Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame told a court she reached a breaking point and feared for her life after discovering disturbing social media posts she believed had been aimed at her by her childhood abuser.

Ms Tame gave evidence at Hobart Magistrates Court on Tuesday during a special hearing involving Nicolaas Ockert Bester, who sexually abused her in 2010 while she was his 15-year-old student.

The court heard that police found a “revenge” folder on portable devices during a 2022 raid. It allegedly contained photographs and videos of Ms Tame.

Bester was charged in 2022 with three offences involving the use of a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. He has pleaded not guilty.

The 74-year-old allegedly published social media posts targeting Ms Tame, who was named Australian of the Year in 2021 after becoming a prominent advocate for survivors of sexual abuse.

Prosecutors read three public messages posted to Twitter in 2022 from an account called NicoBester3.

Each post referred to Ms Tame’s former school email address, which was connected to her Facebook account. That platform was the primary way Bester contacted her during the abuse.

“At last I will come for (the email address),” the first message stated.

In the second post, Bester allegedly said he was “coming”, comparing himself with Donald Trump and British far-right figures Tommy Robinson and Milo Yiannopoulos. The message said there were only “10 weeks to go”.

The third message read: “Here it comes! Only four weeks to go! The good old comeuppance on its way (the email address).”

Ms Tame said she became aware of the posts gradually before recognising that the references to 10 weeks and four weeks appeared to count down to the publication of her book.

The messages transported her back to the abuse, which took place on the floor of a classroom at his school, she told the court.

“I was horrified, terrified and quite disturbed,” Ms Tame said.

“To me this was a signal of a very real commitment to follow through with some kind of public-facing plan to inflict harm upon me.”

She said she believed Bester’s reference to her childhood email address could be a threat to publish sexualised messages exchanged during the period when he groomed her.

“I was also legitimately scared for my life,” she said, noting that Bester had previously told her stories about killing people while serving in the army.

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“This is a man who had psychologically tortured and repeatedly raped me. I did not need to imagine his capacity to cause harm.”

Ms Tame said the alleged posts prompted her to increase security during a national book tour. She also told the court she was nearing rock bottom and experiencing suicidal thoughts.

Tasmania Police constable Declan Gillett told the court a folder of media coverage of Ms Tame in a folder named ‘wraak’ – Afrikaans for revenge – was found on Bester’s portable hard drives.

There was also an outgoing email from Bester’s email account to men’s rights activist and former sex therapist Bettina Arndt sent in 2017.

It included an attached document with purported Facebook messages sent between Bester and Ms Tame during the 2010 abuse, Const Gillett said.

If Ms Tame found out about the email in 2022, it would have been devastating, she said.

‘Worst-case scenario, it would have driven me towards the end.’

Bester, who the court was previously told has dementia, was in February deemed unfit to stand trial for medical reasons.

In a special hearing, the court can make a finding of not guilty, not guilty on mental health grounds or that a finding of not guilty cannot be made.

A guilty verdict is not available.

Bester watched the hearing via a video link from an undisclosed location.

The former maths teacher was in 2011 sentenced to two years and 10 months in jail for abusing Ms Tame and for possessing child exploitation material.

He was jailed in 2016 for four months for producing child exploitation material after describing the abuse online.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

Lifeline 13 11 14

beyondblue 1300 22 4636

Dancing with the Stars delivered a surprise in week three, eliminating a celebrity contestant who appeared to be gaining momentum.

Taylor Hanson, the 43-year-old frontman of Hanson, became the fourth celebrity sent home. He and professional partner Britt Stewart were eliminated one week after celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis.

The pair landed in a three-way tie for the bottom of the leaderboard alongside Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson, as well as Jackson Olson and Emma Slater. The results came during an episode devoted to 1980s yacht-rock classics.

“This has been everything. This has been incredible,” Hanson said, attempting to remain upbeat as Stewart’s disappointment was clear.

Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn topped the rankings from judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli. Glenn had accidentally given her partner, Pasha Pashkov, a bloody nose during rehearsals.

