Month: May 2019

A homeless man has been charged with murder following the "horrendous" death of 25-year-old Courtney Herron in Parkville.

Ms Herron, who was homeless, was found dead by dog walkers in Royal Park on Saturday morning, sparking a major police investigation.

A 27-year-old man of no fixed address was arrested on Sunday and charged with one count of murder overnight.

He will appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.

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Police say Ms Herron was slain in a "horrendous bashing" before her body was found. Homicide squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said there was no evidence the attack was sexually motivated.

Ms Herron attempted to call former boyfriend Terrick Edwards in the hours before her death, his sister Nindara Edwards Norris told The Age. She said he now felt responsible "for not being able to offer her a safe place for the night".

The couple had lived in the inner northern suburb of Northcote for "many years" and remained close after separating four years ago, Ms Norris said.

Ms Herron was raised in the northern suburbs, Ms Norris said. She has a sister and brother and was "a part of a beautiful caring Greek-Aussie family".

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Ms Herron had suffered "many mental illness issues and recurring homelessness" since the split with her brother, according to Ms Norris.

She said her brother would want Ms Herron "to be remembered for the lovely woman she was and not just another homeless person who died on the streets".

Ms Herron had worked for a government department "a number of years ago", Ms Norris said.

"So to end up homeless and on the street is truly shocking for people to grasp."

Melburnians will gather for a vigil on Friday at 5.30pm at Royal Park, with organisers urging people to "join together" to pay tribute to Ms Herron and reclaim the public park.

"All people deserve safety in this world. Sadly, once again we must mourn the loss of an innocent woman in a place known to so many of us."

Bouquets and heartfelt messages have been placed by mourners at a group of logs behind where Ms Herron's body was found.

The makeshift shrine was continuing to grow on Monday morning, with friends and complete strangers braving the bitter cold winds to make their way across Royal Park and pay their respects.

Annette Graham, 48, didn’t know Ms Herron, but arrived with her 11-year-old son Coulton to place a bouquet of bright yellow roses tied with a red ribbon.

"I wanted to send a message to whoever loved this poor lady, that we are thinking of them, and thinking of her."

Ms Graham, who lives locally in North Melbourne, walks here four or five times a week at 7am and is wondering if it’s still safe to do so.

"It just felt close to home and I just felt’it’s enough. It has to stop. The violence has to stop."

She used to walk at Royal Park at 6am or earlier but said 18 months ago she was followed at strange man and became scared.

A friend of Ms Herron's, who asked not to be named, on Sunday left flowers at the site and wept on the shoulder of another friend.

"She was kind and she was lovely and she was a great friend," she said.

Matt Walsh knew Ms Herron in high school and said she was one of the most kind-hearted people he had ever met.

"[She was] always smiling and joking, trying to make herself and others happy. That's how I'll remember her," he said.

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Jadee Craggles posted on Facebook about her anger at Ms Herron's life being taken so young.

"Breaks my heart that we live in such a f—ed up world, nobody deserves this," she said. "It was a pleasure knowing you; even not seeing you in years."

Ms Craggles told The Age she hadn't seen Courtney since high school, and was shocked to hear that she had been struggling.

"She was a beautiful, normal young girl, breaks my heart to hear she was doing it so tough now," she said.

Detective Inspector Stamper said Ms Herron had lived a difficult life, struggling with drugs and mental health issues.

He described Ms Herron as a "vulnerable" member of the community who society had failed to protect.

"This was a young woman who had significant challenges in life. We as a community should be protecting these people and we didn't. We failed on this occasion," he said.

Detective Inspector Stamper said Ms Herron's family was "heartbroken".

"Courtney had had sporadic contact with her family, which is very much part of the challenges that happen when there is a child that suffers drug use and mental health issues … family relationships can be fragmented," he said.

"But I stress, that doesn't mean that families out there don't love their children and their heart breaks for them. We're dealing with a heartbroken family."

The last confirmed sighting of Ms Herron was on May 14 in St Albans when she spoke with police about a minor matter relating to her mental health and drug use.

Police said that towards the end of her life she was transient and interacted with a lot of people, who may be able to help police map out her movements in the final weeks of her life.

It says everything about Scott Morrison and his reborn government that the big theme of his new ministry is deliberately humdrum.

While Labor promised vast reform at the federal election, the Coalition offered more of the same with a pledge to keep improving. And it won.

