Ellyse Perry looking for new W-League club

Faced with an ultimatum from W-League champions Canberra United to extinguish the flame of her international cricket career, the dual international will hold talks with Sydney FC coach Alen Stajcic about switching to the Sky Blues.

Both Canberra and Perry were yesterday emphasising that the parting will be amicable, after United told her that the price of continuing to play for the club was a pledge to train four days a week - which is impossible with her cricket commitments.

Having played in both the Ashes and a football World Cup, Perry is determined to continue playing both sports, and Stajcic said he wants to explore what that entails.

"There is a real possibility, let's put it that way," Stajcic said of her signing for Sydney FC. Before anything happens I need to have a talk to her about her commitments and plans for the future, to see how that will pan out. I'm not sure she knows what her cricket commitments are, for instance, further down the line. I also need to have a chat with her about whether she's a good fit for us, and us for her.

Perry was a notable omission from the Canberra premiership side during their 3-2 victory over Brisbane Roar in January, which came after she missed several games in the lead-up to the grand final because of her cricketing commitments.

Canberra United chief executive Heather Reid defended issuing the ultimatum which ordered Perry to quit cricket and commit full-time to the three months of the W-League season.

She said she backed coach Jitka Klimkova's new philosophy about all players putting in the same amount of effort and being treated equally.

"There's not some rules for some players and other rules for other players," Reid told AAP.

"They are a team and to allow one individual to come in and out of that team - that environment does have its challenges and impacts on morale.

"There was a feeling of being let down."

Reid admitted the situation was tough, but said Perry's popularity and celebrity wasn't enough to earn her special privileges.

"I'm being personally criticised for scoring an own-goal or shooting the team in the foot, but ... this is about increasing professionalism in women's sport, even if we're not paid in professional terms.

"You wouldn't have this same situation in rugby league where they allow a rugby union player to come in and out of the squad.

"It demonstrates some leadership and if I was a bloke, they'd probably say it takes some balls."

All up, Perry missed six of Canberra's 12 games during the 2011/12 season - her third with the club.

The Sydneysider, who is also studying a degree in economics and social sciences, has several options, but the first would be to sound out Sydney FC and assess whether they'll be more accommodating with her cricket schedule.

Reid was disappointed in the way the issue snowballed, arguing the ultimatum did not mean Perry would be lost to soccer.

Ben Cousins' cannabis charge listed but ex-AFL star not in court

33-year-old was not required to appear or enter a plea at Perth's Magistrate Court today.


Cousins had been summonsed and charged on April 17 after he was caught with a small amount of cannabis and a smoking implement near his home in the coastal suburb of North Beach.


The latest charges follow an earlier appearance in the magistrates court on April 2 for possession of 4.56g of methamphetamine with intent to sell or supply.


Latest charges follow an earlier appearance in the magistrates court on April 2 for possession of 4.56g of methamphetamine with intent to sell or supply.


He was remanded to reappear in Perth Magistrates Court on June 27.

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Lawyer paid school fees with clients' cash

David Michael Tansey stole $1,999,081 from 11 clients over a four-and-a-half year period from mid-1999.

He was sentenced to a minimum of two years and six months imprisonment on Thursday in the same court where he once plied his trade, the Victorian Supreme Court.

The former Melbourne barrister and solicitor, who worked for the law firm Lynch and McDonald, pleaded guilty to 25 charges of theft.

Tansey's offences involved 44 separate transactions between the accounts of his clients and his own family trust, his wife's restaurant business and a financial institution of which he was the director.

Tansey, 58, used withdrawals, which ranged from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars, for personal use, including the payment of his son's tuition fees and the purchase of a Melbourne property.

“Though the Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund compensated victims for their financial losses, themisappropriations nevertheless caused the victims stress and trauma,” he said. “Yet not one of those clients expresses any desire for retribution. Rather, they convey their sense of betrayal and deep disappointment.”




Justice Almond said Tansey had cooperated with investigations into his financial affairs and appeared genuinely remorseful.


“Whilst your previous good character has some broad relevance, it is of little weight when dealing with a breach of trust by a solicitor who is an officer of the court,” he said.


A 2004 investigation by the Law Institute of Victoria revealed Tansey had deposited clients' funds into his accounts to benefit himself and family members.


