Chief Minister Andrew Barr has shared footage of the eye-catching red light rail vehicle making its way from a factory in Zaragoza to a port in Santander.
Canberra’s first tram is transported on to a ship. Photo: Karlos Corbella
The tram, travelling on the Heogh Berlin, is expected to arrive in Port Kembla then Canberra from Spain in mid-December.
The ACT government will spend about $65 million on a fleet of 14 trams, each of which will be 33 metres long with 66 seats and capacity to carry 207 people.
Rolling stock company Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles is constructing the vehicles.
The Gungahlin to Civic leg of the $939 million light rail project is expected to be running by late next year.
Transport Canberra and City Services this week announced a series of closures expected to affect people who travel on Northborne Avenue and Flemington Road between now and December.
The first closure will be at the Barton Highway and Northbourne Avenue intersection from 10pm Friday until 4am on Monday.
Traffic will not be able to turn right onto Northbourne Avenue from the Barton Highway or right onto the Barton Highway from the Federal Highway.
From 8pm on Sunday until 6pm December 10, the Flemington Road intersection of Sandford Street and Morisset Road will be closed to all traffic turning right into Sandford Street and Morisset Road from Flemington Road, and closed to all traffic travelling across Sandford Street and Morisset Road.
From 10pm November 17 until 4am November 20, traffic will not be able to turn right into Mouat Street and Antill Street from Northbourne Avenue. Northbound and southbound traffic will remain unaffected.
Free range egg consumers in the ACT are being warned to lower their expectations of quality as new national standards begin next year.
The Australia-wide egg labelling standard will override the ACT’s maximum 1500 hens per hectare, increasing it to almost seven times that amount.
Cuppacumbalong farmer Bruce Gibbs amongst his free range chickens. Photo: Elesa Kurtz
Greens minister Shane Rattenbury called for the implementation of a birds per hectare scale to ensure greater transparency for the consumer. He said the term ‘free range’ would be hotly debated and a new term for ethical egg farming could come into play as the new standard was established.
Mr Rattenbury said ACT producers had been “sold out” by the decision.
“I know they’ve been both really disappointed and concerned because they’re operating at a higher standard and they will now be competing against the larger scale facilities, and it makes it very difficult for them,” Mr Rattenbury said.
He said it would allow bigger producers to splash the free range name over their eggs which, while they might comply with national standards, did not represent consumer expectations of the label.
Tharwa free range egg producer Bruce Gibbs has about 4500 birds per 20 hectares. His birds are constantly moved through areas of the farm at Cuppacumbalong to ensure nutrients are spread around and the birds don’t live in dusty patches devoid of grass.
He said 10,000 birds per hectare was factory farming, and even 1500 birds was getting towards that realm.
“Most of that stuff from about 1000 hens up, none of us [in the ACT] would farm at that level here and consider ourselves free range.”
Mr Gibbs said during the discussions to create a consistent national standard, small producers weren’t sitting at the table, and the standard was set for the wrong reasons by the wrong people.
While the standard had been set at 10,000 hens per hectare, Mr Rattenbury was calling on the federal government to improve the detail which he described as inadequate.
Mr Rattenbury’s recommendation letter was one of about 15 submissions the government received, alongside about 200 campaign letters and comments.
He said he did not support the stocking density endorsed by other states and territories and that the definition of free range was inadequate, “and does not accord with consumers’ general expectation of “free range” welfare standards”.
His concerns centered around the birds having appropriate facilities, and the requirement for how access to shelter was provided needed to clarified.
“Noting that in high population facilities it can be hard for birds to access the outdoors because of the size and type of the opening provided,” he said.
Mr Rattenbury also expressed concern about the clarity of, “meaningful and regular” access to the outdoors, and the broad exemptions which could mean birds wouldn’t have genuine opportunity to roam outdoors.