The result is a new ministry that is all about management rather than bold new agendas, about keeping existing programs under control before embarking on any new ones.

Expectations are high for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the delivery has already been marked by anger and disappointment when people miss out on the services they need. Stuart Robert has a significant challenge in fixing this.

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The National Broadband Network has infuriated some of its customers with cumbersome roll-outs and problems with speed. Paul Fletcher, who wrote a book about broadband policy, has his work cut out.

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The Coalition has made few commitments in social services, and has no plan to increase Newstart, but this is an area where delivery is a constant challenge and failures make headlines. Anne Ruston moves into cabinet with a substantial task ahead as Minister for Families and Social Services.

Liberals are already jostling to replace two senators, Arthur Sinodinos and Mitch Fifield, who will take up diplomatic posts. A push is under way in Victoria to give that state's upper house position to Sarah Henderson, who lost her seat of Corangamite at the election. Senator Jim Molan is being named as a potential candidate if he loses his seat in the ongoing count from the May 18 election.

Those who helped Morrison ascend to the leadership last August gain positions in this ministry, but not to an extent that is disproportionate. Robert is one. Two others, Steve Irons and Ben Morton, serve at assistant minister level.

A fourth, Alex Hawke, takes on a dual responsibility for defence and foreign aid, with an emphasis on the Pacific. It is an interesting strategic appointment given the expansion of Chinese influence.

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Some of those who supported Peter Dutton last August keep their positions or gain bigger roles. Alan Tudge is promoted to cabinet, while Greg Hunt and Angus Taylor stay in their portfolios. Taylor gains responsibility for emissions reduction as well as energy. Michael Sukkar becomes Assistant Treasurer, an important role.

The biggest loser from this reshuffle, Melissa Price, suffers from being a poor advocate in the environment portfolio. Morrison was under no pressure to admit he made a mistake with her appointment last year, but he bit the bullet.

Importantly, he promoted Ruston and Sussan Ley to ensure there were still seven women in cabinet.

Also important is his decision to name Nola Marino and Jane Hume as assistant ministers. This does not fix all the Liberal Party's troubles in recruiting and promoting women, but it is another step forward.

The Waratahs are clinging to hope they can give some of their biggest names the farewell they deserve despite falling to their eighth loss of the season against the Jaguares at the weekend.

NSW remain a mathematical chance to snatch a wildcard spot in the Super Rugby finals but now face back-to-back games against the Rebels and Brumbies, the two teams ranked above them in the conference standings, before a final away game against the Highlanders.

A dejected dressing room at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday was forced to confront the fact plans to send off club veterans Sekope Kepu and Nick Phipps with a red-hot tilt at a title were on life support.

"Extremely disappointing. That one really hurt, we knew it was a crucial game for us," Kurtley Beale said.

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"I thought that there were patches there where we did some really good things but we hurt ourselves with some poor errors. Not having that discipline to stick to the shape, and they put a lot of pressure on us."

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Phipps and Kepu are not the only big names leaving Daceyville at season's end. Winger Curtis Rona is joining Premiership club London Irish, while Beale, NSW five-eighth Bernard Foley, Test second rower Rob Simmons and centre Karmichael Hunt are also off contract at the end of the year.

Beale brushed off questions about his future, preferring to focus on the upcoming Test season.

"I haven’t really thought about it too much, I'm leaving it up to my management, there’s a few things happening around the traps," Beale said.

"This is a massive year for me, I’m just trying to make sure I get my body right now and focus on week in, week out. I’m making sure I can contribute the best way I can."

The veteran Waratah signed with the club as a teenager and turned 30 this year, with a two-season stint in Melbourne and a year in England the only disruptions to 10 seasons in the NSW blue.

Beale urged his teammates to remain "hopeful" the cards would fall in their favour over the final three rounds of the season.

"It’s important for us to not be too down," he said.

"We can hurt over this but be very hopeful about the next few weeks. They’re all grand final matches and you have to be hopeful at this stage of the season."

The Waratahs face a tight turnaround to prepare for Friday's clash with the Rebels at AAMI Park. The second-placed Australian team look set to field a line up minus experienced No.9 Will Genia after he was knocked out in the side's thumping win over the Sunwolves.

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But NSW will also be depleted, with Hunt expected to be out for six weeks with a medial ligament knee injury, Test hooker Tolu Latu stood down awaiting a court appearance and Israel Folau's recent exit.

