Homicide Squad detectives charge man with murder following alleged fatal stabbing of a man – Lake Macquarie

Homicide Squad detectives have charged a man with murder following an investigation into an alleged fatal stabbing in Lake Macquarie earlier this year.

Shortly after 4am on Sunday 19 April 2026, emergency services were called to Montgomery Street, Argenton, following reports of an assault.

Officers attached to Lake Macquarie Police District arrived to find a 38-year-old man had been stabbed.

He was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics; however, died at the scene.

A crime scene was established by local police before the investigation was handed to State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad under Strike Force Blave.

Following extensive inquiries, including a CCTV appeal, about 6am today (Wednesday 15 July 2026) strike force detectives executed search warrants in Birmingham Gardens, Waratah and Windale.

A 22-year-old man was arrested in Birmingham Gardens and taken to Waratah Police Station where he was charged with murder.

He was refused bail to appear at Bail Division Local Court 2 tomorrow (Thursday 16 July 2026).

Strike Force Blave inquiries are ongoing.

Appeal to locate girl missing from Abermain

Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a girl missing from the Hunter region.

Shanae Ford, aged 12, was last seen in Abermain, about 2pm on Monday 13 July 2026.

When she could not be contacted or located, officers attached to Hunter Valley Police District were notified yesterday (Tuesday 14 July 2026) and commenced inquiries into her whereabouts.

Police and family hold concerns for Shanae’s welfare due to her age.

She is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 165cm to 170cm tall, of medium build with dark hair and brown eyes.

Shanae is known to frequent the Abermain, Cessnock, Maitland, Rutherford and Lake Macquarie areas.

Anyone with information into her whereabouts is urged to contact Cessnock Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Appeal to locate woman missing from Cooks Hill

Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a woman missing from the state’s north.

Kirsty Hayes, aged 42, was last seen on Darby Street, Cooks Hill, sometime between Thursday 11 June 2026 and Monday 15 June 2026.

Officers attached to Newcastle City Police District were notified on Tuesday 14 July 2026 and commenced inquiries into her whereabouts.

Police and family hold concerns for Kirsty’s welfare.

Kirsty is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 160cm tall, of thin build, with brown hair and green eyes.

She is believed to frequent the Newcastle and Hunter Valley region.

Cybercrime Squad detectives charge three men accused of operating drug supply syndicate on the darknet – Newcastle

Cybercrime Squad detectives have charged three men accused of operating a drug supply network drugs on the darknet from the Hunter region.

Strike Force Fradine was established in March 2026 by the State Crime Command’s Cybercrime Squad to investigate the alleged online supply of prohibited drugs by an online vendor on a darknet marketplace.

Darknet marketplaces are online illicit markets that offer a range of illegal goods and services including prohibited drugs and weapons.

Over the course of the investigation, detectives established three men were allegedly operating a syndicate where they’d sell prohibited drugs online to customers.

Following extensive inquiries, about 9pm yesterday (Wednesday 15 July 2026) strike force detectives executed search warrants in Lambton and Chisholm.

A 29-year-old man was arrested in Lambton and taken to Waratah Police Station where he was charged with 10 offences including:
Three counts of supply prohibited drug greater than indictable & less than commercial quantity
Three counts of supply prohibited drug less than small quantity
Two counts of supply prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis
Participate criminal group contribute criminal activity
Possess prohibited drug

He was refused bail to appear at Bail Division Local Court 2 today (Thursday 16 July 2026).

At the same time, two men were arrested in Chisholm and taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station.

A 32-year-old man was charged with 12 offences including:
Five counts of prohibited drug greater than small & less than indictable quantity
Three counts of supply prohibited drug greater than indictable & less than commercial quantity
Two counts of supply prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis
Knowingly direct activities of criminal group
Fail to comply digital evidence access order direction

Another 32-year-old man was charged with 10 offences including
Three counts of supply prohibited drug greater than indictable & less than commercial quantity
Three counts of supply prohibited drug greater than small & less than indictable quantity
Two counts of supply prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis
Participate criminal group contribute criminal activity
Fail to comply digital evidence access order direction

Both men were refused bail to appear at Bail Division Local Court 2 today (Thursday 16 July 2026).

