Hackett to sue over botched pre-nups

Candice Alley and Grant Hackett ended their five-year marriage in May. Picture: Richard Dobson Source: The Daily Telegraph

EXCLUSIVE: FALLEN swim star Grant Hackett claims a botched pre-nuptial agreement with pop star wife Candice Alley has left him with financial losses.

Hackett, 32, has launched Supreme Court legal action against his former solicitors, the Brisbane-based Mullins Lawyers.

Court documents allege Hackett employed them on retainer between 2006 and 2009.

Olympians life turned upside down

Gallery: Hackett and Alley call it a day

He says he asked them to draft a financial agreement, which was executed in March 2007, less than a month before his lavish wedding to Alley in Albert Park.

HAPPIER TIMES: Grant Hackett and Candice Alley with their twins Jagger and Charlize. Picture: Erinna Giblin

Financial agreements are Australia's version of a pre-nuptial agreement but can also be made during the marriage or after separation.

Hackett's personal fortune is understood to be about $8 million.

In court documents, Hackett says the agreement was amended in May 2009. The couple's twins, Jagger and Charlize, were born in September that year.

The statement of claim alleges the 2007 financial agreement was drafted in a way that did not comply with legal requirements.

It further claims that Mullins Lawyers failed to take the opportunity to fix the problem when changes were made to the agreement in 2009 and did not tell Hackett there was any "defect".

Grant Hackett trashed the couple's Southbank apartment in October, 2011. Picture: SUPPLIED

Hackett accuses the lawyers of neglecting or failing to perform their services with due care because they didn't ensure the agreement was "effective, operative and enforceable".

He says he was never told each party was required to have independent legal advice in order for the 2009 changes to comply with law.

"As a result of the breaches ... the Plaintiff has suffered loss including legal costs," court documents say. "The Plaintiff's loss is continuing."

The statement of claim alleges Hackett will continue to suffer loss because of Mullins Lawyers' negligence and asks for damages.

A spokesperson for Mullins Lawyers said yesterday they did not want to comment on the case.

Grant Hackett tearfully told 60 Minutes he wanted to end his marriage the night he trashed his Southbank apartment. Picture: Channel 9

Hackett did not respond to calls.

Hackett's marriage came to a dramatic end in May when the former swim star drunkenly trashed his Melbourne city apartment.

A piano was up-ended, a door smashed and furniture strewn across the home in what Hackett tearfully told 60 Minutes was an attempt to end the five-year marriage.

katie.bice@news.com.au

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Paedophile Dennis Ferguson found dead

Convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson has been found dead inside his Sydney apartment

Convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson found dead. Source: The Daily Telegraph

CONVICTED paedophile Dennis Ferguson has been found dead inside his Sydney apartment, police confirmed this morning.

Police said the body of a 64-year-old man was found inside an apartment in Surry Hills yesterday.

A NSW Police spokesman said paramedics found his body about 1pm and called police.

The Dennis Ferguson case

"The 64-year-old man was found deceased inside the home,'' the spokesman said.

"A post mortem examination will be conducted to discover the cause of death but initial inquiries suggest no suspicious circumstances.

"A report is being prepared for the coroner.''

Paedophile Dennis Ferguson sold biscuits for the RSPCA in Sydney. Source: The Daily Telegraph

Dennis Ferguson views himself as the victim

It is understood his body had been in the apartment for several days before being discovered.

In 1987 Ferguson was jailed for 14 years after he and male lover Alexandria George Brookes abducted three children from NSW, taking them to an Ascot motel in inner Brisbane where the children were raped and subjected to vile and indecent acts.

Ferguson claimed he was innocent, accusing one of the boys he molested of committing the crimes but a jury found him guilty of all counts of abduction and assault of the three children. He was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment by a judge who noted there was no chance he would be rehabilitated.

Convicted pedophile Dennis Ferguson released from the Wolston Correctional Centre in 2007 in Brisbane. Picture: Philip Norrish Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Dennis Ferguson trial

He was released in 2004, but authorities were forced to move him several times from towns including Ipswich  and Toowoomba due to public anger at his presence.

He was eventually relocated to NSW.

In November 2005, Ferguson was charged with sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl at her home in the Queensland town of Dalby. In a rare legal move, the judge granted Ferguson a trial without a jury, as he considered Ferguson would not receive a fair trial by jury.

Ferguson was released when the judge found that while the girl had been molested while Ferguson and fellow convicted child sexual abuser Allan Guy had been at her house, it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that Ferguson had been responsible.

Convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson restrained by NSW officers. Picture: Alan Pryke Source: The Daily Telegraph

In 2009, there was outrage when Ferguson's presence was revealed to neighbours in the Sydney suburb of Ryde,  prompting a public outcry that forced the NSW government to change laws in order to relocate him.
Ferguson said at the time  he posed no threat to children in the general community, but would consider chemical castration if it was deemed safe and effective.

He also said people who were sexually attracted to children, over time, lost interest in them.

Ferguson last made headlines in July 2012, when he was spotted at Circular Quay selling biscuits to raise money for the RSPCA.

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Why crims and ageing rockers love Oz

The price of illicit drugs is so much higher in Australia, that criminals are willing to risk jail to smuggle them in. File picture: Tim Hunter Source: News Limited

• Strong Australian dollar attracts criminals, says report
• Trots out the "penal colony" line
• Comes after outrage at Melbourne Cup antics

AUSTRALIA'S booming economy has turned the country into a magnet for sex workers, drug dealers and rock and roll stars looking to cash in.

Well, at least that's what the British are being led to believe.

Just weeks after a few high-spirited people at the Melbourne Cup led to the UK press labelling us a nation of drunks, The Daily Mail has published a lengthy expose of Australia's supposed criminal culture.

"Australia, once an 18th century penal colony, is still attracting criminals although it would seem they are now going there out of choice," the report, begins.

"The nation's strong economy, high currency and wages have now made it a magnet for international drug smugglers and foreign sex workers.

"Even rock and roll stars are getting in on the act and reaping rewards of performing in a country that is prepared to pay top dollar to have them."

This comes after the Daily Mail tut-tutted about our "shocking" behaviour in front of Prince Charles and his missus Camilla at Flemington, where the sight of people rolling around in the paddock revealing their knickers, sucking grog through while dressed as a horse or going the pash in public, was apparently too much for decent people.

The latest report  comes after the  Australian dollar's steady rise on international currency markets. The dollar now buys about 62 pence. In 2001, it bought just half that.

Sex workers also are cashing in on Australia's robust economy.

The report states that police across Australia made 69,500 illicit drug busts in the year to June 30, 2012, the highest in a decade, and have made record arrests in the first six months of this financial year.

It quotes Crime Commission data given to Reuters which shows a kilogram of cocaine is worth about $A2400 in Colombia, $A12,500 in Mexico, and $A33,000 in the United States.

The same kilogram of cocaine is worth $A220,000 in Australia.

Federal police said the high prices paid in Australia and the strong dollar all helped make the country attractive for smugglers, who have dreamed up some ingenious ways to try to fool Customs, including trying to bring drugs hidden in a steamroller, vases and a wooden altar.

The report adds that foreign sex workers are also cashing in on the boom, particularly in remote mining towns, where the world's oldest profession is the latest to adopt fly-in, fly-out work practices. And more overseas sex workers are heading for Australia.

In Kalgoorlie, women in her establishment earned up to £2,570 a week at a busy time, or about three times the average full-time Australian wage.

But it's not just crims and sex workers cashingin, says the report. Foreign rock stars, lured by the promise of star-starved Aussies shelling out big bucks for tickets, are also cashing in.

A drunk punter sleeps it off after the Melbourne Cup. This kind of behaviour shocked the Brits. Picture: David Crosling

In the first half of 2013, Australia will see tours by Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Guns N'Roses, Ringo Starr, ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, the Steve Miller Band, Deep Purple, Santana, Status Quo, Robert Plant, Neil Young, Carole King, Paul Simon and Kiss.

Springsteen charges $220 for a premium ticket in Australia, when the same ticket to the same show in Connecticut in October cost $90, outraging fans.

Read the Daily Mail's full report on criminals coming Down Under 

Australia is becoming a haven for international criminals because of the strong dollar, according to a report in the Daily Mail.That's why we love Underbelly.

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Jockey dies after horrific race fall

Jockey Ashlee Mundy has died after a horrific race fall in New Zealand. Picture: Kate Czerny Source: News Limited

POPULAR Gold Coast-based jockey Ashlee Mundy has died after a horror race fall in New Zealand.

Mundy, who was a regular rider for leading trainer Bevan Laming, suffered serious head injuries in the incident at the once-a-year Kurow Cup meeting in North Otago yesterday.

The 26-year-old New Zealand-born jockey was flown to Dunedin where doctors fought to save her life. She died in hospital this morning.

Her partner, Gold Coast trackwork rider Brad Frew and fellow jockey Laura Cheshire last night flew to New Zealand to be by her side.

Mundy lay on the track motionless after her mount, Elleaye, clipped heels and fell at the 600m mark.