Manly winger Lalakai Foketi was solid as Hunt's replacement and will be favoured to start at No.12 against the Rebels, but it is the NSW game managers who will need to step up if they are to topple the Rebels.

"We're working really hard," Beale said. "No team goes out there to lose. There's a couple of games this year when we just lost by a point or so and it could have been a different season for us.

"In saying that our season’s not at the end. We play another three games and we’ve got to be hopeful.

"That’s an important thing for us as a group now. Stay tight and make sure we keep working hard for each other. We’re hoping a game or two can turn it around and be the difference. That’s what a tough grinding season is, making sure we’re all in it together in the dying stages."

Arthur Sinodinos is the ultimate steady pair of hands.

He'll need to be. The Trump administration's upheaval of American politics, the United States' sharpening rivalry with China and fears about the reliability of the American presence in Asia raise the diplomatic stakes to an all-time high.

Never has it been more important for Australia's voice to be clearly heard in the clamorous US capital, where the whole world is striving for the attention of the superpower's decision-makers.

Sinodinos has a number of qualities to recommend him. He is deeply experienced, connected and respected.

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As the former chief-of-staff to then prime minister John Howard, who did not hesitate to back George W. Bush after the 9/11 attacks and in the Iraq invasion – despite the latter's being an American strategic blunder – Sinodinos is inextricably linked in many senior Washington figures' minds with a high watermark of the ANZUS alliance.

"He's a consigliere," said Simon Jackman, CEO of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. "He's a great counsellor to prime ministers and to his party. He's a straight shooter, which is exactly what you need when there are hard conversations to be had about what Australia can do and what it is less likely to be able to."

Current ambassador Joe Hockey has very tight relationships with Trump's inner circle, Jackman says, including his acting chief-of-staff, Mick Mulvaney. Sinodinos will be able to pick up that role immediately.

He'll need every bit of his smarts, his charm, his persistence to steadily convey to the Americans a few things Canberra wants to happen – and not to happen.

We want the US and China to manage their great power competition sensibly. We don't want to have to choose between them. We want trade differences resolved through an international system of rules. We don't want the world's technology supply chains and markets to be split into a US sphere and a Chinese sphere.

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We most definitely don't want to be thrown under the bus in any trade deal between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

And we don't want to be drawn into the Fox News conspiracy theory – which Trump has embraced by asking his Attorney-General William Barr to investigate – that senior elements of US intelligence and law enforcement plotted with foreigners, including the Australian government, to concoct the Russia allegations.

At the centre of that conspiracy theory is George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign aid who famously met with former foreign minister Alexander Downer in a London wine bar.

Papadopoulos, who seems genuinely to think he is James Bond, tweeted on Sunday morning that the US should "expose the Australians" and added that "they need us. We don't need them!"

Sinodinos will find many friends in Washington. There is still an overwhelmingly sensible centre of gravity in the world's most powerful capital. He'll need those people to mediate the more extreme characteristics of the Trump administration.

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It was a business brainwave that came while having a cuppa and Pod Star co-founder Kirsten Williams says traction is only growing.

"It is actually a business that is made from a mission — and the mission isn’t about getting rich."

Instead, it's all about harnessing Australian consumer's appetite for a war on waste to let them have their capsule coffee machines without the stress over empty pods.

The global market value of tea and coffee pods jumped from $22 billion in 2017 to $42.4 billion in 2019, according to Fior Markets. Millions of pods are disposed of in Australia each year.

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The major market leaders in Australia including Nespresso and Aldi have services to recycle the pods, with postal and drop off options for customers.

Scrapping single use

Despite this, founders like Williams and her partner Mark Denning, have questioned why there needs to be single-use capsules at all.

Last year the duo embarked on a project that saw "a couple of fails": reverse-engineering the design of stainless steel pods that can be successfully used in different capsule coffee machine brands.

It was a process of designing prototypes, running them through machines and then tasting the resulting coffee until the company had the perfect fit for the products consumers already owned.

"The idea is that it should be able to last a lifetime… though it wasn't quite as simple as putting any coffee in and away it went," Williams says.

The couple invested just over $20,000 to start the design and manufacturing process and now offer reusable pods that fit the Aldi, Caffitaly and Nespresso machine brands.

Users buy coffee that is ground for reusable machines and then can add a small portion to the capsule each time they brew a cup.

Williams says after more than a decade operating a commercial printing business, the switch to a company designed to reduce waste is heartening.