Appeal for information after firearms stolen, vehicle set alight – Cooranbong

Detectives are appealing for information as an investigation continues into serious property offences in Lake Macquarie last month.

Between 10pm on Tuesday 23 June 2026 and 2.30am on Wednesday 24 June 2026, unknown people forced entry to a home on Babers Road, Cooranbong.

Several items, including five registered firearms, power tools, and an orange Holden Colorado were stolen.

About 4am on Wednesday 24 June 2026, emergency services were called to another home on Babers Road following reports of a vehicle fire. Police established that two individuals approached a parked SUV before it burst into flames. The vehicle was destroyed.

Crime scenes at both locations were established and an investigation commenced by Lake Macquarie Detectives.

CCTV from the area depicts a small white sedan and a white Ford Ranger travelling on Barbers Road before and after the incidents.

Three people were also depicted on CCTV in the vicinity of the homes.

As inquiries into the incidents continue, police wish to speak with anyone who can identify the people or vehicles seen in the area at the time.

Anyone who witnessed the incidents, or who may have dash cam footage from Babers Road between 10pm Tuesday 23 June 2026 and 4 am on Wednesday 24 June 2026, is urged to contact Lake Macquarie Detectives on 02 4922 8899.

FULL STEAM AHEAD ON MUSWELLBROOK BYPASS

The $381 million Muswellbrook Bypass is powering forward with early work well underway and a refined design to deliver safer journeys, faster freight movements and better outcomes for the local community.
 
Jointly funded by the Albanese and Minns Labor Governments, the Australian Government is investing $304.8 million and the NSW Government $76.2 million to deliver the transformative New England Highway upgrade.
 
The bypass will reshape travel through the Upper Hunter by diverting around 2,500 heavy vehicles a day away from Muswellbrook’s town centre, creating safer roads, more reliable freight movements and a more connected community.
 
Every day, around 20,000 vehicles travel through the heart of Muswellbrook.
 
Once complete, the bypass will provide a free-flowing 100 km/h alternative route for through traffic, cutting congestion, improving travel time reliability for freight operators and reducing conflicts between heavy vehicles, local traffic, pedestrians and cyclists.
 
The project’s refined design delivers a safer, more resilient and more efficient road network.  
Key refinements include:
· a safer intersection at Milpera Drive
· improved northern and southern connections
· better local road access
· a dedicated U-turn facility on the New England Highway north of the project.
The updated design also reduces flooding impacts, improves traffic movements and minimises property acquisition.
The project is expected to provide a significant boost to the regional economy, supporting about 720 jobs during construction.
Early works are progressing across the project, with the Aboriginal cultural heritage salvage program, undertaken in consultation with the local Aboriginal community, completed in late 2025. Utility relocation work is underway, and dynamic compaction work is now progressing on a section of the alignment crossing a backfilled open-cut mine ahead of major construction.
Completing this work ahead of the main construction contract will help reduce project risk and minimise potential delays during construction.
The project is also moving closer to major construction, with shortlisted applicants progressed to the Request for Tender stage.
The project has been fast tracked with main construction expected to start in 2027.
For more information visit www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/muswellbrook-bypass-new-england-highway: https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/muswellbrook-bypass-new-england-highway.
 
Alongside the bypass, Wybong Road and Bengalla Link Road have now both been officially re-categorised as state roads, recognising their strategic importance to the regional freight network.
 
