Failures in triple-zero system blamed for 18 of the deaths, Ambulance Victoria chief tells budget estimates hearing
Twenty-one Victorians have died waiting for an ambulance over the past six months, a budget estimates hearing has been told.
Failures in the triple-zero system have been blamed for 18 of the deaths with three attributed to paramedics not getting to patients on time, Ambulance Victoria’s acting chief executive, Libby Murphy, said on Friday.
Continue reading...Robbie McEwen, the former cyclist and now commentator, says he’s ‘genuinely sorry’ for using a homophobic slur during a broadcast, which he says was ‘unintentional’
Robbie McEwen, the former cyclist and now commentator, has apologised for using a homophobic slur during a broadcast of stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia.
The Australian three-time Tour de France points classification winner, who retired from professional cycling in 2012, said he “unintentionally” used the phrase during commentary on Eurosport and GCN+ earlier this week.
Continue reading...Roy Morgan poll puts Labor ahead; Greens hopeful of picking up Senate seats; eligibility for telephone voting formally changed; health authorities give monkeypox update ; Julia Gillard says Labor would be ‘a government for women’; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed
The voting issue is gaining momentum.
Between Covid, problems for some people overseas, coronavirus impacting the available workforce and the ability to open up booths, particularly in rural and regional communities, and the impact of floods in northern NSW, voting has been a very fraught issue this time round, and the AEC has been working overtime trying to plug the gaps.
That is up to them. I have always respected the decisions of Australians, those quiet Australians as I refer to them, they are out there working hard every day and they are considering their choice very carefully.
Continue reading...Weather bureau says wettest conditions expected for voters in Queensland but mostly fine weather likely in other capitals
It’s set to be a chilly and rainy election day in parts of Australia’s east coast, while other major cities look likely to enjoy perfect weather to exercise their democratic right.
Voters in Sydney and Brisbane will probably need to bring umbrellas and wear coats to the polling booth on Saturday, with rain and light winds predicted through the weekend. Citizens in Melbourne and Adelaide can expect clear and mostly sunny voting conditions with some clouds and the chance of late rain in Perth.
Continue reading...Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people will have say on future of mines on native title area, two years after heritage site was blown up
The traditional owners of Juukan Gorge have signed a preliminary agreement with Rio Tinto to co-manage land that is still being mined for iron ore.
The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura people said the mining giant broke their trust with the destruction of the 46,000-year-old Aboriginal heritage site, which was blown up by Rio Tinto in May 2020 in an effort to access more high-grade iron ore at its Brockman 4 mine.
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Continue reading...In completely unscientific experiment the Sydney Aquarium resident sided with a tortoise and crocodile in predicting Anthony Albanese victory
Pig came out of the deep, a slow-moving mass in search of an answer to the question arresting the mind of the nation: who will emerge from the federal election victorious?
The dugong’s performance was precise and assured. A red and blue toy representing each major party were dropped into Pig’s enclosure, and after mere moments consulting his mystic powers, he disappeared below the water’s surface.
Continue reading...‘Extraordinary’ revelation about national security decision shows the government is ‘falling apart’, Labor says
The Morrison government has been hit by an election-eve leak that cabinet’s national security committee blocked a proposal by the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, to double Australia’s support to the Pacific.
Labor said the “extraordinary” pre-election leak, first reported by the Australian newspaper, showed the government was “falling apart”, while Scott Morrison insisted the committee was “extremely tight”.
Continue reading...The magic number for majority government is 76 lower house seats. Here are the possible scenarios in the Australian election
With the polls tightening in the final days of the election campaign, both major parties are preparing for a tight contest on Saturday.
Labor, after carrying the scars of the 2019 loss which it was widely expected to win, is being more cautious about predicting wins from the Liberal party this time round.
Continue reading...Hour-long TV ads on commercial networks aired before media blackout as part of fringe party’s projected $70m 2022 federal election campaign spend
Clive Palmer’s United Australia party is burning through its projected $70m election advertising spend, including hour-long television commercials, as a data analyst warns the fringe party could have more backing than polls predict, with some voters embarrassed to voice their support.
At 9.45pm on Wednesday – hours before the blackout for election ads on broadcast media came into effect – Channel 10 ran an hour-long UAP ad which marketing analysts believe cost up to $600k but would have been discounted due to the mammoth ad spend by the party.
Continue reading...Monique Ryan says she will lodge federal court challenge as commission admits people who tested positive early this week but didn’t register for postal voting ‘may not be able to vote’
A high-profile independent candidate is taking legal action after the Australian Electoral Commission conceded an anomaly means some people – possibly in excess of 100,000 – isolating with Covid may not be able to vote in Saturday’s election
Guardian Australia understands that Monique Ryan, the teal independent candidate in Josh Frydenberg’s seat of Kooyong, will on Friday lodge an application in the federal court seeking to test the legality of a regulation that the AEC has conceded will prevent some Covid positive people in isolation on election day from being able to cast a vote.
