Aaron Bunch Journalist with Australian Associated Press | Collection of published workaaron@aaronbunch.com.au | abunch@aap.com.au | +61 484 008 119
Top Stories
Murdered Qld drug dealer knew he would die
A murdered drug dealer who was bashed, stabbed and shoved into a toolbox before being dumped in a creek knew he would die, a court has been told. January 7, 2020 A murdered drug dealer knew he was going to die when his killers ordered him into a toolbox that they later dumped into a ...
Read MoreMurdered drug dealer escaped toolbox
A murdered drug dealer tried to escape her captors but was forced back into a toolbox before being dumped in a Queensland creek, a court had been told. February 6, 2020 A murdered drug dealer fought her way out of a toolbox but was caught and forced back in before being dumped in a creek, ...
Read MoreMurdered toolbox duo’s ‘bloody’ last day
Two murdered drug dealers were stabbed and bashed before being forced into a toolbox and thrown in a creek, a Brisbane court has been told. February 6, 2020 Two drug dealers were stabbed, bashed and forced into a toolbox at knifepoint before being dumped in a creek, a court has been told. Cory Breton and ...
Read MoreHefty price on murdered toolbox drug dealer’s head
A murdered drug dealer had “$50,000 on his head” before he was locked in a toolbox that was thrown in a creek, a court has been told. February 5, 2020 A murdered drug dealer with “$50,000 on his head” was preparing to flee a day before he was locked in a toolbox with an associate ...
Read MoreToolbox murder victims ‘pleaded for lives’
Two drug dealers, who allegedly died after they were lured to a home, locked in a toolbox and thrown into water, screamed for their lives, a court has heard. February 4, 2020 Two drug dealers screamed out and pleaded for their lives from inside a toolbox as it was pushed into a creek before they ...
Read MoreQld triple murder accused to be released
A man charged with the 1978 murders of three people in North Queensland has been given bail after some of the evidence against him was found to be exaggerated. January 31, 2020 A former prison guard charged over the murder of three friends on an outback motorcycle adventure four decades ago will be released on ...
Read MoreMan jailed over mortar and pestle torture
A man who did nothing to help a woman bashed, bound and gagged during a night of torture over a drug debt has been jailed in Queensland. January 30, 2020 A Brisbane woman was bashed with a mortar and pestle and threatened with death before being bound and gagged during a night of torture over ...
Read MoreThousands flee extreme bushfire threat
Thousands of people are evacuating fire-threatened communities in Australia’s southeast as extreme weather conditions are forecast for the weekend. January 2, 2020 Traffic queues, blocked roads and fuel shortages are hampering a mass evacuation of Australia’s bushfire-ravaged southeast ahead of extreme fire-weather forecast for the weekend. The worst blazes are burning in Victoria’s east and ...
Read MoreNSW and Vic bushfires claim eight lives
Eight people have been confirmed dead and hundreds of homes have been destroyed as out-of-control bushfires savaged NSW and Victoria. January 1, 2020 Eight people have died, others are missing and hundreds of homes have been destroyed as fire crews battle dozens of out-of-control bushfires in Australia’s southeast. The worst of the blazes are in ...
Read MoreFive missing, two dead as nation burns
Five people are missing, two more are dead and thousands are cut off in remote communities as out-of-control bushfires savage NSW and Victoria. January 1, 2020 Fire crews battling hundreds of blazes are facing another tough day across Australia as burnt out communities begin counting their losses. Five people are missing, two more are dead ...
Read MoreTwo dead, five missing as Australia burns
Australia’s military has been called in to help with evacuations in devastated areas of Victoria as two people died fighting bushfires in NSW. December 31, 2019 A father and son have died and five people are missing as deadly bushfires force thousands of people to shelter on beaches and the military is called to help ...
Read MoreSino-Aussie fraudster jailed for expat scam
A Chinese-Australian man who stole identities and forged passports to secure loans to repay debts and fund his lifestyle has been jailed for 10 years. December 6, 2019 A failed Queensland gambler and alleged associate of ex-Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale used a private eye and forged passports to help steal Chinese expatriates’ identities, a court ...