The reclassification means the NSW Government will take responsibility for their ongoing maintenance, reducing costs for Muswellbrook Shire Council.
Acting Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Kristy McBain said:
“With early works well underway and a refined design finalised, we are powering forward to deliver this $304.8 million Australian Government investment, ensuring trips across the Upper Hunter will be quicker and safer, sooner.
“By moving heavy vehicles onto an alternate route and removing traffic lights, we will fast-track freight movements and save critical time for motorists and truck drivers traveling through the Upper Hunter.”
NSW Minister for the Hunter, Yasmin Catley said:
“The Minns Labor Government’s $76.2 million investment in this bypass is about delivering the infrastructure the Hunter has been waiting for.
“The Hunter powers our state, and we’re making sure the infrastructure keeps pace with its ambition by backing families, businesses and the jobs that drive this region forward.
”There is nowhere else quite like the Hunter and this project is another important step in securing its future.”
NSW Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison said:
“The Muswellbrook Bypass is one of the most significant road projects underway in the Upper Hunter. It will take 20,000 vehicles out of the town centre, making local streets safer while giving freight operators a faster, more reliable route.
“And it’s not the only win for the region. For years, Muswellbrook Shire Council asked the former Liberal and National Government for help with these roads, and for years they were ignored. That government promised to reclassify 15,000 kilometres of roads across the state and never delivered.
“We’re getting on with the job they walked away from. I’m proud that Wybong Road and Bengalla Link Road are now officially reclassified as state roads, with the NSW Government taking on responsibility for these important freight links.”
Federal Member for Hunter Dan Repacholi said:
“For a long time, the people of Muswellbrook were just told about a bypass, but now they can actually see it happening.
“We are getting closer to having heavy traffic flowing away from the town centre, which will make our local streets safer and quieter, and give locals their community back.”
Labor Spokesperson for the Upper Hunter, Emily Suvaal said:
“I’ve seen firsthand what 20,000 vehicles a day rattling through Muswellbrook does to this town – the noise, the wear on streets, the risk to families crossing the road.
“This bypass finally takes that pressure off. Combined with recategorizing Wybong Road and Bengalla Link Road, we’re backing the freight routes this region relies on.
“I look forward to seeing the project progressing over the coming months.”

Travel to United States

Assistant Minister for Defence, Peter Khalil, will travel to the United States this week to represent the Albanese Government at the Australian American Leadership Dialogue (AALD).

Held annually since 1993, the AALD brings together senior Australian and American leaders to exchange perspectives on key policy issues, including economics and trade, security and defence, foreign policy, innovation and technology, energy and climate, health, cybersecurity, and emerging global challenges.

The AALD provides an important opportunity to strengthen collaboration on major defence and national security initiatives, while ensuring Australia’s strategic perspectives and policy priorities are clearly communicated as part of our bilateral engagement with the United States.

During his visit, Assistant Minister Khalil will also meet with US Administration officials, and political leaders at both a state and federal level to discuss opportunities to deepen cooperation between Australia and the United States.

Australia’s Alliance with the US is fundamental to our national security and we are working together to grow our defence and security partnership, including through AUKUS, address shared strategic challenges and strengthen regional stability.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Peter Khalil:

“Held every year since 1993, the Australian American Leadership Dialogue is an important forum for advancing cooperation between Australia and the United States on the issues that matter most to our shared security and prosperity.

“The Australia–United States Alliance, now in its 75th year, is built on trust, shared values and decades of cooperation in support of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

“As we confront an increasingly complex strategic environment, engagement with our American partners is essential to our alliance.

“AUKUS remains a central pillar of our defence and strategic cooperation, and this week’s discussions will help ensure continued alignment on this vital program.”

Honouring those who served in Afghanistan 25 years on

A national commemoration service will be held in Canberra on Sunday, 11 October 2026 to honour the service and sacrifice of those who served in Afghanistan, 25 years to the day from when the first Australian boots landed on Afghan soil.

The national service will be held at the Australian War Memorial and will be open to Australian Defence Force personnel, veterans, families and members of the public who wish to pay their respects to those who served in Australia’s longest-running conflict.

On 11 October 2001, Australian forces were deployed to Afghanistan under Operation Slipper, contributing to the International Security Assistance Force, a multinational mission to combat terrorism, to stabilise and reconstruct the country.

Over the next two decades, more than 35,000 Australians served in Afghanistan or in support in the Middle East Area of Operations.

The Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial records the names of 47 Australian Defence Force personnel who died as a result of their service in Afghanistan. Some 263 Australians were also wounded. 

The 25th anniversary commemoration will be an opportunity for all Australians to express their respect and gratitude to those personnel who put themselves in harm’s way.

Registration for the national commemorative service is free. For more information, including how to register, as well as accessibility and transport options please visit 25th anniversary of Australian Service in Afghanistan 2001-2021 | Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The service will also be broadcast live on ABC iview.

Visit the Anzac Portal to learn more about Australian service in Afghanistan.