Races were delayed 40 minutes as emergency crews treated her before she was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

For the full story go to The Gold Coast Bulletin

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Mum 'was drinking' before body found

Police believe a body recovered from Sydney Harbour is that of a 49-year-old woman who went missing from a boat overnight

A MOTHER of two was a competent swimmer but had been drinking with her family before police found her body in Sydney Harbour.

The 49-year-old mother of two from Sydney's north shore was last seen around midnight this morning on the deck of her family's 12-metre cruiser anchored about 500m offshore from Rose Bay wharf.

Police suspect the woman, her husband and their son, 14, and daughter, 12, picked the vantage point in preparation for the New Year's Eve fireworks.

The woman, who stayed on deck while her family went to sleep, had been drinking during the night, police said.

Her husband woke at 2am and raised the alarm when he could not find her on the vessel.

A search commenced with a Westpac Rescue Helicopter, two police boats and around 20 officers combing the nearby shoreline.

Police retrieved her body from under a jetty, adjacent to Catalina Restaurant at Rose Bay around 6.15am.

"We have information the lady was drinking prior to going missing," Detective Inspector Darren Schott from Marina Area Command told reporters on Monday.

"We just want to remind everyone that boating and alcohol don't mix."

A number of boats were anchored in the area but so far police do not have any witnesses who saw the woman just before she went into the water.

The Homicide Squad has been alerted to the incident, as standard practice, and police said it was too early to determine if there were any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death.

Police would not comment on how much the woman had to drink, why she stayed up late and what caused her husband to awake at 2am.

She was a competent swimmer, Det Insp Schott said, and police will know more once an initial forensic examination of the boat concludes at the scene.

The vessel will then be towed to Marine Area Command in Balmain where it will undergo a more detailed examination.

A body was found at 6.30am this morning. Police have yet to formally identify the body.

The boat has been towed to Balmain for examination.

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Man in court on toddler murder charge

MURDER CHARGE: A man is facing a murder charge over the death of a two-year-old boy. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

MURDER CHARGE: A man is facing a murder charge over the death of a two-year-old boy. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

MURDER CHARGE: A man is facing a murder charge over the death of a two-year-old boy. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

A 22-YEAR-old man has appeared briefly in court charged with the murder of a two-year-old Perth boy in Bassendean last night.

Police were called to Swan Districts Hospital about 10.45pm last night following the death of a two-year-old child.

Officers were later led to a home in Station Street, Bassendean where they found Mr Narkle and arrested him.

Wayne Murray Narkle, 22, made a brief appearance Perth Magistrates Court, where he was not required to enter a plea.

He was remanded in custody to appear in the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court on January 30.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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Tourist in court over man's glassing

A SCOTTISH tourist accused of glassing a man in a St Kilda cafe last week could enter a plea as early as next week.

Richard James Goldie, 24, allegedly stabbed 27-year-old Essendon man Daniel King in an Acland Street cafe in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Mr King suffered facial injuries and was taken to the Epworth Hospital.

Mr Goldie was charged with to intentionally causing injury and recklessly causing injury and bailed by police at the weekend.

The man, who currently resides in St Kilda, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court this morning, dressed in a white short-sleeved t-shirt and carrying a backpack.

Defence lawyer Andrew Halphen told magistrate Angela Bolger the matter should be adjourned so negotiations could continue and material could be gathered for a plea.

Ms Bolger extended Mr Goldie's bail and adjourned the matter until January 7.

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Bob Brown joins Sea Shepherd board

The Sea Shepherd ship "Bob Barker" collides with Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru No. 3 in Antarctic waters. Source: Supplied

FORMER Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has joined the board of anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd.

Dr Brown, who retired from the Greens leadership and the Australian Senate last year, will join Sea Shepherd Australia's board of directors early this year, the organisation announced on its website.

Dr Brown, who is a long-time friend of the Sea Shepherd's public face Paul Watson, said he had long admired the group's activism in trying to prevent Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean.

"It is an honour to join the Board of Sea Shepherd Australia, whose mission, backed by the majority of Australians, is to protect nearly 1000 whales from the Japanese slaughter fleet this summer," he said.

Mr Watson said he was "immensely proud" to have Dr Brown on board.

"Bob Brown has been a hero of mine for three decades going back to the days of the campaigns to protect the Franklin River," he said.

"What I most admire about Bob is that he is a living example of the three virtues that we need to protect our oceans and our planet - passion, courage, and imagination."

In recent years, the group has been engaged in heated confrontations with the whaling fleet, and were recently ordered by a US Court not to approach the Japanese ships.

The Japanese fleet reportedly left for Antarctica last week.

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