标签： Oceania

One of Australia’s most recognizable and influential media figures, 85-year-old veteran broadcaster and former national rugby coach Alan Jones, has appeared in a Sydney courtroom on the opening day of his long-awaited trial, facing multiple allegations of non-consensual sexual misconduct against six male complainants.

Prosecutors laid out detailed allegations before the packed judge-only trial on Monday, outlining 20 counts of indecent assault and two additional counts of sexual touching that are alleged to have occurred between 2003 and 2020. The alleged incidents are said to have taken place across a range of locations, including public events, Jones’s private residences, and his former workplace.

Nine of the 22 total charges relate to complainant J, who was just 17 years old when the alleged abuse began. Prosecutors told the court that complainant J first met Jones as a teenager during an on-air radio interview celebrating his sporting success. After the meeting, Jones allegedly gave the teen gifts including a mobile phone and a car, and began providing regular fortnightly cash payments that started at AU$400 and later rose to AU$600. On a drive to Jones’s rural property in Fitzroy Falls, roughly two hours south of Sydney, Jones is accused of groping complainant J’s genitals and attempting to kiss him without consent.

A second complainant, identified as complainant C who worked for years as Jones’s personal driver, is expected to testify that the broadcaster groped his genitals on multiple occasions while he was driving Jones home from work. Prosecutors added that Jones repeatedly attempted to kiss complainant C without consent, often inside the lift of his radio studio, and sent the driver unsolicited explicit messages. The complainant has stated he felt pressured to respond to the messages out of fear of losing his job, according to prosecution accounts.

Additional allegations include an incident where a 17-year-old high school student was invited to Jones’s Fitzroy Falls property, where the broadcaster is accused of attempting to kiss him without consent. In total, six separate men have brought allegations against Jones, all of which Jones has categorically denied since his arrest in November 2024. That arrest came after the Sydney Morning Herald first published reports of the abuse claims, prompting a formal police investigation.

In their opening arguments to the court, Jones’s defense team launched a forceful challenge to the credibility of the complainants’ accounts. Defense lawyers argued that the allegations against Jones are rooted in a toxic mix of professional rivalry, financial incentive, personal animosity, and opportunism, claiming some witnesses have deliberately fabricated their claims. They also told the court that Jones has already endured unfair “trial by media” long before the case reached the courtroom, arguing that rivals in the media and political spheres encouraged the complainants to come forward with false statements. The defense emphasized that prosecutors must prove all allegations beyond a reasonable doubt to secure a conviction.

Outside the criminal allegations, Jones has had an outsize impact on Australian public life for more than four decades. Before retiring for health reasons in 2020, he dominated Sydney talkback radio for 2GB, building a large loyal audience and wielding significant political influence. Prior to his broadcasting career, Jones worked as a school teacher, and in the mid-1980s he served four years as head coach of the Australian national rugby union team, the Wallabies.

The judge-only trial, which is scheduled to hear testimony from more than 70 witnesses over the coming weeks, continues.

A high-profile Australian business figure, recently found guilty by a jury of raping a much younger woman, is fighting to keep his identity hidden from public view, with a key court hearing on the request set for this week in Victoria.

The 12-member jury delivered its guilty verdict last Tuesday, concluding a two-week trial in the County Court of Victoria. The guilty finding centered on a 2023 sexual assault that unfolded after the defendant and his accuser met at his home to discuss potential work opportunities. According to court testimony, after the work meeting, the pair began drinking alcohol and consuming cocaine. The woman, who was decades younger than the defendant, told the court she opened up to him about a recent romantic relationship breakup, after which he hugged her and claimed he would “take care of her” before initiating unwanted sexual contact.

Prosecutor Matthew Fisher told the court that the woman repeatedly pushed the defendant away, explicitly saying “I don’t want this”, but the businessman ignored her protests, responding that he could not stop because he found her so attractive. The attack continued as the defendant digitally penetrated the woman while she cried into a pillow, before raping her. She only managed to stop the assault by punching him in the face, Fisher told the court.

Throughout the trial, defense barrister Dermot Dann KC repeatedly challenged the accuser’s account, arguing there were inconsistencies in her testimony. Dann claimed the woman had a clear financial incentive to fabricate the allegations, pointing to evidence that she had launched a civil claim against his client, and had told a cousin she intended to “take this man for all that he’s worth”. The defendant has maintained his full innocence, denying the allegations of sexual assault, cocaine use and unwanted advances, and his legal team has confirmed they are weighing an appeal against the guilty verdict.

