough job on those intelligence issues and ensuring that we get to the bottom of what happened.
Panic-buying affecting fuel supplies, Thistlethwaite says
Asked if Australia is facing a fuel emergency, Thistlethwaite says supplies are continuing to arrive on a “regular and normal basis”.
He says panic-buying is affecting supplies:
That’s why we’re releasing some of the reserve today to shore up confidence in those markets and to provide adequate supplies into the future.
Labor frontbencher says ‘we don’t have a crisis of supply’ for fuel
Federal Labor frontbencher Matt Thistlethwaite says Australia has adequate fuel suply amid concerns about the impact from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The Albanese government today directed fuel companies to release nearly a fifth of reserve petrol and diesel supplies.
Speaking to the ABC, Thistlethwaite, the assistant minister for foreign affairs, said:
We don’t have a crisis of supply. There are supplies coming into the country, and we have the reserves in stock …
Some people have been taking more than they need for their operations … That’s meant that certain retailers have had shortages of stock.
Man dies after workplace incident in Sydney
A man has died after a workplace incident in Sydney’s west.
Emergency services were called to a business in Emu Plains after reports a man had suffered an electric shock while performing maintenance works on the building, NSW police said in a statement.
Paramedics treated the man, believed to be aged in his 40s, but he died at the scene, police said.
The man is yet to be formally identified.
Victoria police say they will not proceed with charges against three people as part of their wider investigation into the alleged fatal shooting of two police officers by fugitive Dezi Freeman due to “insufficient evidence”.
There have been no confirmed sightings of Freeman, 56, since he allegedly killed two police officers at a rural Victorian property last August. Police last month said they believed he died only hours after he fled into bushland after allegedly shooting the two officers.
In a statement released this afternoon, police said:
Victoria Police can confirm that we will not be proceeding with charges at this time against three people as part of the broader investigation into the fatal shooting of two police officers in Porepunkah last year.
Police said a 42-year-old Porepunkah woman and a 56-year-old Porepunkah man were interviewed by investigators for allegedly obstructing police. A third person was interviewed for an alleged attempted theft.
Police said briefs of evidence were “not authorised” due to “insufficient evidence to support a prosecution at this time”.
More than 800 people in evacuation centres as flooding continues in the Top End
More than 800 people remain in evacuation centres at Katherine, Mataranka and Darwin as flooding continues in the Top End.
NT police force acting commander Emma Carter said disaster assistance payments were being rolled out.
Our key message to the community remains simple: avoid unnecessary travel and never drive through flood waters. Flood waters can hide damaged roads, debris and other hazards and in the Territory they also present a very real crocodile threat.
The Bureau of Meteorology said Daly river levels were still rising, having crossed 16 metres overnight, and were expected to peak close to the 1998 flood (16.25 metres) over the weekend. It was likely to be a prolonged flood event with the river above major flood levels for the next week or more.
Rivers at Katherine and Wugularr (Beswick) have fallen below the minor flood level and continue to recede.
Electricity was set to be restored to all four pumps at the Darwin river dam on Friday.
As of Friday morning, 196 customers in Katherine were still without power.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