"To us it’s exciting, as with every sale we get, we’re not just making money. Somebody is partnering with us," she says.

Less than a year on from launching the company, it's turning over more than $200,000.

Sustainability becomes 'a fad'

For the first-movers in Australia's eco-coffee space, tracking consumers' budding concerns about waste has been a fascinating process.

"Sustainability has almost become a fad — that’s not necessarily a bad thing," says founder of Melbourne's Crema Joe, Kayla Mossuto.

"We have found and we can see a lot of business-minded people jumping on board and capitalising on this wave. If that's contributing to reducing waste, that's the most important thing, really."

Mossuto and her husband founded Crema Joe around five years ago and were also inspired by their own at-home coffee making experiences.

Crema Joe doesn't produce its own pods, instead it operates an online store is licenced to sell global reusable capsule brands including Sealpod, Waycap and Bluecup.

As the company heads towards $1 million in revenue, Mossuto believes her community of customers avoid using 11.5 million disposable capsules a year by switching to reusable items.

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Mossuto says the growth has been "pretty substantial" off the back of a $10,000 personal investment used to kick off the business.

Even so, she's aware that as fashions and consumer trends change, she might need to review the business.

"We talk about not having our eggs all in one basket. With capsule machines, who knows how long they'll be around for. This is supporting our family and staff as well – it's important [the business] does well," she says.

At the moment, Crema Joe is focused on coming up with a reusable solution for as many pod machines on the market as possible. In the long-term, giving shoppers a convenient way to reduce their waste is the larger goal, Mossuto says.

"As far as customer loyalty goes, it’s always been the number one priority for us. We want to provide them with a long-term solution. It's important they have a good experience with us."

The company's calculator predicts that if you buy ground coffee at $20.00 for 250g, customers drinking three coffees a day can save more than $150 a year using a reusable pod in their machines compared with a disposable option.

Is there a worry the big machine manufacturers will decide to roll out their own reusable pods to go alongside single-use options?

"Not really. If there’s not that repeat purchase, it’s not worth it for that kind of company. Single use is where the profits are," Mossuto says.

Nespresso has been contacted for comment on the prevalence of multi-use pods in its machines.

In a warranty card for its products sold in Australia, it warns consumers 'any defect resulting from the usage of non genuine Nespresso capsules will not be covered' when making claims under the company's own warranty.

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Paris: Seven-time grand slam winner Venus Williams was knocked out in the first round on the opening day of the French Open on Sunday.

Williams succumbed to Elina Svitolina, who won 6-3, 6-3 in 73 minutes.

Williams, 38, had 34 unforced errors and lost seven break points to hand the ninth-seeded Ukrainian an easy victory.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Australian wildcard Alexei Popyrin overcame the challenge of Frenchman Ugo Humbert 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (12-10), 6-3 in a match that lasted nearly three hours.

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Last year's semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato of Italy was knocked out 2-6, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 by French wildcard Nicolas Mahut.

In a match that lasted three hours and 18 minutes, Mahut had 56 winners and won 47 points at the net to beat the 16th seed who is ranked more than 230 places above him.

Womens' second seed Karolina Pliskova eased past American Madison Brengle 6-2, 6-3. Slovak qualifier Kristina Kucova reached the second round for the first time with a 6-4, 6-2 win over former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Although Kuznetsova hit 24 winners to Kucova's 18, the Russian made 25 unforced errors to bow out in the opening round.

Mens' third seed Roger Federer was in control throughout his contest with Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 on his return to Roland Garros.

The 37-year-old Swiss legend was never really troubled by the Italian, who playing in the main draw for the first time.

Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas's style, and his calm, have already drawn comparisons with 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer, yet the Greek sensation may in fact have more in common with claycourt master Rafa Nadal.

The sixth seed reached the second round of the French Open on Sunday with a no-nonsense 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) victory against German Maximilian Marterer, with few fans to witness the feat as most of the crowd were grabbing lunch in the revamped Roland Garros before Federer made his return on the new court Philippe Chatrier.

Those who skipped the match missed Tsitsipas's ease on the red dirt.

"Learning tennis on clay is very good for your body, for your development. It's a way to learn how to slide, basically learn the basics of tennis," the 20-year-old told reporters.

"Then you can move to hard [courts]. That's my personal opinion. I probably practised… I don't know, I might be wrong… but I practised since the age of six up to the age of 14 on clay.

"Probably more than Rafa," he added with a laugh.

