Category: Hume Travel Radio Network

A man has been arrested following the death of a man at Springvale near Wagga Wagga earlier today.

About 12.20pm (Tuesday 26 May 2015), emergency services were called to a home on Springvale Drive after reports a man had been injured at the property.

Officers attached to Wagga Wagga Local Area Command arrived to find the body of an 83-year-old man who appeared to have suffered severe head injuries.

A crime scene was established at the home, which is being examined by forensic specialists and detectives.

A section of Springvale Road, between Plumpton Road and Featherwood Road is currently closed, while emergency services continue their inquiries at the scene.

Local residents are therefore advised to avoid the area for the time being.

Following further inquiries a 48-year-old man was arrested at Cootamundra Railway Station shortly before 3pm, with assistance from Cootamundra Police.

He’s been taken to Cootamundra Police Station where he continues to assist detectives with their inquiries.

Investigators believe the two men were known to each other.

Strike Force Cliffbrooke, comprising officers from Wagga Wagga Local Area Command, has now been formed to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.

While the investigation remains in its early stages; the death is being treated as suspicious.

Police have launched an investigation following the death of a man at Springvale near Wagga Wagga.

About 12.20pm (Tuesday 26 May 2015), emergency services were called to a home on Springvale Drive after reports a man had been injured at the property.

Officers attached to Wagga Wagga Local Area Command arrived to find the body of an 83-year-old man who appeared to have suffered severe head injuries.

A crime scene has been established at the home, which will be examined by forensic specialists and detectives.

A section of Springvale Road, between Plumpton Road and Featherwood Road, is currently closed while emergency services continue their inquiries at the scene.

Local residents are therefore advised to avoid the area for the time being.

Detectives would now like to speak with a man who may be able to assist in the investigation.

The man is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his late 40s, about 178cm tall, with short grey hair and a receding hairline.

He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a brown-coloured woollen jumper, striped grey t-shirt, and glasses.

Anyone who sees the man is urged not to approach him, but contact Triple Zero (000) immediately.

While the investigation remains in its early stages; the death is being treated as suspicious.

Small rural towns will attract subsidies of up to $60,000 to attract and keep doctors in a massive win from News Corp Australia’s Health the Bush campaign.

In a Robin Hood style overhaul of the botched $113 million General Practice Rural Incentive Payment Scheme, doctors in 14 large towns like Cairns will be stripped of subsidies.

The money saved from enticing doctors to large coastal towns will instead be put towards much larger subsidies to attract doctors to tiny towns like Gundagai, Kingaroy, Echuca and Northam.

Under a revamp of the scheme to be announced by Assistant Minister for Health Fiona Nash on Sunday, subsidies for towns with a population of less than 5,000 will jump by between $4,000 and $13,000 a year.

Doctors in the tiny town of Gundagai NSW will see their subsidies nearly double from $12,000 to $23,000 after they serve for five years.

Doctors in the tiny town of Rutherglen Victoria will see their subsidies nearly double from $12,000 to $23,000 after they serve for five years.

The Yass Valley mayor has called on New South Wales Roads Minister Duncan Gay to release an overdue study into the staged duplication of the Barton Highway.

In 2013-14, the NSW and federal governments each committed $150,000 to fund the study by NSW Roads and Maritime Services.

Mayor Rowena Abbey said the study was due to be released last December.

“We haven’t got it yet. We look forward to that,” she said.

“It should be a document that actually steps out a staged, eventual duplication of the Barton Highway and identifying high areas to immediately do some improvements in traffic flows and risk management.”

Ms Abbey said the valley’s population was growing at an average annual rate of 2.5 per cent and a Barton Highway duplication would be necessary to cope with traffic.

“We have 3,500 commuters a day through the Yass Valley,” she said.

“With the volume of traffic that we have, it is at times higher than the Hume Highway.

“This is a major arterial road from Melbourne and Adelaide and Perth into Canberra and going through up to Sydney.

