Man shot dead by police in siege in Victorian town
A man has died after being shot by police in Daisy Hill last night, police said in a statement.
Police were called following a report that a man discharged a firearm on Thursday afternoon, during which no one was injured.
“Officers attended and attempted to engage with the armed man before there was a siege for several hours,” the statement said.
Specialist units including Critical Incident Response Team, Special Operations Group, and Dog Squad attended to assist.
The man discharged shots towards police, who returned fire just before 10pm.
The man died at the scene, and is yet to be formally identified.
Homicide Squad detectives will now investigate the matter with oversight from Professional Standards Command, as is standard procedure for a fatal police shooting.
Key events
Australia must stop treating childcare ‘as a market and a business’, expert says
Alison Gill says there needs to be investment in childcare sector, with appropriate staffing and education on “how predators work”.
The Bravehearts CEO spoke on ABC RN a short moment ago:
I think people who are committed to early childhood education and care have been saying for a really long time: stop treating this as a market and a business and really invest in high-quality early childhood services. And it’s all about that quality.
There just should be no opportunity for abuse to occur in an early childhood setting. There should be no area where an educator can hide with a child, no opportunity for an educator to be alone with a child. And we do need to invest in the appropriate level of staffing, the qualification and knowledge of educators. We need to upskill the sector on sexual abuse and how predators and perpetrators work, and to be looking for that, to be vigilant all the time, to be raising concerns, to be reporting concerns.
We need to back in educators as this front line of child safety. There’s just so much that we can do.
‘It’s more than just systemic reform’
Societal reform needs to come with systemic reform on child sexual abuse, a child protection expert says.
Alison Gill, the CEO of Bravehearts, encourages parents to “have considered and age-appropriate conversations with your kids that are truthful”.
She spoke on ABC RN a moment ago, after a Melbourne childcare worker was this week charged with allegedly sexually abusing infants and children in his care.
Gill urges parents to talk about personal safety, and create environments “where the children can be open with their parents and trusted adults”.
It’s more than just systemic reform. There’s societal reform that needs to happen too when it comes to child sexual abuse.
Elizabeth Westrupp had more advice yesterday, writing for The Conversation:
Smoke coming from Sydney tram causes to be suspended on Randwick line
Light rail services on the Randwick line have stopped due to smoke coming from the roof of a tram.
“No light rail services are running between Royal Randwick and Randwick on the L2 Randwick Line due to smoke coming from the roof of a light rail tram,” Transport NSw said in a statement.
Transport NSW encourages passengers allow extra travel time and consider alternate transport. As of around 8am, replacement buses were ordered but not yet on site.
Services continue to run between Royal Randwick and Circular Quay.
Two teenagers charged with murder over fatal stabbing in western Sydney
Two teenagers have been charged over the fatal stabbing of a man in western Sydney last week, New South Wales police say.
Emergency services were called to Driftway Drive in Pemulwuy about 10.45pm last Thursday after reports that 21-year-old Luke Manassa had been stabbed, NSW police said in a statement.
“Officers were told … two unknown men, dressed in dark clothing and disguises, had set upon the 21-year-old when he and his girlfriend arrived at the address,” the statement said. It continued:
The man managed to get back into his car and drive a short distance before being overcome by his injuries.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the man but he could not be revived. He died at the scene.
NSW police established Strike Force Hickety to investigate.
About 6am yesterday, detectives executed search warrants in South Penrith, Mt Druitt and Woodcroft.
A 17-year-old male was arrested in South Penrith, police said, and charged with murder and failing to comply with a direction for digital evidence access. He was refused bail to appear in a children’s court today.
A 16-year-old male was arrested in Mt Druitt, police said. He was charged with murder and was also refused bail to appear in a children’s court today.
During the search in Woodcroft, police seized what they will allege was used as the getaway car.
Catie McLeod
‘There is no reason to let it go extinct’
Staying with the Corroboree frogs, Michael McFadden, a wildlife conservation officer at Taronga Conservation Society Australia, said of the latest release:
This is the largest frog release within this population to date. The 544 frogs aged four months to one year will dramatically bolster the wild population of this critically endangered species.
Dave Hunter, from the NSW government’s Saving Our Species conservation program, said:
The Northern Corroboree frog is one of Australia’s best-known frog species and is culturally significant to the Traditional Owners where it is found.
There is no reason to let it go extinct. We have the capacity to maintain critically endangered frogs in the wild, while research continues into a solution for amphibian chytrid fungus.
The Taronga Conservation Society said some frogs released in past years have been heard calling in the wild which was encouraging as it showed zoo-bred frogs could survive, mature, and contribute to future generations.
Hundreds of critically endangered frogs released into the wild in NSW