Tsitsipas made a name for himself by beating 11-time French Open champion Rafa Nadal in the Madrid Open semi-finals earlier this month before losing to Novak Djokovic in the final.

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The result boosted his confidence ahead of Roland Garros, one of his favourite tournaments – only Wimbledon trumps the Parisian event for him, but the surface is not the reason.

"I like Roland Garros because it's the only Grand Slam on clay, I grew up playing on clay. I love the crowd. They are very respectful," he explained.

"Well, obviously they're going to support the French guys if I play the French guys. The clay makes it very special. And also, I would say that after Wimbledon, Roland Garros is probably one of my favourites.

"My dream is to win it one day because of the history and because of the tradition."

Next up for Tsitsipas is Bolivian Hugo Dellien, with Federer a potential opponent in the quarter-finals.

Reuters, AP

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Unlike many of my peers, I didn't have to beg my mother to have my ears pierced.

At the tender age of five, I was taken one Friday night to the local shopping centre, whereupon two nice ladies at the chemist kindly performed the "double gun" approach on my kindy-aged earlobes.

At 12, I decided it was time for a second go and, once again, mum was unperturbed. Contrast this to some of my friends who had to beg, bargain or bribe their parents, or, in an even riskier move, don't ask permission and just apologise later, hoping their parents didn't make them remove the "safety" studs they make you wear for the first six weeks.

Ask around and many women (and a few men) will have a story about how they got their ears pierced, as well as some graphic recollections of their first ear piercing infection (supposedly getting them done with a needle was considered safer in this regard but also way more scary/badass).

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Of course, there are many women, including some of my friends, for whom getting their ears pierced was never a rite of passage. Either they weren't keen or their parents were so strict they never bothered asking. "When you're 18," was so common a cry in the kitchens of some of my friends that many of them came of age and just never bothered (although some of those same friends wasted no time running to get their first tattoo. Different strokes, I guess).

The good news off the back of last week's Fashion Week Australia, as well as overseas catwalks is that not having your ears pierced is no barrier to rocking some fine ear bling, such is the trend for ear cuffs this summer. Already we are seeing them on the red carpet: Taylor Swift wore one to the Billboard Music Awards; and model Anja Rubik sported one less than a week ago in Cannes.

Jeanette Maree, who worked on the Thurley runway, says although those designs were more intended as show pieces for the runway, ear cuffs are becoming popular with bridesmaids.

From delicate fine hoops to intricate floral pieces, there is a cuff for all tastes and budgets. But despite its size relative to the rest of your outfit, it is a trend that takes a little styling, and a lot of confidence, to rock.

So, how do you do it? Jackie Damelian, creative director of Jackie Mack Designs, says it's all about balance.

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"Small earlobes look best with fewer pieces of jewellery," she says. "Larger earlobes can get away with more than two pieces."

To achieve a subtle, cohesive look, Damelian suggests a "huggie" with a dangling piece, followed by a flat stud, and a touch of sparkle with a dainty ear cuff.

Hair styling is particularly important when choosing an ear cuff as there's no point in wearing one if no one can see it, right?

Damelian likes how The Voice's Kelly Rowland has styled her hair with many piercings by creating a hairstyle that frames the face. "Create volume and sweep hair to one side," she says.

Get the look

Make an ear cuff pop with a subtle high neck or a sexy blazer.

Stockists

Camilla and Marc: camillaandmarc.com

MATCHESFASHION.COM: matchesfashion.com

Cue: cue.cc

Luxe Deluxe: luxe-deluxe.com

Jackie Mack Designs: jackiemackdesigns.com

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Brad Fittler will wait until early in camp before outlining a plan for Tyson Frizell's return to the training paddock as a heavy concussion for the Dragons enforcer added one final dramatic twist to his nightmare State of Origin selection.

Fittler pinned his faith in embattled halfback Nathan Cleary to lead the Blues at Suncorp Stadium after naming five rookies for the series opener next month.

Fittler had already lost halves certainty Luke Keary to concussion only 48 hours earlier and dashed to the St George Illawarra sheds at half-time of their 22-9 loss to the Sharks at WIN Stadium on Sunday after Frizell was involved in a sickening head clash with ex-teammate Josh Dugan.

"I went down and talked to Friz at half-time and he wanted to go back on," Fittler said. "He had that silly smile on his face and I didn’t know if he was talking to me. I think he’s OK. We’ll just follow protocol and I’m not sure when he can train. But we’ll work that out [at the start of the week]."