Read MoreChinese expats lose millions in Qld fraud
A Queensland court has heard a failed Chinese-Australian gambler stole identities and forged passports to secure loans to repay debts and fund his lifestyle. December 4, 2019 A failed Queensland gambler stole identities and forged passports to gain control of Chinese expatriates’ homes so he could secure loans to repay millions of dollars in debts ...
Read MoreWoman jailed over Qld toolbox murders
A Queensland woman has been jailed for manslaughter after she helped clean up a home where a couple was forced into a toolbox before being dumped in a creek. December 3, 2019 A mother of seven who helped to clean a Brisbane unit where a couple were tortured before being forced into a metal toolbox ...
Read MoreMurderer had co-accused women under spell
Two women convicted of manslaughter for helping their manipulative lover murder one of their ex-husbands were controlled by him, a Brisbane court has heard. November 29, 2019 Two vulnerable women under the spell of a violent and manipulative killer helped him plot the bloody murder of one of their ex-husbands, a Queensland court has heard. ...
Read MoreQld sword murderers get life in prison
Two men who ambushed a Queensland father with swords and left him to bleed to death in front of his family at a rural property have been jailed for life. November 28, 2019 Two men drove 1000km to ambush a Queensland father, “brutally” attacked him with swords then left him bleeding to death to silence ...
Read MoreQld body-in-barrel injuries shocked pathologist
The man accused of murdering a Brisbane teen and stuffing her body in a barrel talked about “knocking her” the day she died, a court has heard. November 26, 2019 The doctor who examined a murdered Brisbane teen found stuffed inside a barrel had done thousands of autopsies, but the injuries inflicted on Larissa Beilby ...
Read MoreBushfire-ravaged Qld community struggling
A Gold Coast hinterland bushfire has been extinguished, but residents are battling a mammoth and costly task of making their homes liveable again. October 8, 2019 A month after a massive Gold Coast bushfire destroyed eight on her street, Binna Burra resident Sharon Innis is struggling in the aftermath of the massive blaze. The 43-year-old cleaner ...
Read MoreSacked Qld workers ‘used as pawns’: union
A union representing 150 sacked Queensland workers says they were used as pawns in a failed bid to win government approvals for a controversial coal project. September 20, 2019 Sacked Queensland workers were used as pawns in a failed bid to win government approvals for a controversial $900 million coal project, the CFMEU says. About ...
Read MoreDesperate farmers fight Qld mine for water
Drought-ravaged Queensland graziers say they won’t stop fighting to stop the New Acland coal mine, which they claim threatens their water supply. September 16, 2019 Drought-stricken Queensland farmers fighting to stop a controversial coal project they say threatens their water supply are refusing to give up despite the failure of a major legal challenge. More ...
Read MoreNervous wait for Qlders in bushfire zones
A Gold Coast hinterland resident evacuated due to a bushfire threat says she has her most precious possession with her. September 7, 2019 Binna Burra resident Sophie Bryden doesn’t know if her home is still standing. And she may not find out for days due to the ongoing bushfire threat near her property. “You don’t know what ...
Read MoreQld murder accused: ‘I’m not Superman’
A Gold Coast businessman accused of murdering his wife denies he demanded sex in exchange for helping students – and says he couldn’t take up all offers of sex. September 2, 2019 A Gold Coast businessman accused of murdering his estranged wife amid a bitter divorce row insists he couldn’t have sex with everyone who ...
Read MoreAccused Qld murderer ‘gave himself away’
A cash-strapped Queensland man accused of murdering his wealthy uncle over money accidentally outed himself for the crime to two ex-cops, his trial has heard. June 18, 2019 Tipsy on free whiskey, a cash-strapped Queensland man accused of murdering his wealthy uncle accidentally outed himself to two ex-cops at a strip joint, his trial has ...
Read MoreAccused Qld murderer confessed: ex-cop
A former Queensland police officer says accused murderer Robert Wagner confessed to killing his wealthy uncle during a heated discussion. June 17, 2019 A cash-strapped Queensland man accused of murdering his wealthy uncle over money confessed his crime to a “petrified” former police officer, a trial has heard. Robert James Wagner, 57, is accused of ...