He used $87,919 from one client to pay rent on a property in Black Rock which he later bought, and stole another $70,000 from the client before repaying $1,738.


In another case he stole $455,000 from the account of one client who had died and left him as the executor of her estate, and $282,520 from the estate of another client to pay for his son's private school fees.

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Australia national women's cricket team

Australian women's cricket team played their first Test match in 1934/5, when they lost to England two-nil in a three-Test series. Since then they have improved and are generally considered the best women's cricket team in the world.[citation needed] They have won more World Cups than any other side — winning in 1977/8, 1981/2, 1988/9, 1997/8 and 2004/5.
One of the most remarkable families in the early history of the team were the Shevill sisters. Fernie Blade (née Shevill) played against England in the first Test at Brisbane in 1934-35, and her twin Irene Shevill appeared in the next two. Another sister, Essie Shevill, played in all three of those matches, and her twin Lily Shevill also played for New South Wales.


Test cricket
Highest team total: 569/9 v England, 6 August 1998 at Woodbridge Road, Guildford, England
Highest individual score: 209 not out, Karen Rolton v England, 6 July 2001 at Headingley, Leeds, England
Best innings bowling: 7/7, Betty Wilson v England, 21 February 1958 at Junction Oval, Melbourne, Australia
Best match bowling: 11/16, Betty Wilson v England, 21 February 1958 at Junction Oval, Melbourne, Australia


ODI cricket
Highest team total: 412/3 v Denmark, 16 December 1997 at Mumbai, India
Highest individual innings: 229 not out, Belinda Clark v Denmark, 16 December 1997 at Mumbai, India
Best innings bowling: 7/24, Shelley Nitschke v England, 19 August 2005 at Kidderminster, England

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Ben Cousins

Benjamin Luke "Ben" Cousins, born 30 June 1978 is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his 270-game career with West Coast and Richmond in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Cousins is listed by journalist Mike Sheahan as one of the top 50 players of all time. During his eleven years with West Coast, he won several of the league's highest individual awards including a Brownlow Medal, Most Valuable Player and a premiership medallion, was selected six times in the All-Australian Team and represented Australia in the International Rules Series. He was West Coast's club champion for four seasons and captain for five seasons.
His football career has been marred by highly-publicised off-field incidents involving recreational drug use, traffic convictions and association with criminal elements. On several occasions he was fined or sanctioned by the West Coast Eagles, culminating in his contract's termination on 17 October 2007. On 19 November he was banned from AFL for one year by the AFL Commission for "bringing the game into disrepute". Cousins was cleared to return to football in 2009 and was drafted by Richmond Football Club on 16 December 2008. He retired from the game at the end of the 2010 season.


