Man shot dead by police after opening fire at a Western Sydney police station identified, & more in news in 5.

– With AAP.

1. Man shot dead by police after opening fire at a Western Sydney police station identified.

A man shot dead outside a Western Sydney police station after he opened fire on officers with a shotgun, injuring one, has been identified as 32-year-old Daniel King.

Police confirmed that at 9.15pm, a number of shots were fired into the front of St Marys Police Station.

Then police say a vehicle stopped outside Penrith Police Station, about seven kilometres away, just after 9.30pm on Wednesday and King approached a police vehicle with a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun and opened fire.

A male constable suffered pellet wounds to the back of the head and was taken to Westmead Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Western Sydney Shootings: A gunman is dead and two police officers injured after shots were fired at police stations in Penrith & St Marys. Earlier in the night shots were fired into a home on Quakers Road in Marayong. https://t.co/2WBpspZ1RR #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/jAcrjcBrp9

— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) October 2, 2019

Police returned fire and King suffered a fatal injury. He died at the scene.

King was a regular gym-goer and owned clothing line NLT Apparel.

Several other officers suffered minor injuries that were not gunshot-related.

Witness footage posted online showed the man falling to the ground after being shot multiple times.

7NEWS has obtained vision of the confrontation with an armed man outside Penrith police station. There are reports the man has died and two police officers were injured during a shootout. A police operation is ongoing. https://t.co/TWh1KQgBAw #TheLatest #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/vUYKrJu8Ho

— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) October 2, 2019

An eye witness told The Daily Telegraph the gunman was seen calmly walking up the street just before the incident.

“(He was) just walking, nice and calm, he wasn’t angry, he was relaxed,” said Mick Lumtin.

Another witness told 10 Daily “Police started yelling ‘Drop the gun, drop the gun”.

Footage shared by Seven News showed a man wearing a black t-shirt with a gun being shot by police.

A critical investigation has now been launched, and will be subject to independent review.

Police said early investigations suggest the two shootings could be linked to shots that were fired into a home on Quakers Road, Marayong, about 8.45pm.

Penrith and St Marys Police Stations remain closed.

2. The UN has joined calls to release a Tamil family from detention as they continue to fight a deportation order by the Australian government.

BREAKING: The United Nations has asked the Australian government to release a Tamil family from immigration detention, lawyers for the family have been advised. https://t.co/A52BWhBt94

— SBS News (@SBSNews) October 2, 2019

The United Nations has joined calls to release a Tamil family from detention as they continue to fight a deportation order by the Australian government.

The UN has requested Sri Lankan parents Priya and Nadesalingam and their Australian-born daughters Kopika, four, and Tharunicaa, two, be transferred to community detention within 30 days.

A visa application for Tharunicaa is subject to an upcoming Federal Court trial and after the rest of her family had their visa applications rejected, all four are being held on Christmas Island.

And that’s where the government said the family will stay until the legal matters are finalised.

“The department is aware an interim measures request has been issued by UNHCR,” a Home Affairs department spokesperson told AAP on Wednesday.

“The family are residing on Christmas Island and will remain there whilst the judicial review proceedings are before the court.”

Priya has previously described jail-like conditions on Christmas Island but said it’s preferable to being returned to Sri Lanka.

“We are really happy that the UN has made a statement in support of us,” she told AAP via an interpreter over the phone.

“We are really thankful for that statement and we are hoping that the Australian government will let us out into the community.”

The worried mother said her daughters were mentally and physically damaged by their time on Christmas Island.

“We are struggling here,” Priya said.

“We can see that our daughters are scared of everything. Their life in detention has instilled some fear in them.”

The family had settled in the Queensland town of Biloela before being taken into detention.

An application was made to the Human Rights Committee on September 27 under the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on behalf of Tharunicaa.

The Federal Court is yet to schedule a date for a trial to decide the validity of Tharunicaa’s visa application.