Glenn and Pashkov shared the top spot with Glee and Grey’s Anatomy star Harry Shum Jr., who performed with Jenna Johnson.

Hanson and Stewart performed a foxtrot to The Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes.”

Hanson was especially pleased with the song choice. He had previously performed “What a Fool Believes” with his brothers in front of The Doobie Brothers when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Still, the singer appeared nervous after he and Stewart faced significant criticism the previous week. He wanted to show the judges that he had worked to improve.

“I want to show the judges that I was paying attention to the notes,” Hanson said during rehearsals, where he struggled to move fluidly.

Inaba praised Hanson’s ability to be “lyrical” and “poetic” on the dance floor, but she also expressed disappointment. She advised him to build more core strength so he could become a more resilient performer.

Hough offered a more positive assessment, calling it Hanson’s best dance of the season and saying he could tell the musician had been “taking notes.”

Tonioli, however, continued to find fault with the performance, telling Hanson not to break up the musical phrases.

“You’re a musician; you understand what I’m talking about,” Tonioli added.

Hanson and Stewart earned three sixes—their highest score so far—but the improvement was not enough to lift them with viewers voting at home.

First up in this week’s competition were Glenn and her dance partner Pashkov.

The Olympic figure skater and her partner performed a Foxtrot that was set to Toto’s Hold the Line. 

‘And the ice queen does it again!’ shouted Hough as he jumped to his feet after the performance.

Tonioli called them the ‘top of the class,’ while  Inaba called their dance ‘beautiful,’ ‘poetic’ and ‘mesmerizing.’

The judges awarded Glenn and Pashkov straight eights, for a total of 24.

Glenn said she felt incredible after co-host Julianna Hough informed her that they had received the first eights of the season. 

But things got off to a rough start in behind-the-scenes footage from their rehearsals when Glenn accidentally swiped her partner in the nose with her elbow.

Pashkov was bent over and rushed to grab a tissue as drops of blood could be seen dripping from his nose.

He said he felt light-headed after the impact, and Glenn teared up as she recounted the collision afterward, but there wasn’t any hint of the trauma when the two made it to the dance floor. 

Next up was the team of Julia Stiles and her partner Ezra Sosa, who did a salsa dance to Hall & Oates’s I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).

‘You awakened the Spice Girl within!’ Tonioli joked as he said they ‘didn’t make any errors.’ 

‘You looked like you were having fun,’ he added. 

Inaba said that Stiles had finally given herself ‘permission to let go.’ Derek was also complimentary, though he did give her feedback on how to improve her turns. 

He ended up giving Stiles and Sosa their best score, a seven, while Tonioli and Inaba both awarded them respectable sixes.

Guillermo Rodriguez and his pro partner Witney Carson were next up on deck.

They danced a foxtrot and honed in on the yacht rock theme by performing to Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes.

In rehearsals, Carson had to put a brace on Rodriguez’s shoulders to hold his arms up and keep him ‘in frame.’ 

The duo ended up getting straight fives, which they seemed happy about. 

Tatyana Ali and partner Jan Ravnik danced a quickstep set to another yacht rock classic, Hall & Oates’s Maneater.

‘Tatyana, hold my gaze. That was your best dance,’ Hough said afterward.

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Inaba said that Tatyana may have had a misstep, but she said her footwork was otherwise phenomenal.

Tonioli joked, ‘When you’re bad, you’re so good,’ and said he appreciated the Cosby Show actress’s more aggressive tone. 

The actress and her partner received straight sevens, which elicited a scream of joy from Tatyana. 

Harry Shum Jr and his partner Jenna Johnson followed up with a jive to another Hall & Oates tune, You Make My Dreams Come True.

Tonioli called it theatrical in the best possible way. 

‘You’re heading right up to Broadway with that!’ he gushed. 

Inaba cheered and said the two were ‘so in sync’ and ‘so powerful.’ 

Derek praised Jenna for being so versatile and complimented Harry’s athleticism – and his theme-appropriate mustache. 

They received a trio of eights from the judges, tying Amber Glenn’s score from the start of the show. 