Troubled years
On 12 February 2006, Cousins fled a booze bus by abandoning his Mercedes-Benz and girlfriend Samantha Druce in the middle lane of Perth's Canning Highway and running from police with a male passenger. The male passenger was later caught and breath-tested, but Cousins eluded the police. On 20 February 2006, Cousins resigned as captain of the West Coast Eagles; he pled guilty to obstructing the path of another driver and obstructing a public officer in court in March 2006 and was fined A$900 plus costs. He was fined an additional A$5,000 by West Coast.
On 3 December 2006 Cousins was arrested for public intoxication after passing out front of Crown Casino in Melbourne and spent four hours in jail. He was released without being fined or making a court appearance. The West Coast Eagles later announced that the club would not discipline Cousins, stating that the media scrutiny was sufficient punishment.
In early March 2007, Cousins and his girlfriend of eight years, Samantha Druce, ended their relationship. On 20 March 2007 Cousins was suspended indefinitely from West Coast after failing to attend two training sessions.West Coast club chairman Dalton Gooding stated at a press conference that Cousins was facing a "number of personal and professional issues" and that "Over the past few weeks those issues have come to the surface and it's time that Ben was suspended from the club to go away and try to tackle those issues head on." He also said:
"We always said we would suspend players if they reoffended and Ben has reoffended by missing training, and we have been very consistent with that ... We believe he's breached his contract and acted unprofessionally and that's why he's been suspended and that's why we're giving him every opportunity to fix up his personal and private issues."
It was revealed that Cousins underwent an AFL drug test on 19 March, and it was later confirmed that he had a substance abuse problem. On 21 March Cousins was admitted to drug rehabilitation. On 22 March, his father Bryan released a statement in a video broadcast by Network Ten:
"I am making this statement today not on behalf of Ben, but as a father on behalf of his son... Ben's problem relates to substance abuse and he faces a great challenge... We acknowledge the public scrutiny that comes with the opportunities and privileges that Ben has had, but I ask now with the issues that Ben faces, that my son be given the privacy and the opportunity that he needs to deal with this problem... Ben, you are not alone with this challenge. Your family, your friends, your fans and your footy club want you to overcome this issue and win in the same manner in which you have done throughout your whole career."
Rehabilitation commences
At the end of March 2007, Cousins flew to Malibu, California for rehabilitation at the Summit Center, where he stayed for four weeks Cousins returned to Perth on 30 April, with much attention from the media. On 4 May, he released a televised apology, saying:
"As you are aware I have been at an overseas rehabilitation centre for the past month undergoing treatment for a number of personal issues, including illness as the result of substance use... I apologise to the West Coast Eagles Football Club, sponsors, the AFL and the community for my actions... I know that in order to play football again I will have to be accepted back by the players and staff of the West Coast Eagles and the AFL and I'm willing to fulfil any obligations imposed on me. At the present time I don't know when I'll play again. My priority is to regain my health, my life and my standing."
Chris Mainwaring, a former West Coast Eagle and close friend of Cousins, died of a drug overdose on 1 October 2007. Cousins received media attention for visiting Mainwaring twice on the night of his death to provide emotional support and deliver food. On 16 October, Cousins was arrested in the Perth suburb of Northbridge after police pulled over his vehicle because of "the manner of his driving". Cousins' vehicle was searched and he was charged with failure to comply with a police-ordered drug assessment and possession of a prohibited drug, the police having found quantities of prescription drugs diazepam, Viagra, oxycodone and Caverta, and traces of ecstasy and cocaine on a $20 note in the car. Cousins was sacked by West Coast the day after his arrest for serious breaches of his agreement with the club. On 19 October Cousins's lawyer, Shane Brennan, reported that police would drop the drug-related charges against him.
On 27 October Cousins flew to Los Angeles to continue his drug rehabilitation at the Summit Center. The media reported that Cousins was missing and had failed to attend treatment in Malibu; he was admitted to hospital several days later after an alleged cocaine binge. No charges were laid by US police.

In March 2010, Cousins was twice admitted to Epworth Hospital after suffering from abdominal pain and cramping. The Richmond Football Club denied reports that it had warned Cousins to curb his drinking amid fears his AFL career could be further shortened by excessive alcohol consumption. On 12 April 2010, Cousins was among four Richmond players suspended by the club after a drunken escapade at the team hotel in Sydney earlier that week. While not intoxicated, the club deemed he did not act responsibly or in a manner expected of them by the club. Cousins was suspended for one week. On 5 July 2010, Cousins was admitted to hospital after a "severe reaction to prescribed sleeping medication". His hospitalisation prompted debate over the use of legal stimulants such as caffeine and legal sedatives such as sleeping pills among sportspeople, with the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, disapproving of their use.


Personal life
In 1997, Cousins took part in an education campaign for the WA Asthma Foundation. During his first year in the AFL, Cousins said his chest often felt tight and he had difficulty playing, "but if I monitored my asthma correctly and took the right medication, I was able to overcome those effects". In 1999, he had a mild asthma attack while warming up for a game against Melbourne, then fainted after the game at a restaurant. West Coast's football manager, Rod Lester-Smith said Cousins may have been affected by asthma, low blood pressure from playing the game earlier, and a corked leg that caused some internal bleeding. He was taken to Murdoch Hospital and recovered quickly.
West Coast coach Ken Judge was told by a Perth detective in 2001 that Cousins and two of his teammates may be using illegal drugs. Judge passed this information on to the club's administration but no action was taken.
In September 2002, Cousins punched teammate Daniel Kerr at the club's best and fairest award celebrations, after an argument about Kerr's relationship with Cousins' sister Melanie. The altercation resulted in Cousins breaking his arm.
In May 2005, Cousins and teammate Michael Gardiner were questioned about their acquaintance with John Kizon and Troy Mercanti, two Perth underworld figures who were allegedly involved in a stabbing and shooting at Perth's Metro City nightclub. Cousins was in Melbourne at the time of the shooting, but it was claimed that he and Gardiner had received phone calls from the figures both before and after the incident at the nightclub. Police questioned Cousins and Gardiner about the incident but they refused to co-operate.
Newspaper columnists at The West Australian and talkback radio callers demanded Cousins resign his captaincy. His judgment had previously been questioned by West Coast management after he and Gardiner were photographed entering Crown Casino with Kizon in 2001. However, no disciplinary action was taken. Trevor Nesbitt, the team's chief executive, said:
"We are prepared to give them more than one chance. In this case, it is maybe their last chance... They have had chances before, they have had opportunities before, they have made mistakes before. It gets to the point where those mistakes can't be tolerated any longer. This hurts us. It hurts our brand. It hurts our image.