Read MoreQld trawler diver found body by touch
An inquest in Gladstone investigating the deaths of six fishermen lost off the Queensland coast has heard police divers found two bodies by touch. March 27, 2019 A Queensland police diver who found the first of six missing men after a fishing trawler capsized had to push aside floating mattresses, kitchen gear and ropes as he felt ...
Read MoreConcern grows for Qld man held in Egypt
The family of a Queensland man held without charge for more than a year in appalling conditions in an Egyptian prison fear for his health. February 10, 2019 When Brisbane man Hazem Hamouda landed in Egypt for a dream holiday with his Australian-born family, he never imagined it would land him in prison. The devoted ...
Read MoreNauru refugee’s burns death raises concern
Iranian refugee Omid Masoumali died in a Brisbane hospital after suffering burns to 57 per cent of his body on Nauru, the Queensland coroners court has heard. October 11, 2018 It took 31 hours for the Australian government to get Omid Masoumali to a specialist burns unit after the Iranian refugee set himself alight to protest ...
Read MoreFat solves 558-million-year science puzzle
A student scientist has found fat in ancient fossils, solving a 558-million-year-old riddle and ending a global paleontology feud over the creature’s origins. September 21, 2018 A piece of fat has helped solve a 558-million-year-old riddle and looks set to shoot a university student to scientific stardom. When Professor Jochen Brocks received a call from ...
Read MoreQld terror victim’s parents open sanctuary
The parents of London terror attack victim SaraZelenak have launched Australia’s first holistic healing centre for people suffering traumatic grief. August 28, 2018 Julie Wallace received the phone call every parent fears four days after the London Bridge terrorist attack last year. Her daughter, Sara Zelenak, had missed her daily call home to Brisbane after three men drove a ...
Read MoreQld stock routes full as NSW drought bites
Stock routes are being denuded as NSW farmers drive their herds north, competing for feed with Queensland graziers like Peter Cookson. August 23, 2018 When Queensland grazier Peter Cookson pushed his cattle onto stock routes to find feed, he hoped it might get him through to the rains. But after two months of droving through ...
Read MoreWater going to waste on drought-hit farms
Hundreds of drought-stricken farms across Queensland and NSW could be protected from the dry spell using bore water from the Great Artesian Basin. August 17, 2018 The sheep on the Stokes family’s southern Queensland farm can have food or water, but they can’t have both. Kate and Steve Stokes’ 50,000-acre Mulga Downs property, just north ...
Read MoreIndonesia tougher than Somalia for refugees
After Somalian militants burned down her hotel, Igra fled to Indonesia for safety, but the former business owner has fallen through the aid safety net. April 2, 2018 Somalian refugee Igra hadn’t heard of Indonesia before being dumped in Jakarta by people smugglers. The former hotel owner fled her civil war-wracked country in 2015 after militants threatened to cut off her ...
Read MoreRefugees in Indonesia selling sex to survive
Somalian refugees fleeing war and violence are being taken by people smugglers to Indonesia where many turn to sex work to survive. April 2, 2018 Homeless mother-of-three, Sahra, fled to Indonesia for safety after Islamists killed her family in Somalia, but with prostitution as the only way to survive, she tearily says life in Jakarta is “much ...
Read MoreRefugees in Indonesia may be put to work
The UNHCR wants refugees in Indonesia to be able to work for food and shelter as resettlement options dry up and international aid budgets are stretched. April 2, 2018 Refugees in Indonesia may be put to work as the UN Refugee Agency battles a growing global humanitarian crisis, fewer resettlement options and stretched aid budgets. The humanitarian agency has asked the ...
Read MoreHomeless refugees do it tough on Indonesia streets
Photo essay: People-smugglers promised them new lives in Australia, instead, they were dumped penniless on Jakarta’s streets where they’re forced to sleep rough. April 2, 2018 Some of the saddest stories I have heard are those of Somalian women living rough on Jakarta’s streets. Most had lost their family to war or were raped – ...
Read MoreFaces: Somalian refugee women in Indonesia
Photo essay: Penniless Somalian refugee women forced to live rough on Jakarta’s streets after their families were killed by Islamic militants and they were smuggled to Indonesia in the hope of finding a better life. April 2, 2018 ...
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