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It was just another blow for Fittler after a horror injury weekend as he lost a slew of halves contenders fell by the wayside.

Cody Walker will partner Cleary in the halves while Nick Cotric, Payne Haas, Jack Wighton and Cameron Murray will all make their NSW debuts – just a year after Fittler blooded a record 11 players in the opening game of last year's series.

Mitchell Pearce (groin) and Adam Reynolds (leg) were injured during the weekend's round and Fittler acknowledged Reynolds' leg problem on Saturday night finally tipped the halfback scales in Cleary's favour.

Reynolds was cleared of a lower leg fracture on Sunday.

"I wanted to pick Nathan – I wanted to pick all the team from last year – it doesn’t seem to be the case," Fittler said. "It was hard not to look at the Souths combination how well they’ve been playing.

"Nathan, what he did on Thursday night, was an awesome effort considering what they’re going through. I think Nathan’s game’s sometimes easier to play because it’s all based on effort. He just tries so hard.

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"Sometimes it gets a bit complicated out there and it has at different times as the team is not working together every well …. but the backbone of him is chasing every kick, making every tackle and just trying to do what he can. That can’t be said about every player. He’s quite rare being like that.

"Any chance I get to pick him in a footy team I’m very glad."

The 21-year-old has been far from his best this season for the struggling Panthers, but produced a man of the match display in Penrith's turgid win over the Eels last Thursday night. It was just Penrith's third win of the season.

The host of 11th hour withdrawals weren't enough for Cleary's halves partner James Maloney to preserve his place, falling down the pecking order behind Keary and Walker.

Maloney, James Roberts, Tariq Sims and Tyrone Peachey were all axed from the side that played for the Blues in game three last year.

Jack de Belin is unavailable after being sidelined under the NRL's no-fault stand-down rule as he faces an aggravated sexual assault charge. He has pleaded not guilty.

Fittler's stress-free build-up to last year's series hasn't been replicated in 2019 with a host of incumbents struggling for form before a nightmare weekend on the injury front which ended with the Frizell scare.

"We definitely have to win the series," Fittler said. "We’ve got a lot of ground to catch up so anything other than a win will be failure."

Sharks veteran Josh Morris, 32, earned a recall after last playing Origin in 2016 and will man the right centre spot alongside Cotric, who will play on the right flank.

Broncos teenager Haas, 19, will train throughout the entire NSW cap during Ramadan, the annual Muslim observance of fasting during daylight hours. It will finish just a day before game one.

NSW team for Origin I

1 James Tedesco (Roosters)

2 Josh Addo-Carr (Storm)

3 Latrell Mitchell (Roosters)

4 Josh Morris (Sharks)

5 Nick Cotric (Raiders)

6 Cody Walker (Rabbitohs)

7 Nathan Cleary (Panthers)

8 David Klemmer (Knights)

9 Damien Cook (Rabbitohs)

10 Paul Vaughan (Dragons)

11 Boyd Cordner (Roosters)

12 Tyson Frizell (Dragons)

13 Jake Trbojevic (Sea Eagles)

14 Jack Wighton (Raiders)

15 Payne Haas (Broncos)

16 Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs)

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17 Angus Crichton (Roosters)

Infamous helicopter escapee John Killick, currently fighting a raft of charges relating to a fraud racket, met the co-accused and fraud ringleader Dean Ryan when the pair both appeared on the ABC TV series You Can’t Ask That.

Killick, famously plucked from Silverwater prison in a sightseeing helicopter hijacked at gunpoint by his Russian lover Lucy Dudko, and Dean Ryan – previously convicted of fraud-related charges – appeared on an ex-prisoners' episode of the show in 2014.

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Ryan told ABC viewers that prison had rehabilitated him.

"For me it worked. It was me coming to the realisation that I needed to change my ways, I was away from my loved ones," he said.

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Five years later, Ryan awaits a prison sentence after pleading guilty to presiding over a fraud syndicate that stole over $2 million through a sophisticated identity theft scam.

Killick was charged with three counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception and one count of possessing suspected stolen property in relation to his alleged role in the scam.

He has entered a plea of not guilty, and remains free on bail awaiting trial. He will return to court in July.

Ryan and co-director Joseph La Hood, 56, have both pleaded guilty to their roles in the syndicate, and will be sentenced in August.

