A new inquiry lifts the lid on "dehumanising" Tasmanian youth detention centre.

Content warning: This story includes descriptions of child sexual abuse that may be distressing to some readers.

Tasmania's Ashley Youth Detention Centre has a culture of brutality towards children and allowed allegedly sexually abusive staff to continue working, an inquiry has been told.

One former detainee, known as Warren, said he was raped and sexually assaulted more than 50 times by guards who withheld his ADHD medication until they abused him.

The commission of inquiry, set up partly in response to abuse allegations against Ashley Youth Detention Centre staff, started seven days of hearings into the centre on Thursday.

Counsel assisting the inquiry, Rachel Ellyard, said there was a culture of brutality and dehumanisation and an over-reliance on strip searches at the centre, which has operated since 1999.

She told the inquiry of a litany of shortcomings including improper use of isolation, “blind spots” in CCTV and a “terrible culture” that could almost be described as anti-child.

CW: A former Ashley Youth Detention Centre detainee alleges he was sexually abused 50 times by guards, including threats to withhold his medication unless he conformed #TasCOI https://t.co/zMiUZknr8s

— Adam Holmes (@AdamHolmes010) August 18, 2022

“Rather than it being about monsters infiltrating. You may find it is Ashley Youth Detention Centre that is the monster,” she said during her opening submission.

Ms Ellyard said the centre permitted staff to keep working after they had been accused of abuse, and a culture of nepotism meant workers “backed each other up” when complaints were made.

Warren, who had 21 stints at Ashley Youth Detention Centre from age 13, was regularly forced to perform sex acts on a group of three guards who worked together. He was held down and raped on multiple occasions and had his arms pinned behind his back and head rammed into a wall by guards who knew he suffered a head injury earlier in life.

“I couldn’t do anything to protect myself,” he said in a statement read to the inquiry.

Warren was subjected to “degrading” fully naked strip searches and had to bend over in front of guards.

Ms Ellyard said concerns about the centre had been raised in reports to the government as far back as 2002. A 2016 report recommending a shift to two more therapeutic centres was not acted upon.

Ms Ellyard said some of the evidence would be horrific, but none of it should come as a surprise to the government.

The detention centre was previously a boys' home where some children were sexually abused, and many staff transitioned to the centre when the boys' home closed, Ms Ellyard said.

“Some of those still work at Ashley Youth Detention Centre, or did until very recently,” she said.

Staff were typically recruited from the local area, Ms Ellyard said, and the centre had been kept open because it was a major regional employer. The centre’s workforce are under-trained and underqualified for dealing with children with complex needs, she said.

The state government in September pledged to close the centre by 2024 and has insisted current detainees are safe. More than 100 former detainees last week filed legal action against the state government, alleging they were sexually abused or mistreated.

If this brings up any issues for you, contact Bravehearts, an organisation dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse, on 1800 272 831.

With AAP.

Almost 750 kilos of methylamphetamine concealed in marble tiles have been seized from shipping containers in Sydney, allegedly sent by an international crime syndicate.

Acting on a tip-off on July 27, Australian Border Force officers uncovered four containers with the meth hidden in the tiles on a ship berthed at Port Botany that had arrived from the United Arab Emirates.

Three men arrested over the massive haul on Wednesday are facing life in jail if convicted.

Two men were arrested in dawn raids across five suburbs in Sydney, accused of being key players in the huge ice bust that’s estimated to be worth more than $675 million on the streets.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the operation took about 7.5 million ice deals off the streets.

“Sydney’s drug market is one of the largest in the country with more methylamphetamine, cocaine and MDA consumed here than any other state,” she told reporters on Thursday.

It’s the biggest seizure by the state’s Crime Command and Firearms Squad which worked in partnership with ABF.

“Police will be alleging the men form part of a criminal syndicate that was well equipped and highly sophisticated,” Ms Webb said.

The trio have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drug and taking part in supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug. Investigations under Strike Force Chellington continue.

Australian Border Force officers have seized almost 750kg of methamphetamine worth $675 million in shipping containers at Sydney's Port Botany terminal.https://t.co/o5krqSI2m4

— Australian Associated Press (AAP) (@AAPNewswire) August 18, 2022

With AAP.

