"Mother" sentenced to two years jail after baby son beaten to death

Mother jailed for at least two years after failing to seek medical aid for battered toddler

9News
September 25,2015


A mother from Sydney’s north-west has been sentenced to at least two years behind bars over her failure to immediately act after her toddler was allegedly bashed by his father.

A Sydney court has heard the 25-year-old North Rocks mother heard her two-year-old son being attacked but did not intervene or immediately seek medical attention in July last year.

The mother confessed to hearing "four or five bangs inside the bedroom and...the victim screaming".

"If anyone causes one of these little ones--those who believe in me--to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."

 The boy was not taken to hospital until two days after the alleged incident that left him with a severe brain injury and a bruised face, arms, leg and feet.

In the meantime the toddler also suffered a stroke which has subsequently left him severely disabled.

The mother was in tears as her sentence was handed down, waving to supporters as she was led away.

Lawyer Jimmy Singh has stated she regrets her actions.

“She expressed a tremendous amount of remorse and guilt for what she did and she's undergoing extensive counselling sessions at the moment,” he said.

Her de-facto partner has pleaded not guilty and will face trial next year.

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REFUGEES in Nauru believe Malcolm Turnbull is their ticket to freedom .....

Nauru: Boat people cheer as Turnbull coup news hits detention centre

Daniel Meers
The Daily Telegraph
September 25 2015.

REFUGEES in Nauru believe Malcolm Turnbull is their ticket to freedom as it emerged the PM’s comments suggesting border protection policy was open to change were sent around global people-smuggling networks.

Multiple sources have told The Daily Telegraph the mood inside Nauru’s detention centre was now “buoyant” after Mr Turnbull ousted the hardline Tony Abbott.

Officials in Nauru said there was a perception Mr Turnbull’s elevation would give the occupants a greater chance for freedom.

“Chatter” among people smugglers has intensified in the last week with a perception, right or wrong, that Mr Turnbull will soften border protection policy.

Border Protection agencies are on high alert for people — smuggling ventures after Indonesian authorities intercepted a vessel trying to reach Christmas Island.

Mr Turnbull said in an interview on Wednesday morning that he had “concerns” about the situation on Nauru and Manus Island and conceded “all policies change”.

He came out that afternoon to toughen his language and declare “we cannot take a backward step on this issue” and that nobody who arrived illegally would ever be settled in Australia.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton yesterday insisted there would be no change.

“The Prime Minister has made it very clear that people who try to come to our country illegally by boat will never be settled here,’’ he said.

“I want the people-smugglers in Indonesia and Sri Lanka and elsewhere to get that very clear message.”

Mr Dutton conceded comments made by all ministers about border protection were quickly sent around people smuggling networks.

“They’ve got Facebook pages, they send out text messages and they will manipulate anything. When I took over from Scott Morrison we had intelligence (people-smugglers were) saying a softer minister has replaced the harder minister. They found that not to be the case,’’ he said.

“And they will do the same in relation to the change in Prime Minister. We have to make sure we stare that down.”

Nauru’s Justice Minister David Adeang welcomed Mr Dutton’s continued service: “He understands the progress our government has made, and is always available.”

Toy Rifle carried at Eid al-Adha Festival in Sydney's Occupied Territories THEIR ABC taken by surprise.

Lakemba mosque: Live ABC TV cross shows woman brandishing toy gun during Muslim festival

Doug Conway
The Daily Telegraph
September 25 2015.

THOUSANDS of television viewers were alarmed by the image of a toy gun being brandished among the crowd at a major Muslim religious festival in Sydney.

The gun was seen being carried by a woman and a child in the background of a live ABC TV breakfast cross yesterday from Lakemba mosque.

Its appearance left a jarring note on a family day of peace, prayer and celebration as thousands gathered for the Eid al-Adha festival marking the end of Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.

NSW Deputy Labor Opposition Leader Linda Burney, the MP for nearby Canterbury, told the crowd the Eid celebrations were a testament to Australian multiculturalism: “Our community has something that could teach the rest of the world.”

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“Why, in the current environment of extremism, would parents allow children to carry a replica machine gun to a Muslim religious festival?” one viewer asked in a social media post.

“What is being celebrated that needs a gun?”

One member of the Muslim community said toys, including toy guns, were sometimes sold by people at unofficial stalls that appeared at some festivities.

ABC reporter Bonny Symons-Brown said she did not see the toy gun at the festival, and was only alerted to its appearance later.

The Lebanese Muslim Association declined to comment.

The toy gun was starkly at odds with the tone of the day and public speeches. Roads were closed around the mosque as an estimated 15,000 people gathered for the festival, many unfurling their prayer mats as Arabic prayers were broadcast over loudspeakers.

NSW Deputy Opposition Leader Linda Burney, the MP for nearby Canterbury, told the crowd the Eid celebrations were a testament to Australian multiculturalism: “Our community has something that could teach the rest of the world.”