Regardless of the court outcome, approval of the visa application will be at the discretion of Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

3. A triple zero operator was on the line when Helena Broadbent was flung from a ute allegedly driven by her partner.

Helena Broadbent never had a chance to hold her baby daughter. Her family has since revealed their touching tribute to keep her memory alive. ❤️ https://t.co/8yE7qF43Pf

— The New Daily (@TheNewDailyAu) October 2, 2019

A triple zero operator heard an argument, screaming and then silence during a call from a pregnant woman killed when flung from a ute allegedly driven by her partner.

Helena Broadbent, 32, suffered a “catastrophic brain injury” when she fell backwards out of the Mitsubishi Triton in suburban Melbourne on Saturday and died in hospital after delivering a baby girl by caesarean.

In court on Wednesday police revealed she was on the phone to emergency services, reporting that her partner had a hammer, as the tragedy unfolded at Keilor Downs.

Police allege Ms Broadbent and William Wilson, 35, had gotten into an argument at their shared home and he left in the ute.

After he returned some time later, Detective Sergeant Darryl Out said, Ms Broadbent called triple zero claiming Wilson had a hammer and was threatening to kill her.

Wilson took some items from the home and left again, believing police were on the way. Ms Broadbent followed him to remove child seats from the vehicle but Wilson drove off.

Security footage shows the ute approach a corner, the rear passenger door open, and a person fall.

Wilson told police he thought Ms Broadbent had been running alongside the ute but had stopped when he made a right turn.

But police don’t agree.

“Investigators believe the accused ought to have known Ms Broadbent was at risk of being seriously injured while driving the car, with her being in close proximity, and should not have driven further once she had opened the door,” Sgt Out said.

The incident was captured on an emergency call, police say, in which Ms Broadbent was heard saying “he’s going to take off with the kids’ seats” and “go on you f***ing idiot, wreck your car”.

“Then there’s a scream, then silence,” he said.

Ms Broadbent “suffered a catastrophic brain injury” and was flown to hospital but died after delivering her baby.

Wilson sobbed loudly and at times put his head in his hands as he faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with causing her death by dangerous driving.

His lawyer made an application for bail, stressing the potentially long wait until his next appearance and that he has a job to return to and family to support.

A prosecutor argued against bail, adding Wilson was a flight risk, particularly as he had family based in Queensland.

Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg refused bail, noting Wilson was facing a serious charge, and without “compelling reason why his detention is not justified”.

Ms Broadbent’s baby remains in intensive care.

Wilson is scheduled to next appear on January 6.

4. “It fails to recognise the nature of drug addiction.” Doctors criticise the Government’s welfare drug test trials.

Drug testing trial: between 90 and 120 expected to fail the second test … and doctors hate it @smh @theage https://t.co/Dc1GhHiS7s

— Judith Ireland (@CanberraCamper) October 2, 2019

The Morrison government’s plan to drug test unemployed Australians ignores the nature of drug addiction and will derail years of work by rehab organisations, senators have been warned.

A Senate committee examining the Morrison government’s renewed push to drug test 5000 Newstart and Youth Allowance recipients has heard widespread opposition to the plans.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones from St Vincent’s Health Australia’s department of addiction medicine said substance abuse was a complex issue.

People with addiction continued to use drugs despite in some instances, losing everything, he added.

“The proposed drug testing trial fails to recognise the nature of drug addiction, just as it fails to distinguish between individuals who use substances on a recreational basis,” Dr Lloyd-Jones said on Wednesday.

People can’t just be treated because they’re told to, he said.

Queensland Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies CEO Rebecca Lang raised concerns with incorrect results with drug testing through saliva.

The tests will cost taxpayers up to $150 a person for a clean result and $350 for a positive, which has to be confirmed in a laboratory.

Under the legislation, anyone who tests positive for illicit substances will be shunted onto cashless welfare cards, while those who fail twice will be offered drug counselling.

The two-year trial would take place across three trial sites.