ACT Labor will ban political donations from property developers, introduce real-time reporting rules and investigate the public funding of election campaigns if re-elected.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Saturday he would also introduce an ACT Integrity Commissioner who would be aided by a team of “specialised investigators” to look into serious public sector breaches of integrity.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr would ban property developer donations for all parties in the ACT if re-elected. Photo: Jeffrey Chan
Echoing the laws in New South Wales, Labor would immediately refuse to accept any new property developer donations as part of the commitments.
Mr Barr said the major governance changes would “increase transparency, accountability and integrity in government”.
“We’ll expand the scope of the ACT Lobbyist Register to cover in-house government relations staff, industry associations, and project management liaison officers and companies,” he said.
“We will investigate complementary schemes for public funding of election campaigns that encourage candidates and parties to raise funds from small individual contributions.”
Donations would have to be declared within seven days of being received under the proposed law changes.
The Canberra Liberals have previously promised to set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption if elected next month.
Mr Barr said the integrity commissioner would have the power to conduct hearings and recommend criminal prosecution. The office’s operations would be reviewed after five years.
In a clear swipe against current Speaker and Liberal MLA Vicki Dunne, Mr Barr said Labor would also seek to remove the risks of political interference into complaints against MLAs by preventing the speaker from blocking a complaint to the Independent Commissioner for Standards, or from “insert[ing] their own views when referring the matter”.
Labor said earlier this month that Ms Dunne had “tainted” an independent investigation into a Liberal election flyer.
Mr Barr said ACT Labor supported federal Labor’s proposed ban on international donations, which became a national issue after the controversy surrounding Labor Senator Sam Dastyari’s acceptance of money from a company with direct links to the Chinese government.
The broad reforms would also change enrolment time limits, allowing voters to get on the electoral roll as late as election day itself.
“We will also clos[e] nominations on day five of the formal campaign period to allow for an earlier distribution of postal votes, so more Canberrans get a chance to have their say,” he said.
In a statement, Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson described the proposed integrity commissioner was a “watered-down” version of the Liberals’ ICAC policy.
He said while his party was open to donation reform, an ICAC was “essential” for the ACT.
“The stench surrounding the Labor and Greens government will not be washed away by this desperate and disingenuous last minute announcement,” he said.
“If Andrew Barr was was serious about donation reform he would stop funnelling pokie money through the CFMEU and ‘1973 Foundation’ to ACT Labor.”
A loophole in taxation law could mean thousands of Canberrans may have been incorrectly charged GST when they bought a unit off the plan.
A class action is being mounted against several property developers for the refund of GST included on the purchase price of new residential units in the ACT.
People who’ve bought apartments off the plan in the ACT in the past six years are being urged to check their contracts. Photo: Glen McCurtayne
IMF Bentham confirmed that, along with law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, it was investigating cases where developers charged buyers GST-inclusive prices, despite advice from the Australian Tax Office that no GST was chargeable because of a quirk in the legislation.
The advice related to an obscure ruling from 2010 when the Federal Court found that units constructed on land subject to a long-term lease were not considered “new residences” under the law and therefore should be input taxed.
At the time, residential premises were only considered to be “new” if they had not been sold before as a residential premises or had not been the subject of a long-term lease.
All land in the ACT is leasehold – not freehold – though, tenured for a period of 99 years from the Crown.
That meant developers of Canberra unit blocks would buy the lease to the land then split the lease into the unit title for each new owner.
However because the lease had previously been held by the developer, the premises the owners purchased weren’t considered “new” and should not have been subject to GST, according to the Federal Court.
The loophole was closed in 2012 but still applied to developments that were commercially committed before January 27, 2011.
IMF Bentham said developers still included a supply tax in the price of the units they sold across the ACT and might have then kept a 10 per cent windfall.
Investment manager Oliver Gayner estimated thousands of Canberrans could be affected, with the bill to run into the millions.
“Our investigations are ongoing but to date we have identified around 15 different developments which we believe qualify for the class action. Ultimately that figure could rise to as much as 30,” Mr Gayner said.
“At an average development size of 200 units, up to 6000 units could be in scope. Assuming an average purchase price per unit of $400,000, a typical claim size would be $40,000 GST plus interest.”