“It is extraordinary that it is still a single lane road with very few overtaking lanes.”

The Barton Highway was last year named the ACT’s worst road and also featured on the list of NSW’s worst roads.

Ms Abbey said she hoped the recommendations in the report added weight to ongoing calls for further safety improvements to the notorious stretch of highway between Yass and Canberra.

A teen has been arrested after a car was allegedly stolen and crashed into a parked ambulance near Wagga Wagga yesterday.

Between 6.30pm and 9.30pm (Friday 15 May 2015), a Holden ute was allegedly stolen from a home on Mair Street, Turvey Park.

About 10pm, the vehicle hit a parked ambulance outside a home on Jannali Place, Glenfield Park. The ambulance was unoccupied at the time of the incident.

Two people were seen to run from the stolen vehicle.

Officers attached to Wagga Wagga Local Area Command were called and commenced investigations.

About 12am today (Saturday 16 May 2015), a 13-year-old boy was arrested near the corner of Munford and Marshall Streets, Ashmont.

He was taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station, where he was charged with breach of bail.

He will appear at children’s court today.

Detectives have charged a man with an alleged aggravated sexual assault that occurred in 1999, after he was extradited from ACT yesterday.

On Wednesday 7 July 1999, a 22-year-old woman was in her home at Best Street, Wagga Wagga, when a man allegedly broke into her unit.

He then allegedly tied the woman up and sexually assaulted her before demanding cash, stealing property and running from the scene.

The incident was reported to police at the time and an investigation was commenced by Wagga Wagga Detectives.

Taskforce OSTROV was established and following a complex investigation a 48-year-old man was identified as a person of interest.

Detectives applied for an arrest warrant. On Tuesday 12 May 2015, the 48-year-old man was arrested in Canberra and taken into custody.

At the man’s court appearance on Thursday 14 May 2015, NSW Police sought his extradition, which was subsequently granted.

The man was taken to Queanbeyan Police Station where he was charged with aggravated assault – inflict assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He was bail refused, to appear at Queanbeyan Local Court on Thursday 14 May 2015, where he was remanded in custody to appear at Wagga Wagga Local Court on Wednesday 8 July 2015.

A critical incident investigation has been launched following a fatal motor vehicle crash in the state’s south tonight.

About 7pm (Thursday 14 May 2015), police attempted to stop a Holden station wagon on the Olympic Way at Cootamundra.

The vehicle allegedly failed to stop, and police initiated a pursuit. This continued along the Olympic Way towards Wallendbeen, before it was terminated for safety reasons.

A short time later, police located the Holden crashed into a culvert.

A female, rear-seat passenger died at the scene. The male driver and front-seat female passenger were not seriously injured and have been taken to hospital as a precaution.

The driver will undergo mandatory blood and urine testing.

A critical incident team from Goulburn Local Area Command will now investigate all circumstances surrounding the incident.

That investigation will be overseen by the Professional Standards Command.

All information will be provided to the Coroner.

No further details are available at this time; however, police are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Anyone who can assist police should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Police have pleadied with motorists to slow down, as a cold snap has hit the Goulburn district. Snow and ice have settled on the Hume Highway between Gunning and Goulburn, and the Federal Highway near Collector.

Police from the Traffic & Highway Patrol Command have today welcomed figures released in a report by the Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport showing significant decreases in fatalities involving trucks in NSW.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said today (Wednesday 13 May 2015) the results show the importance of the work being done by the Joint Traffic Taskforce, compromising the NSW Police Traffic & Highway Patrol Command and the NSW Roads & Maritime Service Inspectors & Investigators.

“We know that NSW is doing very well compared to the rest of Australia when it comes to heavy vehicle fatal crashes, even though a large proportion of heavy truck travel comes through our state,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Smith said.

“While there was a national average annual decrease in fatalities from articulated trucks of 12.2 per cent between 2012 and 2014 – there was actually a 20 per cent average annual decrease in these fatalities in NSW over the same period.