Mark Henley from the Queensland Council of Social Services says organisations in one of those trial sites, Logan in Brisbane’s outer suburbs, believe the approach won’t help their clients.

“They are seriously concerned that the good work that’s been done to date will be derailed,” he said.

He said the government was eroding Australia’s welfare safety net.

For every job vacancy in Logan there are eight people trying to find work, he added.

Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams, whose community in Perth’s south is another trial site, was disappointed the government had not consulted councils on the renewed bid.

They also haven’t explained how the $10 million for drug and alcohol services would be spent.

For him, the top priority was addressing chronic job shortages in a community where many people hadn’t pursued higher education.

Meanwhile, the Workplace Drug Testing Association explained the process, with Australian standards in place for collecting and testing urine and saliva samples but not hair.

An initial screening test can be done at the collection point for urine and saliva, at a cost of $100-$150.

Any samples that show a “non-negative” result have to be sent to a lab for a “decision-making” confirmation test, costing $150-$200, chairman Darron Brien and public officer John de Mellow said.

5. Scott Morrison says Trump just wanted contact details during phone call.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is being urged to provide “clear answers” about his offer to assist a divisive United States inquiry into the FBI after he confirmed a phone call from US President Donald Trump seeking the support. https://t.co/VwQRorqdmw #auspol

— The Age (@theage) October 1, 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says all Donald Trump wanted in a phone call about a controversial United States inquiry into the FBI was some contact details.

The inquiry is widely seen as a partisan attempt by the Trump administration to discredit an earlier investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

The initial probe was sparked by a tip-off from former Australian diplomat Alexander Downer.

Mr Morrison promised Australia would co-operate with the inquiry during a phone conversation with the US president last month.

On Wednesday, he described it as a “fairly uneventful conversation”.

Australia’s ambassador to Washington Joe Hockey formally offered Australia’s help with the investigation in May.

“The president contacted me and asked for a point of contact between the Australian government and the US attorney, which I was happy to do on the basis that it was something we had already committed to do,” Mr Morrison told Sky News on Wednesday.

“It would have been, I think, frankly more surprising had we chosen not to cooperate.”

The leaders then went on to chat about Mr Morrison’s trip to Washington, he said.

To his recollection, the president didn’t phrase the request as a “favour”.

“I’ve had many conversations with the president and it was a very brief conversation,” Mr Morrison said.

“It was not one that I’d characterise as being laden with pressure; it was a fairly polite request for something the Australian government had already made pretty clear we were happy to do.”

The matter wasn’t raised further when the leaders met in Washington last week.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has urged the prime minister to provide more detail about the phone call, but wouldn’t bite when asked about what he would have done in the situation.

For the sake of transparency it would be a “common sense” solution for Mr Morrison to push for the release of the call’s transcript, the Labor leader says.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said it’s up to the US to decide if the full transcript of the telephone call would be released.

Mr Downer, Australia’s former high commissioner to the UK and the country’s longest-serving foreign minister, played a pivotal role in sparking the FBI investigation into electoral interference.

He met with Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who told him about damaging Russian information about rival Hillary Clinton.

That conversation was a key trigger for the FBI inquiry.

Mr Morrison indicated Australia was unlikely to provide Mr Downer’s diplomatic cables about the matter to the investigators.

“It would be a very unusual thing to do and Australia would never do anything that would prejudice our national interest,” he said.

But asked whether the government would facilitate an interview with Mr Downer, he said that was a matter for DFAT.

Senator Payne has defended Australia’s involvement in the investigation and doesn’t think the nation is being dragged into a US issue.

“The inquiry, very much like the others which have been ongoing in the United States, is a matter for them,” she told ABC radio.

“We are conducting ourselves as you would expect us to do in these circumstances, we are working in Australia’s interests, and we are working with our closest and most important ally.”

Mr Trump’s call to Mr Morrison comes after revelations the US president called Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy to ask for help investigating Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden.

The US House of Representatives has opened an impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump centring on that call.