Maura Higgins and her partner Mark Ballas were next with a quickstep set to George Benson’s Turn Your Love Around.

Hough gushed that Higgins’s topline was ‘exquisite,’ and Tonioli said that she channeled classic Hollywood glamour.

Hough and Inaba ended up giving them sevens, while Tonioli bumped it up to an 8, for a total of 22. 

Summer House star Ciara Miller and her professional partner Brandon Armstrong danced a cha-cha to Luther Vandross’s slow jam Never Too Much.

‘Hot, hot, hot,’ Tonioli gushed before saying Miller needed to learn to ‘believe in herself’ and use her legs.

Inaba applauded her enthusiasm but said that sometimes the ‘polish’ of her moves suffered because of it, while Hough urged her to watch her arms.

The trio all gave sixes, for a total of 18. 

Jackson Olson and his pro partner Emma Slater brought a rawer energy to their pasodoble was set to Easy Love by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins.

Inaba worried that Olson had been dancing ‘above the music,’ rather than with it, and Bruno agreed, adding that the intensity was present, but there wasn’t enough nuance.

Olson and Slater received a trio of sixes for 18 points. 

Connor Wood and his partner Rylee Arnold performed to Fleetwood Mac’s classic Everywhere, and they joined multiple other couples in dancing a foxtrot.

 Hough said Wood was ‘such a nice man,’ but he wanted him to become a ‘leading man’ for next week’s dance. 

Inaba agreed, but she thought Wood at least ‘supported’ his partner in a way that she found endearing.

Hough gave them a six, but Inaba and Tonioli both gave them sevens, for a total of 20. 

Last week’s top scorer, Jenna Dewan, performed a high-energy samba with her partner Val Chmerkovskiy to Toto’s hit Africa.

The judges were all complimentary, but Inaba urged Dewan to loosen up and said she was too tense and over the top for that particular dance.

They were awarded straight sevens for 21 points. 

Tyler Cameron and his partner Sharna Burgess went on to dance a jive to Still the One by Orleans.

Inaba urged Cameron to try to stay in tune with Burgess, and Tonioli said his timing wasn’t always pristine, though he was much improved. 

Inaba ended up giving them a five, while Hough and Tonioli both awarded them sixes, for a 17. 

The final dance of the night belonged to Paralympian Ezra French and his partner Daniella Karagach, who performed a foxtrot to Grover Washington Jr and Bill Withers’s Just the Two of Us.

All three judges praised the duo, with Hough highlighting how well they handled a slower dance and Tonioli emphasizing how well Ezra worked as a leading man.

The judges awarded them straight sevens for 21 points total. 

Dancing with the Stars airs live on ABC and Disney+ on Tuesdays and streams the next day on Hulu. 

A court on Tuesday released footage showing the moment police discovered cleaners inside Jesse Baird’s home, two days after he disappeared.

Body-worn camera video captured Detective Senior Constable Alistair Wright and another officer knocking on Baird’s door at about 1.15pm on February 22, 2024. “Hello, it’s just the police,” they called out.

A female cleaner eventually opened the door and told officers the tenants were not home.

The officer asked her: “You’re the cleaner?”

“Yeah,” she replied.

The officer then asked: “Is anyone else home … is it all right if we come in and we have a chat to you?”

“It’s OK,” the cleaner answered.

One officer then asked: “Is there any blood here?”

The cleaner, whose first language was not English, replied: “We clean.”

Police then instructed both cleaners to stop work and move outside.

The terrace was subsequently declared a crime scene.

Senior Sergeant Bronwyn Lansley told the court that Baird’s blood had seeped through the floorboards and into the cavity beneath the house.

Investigators also detected traces of blood on the living-room rug, as well as on rugs in the hallway and the front bedroom. The court heard the front bedroom belonged to Baird.

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Ms Lansley said Luke Davies’ blood was found predominantly inside Baird’s bedroom, suggesting the pair were together in the room at some point after their deaths.

Crime scene photographs showed substantial amounts of luminol in the kitchen, Baird’s bedroom and across the living room.