Anyone who bought a residential in the ACT off the plan that settled in the past six years is urged to check their contract.
He was a member of Tony Abbott’s prime ministerial Praetorian guard to the very end: a hardline cigar-chomping conservative who did all he could to keep Malcolm Turnbull out of The Lodge.
But a year after Abbott’s fall, Mathias Cormann – the very private West Australian senator known primarily as the guy with the Schwarzenegger accent – is now emerging as one of Turnbull’s key lieutenants.
Man who can: Finance Minister Mathias Cormann in between interviews on Budget eve, 2015 Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
It was Cormann who last week shepherded the government’s $6 billion omnibus savings bill through the Parliament, spearheading negotiations with Labor to achieve a rare bipartisan budgetary accord.
But it wasn’t the first time.
Creative thinking: Mathias Cormann is emerging as one of Malcolm Turnbull’s key lieutenants. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Under Abbott and Turnbull both, the finance minister has been less The Terminator and more The Negotiator. He’s done deals with Labor, the Greens and the crossbenchers to get bills through.
Most of them praise the way he does business.
“He is a class act,” says crossbench king Nick Xenophon.
“He has an incredible work ethic. He is always on top of his brief. He really sets the benchmark. People have this image of him as the man with the Terminator voice but he’s more than that. He is very much underrated – the quiet achiever of the government.”
Holding fast: Malcolm Turnbull and Cormann during Family Day at The Lodge. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Cormann does do things quietly.
While he does plenty of media – and is a good performer, relentlessly on-message and rarely stuffing up – he usually sticks with the serious outlets like Sky News and the ABC. He wants to talk policy and isn’t particularly interested in boosting his personal profile.
Indeed, he hates taking part in profile pieces. Asked to participate in one with Fairfax Media this weekend he politely declined: he may be the only politician on the planet who doesn’t like talking about himself.
Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm says Cormann “is not the crossbench whisperer”.
“But he is very, very focused,” he says. “And he is quite a nice guy to deal with.”
That’s another common refrain.
Despite his serious and sometimes robotic public demeanour, Cormann is in reality really quite affable.
By all accounts, he seems to enjoy finding common ground, using goodwill and creative thinking to bridge ideological gaps.
Cormann has a good relationship with two of Labor’s key players, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen and Senate leader Penny Wong. And it’s notable that the last thing Labor’s Stephen Conroy did before tabling his resignation speech last week was praise Cormann.
Labor insiders say Cormann is a straight-shooter and trustworthy – unlike some of his colleagues. One spoke of being “mystified” as to why George Brandis is still the government’s Senate leader rather than Cormann.
When it comes to social policy like same-sex marriage, Cormann has more in common with the likes of Cory Bernardi and Eric Abetz than he does Turnbull. But unlike Bernardi and Abetz, Cormann has fully accepts that Turnbull’s the boss, playing no part – discernibly at least – in the sniping or undermining.
If anything, he serves as a bridge between the mostly conservative Coalition senators and the prime minister’s office.
“The PM really likes him and they’re close now. They respect each other,” says a source close to Turnbull. “He’s indefatigable. He works his arse off and he’s just really good at getting things done.”
Xenophon says the Belgian-born 45-year-old – who only came to Australia in his 20s, shortly after learning English as his fourth language – is like a traditional post-war migrant: “They just work that little bit harder to give back to the country.”
Cormann is more a classic Liberal “dry” than a modern social conservative. He cares about small government, budget discipline and the free market and isn’t quite so concerned about what goes on in people’s bedrooms. Budget repair is a big job: he doesn’t have time to fight the culture wars.
“It would be good if we had a few more like him, to be honest,” the Turnbull confidante says.
Apartment owners in a new block in Franklin, Gungahlin, are moving in this week without power, after they were told they must install their own meters.
And they could be waiting some considerable time, with Actew AGL saying on Friday that for big developments such as the Ivy the connection could take up to 45 days.
