Australia news LIVE: Mushroom cook Erin Patterson sentenced to life in prison; Second officer killed in Porepunkah shooting farewelled

Australians fed up with flight delays and cancellations are set to win new rights, with the federal government leaving the door open for refunds under a landmark aviation consumer protection scheme.

Transport Minister Catherine King today opened public consultation on the “Australian-first” reforms, which would set national standards for how airlines must treat passengers when flights are disrupted.

“For the first time, Australia will have a national aviation consumer protection regime with enforceable standards that airlines and airports must meet,” King told journalists in Melbourne.

“When your flight is delayed, you’ll be entitled to a prompt refund so you can make a decision about what to do next. And if your baggage goes missing, passengers will get proper redress – not just a brush-off.”

The minister flagged that cash compensation remained an option for those customers whose flights are delayed or cancelled due to reasons under an airline’s control.

Read the full story from David Swan and Elias Visontay here.

Police believe two children who disappeared with their father into remote New Zealand bush in 2021 may be facing freezing and rugged conditions, after their father was shot dead by police.

Tom Phillips was killed in a shootout with police after an alleged early morning burglary in Waikato, south of Auckland, today, almost four years after his disappearance in 2021.

A child who was with Phillips was taken into custody – but police are still searching for two others. The temperature in the Waikato region is forecast to drop to 1 degree overnight.

New Zealand Police acting deputy commissioner Jill Rogers gave reporters an update a few minutes ago, and said officers believe “that the children, at the moment, may be on their own”.

Phillips’ three children are aged 12, 10 and nine.

“We can’t speculate as to whether [the two children] have assistance with them,” Rogers said.

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“We don’t know where the children are at this time. [The child taken into custody has] been co-operative with us in providing information, and that has allowed us to identify an area of activity that we will be examining through the afternoon and into the evening, as required.

“You can see the terrain here. It’s rough, it’s rugged. It will be down to freezing point, I imagine, this evening – hence, we want this incident resolved as soon as possible.”

This morning’s shootout left one officer in a serious condition after he was shot in the head. Rogers said the officer, a constable, “sustained significant injuries that will require many surgeries”.

His injuries were described to police as “survivable”, Rogers said.

As thousands of mourners farewelled Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson at his funeral today, police marked a milestone in the search for his alleged killer, Dezi Freeman, after the manhunt officially reached the two-week mark.

Police continue to patrol the vast terrain of Victoria’s High Country as the extensive search for Freeman, who also allegedly fatally shot Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart on August 26, stretches on.

Located on the edge of dense bushland, the small alpine town of Porepunkah – about 210 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, where Freeman allegedly shot the two officers– has since been the centre of a major police operation.

Police have continued doorknocking in the area today.

Yesterday afternoon, four unmarked police cars entered the Porepunkah Airfield, and a group of officers inspected the large sheds on the property. Day 13 of the search also took in a nearby flying school and recreational helicopter business.

Just a few kilometres south-west of the town centre, the small grass airfield is used by general and recreational light aircraft, as well as helicopters and emergency services. It is operated by Alpine Shire Council.

Airspace has been closed since August 28 in a radius of four nautical miles around Porepunkah. The airfield’s website notifies users of the closure via a red banner, and urges visitors to stay updated with all notices and advisories affecting the area.

The Australian sharemarket remained in the red at lunchtime with energy and financial stocks weighing on the index.

The S&P/ASX 200 was 29.8 points, or 0.3 per cent, lower to 8841.4 at 12.56pm AEST, with eight of the 11 sectors in negative territory.

Financial stocks are weaker with the big four banks all losing ground. ANZ shed 1.1 per cent, NAB lost 0.9 per cent, Westpac fell 0.7 per cent and Commonwealth Bank retreated 0.5 per cent in early trade.

Energy stocks are lower as oil prices weakened. Woodside slumped 3.3 per cent and Santos lost 1.5 per cent.

Click here to read your full lunchtime markets recap.

With AP

Three murders, one attempted murder, an 11-week trial and a 33-year sentence were summed up in 45 minutes.

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Justice Christopher Beale was direct in his assessment of Erin Patterson’s lack of remorse or pity for her victims, saying she formed an intention to murder them 13 days before she served a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms for lunch in July 2023.

Patterson, 50, was sentenced to the maximum penalty of life in prison for each of the murders of her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson. She also received the maximum, 25 years in jail, for the attempted murder of Korumburra pastor Ian Wilkinson.

Alexander Darling has detailed the five key moments from Beale’s sentencing remarks in the Supreme Court of Victoria in the story linked here.

Our dedicated rolling coverage also continues in a live blog here, following today’s sentencing.

Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson’s friend and colleague, Paul Campbell, said his longtime friend had an aurora of “invincibility” and was respected by police, legal staff and offenders alike.

“He worked until the very end,” Campbell said at Thompson’s funeral, which concluded a few minutes ago.

“There was no ease up or time off, always first through the door with a purpose. He would do anything for his crew, and was loyal to a fault.”

Victoria’s new police chief commissioner, Mike Bush, described Thompson as a cherished part of the state’s police family, a “fisherman, a hunter, a provider and a sharer, and the sort of person that people rallied around”.

“I did not have the privilege of working with or knowing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson,” Bush said.

“But I have spoken to many who did have that pleasure, and they have relayed many stories. Without a doubt, Neal was a highly respected, highly regarded, very capable, very experienced police officer and member of the Victoria Police.”

Police estimate more than 3000 mourners, including hundreds of officers, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan, attended Thompson’s funeral.

The family of Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, a young man also shot dead earlier this month when he visited a property near Porepunkah in the state’s north-east, also attended.

Thompson’s family, friends and officers wiped away tears as his coffin was carried out of the chapel to U2’s Beautiful Day.

Outside the Victorian Police Academy, hundreds of uniformed police stood in a guard of honour to pay tribute to Thompson. The sound of bagpipes rang out through the quiet suburban street in the procession led by four police officers on horseback.

Good afternoon, and thank you for reading our national news live blog.

Here’s a look at today’s biggest stories:

• Triple murderer Erin Patterson has been sentenced to life in prison for the mushroom murders with a non-parole period of 33 years. Patterson sat emotionless in the Victorian Supreme Court as she was handed her sentence this morning, which will make her the longest-serving female prisoner in the state’s history. Read our rolling coverage of Patterson’s sentencing here.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan are among the hundreds of mourners gathered to farewell Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, the police officer slain in Victoria’s north-east last month. It follows the funeral of Thompson’s colleague Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart on Friday, who was also fatally shot by alleged gunman Dezi Freeman on August 26.
• Opposition industry spokesperson Alex Hawke has denied allegations of inappropriate conduct towards Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and her staff, and has said Price should apologise for comments she made regarding migration last week. It follows Hawke’s initial suggestion for Price to apologise last week, after Price falsely claimed that Labor prioritised Indian migration to bolster its vote.
• A group of anti-government protesters have abandoned plans to march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, after reaching an agreement with NSW Police to demonstrate in the Sydney CBD instead. The leader of the march, backed by several anti-vaccine and conspiracy groups, said she opted against challenging the police in court because she “did not have the courage to stand alone in the NSW Supreme Court”.