Good morning Ballarat!
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We're in for a cloudy day with a high (70%) chance of showers, most likely during the morning and afternoon. There is also a chance of a thunderstorm or hail during this afternoon and early evening. Expect a top of 11 degrees in Ballarat.
“'I'm in Guantanamo Bay. This isn't Ballarat”
Until today, she has been publicly defined by CCTV footage that shows her handcuffed, stripped of her underwear, stomped on, and kicked by police in a Ballarat cell. And she has been known only as "Person A" – the description given to her by an ongoing inquiry by Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog. Read more here.
Saleyards developer aiming for works to start in early 2017
After more than a decade of delays, the developers behind the controversial Ballarat saleyards relocation say physical works at the Miners Rest site will begin early next year. Read more here.
Guns, ammo, drugs found
A 64-year-old wheelchair bound man and his 49-year-old carer have both pleaded guilty to using cannabis at their Clunes home. Read more here.
Long-wait to determine road damage
VicRoads has conceded it may take months before damage to local road networks from flooding can be fully identified. Read more here.
Shannon Broadbent to continue journey with Panthers
Decorated football journeyman Shannon Broadbent is taking his golden touch to Melton South. The Panthers have signed the much-travelled veteran, who has played in a string of premierships, as part of their rebuilding in the Ballarat Football League. Read more here.
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
► TAMWORTH: A family has been torn apart after a double shooting in a quiet, suburban East Tamworth home left a mother and father dead. More here.
► TIMOR: Three people are dead and a five-year-old boy has been found alive after a car drove off a cliff in Timor near Scone, the Wespac Rescue Helicopter says. More here.
► WAGGA: Riverina Catholic priest Father Neru Leuea has been acquitted of raping a 10-year-old girl more than a decade ago, but a shadow still hangs over his future, with District Court judge Gordon Lerve describing the priest as a “particularly unimpressive witness who gave a number of unresponsive answers”. More here.
► YEOVAL: A Parkes carpenter has modestly said he was just doing what anyone would when he stopped and pulled two people out of a burning vehicle at Yeoval on Saturday. More here.
► COODANUP: A homeowner has been left shattered and irate after finding her once-pristine home with smashed windows, torn out ceiling fans and dog excrement all over the floor. More here.
► TASMANIA: The Legislative Council this week is set to demand refinement to the government’s plan to lower the school starting age when the new Education Act bill is debated. More here.
► WODONGA: Up to 2000 jobs would be lost across the region if the Murray-Darling Basin Plan is fully implemented in its current form. A report, commissioned by the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District’s water leadership forum, was released on Monday and also forecasts $4.4billion in annual production losses by 2020. More here.
► TASMANIA: The extreme stress of having to tell a family their loved one has been killed in a fatal car accident does not get any easier, veteran crash investigator Sergeant Nick Clark says. More here.
► BLACK HILL: A judge says it's disturbing a convicted Victorian rapist who attacked two teenagers a decade before he tied up a third teen and raped her in a Black Hill mine still claims he is innocent. More here.
National news
► Greens leader Richard Di Natale has called on Malcolm Turnbull to stand up to "right wing dinosaurs" and legalise marriage equality, saying Mr Turnbull will lose the next election if he doesn't. More here.
► Amnesty International's new report, Island of Despair, outlines a series of allegations about life on Nauru for refugees and asylum seekers. The human rights group says it interviewed more than 50 refugees and asylum seekers, most of who have "disturbing, detailed accounts of the disintegration of their own or others' mental health". More here.
► Pauline Hanson says she is emboldened by the growing support for One Nation as it prepares to field candidates at the Western Australia and Queensland elections, arguing the party continues to confront issues the major parties won't touch. More here.
► Attorney-General George Brandis says confidential material has "never, ever" been communicated by cabinet ministers on WhatsApp - but he won't be releasing the proof. More here.
National weather radar
International news
► More than 300 vials of performance and image enhancing drugs have been seized during a search at a Kenwick home. A 37-year-old man will be summonsed to appear in court after the Australian Border Force intercepted a package from China before finding the vials among other contraband during the search. More here.
► BALI: A "nervous" Sara Connor told Bali prosecutors she was innocent before being transferred to the infamous Kerobokan jail to await the murder trial of police officer Wayan Sudarsa. More here.
► JAKARTA: A sign warning cables had snapped on a rickety suspension bridge connecting two islands off Bali was erected four days before it collapsed on Sunday night, killing eight people. More here.
On this day
The faces of Australia: Bill Sweetenham
In October 2011, Mount Isa was humbled by the return of one of its most famous sporting identities – Bill Sweetenham, former swimming head coach for Australia, Britain, Spain and now Argentina. Over a weekend Bill ran a world-class swim clinic covering all four strokes, starts and turns, with information sessions. Every athlete walked away with a wealth of knowledge, honoured they had learnt from the best, who was one of their own. Read more here.