A NSW court has rejected an appeal from the driver responsible for one of Australia's deadliest bus crashes. Brett Andrew Button, 60, is serving a 32-year sentence after his bus tipped over at a roundabout in the Hunter Valley, killing 10 mostly young wedding guests and injuring another 25 in June 2023. Button had claimed some of the charges against him were double-counted, but the court has upheld the full term and 24-year non-parole period.
The driver was found guilty of driving too fast and under the influence of Tramadol when he caused the crash. His lawyer argued that the sentence was disproportionate to the crime, but the court agreed with the original verdict.
Separately, Australian shares have fallen sharply after Wall Street sold off technology stocks overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell over 1.5% in early trading and is now down about 4% from its record highs hit last month, representing around $140bn in market losses.
Concerns are growing about the "AI bubble" that has seen tech stocks rise sharply. Some analysts believe that the market may have gotten ahead of itself and that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates as expected.
In other news, a special school in Brisbane has closed after discovering asbestos in its sensory play activities. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had recalled the products due to potential health risks.
Finally, former competition watchdog chair Graeme Samuel has called for an end to the native forest logging exemption from national environment laws. He believes that the exemptions should be removed and that national environmental standards should govern regional forest agreements.
The driver was found guilty of driving too fast and under the influence of Tramadol when he caused the crash. His lawyer argued that the sentence was disproportionate to the crime, but the court agreed with the original verdict.
Separately, Australian shares have fallen sharply after Wall Street sold off technology stocks overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell over 1.5% in early trading and is now down about 4% from its record highs hit last month, representing around $140bn in market losses.
Concerns are growing about the "AI bubble" that has seen tech stocks rise sharply. Some analysts believe that the market may have gotten ahead of itself and that the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates as expected.
In other news, a special school in Brisbane has closed after discovering asbestos in its sensory play activities. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had recalled the products due to potential health risks.
Finally, former competition watchdog chair Graeme Samuel has called for an end to the native forest logging exemption from national environment laws. He believes that the exemptions should be removed and that national environmental standards should govern regional forest agreements.
what's going on with this country? first we got some driver goin down for 32 yrs over 10 lives lost & now tech stocks are tankin like they're at war 
anyone else thinkin the AI bubble is gonna burst soon? 
we need to be more careful & responsible as parents, teachers & citizens 
and now tech stocks are plummeting too which sucks because it's kinda worrying that the AI bubble might pop 
gotta be careful not to get caught up in the hype, right? anyway what's up with this asbestos thing at the school tho 
gotta hope all those kids are ok...
and i gotta say, 32 years is a pretty long time to be behind bars but i guess u can't make excuses for being drunk & on meds while driving 
anyone know how he's doing in prison tho? anywayz, tech stocks have been all over the place lately 
and it's like, are we really ready for AI revolution or is it just a hype? 
also, asbestos in sensory play activities 
32 years in prison for that?! i feel so bad for the families of those who lost their loved ones 
it's just crazy how fast someone can lose control and cause such destruction on the road.
how can we expect to build strong communities when we're still dealing with things like this?
maybe it's because i'm not a lawyer or anything, but it feels like there should be some room for mercy. and what's up with the Federal Reserve? if they're not going to cut interest rates, when exactly are we expecting them to step in? 
how can someone get away with killing 10 people and injuring 25 others in such a reckless way?!
how is this even possible?! didn't we learn from the asbestos scandal all those years ago?! it's like we're just relearning everything over and over again... why can't we get it together as a society?!
what do u guys think about these news stories?!
. Anyway, about that bus crash... 32 years is a pretty harsh sentence if you ask me 
. And what's up with these tech stocks anyway? I remember seeing articles saying they were going to keep raising interest rates to slow down inflation, but now it seems like that might not happen 
... a 32-year sentence is already so harsh, but I guess that's what happens when you put innocent people in harm's way 