Continue reading...AEC concedes some Covid-positive Australians ‘may not be able to vote’: prime minister responds after Labor announces policy costings; Covid and illness lead to drop in working hours; nation records at least 52 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s developments live
Scott and Jenny Morrison are visiting Whitemore in the Labor-held electorate of Lyons in Tasmania this morning.
Brian Mitchell holds Lyons on a margin of 5.2%, although his buffer was inflated by the disendorsement of his Liberal opponent mid-campaign in 2019 for anti-Islamic social media posts. Morrison is still on the offence, seeking gains to offset expected losses elsewhere.
After NSW became the last state to pass euthanasia laws, advocates say they will fight to overturn ban preventing ACT and NT from passing their own laws
Advocates for voluntary assisted dying say they will turn their attention to the federal government to strike down restrictions which prevent the ACT and Northern Territory from passing laws allowing euthanasia.
The backlash comes as New South Wales became the last state to pass the laws. The historic voluntary assisted dying bill passed NSW parliament on Thursday after a months-long campaign.
Continue reading...Regulator says outgoing boss Stuart Smith had no role in selecting winners and was invited to acknowledge his work over eight years
The outgoing head of Australia’s offshore oil and gas regulator has helped hand out awards to fossil fuel companies, including Santos, Inpex and Beach Energy, prompting criticism the body could be seen as “too close” to industry.
Stuart Smith, chief executive of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema), attended an industry conference dinner in Brisbane on Wednesday and assisted in handing out environmental and safety awards.
Continue reading...Commissioner issues notices to eight sites, four of which have removed material associated with the attack
The Australian office of the eSafety Commissioner has issued eight notices to websites hosting the Buffalo terrorist attack video or manifesto, but has not blocked any from being accessed in Australia.
On Saturday, an 18-year-old white man allegedly opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at the Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighbourhood of Buffalo, New York. According to US authorities, as he struck 13 people with gunfire, killing 10, he used a camera to livestream the rampage, and posted a 180-page manifesto online.
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Continue reading...87-year-old NSW conservative joins the Seniors United party after his Christian Democratic party was deregistered
NSW parliament’s longest serving member, Fred Nile, has joined a new party after the Christian Democratic party he helped found was dissolved in March.
The controversial 87-year-old conservative, who insists he has no plans to retire, has joined the Seniors United party (SUP) of Australia.
Continue reading...Prime minister accidentally crashes into under-8s player Luca Fauvette during a campaign visit to the Devonport City Soccer Club in Tasmania
Scott Morrison has lived up to his self-applied moniker of “bulldozer” by crashing into a young child while playing football on the campaign trail in Tasmania.
The prime minister had the mid-match collision with the under-8s player at the Devonport City Soccer Club on Wednesday afternoon.
Continue reading...JC, who went on to be the family’s babysitter, has given evidence in a Sydney court where Dawson has pleaded not guilty to killing his wife Lynette in 1982
A former student taught by Chris Dawson has told a Sydney court he would call her “petal” and leave secret love letters signed “God” in her schoolbag when she was 16.
The woman, known as JC, gave evidence in Dawson’s Sydney murder trial on Wednesday. She said in 1980 he had wanted to teach her after spotting her in the playground.
Continue reading...Singer-turned-swimmer Cody Simpson qualified for this year’s Commonwealth Games after finishing third in the 100 metres butterfly final at the national championships in Adelaide, while Shayna Jack secured selection on her comeback from a doping ban.
Simpson, 25, turned heads earlier on Wednesday when he upstaged Olympic freestyle gold medallist Kyle Chalmers and won his heat in a personal best time of 51.79 seconds behind defending champion Matt Temple (51.64).
Continue reading...Troops who were present at Whiskey 108 compound split over whether two men shot dead were murdered or were insurgents killed lawfully
The tunnel at Whiskey 108 – and whether there were any people hiding in it – continues to dominate and divide the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial, with an SAS soldier accusing a comrade of cowardice over a raid on the compound in the Afghan village of Kakarak.
At issue is whether two men killed in the compound in April 2009, were pulled from the tunnel and murdered by Australian troops, or were insurgents lawfully killed in a firefight.
Continue reading...Electoral commission urges people in potentially affected regions to access alternative voting options, and volunteer to work
The Australian Electoral Commission has said staff shortages may mean some polling stations will be unable to open for the election on Saturday.
The electoral commissioner, Tom Rogers, said the impact would be “limited” with the vast majority of Australia’s 7,000 polling stations to remain open.
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