Off the wire
• Cheese and wine festival in western Ukraine attracts thousands of visitors  • Rebels propose new areas for separating forces in E. Ukraine: media  • Aussie dollar slips fractionally against the greenback  • Electric car sales in Ukraine almost triple in first half of 2016  • Chicago agricultural commodities close mixed  • U.S. to release Internet of Things principles after Friday's cyberattacks  • U.S. sets final dumping and subsidy rates on iron mechanical components from China, Canada  • Algeria, Spain discuss political, economic, security cooperation  • Slovakia could be significant business partner for silk road cooperation  • Denmark registers rising FDI for 2nd year in a row  
You are here: 　 Home

Infamous Aust'n criminal applies for release from jail after 30 years

Xinhua, October 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

One of Australia's most notorious criminals has applied for parole after serving 30 years in jail.

Craig Minogue, who set off a car bomb on March 27 1986 outside Melbourne's Russell Street Police Headquarters along with accomplices Peter Reed and Stan Taylor, applied to be released from jail late on Monday evening after having served the minimum 30 years of his life sentence.

Despite the stolen Holden Commodore used in the explosion being packed with 60 sticks of gelignite, a highly explosive gel used in rock-blasting, Constable Angela Taylor, 21, was the only person killed by the bombing.

In addition to Taylor, who became the first Australian Police officer to die in the line of duty, 21 others were injured when the bomb went off.

The 1986 court trial of the men heard that the three men had hoped the explosion would kill dozens of police officers and were "disappointed" with how the explosion played out.

Prosecutors alleged that the three men were motivated by revenge against the police, with all three having previously been arrested and spent time in prison.

Steve Herbert, Victoria's Minister for Corrections, said that the safety of the community would be the deciding factor in Minogue's parole hearing.

"The community's expectations are clear on this matter as are the government's," Herbert told News Limited in comments published on Tuesday.

"Community safety is the absolute priority for the Adult Parole Board when it considers an application for parole and we fully expect the board to take the community's concerns into consideration."

Minogue will have to negotiate tougher parole hearings after the Victorian government strengthened the system following a spate of prisoners who were granted parole re-offending.

Minogue's accomplice, Stan Taylor, died in a prison hospital from natural causes in mid-October. Endit