A groundskeeper later discovered bloodstained bedsheets and clothing in a skip bin, along with Luke Davies’ identification and Qantas card.

The jury was also read part of Craig Scott’s statement on Tuesday morning. It detailed how he found blood and black garbage bags inside a skip bin in Cronulla, in Sydney’s south.

Mr Scott said the bin had been filled with grass clippings when he left work on the afternoon of February 20, 2024—the day after Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were allegedly killed.

When he returned the next day, Mr Scott said it appeared someone had added rubbish to the bin. He asked a colleague to inspect it with him.

“There were AFL footy shorts still in plastic packaging,” he said.

‘I saw a bunch of white flags bunched together near the top and it had a lot of red.

‘When we moved them to the side, we saw several bin bags … I opened one of the bags and removed a piece of brown clothing, I only took a little from the bag and it had red stains on it.’

Mr Scott said he left it in the bag because he thought it was covered in blood.

His colleague opened another bag and found a bed sheet with similar stains.

They also found a silver watch and a leather pouch with credit cards in the name of Luke Davies, along with a Qantas card. Davies was a Qantas flight attendant.

Both men ‘decided something suspicious had gone on’ and decided to take the watch and the leather pouch to the police station.

David Shoebridge has been elected leader of the Greens, declaring that the party’s goal is not to make Labor better but to ultimately “replace” it.

The NSW senator won the leadership on Wednesday morning during a party retreat in Sydney, defeating fellow NSW senator Mehreen Faruqi and South Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

“After four years of a Labor government, things have got harder … Better for the one per cent, but much, much harder for ordinary Australians,” Shoebridge said.

He said families were increasingly anxious about whether they could afford basic groceries, with some people forced to choose between paying for insurance and replacing a broken refrigerator.

“These are not decisions that Australians should be making in a country with the wealth and opportunity that Australia has,” he said.

“What has become so clear after four years of this government and years before is that we are not here to make the Labor Party any better.

“The Greens are here to replace them, and this is the team.”

Victorian senator Steph Hodgins-May was elected deputy leader after campaigning on a joint ticket with Shoebridge. She also sharpened her criticism of the Albanese government.

“I am looking forward to working with David to bring a bold vision to Australia, to grow our movement and to confront the impending climate crisis that is here now,” she said.

Greens senator Nick McKim said on Wednesday that Shoebridge had won the leadership ballot after securing a majority of support from the parliamentary party room.

Shoebridge led the first-round count with six primary votes, followed by Faruqi with three and Hanson-Young with two.

Once preferences were distributed, he defeated Faruqi by seven votes to four.

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Shoebridge takes charge as one of the Greens’ most prominent public figures, with a high profile on issues such as artificial intelligence, AUKUS, defence policy and the Middle East.

His election came shortly after former leader Larissa Waters announced earlier this week that she would step down because of ill health.

Visibly emotional on Wednesday, Waters said it had been an “incredible honour” to lead the Greens but that her deteriorating health meant she could no longer continue.

“I hope to be OK, but I need to look after myself,” she said.

Fighting back tears, Waters said she was proud of the party’s achievements during her 16 months as leader. She noted that the Greens were polling strongly despite a shift towards One Nation and Pauline Hanson.

Waters thanked her colleagues and staff for their support, adding that she would return to parliament as a Queensland senator after taking medical leave.

Shoebridge used his first address as Greens leader to praise Waters’ leadership before launching a blistering attack on Labor, arguing the major parties had failed ordinary Australians and created the conditions for the rise of One Nation. 

‘Politics as usual is not providing the answers that people are desperately calling for now,’ he said.

‘After four years of this government and years before, these are decisions that have been forced on people after decades of Labor and the Coalition and now their new mates in One Nation, driving privatisation, delivering for corporate and vested interests,’ he said. 

Shoebridge declared the Greens were no longer interested in merely influencing Labor from the crossbench.

‘Labor has created the circumstances for One Nation, and Labor is not the answer,’ he said.

‘The Greens, the progressive alternative, we’re here to beat down One Nation, and we’re here to replace Labor and return hope and faith to politics.’