Fairfax workers protest move to send jobs offshore

Staff from publications including The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review walked off the job for 36 hours at 5.30pm (AEST) on Wednesday after learning Fairfax planned to move 66 editorial production jobs from newspapers in Newcastle and Wollongong to New Zealand.


The Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) says the outsourcing of jobs, mostly in sub-editing, means Fairfax is taking cheap shortcuts at the expense of quality journalism.


MEAA Victorian secretary Louise Connor joined about 100 journalists outside Fairfax's Melbourne offices on Thursday.


'Our grave concern is that this company makes the easy decisions to cut costs instead of making the smart decisions to move this company into the new era,' Ms Connor told reporters.


Past experience shows Fairfax's cuts are unlikely to achieve its desired outcomes, Ms Connor said.


'Overseas we've seen this sort of thing before, and it's never led to an increase in audience or an increase in revenue,' Ms Connor said.


The Age journalist Ben Schneiders said staff were worried about the Fairfax board's lack of employee consultation.


The striking journalists acknowledge they could face fines for taking unprotected action, but the risks were worth it, Mr Schneiders said.


'We understand the risk that we took in walking out, but there's frustration at the decision to outsource jobs,' Mr Schneiders said.


About 20 staff joined Marcus Strom, chair of the union house committee, outside Fairfax's Sydney office.


Mr Strom says the company's plan will 'rip the heart out' of regional newsrooms as sub-editors' crucial local expertise is lost.


About 40 jobs are expected to be axed from the Newcastle Herald and Greg Ray, a senior writer at the paper, says journalists and the community have come together to protest.


"We've had a lot of tears, a lot of sorrow, a lot of anger, particularly a sense of betrayal, but this goes much wider than the newspaper, this is a community," he said.


Mr Ray says he is shocked by the cuts because the paper is profitable.


"Newcastle is a very proud, parochial community and to do this, to export our newspaper jobs to New Zealand, you know, this has really hurt this town," he said.


"This is a silly, silly, silly move that's going to destroy more shareholder value in a very good masthead."


In Canberra, about 70 workers with the Fairfax-owned Canberra Times have walked off the job in solidarity with their colleagues.


Literary editor Gia Metherell says staff are very concerned about the offshoring of production jobs.


"This really does set a very dangerous precedent," she said.


"Staff are very concerned that things like that could start happening here, and we want to alert the community that that is not beyond the realms of possibility.


Age journalist Adrian Lowe says he fears similar staff cuts could be made to regional newspapers in Victoria.


"This sets a really worrying precedent for what could happen to newspapers in Victoria," he said.


"There is a lot of newspapers in Victoria in regional areas, in Bendigo, Ballarat, Albury-Wodonga, Warrnambool, that are Fairfax-owned and this could happen to them as well."


Deputy foreign editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, Marcus Strom, says Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood has obviously not learnt the lesson of cutting sub-editors.


"We've faced outsourcing of our sub-editors a year ago," he said.


"Not to the drastic extent that's being suggested in Newcastle and the Illawarra. Still we lost 80 jobs.


"The company has been saying they've learnt the lessons there, we've suffered in terms of how we produce our news."


The Victorian secretary of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), Louise Connor, says the whole company has been "spooked".


Unions say they will meet with Fairfax from tomorrow to negotiate a better deal.

