Giselle Wakatama

1 week ago | abc.net.au | Giselle Wakatama

A bus company linked to the deadly 2023 Hunter Valley bus crash, and its directors and managers, are being prosecuted for alleged heavy-vehicle law breaches. Last year, Brett Andrew Button was jailed for at least 24 years over the crash which killed 10 people returning from a wedding in the Hunter Valley in June 2023. The court found the high concentration of opioid Tramadol in Button's system at the time would have impaired his driving ability. The coach was operated by Linq Buslines Pty Ltd.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Giselle Wakatama |Nakita Jager |Ben Clifford

A 185-year-old church bell has been found a week after thieves used an angle grinder to remove it from its mount. The bell was cut from its supports in a structure outside the former St Ann's Presbyterian Church at Paterson. Police said thieves took it between June 5 and 8. The church opened in 1842, and the bell rang out the day World War I ended. It was deconsecrated in 2009, and there are plans to convert the building into accommodation.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Giselle Wakatama |Shauna Foley

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains the name and image of a woman who has died. The family has given permission to use the image and the name. An inquest into the disappearance of a New South Wales woman has heard there have been unconfirmed sightings of her since her alleged killer was found dead before a verdict was reached in his 2022 trial. It has been 13 years since Leisl Smith disappeared at the age of 23.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Giselle Wakatama |Ben Clifford

A Hunter Valley farming community is reeling after a 185-year-old church bell was sheared off with an angle grinder. Police said the bell was cut from its supports in a structure outside the former St Ann's Presbyterian Church at Paterson. Police officer Chief Inspector Rob Post said the bell was taken between last Thursday and Sunday afternoon. He was concerned thieves had taken it to have it melted down, cashing in on metal prices. Property owner Louise Shirvington said she was devastated.

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Giselle Wakatama

A high school teacher accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy near Newcastle has been granted bail after revealing in court that she is pregnant. Karly Rae appeared in the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney via audio-visual link on Friday to apply for bail. Earlier this week the 36-year-old pleaded not guilty to aggravated sexual intercourse with the 15-year-old boy in October 2024. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 12 years behind bars.