Court documents seen by The Sun-Herald show that the group spearheaded by Ryan and Mr La Hood created 388 fraudulent customer profiles, opened 846 bank accounts, secured 185 credit cards and procured 15 personal loans that stole over $2 million over a period of several years.

Stolen mail including Medicare cards, drivers licences and bills provided the information to create bank accounts from the stolen identities of hundreds of innocent Sydneysiders.

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Once the bank accounts were established, the fraudsters would apply for credit cards and personal loans, ordering them to "convenient" addresses close to their Wiley Park and Mascot homes and stealing the mail with letterbox master keys.

The group would withdraw cash in $1,000 allotments and transfer money to transactional accounts to then spend.

The group also bought $187,346.53 worth of goods at various shopping centres across Sydney, and transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to their own, legitimate bank accounts.

Ryan used the money sent to his personal account to make the final payment on a Mitsubishi Outlander, while Ryan’s partner Linda Loriz – charged with participating in a criminal group, dealing with the proceeds of crime and dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage – allegedly use the $100,000 allegedly sent to her account for the mortgage on her mother’s home infertility treatments and private school fees.

Ms Loriz has not entered a plea, and will return to court on July 4.

The ABC was contacted for comment.

When one of my daughter’s birthday presents turned out to be clothes with the tags cut off I wondered if they’d been cheekily regifted.

It turned out they had. Without a hint of embarrassment, the mother told me that she’d bought the clothes for her own daughter who didn’t like them. So, the mother decided to give them to my daughter instead.

At first, I was a little shocked at her honesty. And then I was super impressed.

My daughter wears the clothes often and couldn’t care less that they had been regifted.

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It’s strange that regifting is taboo given that it fits perfectly with many of our values about reducing consumption and limiting waste. The speed and volume at which so many must-have kids’ presents end up in landfill would surely make even the most ardent Ayn Rand-reading fan of capitalism pause a moment and wonder if there wasn’t a better way.

Surely our love for our kids would be far better expressed in preserving the environment they’ve inherited instead of giving them another piece of plastic they don’t need and will only play with for 10 minutes before they move onto the next environmentally-disastrous fad.

But the social rules around gift-giving are so strong that many of us not only go along with the environmental disaster that is a children’s party, we have also unwillingly ended up in an arms race that we can scarcely afford.

In my early years of parenting, when I was still learning the conventions of children’s birthday presents, a more experienced mother told me the present rule: the financial value of the gift should be equivalent to the per-head cost of the party.

That equation put an end to any pretense that presents are spontaneous acts of kindness. Things only got worse once I discovered that the days of party pies, Sara Lee cakes, and unsupervised playing in the backyard are long gone.

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We now have professional fairies and superheroes that cost $400-plus each, venue hire costs, catering that cost more than my wedding, French bubbles for the parents, and gift bags that rival the Oscars.

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Even the humble game of pass the parcel is expensive now that our every-kid-is-special-and-gets-a-prize culture dictates that we have to cough up for a present for all the guests.

When you then factor in the time spent in party planning and event management, the per-head party cost that determines the present value can almost make you wish your kid was a Nigel No Friends.

Social media influencers including reality star Maria Di Geronimo have added fuel to the bonfire, posting pictures of extravagant children’s birthday parties consisting of balloon art, custom decorations, and more LOL dolls than Kmart.

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Supporters have defended these mothers by pointing out that most of the merchandise came from sponsors and that it’s their kid so it’s their business.

But is it really that simple? There is a reason these people are called “influencers”. Companies don’t just shower them with free products because they think their kids deserve it.

No, these companies have made a careful business decision based on the assumption that these women are effective at “influencing” the purchasing behaviour of rest of us.

In the process, they’ve lifted the bar for children’s birthday parties, thereby increasing the expected present value other parents now have to cop.

Even if we are able reject the ever-increasing party cost per-head present value, we bump up against another unspoken, but rigidly enforced, children’s present giving rule: reciprocity.

You spend the same amount on the birthday kid that their parents spent on your kid. But I’m now starting to see the occasional $50 gift card in kids’ present hauls. And I’ve heard stories of some kids receiving close to $100 (from a single guest) in present value.

If we keep going on this path, we’ll be spending a small fortune and going into debt just to ensure our kids aren’t ostracised as social pariahs.

With family budgets tightening and our landfill crisis mounting, it’s time to rethink the social conventions around present giving. And we need more mothers like my regifting friend to show us how it’s done.