James and the other people have moved into the Ivy Apartments in Franklin but have no power because the builder didn’t install meters. Photo: Elesa Kurtz
James moves into his one-bedroom apartment on Monday, but imagines he will be “sitting in the dark until the power comes on”.
The individually owned apartments have hot water, through a central electrical connection, but no other power.
James said he had checked some time ago with Actew and was told there were no complications. But when he called on Thursday he was told there was no meter, and a number of other residents were in the same position. He paid $560 for the meter, and now must wait.
“This is my first place I’ve ever bought and it’s kind of taken the shine off the whole experience to say it politely,” he said.
Richard, who like James doesn’t want his last name published, is getting married in a week, with relatives arriving from overseas to stay. He and his fiancee moved in on Thursday, and have plugged an extension cord into an outside power point, running it under their door to a multibox, to power a lamp and the television. They use a torch in the bathroom.
Richard said he called ActewAGL in August to organise the connection, and had called many times since. At one point, Actew told him it couldn’t find the apartment on a network map, and more recently that there was no request for service from the developer.
While the real-estate agent had assured him the paperwork had been done many weeks ago, Actew said the paperwork had only come through last week. He was finally able to book an installation last week, and pay $563, but was told it would take up to 20 working days to happen.
Richard says he doesn’t understand how a certificate of occupancy could be issued at the end of July without power.
ActewAGL energy networks manager Stephen Devlin said meter connections in new buildings were “a standard part of the building development process, which is the responsibility of the building developer”.
Installations of up to four connections were done within 20 working days, but bigger developments such as the Ivy could take up to 45, he said.
Attention was drawn to the impasse at the Ivy on Nullarbor Avenue by ACT Greens candidate Jen Faerber, who said it was bizarre for a developer to treat something as basic as electricity as an optional extra.
“The Canberra community shouldn’t suffer for the profit margins of big developers,” she said.
The Greens launched a new policy on Thursday aimed at improving construction and certification in apartment builds across the city.
Much of the apartment design in Canberra would not be allowed in NSW, the Greens said, with complaints about builders and defects doubling since 2009 to 350 a year.
President of the Australian Institute of Architects Ken Maher said the ACT should look to the standards introduced in NSW about 10 years ago, setting minimum apartment sizes and design rules including sunlight and siting.
“It’s been a very successful program in NSW for ensuring high quality in new residential apartment building and I think it really set a standard that now some other states and territories are starting to consider,” he said. “If it’s left to the market the standards tend to fall because there are cost pressure issues.”
Assembly Clerk Tom Duncan asked the Labor Party to stop airing advertisements that feature Chief Minister Andrew Barr in his parliamentary office.
Mr Duncan said the advertisements breached guidelines which ban the use of Assembly facilities for electioneering. The television advertisements feature Mr Barr in his office speaking direct to camera about roads, buses and light rail, interspersed with shots of transport infrastructure.
A still shot from the Labor television ad filmed from Chief Minister Andrew Barr’s office, in breach of parliamentary rules.
Mr Duncan wrote to Labor secretary Matthew Byrne asking him to stop using material filmed in Mr Barr’s office, a request that looks likely to force Labor to scrap and re-shoot the commercial.
But Mr Byrne has interpreted the request as applying only to the Youtube airing, which he pulled down last night while the ad continued to air on commercial television networks on Wednesday night as it has since Sunday.
“The advice that we’ve been given says it’s about the ads on Youtube so until I hear otherwise I’ll make decisions based on advice from the clerk and the speaker,” he said.
He would not disclose how much the ad had cost, but confirmed other filming had been done in Mr Barr’s office.
“We’ve filmed a number of options but how we use them is yet to be determined,” he said. “All our advertising will adhere to the guidelines.”
A government spokesman said no decision had been made on the ad, but there would be no further filming in the Assembly precinct. It was a long-standing practice for leaders to film messages in their offices, he said, suggesting Liberal Leader Jeremy Hanson had used his office to film a criticism of the ACT budget just a few months ago.