For three years leading up to the trial, successive non-publication orders have barred news organizations from releasing any information that could identify the defendant. These initial orders were granted after judicial officials ruled there was a substantial risk of severe psychological harm to the man if his name was released, and were scheduled to expire once the jury delivered its verdict. However, immediately following last week’s guilty finding, Dann requested and received a temporary extension of the suppression order, to give his legal team time to prepare full arguments and evidence for a permanent gag order. Dann confirmed the submission will include new psychiatric evidence outlining the risks to the defendant’s mental health if his identity is made public.

The upcoming Monday hearing in the County Court of Victoria will hear arguments for and against the permanent suppression order. Multiple media outlets have already confirmed they will formally challenge the request to keep the defendant’s identity secret, and prosecuting authorities have also previously stated they oppose the ongoing non-publication order.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place later this month after the court resolves the dispute over the suppression order.

Across temples and community gatherings in Thailand this week, millions of people have joined a decades-old movement that merges Buddhist spiritual tradition with public health action: the annual three-month alcohol abstinence campaign tied to Khao Phansa, or Buddhist Lent. For participants, the ritual is more than a seasonal commitment — it is a life-changing opportunity to break harmful drinking habits rooted in widespread cultural acceptance of alcohol.

Wassana Nak-umma, a 42-year-old housewife who took her 2025 abstinence pledge at a temple in Samut Sakhon, a coastal province west of Bangkok, is one of millions returning to the campaign after experiencing its benefits firsthand. A self-described former heavy drinker, she recalled to Agence France-Presse how her addiction once left her so incapacitated that her own children had to clean up after her when she vomited from overconsumption. It was only after a concerned relative encouraged her to join the Khao Phansa campaign in 2024 that she was able to curb her habit. Though she returned to drinking after that first three-month abstinence, she now drinks only in moderation, and this marks her third year taking the pledge.

“I still craved it. Whenever I saw people buying liquor or beer at stores, I would look at them and want to drink like them,” she said. “But I held back, telling myself it was only three months. After that three-month period, I realised, ‘Hey, I can do this! Next year, I must do it again.’”

For 66-year-old former coconut farmer Phayom Raksa, the campaign led to a complete end to his daily drinking habit six years ago. Before joining, he told AFP, his addiction left his children ashamed of his constant drunkenness and drained all of his income on alcohol. Now, he encourages other community members to take the pledge, urging them to reframe their lives around positive goals.

The Khao Phansa abstinence campaign, which launched in 2003, was created to address a striking national paradox: more than 90% of Thailand’s population identifies as Buddhist, a faith that lists avoiding intoxicants as one of its core moral precepts, yet 2024 World Health Organization data ranks Thailand third highest in per capita alcohol consumption across Asia. Last year alone, more than eight million Thais signed up for the initiative, making it one of the largest voluntary public health campaigns in the country.

This year’s launch of the campaign, which coincided with the official start of Khao Phansa on Thursday, brought celebrations to Samut Sakhon, with traditional offerings to monks, cultural dance performances, and a community parade where participants rode coconut-transporting sidecar scooters called salengs, holding placards highlighting the benefits of healthy, alcohol-free living.

Unlike popular Western dry campaigns such as Dry January, which focus primarily on physical health benefits after holiday overconsumption, Thai organizers say the Khao Phansa initiative gains unique power from its spiritual and community roots. Ubolwan Kongsawang, a regional volunteer with Thailand’s Stop Drinking Network, explained that the public pledge taken in a religious or community setting creates a powerful accountability structure that individual attempts to cut back often lack.

“The Buddhist Lent campaign provides a ‘spiritual anchor’ that boosts motivation,” she said. “When individuals take a pledge before a Buddha image, at a temple, or within their community, they feel bound to honour their word.”

Organizers have updated their outreach strategy this year, shifting focus from strict total abstinence for all participants to highlighting the wide-ranging benefits of any reduction in alcohol consumption, including better physical health, stronger family relationships, and lower household spending. Dr. Pongthep Wongwatcharapaiboon, director of the government-run Thai Health Promotion Foundation, noted that even reduced consumption that leads to long-term health improvements counts as a win for the campaign.

“Our goal is not necessarily total abstinence for everyone,” he said. “Many reduce their consumption and discover the health benefits, which is already a success.”

The campaign comes as Thailand adjusts its long-standing alcohol regulations: in December 2024, the government relaxed decades-old rules that banned alcohol sales during afternoon hours, a policy originally implemented to prevent government employees from drinking on the job. Alcohol remains prohibited for sale on religious public holidays and around election periods.

Ultimately, campaign leaders say their work extends far beyond the three months of Lent, aiming to shift Thailand’s deep-rooted drinking culture that normalizes alcohol consumption at nearly every social gathering, from funerals to national festivals. “We are trying to transform the drinking culture itself, not just reduce individual consumption,” said Teera Wacharaprannee, head of the Stop Drinking Network. “Our strategy is to continue beyond Lent, supporting villages and communities to reduce alcohol in daily life.”