Do you find the news cycle overwhelming? Depressing? Confusing? Boring? Endless? Then you need The Quicky. Mamamia’s daily podcast that gets you up to speed on the top stories.

Listen to tonight’s episode of The Quicky below:

In news that will thrill elder millennials, Netflix has released the first trailer for Heartbreak High, the highly anticipated reimagining of the ‘90s Australian series and you must take a look at it.

And in an interesting turn of events, Joe Jonas has given an interview about his partnership with a cosmetic injectable brand, saying he’s attempting to break the taboo around men’s beauty routines. Yes, it’s all hooked on sponsored content, but his words have opened up an interesting conversation about men's faces.

Plus, after many years of speculation, the subjects of an anonymous 2016 lawsuit where a woman said she was assaulted by her “then-husband” on a private plane have been revealed as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. The FBI reports about the famous couple contain some very disturbing allegations of assault, so once again we have to discuss why the world refuses to have a negative conversation about Brad Pitt. Even as the evidence continues to pile up against him.

Get today’s episode of The Spill in your ears now!

Morning everyone, 

Welcome to your live news feed for Thursday, August 18.

Here are the top five stories making a buzz this morning. 

1. Grace Tame celebrates ‘hopeful win’ after law change.

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame has celebrated the Australian Capital Territory government's move to change the description of child sexual abuse. 

The territory previously described the crime as a "sexual relationship with child or young person under special care". However, it has now been changed to "persistent sexual abuse of child or young person under special care".

The change, which came into effect yesterday, was celebrated by ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury. 

"Language is powerful, and I hope this will help validate for victim-survivors that all 'relationships' of this kind are in fact abuse," he wrote on Twitter, before thanking Tame for her advocacy work. 

Thanks to the compelling advocacy of @TamePunk, very pleased to say that the reform she advocated for, on behalf of victim-survivors, is in effect as of today. pic.twitter.com/WxExTpqCGO

— Shane Rattenbury MLA (@ShaneRattenbury) August 17, 2022

Tame said the reform was for "all survivors". 

"It's not your fault, nor your shame," she wrote on Twitter.

"This win is a hopeful sign."

WE CHANGED THE LAW:

Today, the ACT reformed the law so that child sexual abuse is no longer called a “relationship”.

This one’s for all survivors. It’s not your fault, nor your shame.

Thank you to A-G Shane Rattenbury, the team, and every advocate and supporter behind this. pic.twitter.com/xjAd2CTnGB

— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) August 17, 2022

Only three jurisdictions in Australia still describe the crime as a "relationship", including Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

2. Governor General defends role in Morrison’s secret ministry.

Governor-General David Hurley has defended his role in giving Scott Morrison control of five portfolios, saying he had no reason to believe the former prime minister would not publicly communicate his decision.

In a statement, a spokesman for the governor-general said Morrison's decision to keep the move a secret was a matter for the previous government and it was not Hurley's responsibility to advise of the changes to the ministry. 

"The governor-general had no reason to believe that appointments would not be communicated," the spokesman said.

"Any questions around secrecy after the governor-general had acted on the advice of the government of the day are a matter for the previous government."

The Governor-General is defending his role in giving Scott Morrison control of five portfolios. @ElizaEdNews #9News

MORE: https://t.co/Dt6Xc2Hizq pic.twitter.com/a8en1WmJmF

— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) August 17, 2022

Morrison defended his decision to appoint himself to the finance, treasury, health, home affairs and resources portfolios between March 2020 and May 2021, saying the move was for an emergency scenario when he would need to act in the national interest.

"It was a very extraordinary time that tested every sinew and fabric of government ... (and) Australian society," he told reporters yesterday. 

"We took decisions - I did as a prime minister, we did as a cabinet - at federal and state level that some of us would never have dreamed we would ever have to make."

Morrison also apologised to his colleagues for keeping them in the dark. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the former prime minister needs to apologise to the Australian people for "a trashing of our democratic system".

One of Morrison's former ministerial colleagues, Karen Andrews - who was unaware she was being shadowed in her role by the Liberal leader - has called on him to quit parliament.

3. Olympic Champion Ellia Green confirms his identity as a trans man.

Olympic Champion Ellia Green, one of the stars of Australia's gold medal-winning women's rugby sevens team at the 2016 Olympics, has transitioned to male.