Under the caretaker conventions government premises could be used as the backdrop for political advertising, he said, accusing the Liberals of “petty point scoring”.
Liberal campaign director Daniel Clode said if the advertising was not pulled immediately it would be a “flagrant breach” of the rules and a contempt of parliament.
“I’ve been conscious of those rules, so I’m surprised that such an amateur mistake could be made by the government of the day,” he said.
Also on Wednesday, the Liberals promised to establish the position of chief engineer if they win government, to improve the government’s ability to develop and manage contracts. The party would also establish an engineers’ panel to consult on major works and an infrastructure plan to guide residential areas, transport connections and areas for denser housing and employment.
The Greens said they would work to phase out gas.
They would seek to ban new gas hot water systems in homes, stop the rollout of gas infrastructure to new suburbs and remove incentives to install gas. They want a rebate to help householders replace gas appliances with electrical appliances.
The Greens say gas is the third largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions after electricity and fuel. The Liberals have rubbished the Greens’ plan, saying Canberrans were sick of being lectured to, the plan was unfair, would hurt families who relied on gas, and showed the Greens were out of touch.
But the Conservation Council executive director Larry O’Loughlin said it was necessary if Canberra is to achieve zero net emissions. He said the Liberals’ position potentially locked them into providing expensive gas infrastructure into the future.
Labor has also promised to appoint a preventative health coordinator to focus on strategies to reduce smoking, alcohol, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and depression.
The announcement follows a series of other health-related policies over the past week, including the major upgrade of Canberra Hospital, a nursing training package, and free meningococcal B vaccines for babies.
It seems the ACT government’s “age friendly city” slogan for Canberra number plates did not get a very friendly welcome.
While Canberrans offer a wealth of ideas in the hope the ACT government’s new plate hits the mark, a marketing expert explores some tourism promotions that have shone or failed in the capital.
This “Feel the Power” jet was used in a campaign to promote Canberra under former ACT chief minister Kate Carnell’s government in 1998. Photo: Supplied
Just fewer than 1964 ACT number plates have touted the catchphrase “Canberra – Age Friendly City” since they became available in July last year after winning the ACT government’s number plate competition.
It’s not known whether much love was ever felt for the controversial “Feel the Power of Canberra” number plates that were maligned by the public after it was included in a Carnell government advertising campaign in 1998. But at least 343 vehicles are still holding on to the turbo-charged message.
There are currently 1964 Canberrans driving around with “Canberra – Age friendly city” number plates. Photo: Lannon Harley/ ACT Government
“Canberra the Nation’s Capital” remains the most popular plates despite being around since 1979, still decorating 133,133 vehicles, while 58,589 vehicles have the “Canberra – Heart of the Nation” plate and 42,870 plates read “Celebration of a Century”.
Those who filled out the Canberra Times‘ online poll also overwhelmingly preferred “The nation’s capital” and “Heart of the nation” over Canberra’s other number plate slogans, with just 1 per cent of the some 800 voters favouring the “age friendly city” or “celebration of a century,” and one in 10 choosing “Feel the power of Canberra”.
Among the suggestions readers gave for the ACT Government’s new number plate competition, to be shortlisted for public vote in November, were “the most liveable city,” and “Canberra – Your capital” while some tongue-in-cheek ideas were “the cold never bothered us anyway” and “the roundabout capital”.
Whether choosing number plate slogans or developing extensive marketing campaigns, marketing professor from the University of Canberra, Dr Rachel Johns, says there are clear moves to avoid.
Jeremy Lasek on City Beach to promote Wollongong folks to migrate to Canberra for the 2006 Live in Canberra campaign. Photo: Greg Totman
She said the Carnell government’s extravagant and controversial decision to splash “feel the power of Canberra” on a jet was not the best way to deliver the message and definitely not the best message to send.
She believed it reinforced the perceptions that Canberra was merely a public-sector city and was not surprised that some residents were afraid to cross the border with the seemingly arrogant number plates.