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Convicted murderer Scott Alan May acquitted on appeal

A convicted murderer sentenced to at least 27 years in jail has had his conviction quashed after Sydney judges found the key witness against him was "seriously psychiatrically unstable".

Scott Alan May, who has served nearly five-and-a-half years of a maximum 36 years' imprisonment for the murder of Andrew Heavens, was acquitted on Thursday by the Court of Criminal Appeal, with no retrial ordered.

It found a key witness in Mr May's trial was "incredible", and that there was a significant possibility Mr May was innocent.

Mr Heavens, 31, was shot three times in the chest in May 2003 in the grounds of Callan Park, near the former Sydney psychiatric hospital in inner-city Rozelle.

Mr May's childhood friend, Ryan Barry Burnes, pleaded guilty in 2007 to murder, contending he pulled the trigger at the behest of Mr May during a meeting between the three men.

The prosecution alleged Mr May wanted to take over Mr Heaven's heroin dealing business by obtaining his client base.

Burnes, a key witness in the trial, gave evidence that Mr May asked him if he would "go all the way" for him.

He alleged Mr May gave him a signal to shoot Mr Heavens by using the phrase "I am going back to get me (sic) wallet out of the car" and that he shot Mr Heavens as a result.

The trial heard Burnes had a long history of psychiatric illness and drug abuse and he admitted to hearing voices in his head.

Mr May, who has been in prison since January 2007, maintained he arranged to meet Mr Heavens at Leichhardt on the evening he was murdered, but he never showed up.

He appealed the guilty verdict on several grounds, including that the conviction was unreasonable and could not be supported by the evidence, and that directions given to the jury on the question of an extended joint criminal enterprise "occasioned a miscarriage of justice".

All three judges agreed the conviction should be quashed, but only two said a verdict of acquittal should be entered rather than a retrial.

Mr Heavens, 31, was shot three times in the chest in the grounds of Callan Park, near the former Sydney psychiatric hospital in inner-city Rozelle.

Mr May's childhood friend, Ryan Barry Burnes, pleaded guilty in 2007 to murder, contending he pulled the trigger at the behest of Mr May.

In September 2007, a magistrate had discharged Mr May, declining to commit him to face trial of a charge of murdering Mr Heavens, a slaying said to be drug-related.

But the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) later filed an ex-officio indictment, charging him with the murder.

Today, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal quashed Mr May's murder conviction and entered a verdict of acquittal.

The judges said they could not be sufficiently satisfied that the jury ought not to have experienced a reasonable doubt.

They concluded that Burnes was a wholly incredible and unreliable witness.

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Crocodile found as police raid Essendon home

Police from the Santiago task force on Thursday raided nine properties and made 10 arrests as part of a long-running investigation into firearm and drug trafficking.


Detective Inspector Stephen Denis of the Santiago group said the guns recovered in Thursday's raids included two pen pistols and two sawn-off shotguns.


Police also found two stolen cars, two stolen motorcycles and an assortment of car parts.


The Santiago task force, formed in 2008, has investigated about 130 cases including several driveby shootings in Melbourne's west in which shots were fired into houses and cars.


Det Insp Denis said investigations leading to Thursday's operation, Indulge, began last November.


He said no charges had yet been laid and two of the men arrested had been released.


Detective Inspector Steve Dennis said the Special Operations Group was astonished to find the small crocodile in a tank at the home.


It is not known why the reptile was being kept there, with police turning it over to the Department of Sustainability and Environment.


There was no licence to have the animal on the property.


"Maybe he was just an exotic pet, I just don't know," said Det Insp Dennis.


"It's certainly something different. I've never seen a crocodile after executing a search warrant. This is a first for me."




POLICE REMOVE EVIDENCE AFTER THE RAIDS TODAY. PICTURE: DARREN MCNAMARA
He said the SOG also used sniffer dogs to raid a warehouse in Sunshine West.


Four men were arrested at the property after police found drugs, two pen pistols, long arms and one imitation revolver.


Two stolen cars and two stolen motorcycles were also found at the warehouse, which was being used as a car repairs shop.


Police will analyse powders found during the raids.


Of the 10 arrested, two men have been released to face drug-related matters.


Det Insp Dennis did not rule out making further arrests.

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