Catie McLeod
In some good news for your Friday morning, Taronga Zoo says the largest ever release of critically endangered northern corroboree frogs into Brindabella national park has taken place.
The zoo’s conservation society says 544 of the frogs – which it bred in captivity – had been released into the wild in partnership with the New South Wales government.
There are estimated to be fewer than 1,200 mature individuals of the northern corroboree frog in the wild. The zoo says these frogs, which weigh only 2-3g and are “about the size of a paper clip”, are vital for the biodiversity of sub-alpine ranges.
Northern corroboree frogs, known for their black and yellow stripes, are found only within the Brindabella and Fiery Ranges in NSW and the ACT at between 750 and 1,800 metres above sea level.
Their survival is threatened by chytrid fungus, invasive species such as pigs and deer, and catastrophic climate events, including the black summer bushfires, which affected most of the species’ habitat in the Fiery Ranges.
Man dies after contracting first NSW case of Australian bat lyssavirus
A man from northern New South Wales died on Thursday after contracting the state’s first recorded case of Australian bat lyssavirus – a close relative of the rabies virus.
The man, in his 50s, was bitten by a bat several months ago and received treatment at the time, NSW Health said. On Thursday, the department confirmed the man had died and urged the community to avoid touching or handling bats.
There is no effective treatment for lyssavirus once symptoms have presented, according to NSW Health. Symptoms include fever and loss of consciousness.
You can learn more in this explainer from Daisy Dumas:
Federal government to fast-track childcare safety legislation as Victoria appoints Jay Weatherill to conduct snap review
The federal government will fast-track legislation in the next sitting week to cut funding to childcare centres that fail to meet safety standards, after shocking allegations of sexual abuse by a worker in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
It comes as the Victorian government announced the former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and senior bureaucrat Pamela White had been appointed to lead an urgent review of childcare safety.
Read the full story from Benita Kolovos and Tom McIlroy:

Rafqa Touma
Thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started on the blog this morning. I’ll be keeping you posted from here – let’s go.
Boy dies after e-bike crash in Sydney

Catie McLeod
A teenage boy has died after an e-bike crash in Sydney’s south yesterday afternoon, New South Wales police said last night.
In a statement, police said emergency services had been called to a park on Broe Avenue in Arncliffe at about 2.45pm following reports that a rider had fallen from an e-bike.
Police said officers from the St George police area command found a 14-year-old boy with serious injuries when they arrived.
The boy was treated at the scene by NSW ambulance paramedics before being taken to the Sydney Children’s hospital in a critical condition, police said, but he later died.
He has not yet been formally identified.
Police said they had established a crime scene as they began investigating what caused the incident and that they would prepare a report for the coroner.
Police have asked anyone with information about this incident, including phone footage to assist them in their inquiries by contacting St George police or Crime Stoppers.
Man shot dead by police in siege in Victorian town
A man has died after being shot by police in Daisy Hill last night, police said in a statement.
Police were called following a report that a man discharged a firearm on Thursday afternoon, during which no one was injured.
“Officers attended and attempted to engage with the armed man before there was a siege for several hours,” the statement said.
Specialist units including Critical Incident Response Team, Special Operations Group, and Dog Squad attended to assist.
The man discharged shots towards police, who returned fire just before 10pm.
The man died at the scene, and is yet to be formally identified.
Homicide Squad detectives will now investigate the matter with oversight from Professional Standards Command, as is standard procedure for a fatal police shooting.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog.
Victoria police have confirmed that a man has died after being shot by police in Daisy Hill overnight after “a siege for several hours” – more on that soon.
Police in Sydney have launched an investigation after a boy died after a crash on an e-bike. The incident happened yesterday afternoon in Arncliffe in south Sydney. More coming up.
And Qantas has said it will beef up its security and threat detection after a cyber-attack affecting up to 6 million customers, as Australia’s privacy watchdog has warned attacks using social engineering to gain access to data are on the rise.
I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Rafqa Touma to take the controls.