But she praised the ACT government’s “quietly confident” $2.6 million “CBR” tourism campaign that launched in 2014, which stands for “Confident, Bold, Ready”.
At the time, critics slammed the campaign and its video which boasted Canberra’s “economic and social advantages” as bland and disappointing.
“A lot of people didn’t understand the purpose of branding Canberra, but I think it was simple and effective,” she said.”It shows the city’s vibrance and appeals to a range of target groups.”
She also loved the ACT’s unique viral marketing “Human Brochure” campaign, which won a major prize at the Australian Tourism Awards in 2014.
The world-first campaign saw 500 people visit Canberra for a weekend and share their experiences using social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
“I think it was fabulous and a lot of it was targeting Canberra locals so they would change their own perception of Canberra and promote it in blogs and social media,” she said.
“So it was as much about residents as it was about visitors in helping changing mentalities around Canberra being a boring city, which I think we’ve done well in recent years.”
In 2006, the ACT government teamed up with the University of Technology in Sydney to run a comprehensive “Live in Canberra” campaign.
It was an effort to get people to move from Sydney and the NSW coast due to a skilled labour shortage.
UTS research concluded the campaign, which consisted of brochures, advertisements, a website and call centre, was successful, with 558 calls received, 620 information packs requested, and “a number” of residents moving to the capital less than 10 weeks after the campaign launched.
Even if you heard the whole story, Mitch and Ella Tromp say, it still wouldn’t explain the events that unravelled their tight-knit family so suddenly and so strangely.
It was the morning after the last member of their family, father Mark Tromp, 51, had been found and the youngest of the children – Ella and Mitch – said they were just happy their dad had been found alive and well.
“More than anything, we’re just happy Dad’s alive and he’s going to come back home and all the family is going to come back home, and we can get back to normal,” Ella said on Sunday.
Mitch, 25, and Ella, 22, spoke to the media in the front yard of their home in Silvan, in the Yarra Ranges east of Melbourne, as a thank-you to the public.
It was a passerby who had spotted their father walking along a road in the outskirts of Wangaratta late on Saturday afternoon and phoned police.
“I just want to thank everyone – the media, Mark Knight at the local police station, family, friends – there’s been so much support and so much help from everyone,” Mitch said.
But questions remain about how and why their family became gripped with paranoia, convinced someone was after them and terrified they were being watched, tracked and followed.
Mitchell and Ella Tromp talk to media in Silvan. Photo: Daniel Pockett
The paranoia centred on their financial affairs, specifically that someone was trying to steal their money.
That anxiety built up to the point that the parents fled the house, taking their children with them, on Monday.
Mark Tromp, pictured right, is driven from the Wangaratta police station on Saturday night. Photo: Mark Jesser
Both Mitch and Ella left their family and found their way home. Sister Riana had stowed away in the back of a stranger’s car before she was discovered and taken to hospital. Their mother, Jacoba, was found wandering in Yass, while Mark was last seen in Wangaratta before he disappeared.
Mitchell previously said there had been no current or previous diagnoses of mental illness, but it is believed one of his parents experienced a mental health episode, which spread through their family until everyone, apart from Mitchell, believed they were in serious danger.
Mitchell and Ella Tromp after the their father, Mark Tromp, was found. Photo: Daniel Pockett
“I can see everyone’s questions,” he said. “I can see why they want to know, but it’s a family matter. I just want the family to be able to come back together and everything to work itself out.”
He and Ella said they would await the outcome of a police investigation for concrete answers.
Mark Tromp was found on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Supplied
“I still feel confused. I think our state of minds weren’t in the best place,” Ella said.
Their father was cleared at the police station on Saturday night by a medical assessor from Albury Wodonga Health and released into the care of his police officer brother Ken.
The Tromp children: Mitchell, Riana and Ella.
Mitch and Ella said they couldn’t wait for him to come home so they could hug him.
“It’s the first time I haven’t woken up crying in two days,” Mitch said.
Mark and Jacoba (Coby) Tromp.
“I think I’ll cry when I see Dad,” Ella added.