“In the heavy rigid truck category, fatal crashes fell from 22 in 2012 to 21 in 2014, an average annual decrease of 2.3 per cent. During the same period related deaths fell from 23 in 2012 to 21 in 2014, an average annual decrease of 4.4 per cent.

“In the bus category, fatal crashes fell from 15 in 2005 to six in 2014, an average annual decrease of 10.1 per cent. Related deaths fell from 21 in 2005, to six in 2014, an average annual decrease of 11.8 per cent.

“When you consider census data which shows 676,250 heavy vehicles registered in Australia, which share the road with 16,957,243 other vehicles, many of which travel through NSW, the fatality reductions achieved are significant for not only road users, but also for the transport industry,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Smith said.

“Sadly, 18 people have lost their lives in heavy vehicle-related fatalities so far this year, which is certainly an indicator of the need for the Joint Traffic Taskforce, and the Heavy Vehicle Industry to work together to reduce the death toll.

“I don’t think any heavy vehicle driver, or their family, expect to go to work and not come home, which is why our work is important,” he said.

Roads and Maritime Services Director of Safety and Compliance Peter Wells said enforcement activities and engagement with stakeholders are key elements helping to drive compliance within the heavy vehicle industry. Roads and Maritime Services regularly seeks opportunities to work with industry to identify processes to improve compliance, increase safety and ultimately, save lives on NSW roads.

“Recent court actions and outcomes should serve as a reminder of the consequences for companies who refuse to comply with the law and put the lives of innocent road users at risk,” Mr Wells said.

“We will continue our very important work with the NSW Police Force to enforce safety of heavy vehicles across the network. We need industry to acknowledge its role to improving safety of fleets and take action where required. The key question operators need to ask is ‘Are my business practices placing a commercial pressure on others that may influence a risk?’ If the answer is yes, then it must be addressed,” Mr Wells said.

Organised Crime Squad detectives arrested a man at Wagga Wagga today (Tuesday 12 May 2015) in relation to the shooting murder of another man in the Illawarra region last year.

The body of John Gasovski, 48, was located in the Budderoo National Park at Jamberoo by a park ranger on Sunday 15 June 2014. He died after suffering a single shot gun wound to the head.

Mr Gasovski, a father of four, had been reported missing by his wife three days earlier. He had failed to return to his Arncliffe home after telling her he was taking a business trip to Canberra.

Initial inquiries were conducted by the Homicide Squad, but the investigation was referred to the Organised Crime Squad’s Strike Force Brinkley after the murder was linked to an ongoing investigation into commercial drug manufacture and supply.

Four people remain before the courts on drug offences as a result of that investigation.

Extensive inquiries have been conducted into Mr Gasovski’s murder by Organised Crime Squad detectives assisted by the NSW Crime Commission.

Police will allege Mr Gasovski had been involved in the purchase of equipment used to manufacture prohibited drugs prior to his death, and had planned to take part in the transport of a commercial quantity of cannabis from Canberra to Sydney.

About 4.30am today, Organised Crime Squad detectives were assisted by Wagga Wagga Police to arrest a 46-year-old man during a car stop in Wagga Wagga.

The man was taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station and charged with murder.

He was refused bail to appear at Wagga Wagga Local Court tomorrow (Wednesday 13 May 2015).

Commander of the Organised Crime Squad, Detective Superintendent Scott Cook, said organised crime-related homicides were often the most challenging type of murder to solve due to reluctance from some people to provide information to police.

“I would like to thank all the police involved in today’s operation for their dedication and hard work to date,” Det Supt Cook said.

“Police cannot achieve these outcomes without the assistance of the community; I would like to congratulate those in our community who came forward to assist their police. Your help was invaluable.”

Det Supt Cook said this incident was an unfortunate reminder of the risks involved in organised crime.

“Becoming involved with organised crime groups and networks is very dangerous and can often have serious consequences, not only for the individual, but their family and the wider community as well,” Det Supt Cook said.