Strengthening cooperation on defence and security with India

Australia and India will strengthen cooperation on defence and security to support our shared vision for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of the Republic of India met in Melbourne today and announced a series of outcomes to elevate our ambitious defence and security cooperation.

The Prime Ministers issued the Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation to deepen our practical partnership.

Australia values India as a top-tier security partner and the Declaration reflects our shared commitment to a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.

Australia and India will boost strategic coordination, increase the complexity of our defence exercises and further build interoperability between our defence forces. We undertake to consult on defence related developments in the Indo-Pacific that affect shared interests.

Maritime security is where Australia and India’s geography and security interests most strongly align and intersect.

The Prime Ministers endorsed a Joint Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap, setting out concrete milestones to deepen our cooperation in response to maritime security challenges. It will improve operational coordination, information sharing and capability development across the breadth of our maritime security cooperation.

The Leaders also welcomed a Memorandum of Understanding between Australia’s Maritime Border Command and the Indian Coast Guard to enhance cooperation on civil maritime security.

In addition, the Leaders announced the Australia-India Partnership on Cyber, Critical Technologies and Supply Chains. The Partnership will bolster our respective capabilities, support our industrial, research, and business links, and anchor our cooperation in safety, security and resilience.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

“In an increasingly challenging global environment, our defence and security cooperation is a force for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

“The Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation demonstrates our growing strategic alignment and articulates our shared vision for the region.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles:

“Australia’s defence relationship with India is growing from strength to strength, underpinned by a shared ambition to enhance cooperation across all domains.

“By working together we are not only making an important contribution to Australia’s security, but to the peace and security of the region.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong:

“In a more uncertain and disrupted world, Australia and India’s partnership has never been more consequential.

“The Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation is anchored in strategic trust and will strengthen our efforts to shape a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.”

Nuclear deal with India was opposed by Albanese a decade ago, should be opposed now

The Greens say the deal will help India expand its growing cache of nuclear weapons, heightening global nuclear risk and undermining Labor’s claims that the deal will promote peace

The signing of the ‘Administrative Arrangement to enable further uranium exports to India’ by the Albanese Labor Government today is rewarding nuclear proliferation, by a person who opposed the dangerous trade a decade ago.

India refuses to sign either the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. This is because India has an estimated 190 nuclear weapons that it refuses to allow international inspectors to document.

The Albanese Labor Government is legitimising India’s dangerous stance on nuclear weapons through this deal. While the Government is claiming Australian exported uranium will not be for military use, it will be used to supplement the Indian supply so alternate nuclear stockpiles can be diverted to weapons. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimated over the past year alone India has made 10 additional nuclear warheads.

There has only been one shipment of uranium to India since Labor and the Liberals initially opened the door to the trade a decade ago. This minimal trade is due to concerns that Australian uranium could be used to build Indian nuclear weapons. Today’s expansion of what has been proven to be a failed and dangerous trade is concerning.

In 2011, following the Fukushima disaster and increasing concerns about the dangers of the nuclear industry, Albanese opposed the proposal to allow uranium sales to India saying: “Under these circumstances, it is absurd that we should be expanding ours.” That is just as true today.

Senator David Shoebridge, Greens spokesperson on Foreign Affairs said:

“Labor is no friend of the campaign to end nuclear weapons. Right now we are seeing Albanese expanding uranium exports to a country that has nearly 200 nuclear weapons and refuses to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or the Test Ban Treaty.

“By giving weight to the non-binding “nuclear suppliers group” Australia is actively undermining the legally enforceable principles set out in the non-proliferation treaty. Make no mistake this harms global efforts to control, and ultimately eliminate, nuclear weapons.

“The Albanese Labor Government has shown it will steamroll over the anti-nuclear movement whenever it suits them. They are doing it today with uranium sales to India and have doubled down on nuclear powered weapons with AUKUS.

”Prime Minister Albanese is doing more to promote nuclear weapons and the nuclear industry in this country than any other Australian Prime Minister since Menzies, who begged the UK for access to nuclear weapons.

“This sad surrender shows the hollowness of the Albanese Labor Government.

“When the Liberals and One Nation pushed for nuclear power Labor managed to oppose it and highlight the risks, but when President Trump or Prime Minister Modhi put the slightest pressure on them they started cosplaying Dutton, and asking where to sign.”