Green, who has kept the same name, said it was the best decision of his life. Realising that sharing his experience could be lifesaving for others is what compelled Green to go public in a video shown on Tuesday at an international summit on ending transphobia and homophobia in sport. 

The only other transgender or gender diverse Olympic gold medallists are Caitlyn Jenner, who transitioned nearly 40 years after winning gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, and Quinn, who goes by one name and was part of Canada's winning women's soccer team in Tokyo last year.

Seeing so few trans athletes at the elite level and so much negative commentary on social media hastened Green's push to highlight the harm those things can cause some children. 

The 29-year-old has admitted to being in a "dark place" after retiring from rugby at the end of 2021.

"This is what happened to me," Green told The Associated Press. "Pretty much my rugby career ended and I had been in and out of mental health facilities for serious issues. My depression hit a new level of sadness."

He's in a much better place now with his partner, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, and their infant daughter, Waitui.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ellia Tiriseyani Green (@elliagreen)

Green hopes his story will inspire other trans people to be confident in their decisions about who they want to be.

"I just knew it was going to be the most liberating feeling when I had that surgery and to be in the body I knew I had to be," Green says in the video. "That was a bright spark in my mind during these dark times facing demons, but I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel."

4. 'Long journey' for NSW flood recovery as government release report.

A NSW government-commissioned report into devastating floods earlier this year has made 28 recommendations, including the creation of a new disaster authority.

Premier Dominic Perrottet released a report by former chief scientist Mary O'Kane and former police commissioner Mick Fuller in Lismore yesterday.

The government accepted the report's recommendations, which deal primarily with emergency response capability and management, data availability and land use planning.

The NSW flood inquiry report has made nearly 30 recommendations after identifying multiple failures in the state's disaster response and recovery efforts. pic.twitter.com/eleIRvxvBo

— 10 News First Sydney (@10NewsFirstSyd) August 17, 2022

The floods in the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury-Nepean regions killed 13 people across the state in February and March.

Perrottet said progress had been made in the six months since the devastating floods but there was still more to be done.

"This is a long journey in front of us, and we need to make sure we rebuild in a resilient way, in a way that keeps the character and the charm of these wonderful communities," he said yesterday.

The government will seek to establish a reconstruction authority by the end of the year, which will be the lead agency for disaster prevention and will look for long-term flood mitigation solutions as well as leading housing and infrastructure renewal in disaster-affected communities. The report also recommends a partial merger of the State Emergency Service and much bigger Rural Fire Service.

5. Vietnam vets mark 'era-defining' conflict.

Sixty years since the first deployment of Australian troops and close to half a century since the last soldiers were withdrawn, the Vietnam War remains an "era-defining" conflict, Federal Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh says.

A series of commemorations to mark the longest military action involving Australian forces in the 20th century will be held across the country on Vietnam Veterans' Day, with the most significant at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.

A gunfire breakfast, which traditionally includes a tot of rum for warmth and courage, will kick off proceedings today. They will also mark the 56th anniversary of the iconic Battle of Long Tan, the costliest single encounter involving Australian soldiers.

"The 60,000 Australians who served in Vietnam deserve our utmost gratitude and respect. Some 521 gave their lives in the conflict and over 3000 were wounded," Mr Keogh said.

"Around 15,000 of them were conscripts through the National Service Scheme... At that time in Australia there was growing opposition for the war, and so upon their return our Vietnam veterans did not always receive the acknowledgement they were due."

"Vietnam Veterans' Day is healing. Having a service in recognition is an important part even all these years later. It is very, important for all of us who didn’t get any recognition in those days" - Roger Collins

Watch the full story https://t.co/9VrHnejCen 📽#RSLQueensland pic.twitter.com/5hxyiACUh2

— RSL Queensland (@RSLQueensland) August 17, 2022

Melbourne's service will be attended by the Victorian governor and Premier Dan Andrews along with senior military officials. A smaller service will also be held at the Martin Place Cenotaph in Sydney, while in Brisbane veterans will march to Anzac Square in the city.

That's it, you're all up to speed. We'll be back to bring you your afternoon headlines. 

- With AAP.

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Feature Image: AAP.