Both children have spoken to their father on the phone.
“He was my dad; he was just how he always is and it was so great to hear from him,” Mitch said.
“I just wanted to hear his voice and we’ll go through those details [about where he had been] later,” Ella said.
“He’s well and he said he just wanted to come back home and get back to work.”
Jacoba – known as Coby – and Riana both remain in hospital in Goulburn being treated by mental health clinicians.
Mitch and Ella said their mother and sister were both doing well, but they were unsure of when they would be allowed to return home.
Mitch said he wished he had never left his family. “I had to go with the family because I wanted to see where they were going – I couldn’t leave them,” he said.
But it got to the point where he had had enough and didn’t believe their fear was based on anything real. He left his family in Bathurst, NSW, and took a series of trains home.
“I thought getting out was the best idea for me at the time,” he said. “In hindsight, I should have tried to stay with them and try and help to bring them back around and talk to them more, but I got out of the car.”
The rest of the family continued driving to Jenolan Caves. Ella, who with her sister left their parents once they got there, said she was still confused by what had happened.
“I was confused about the whole situation, as I still am now,” she said. “I just wanted to get home to feed my horses.”
Ella and Riana had stolen a car at Jenolan Caves, and Ella drove it back to Silvan.
Mark and Jacoba drove south to Wangaratta, where they separated. Jacoba took public transport back up north to Yass, while Mark dumped the Peugeot, which belonged to Ella, in a Wangaratta side street on Wednesday night.
Yarra Ranges sergeant Mark Knight – who led the investigation and knows the family – said that despite the family’s fear they were being followed, no one was after them and they were not being pursued. Police have not found evidence suggesting the family’s money was being targeted by a thief.
Sergeant Knight said there had been no previous diagnosed mental health conditions among the family and there was no evidence of drug taking or drug psychosis.
There is no suggestion of carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause psychosis.
The family have no debts and their businesses – an earth-moving company and berry farm – are successful.
Sergeant Knight said he experienced “sheer relief and happiness” when he was told Mr Tromp had been found.
“It brought us an overwhelming relief,” he said.
He and three other officers, including a retired policeman who volunteered his help, worked out of the Monbulk police station investigating reported sightings of the man they knew well.
Their colleague Ken Tromp, Mark’s brother, led the search in Wangaratta.
Timeline:
Monday, August 29: The Tromps leave the family home in Ella’s Peugeot, terrified someone is after them. During the course of the drive, it’s discovered Mitchell has brought his phone with him. He throws it out of the window near Warburton, about 32 kilometres from the family home. The family continues driving towards Bathurst.
Tuesday, August 30: Mitchell decides he wants to go home. He leaves the family at Kelso, a suburb of Bathurst, about 7am and makes his way to Sydney. The rest of the family continue on to the Jenolan Caves. That afternoon, they decide to split up. Ella and Riana acquire a car, make their way to Goulburn then go their separate ways. Riana is found along the highway after stealing a lift in a ute and is taken to the local hospital due to stress-related issues. Ella drives back to the family home in Silvan. Parents Mark and Jacoba are reported missing and that afternoon police attend the family home to find credit cards and mobile phones lying around the house and car keys in ignitions.
Wednesday, August 31: Mitchell arrives at the family home in the morning after catching the overnight train from Sydney. That afternoon, police search the Jenolan Caves area for Mark and Jacoba but are unable to find them. The couple drive south to Wangaratta where they separate. Jacoba takes public transport to Yass and Mark is seen leaving the Peugeot, with keys in the ignition, in a side street.
Thursday, September 1: Police are notified in the early hours of the morning that the family car has been located in Wangaratta and that a lone man was seen walking away from the car. It is believed this man was Mark. Later in the day, Jacoba is taken to Yass District Hospital after a local found her wandering around town.
Saturday, September 3: Mark Tromp is found by police after a passer-by saw him walking along Greta Road, on the outskirts of Wangaratta, shortly before 6pm.
With Tom Cowie, Shana Morgan and Goya Dmytryshchak
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