Category Archives: Australia news

‘Like hunting for unicorns’: Australians on the search for adequate, affordable mental healthcare

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Countless inquiries have found the same problems afflicting the mental health system, but cost and access barriers still leave those seeking and providing care in despair

Many Australians experience the country’s mental health system as inadequate, dangerous and financially punishing, saying they often feel unsafe in hospitals, are dismissed by health professionals and are hit with prohibitive costs that government subsidies do not come close to covering.

And practitioners in turn have spoken of burnout and their frustration with misplaced funding, inadequate quick fixes, overmedication of patients and inconsistencies and duplication in the system, while acknowledging that many seeking help find the system “deeply traumatic”.

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Daniel Andrews to miss Victorian budget as back injury recovery takes longer than expected

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The premier had intended to take six weeks off after breaking his ribs and fracturing a vertebra, but now expects to return to work in June

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has delayed until June his return to work after a serious back injury and will now miss next month’s state budget.

Andrews suffered broken ribs and a fractured T7 vertebra after slipping on wet stairs at a holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula on 9 March.

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Eyewitnesses urged to come forward after dingo mauls toddler on Fraser Island

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Two-year-old boy who was attacked after he wandered away from family ‘lucky not to sustain more injuries’, paramedics say

Rangers investigating the savage mauling of a toddler by a dingo on Fraser Island have called for eyewitnesses to the attack to come forward.

The two-year-old boy has wounds all over his body but will recover after a lone dingo repeatedly bit him early on Saturday.

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Family of three contract Covid from infected neighbours in hotel quarantine in Sydney

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NSW Health reclassifies three coronavirus cases to locally-acquired after testing showed they shared same viral sequence as infected family next door

The NSW health department is investigating how three members of a family acquired Covid-19 while in hotel quarantine in Sydney.

They were staying next door to a family with the virus at the Adina Apartment hotel.

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Kangaroo Point hotel: 19 asylum seekers forcibly removed in Brisbane as police clash with protesters

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Men brought to Australia for medical care removed as Kangaroo Point hotel owners reclaim possession

Nineteen asylum seekers brought to Australia from Nauru and Manus Island for medical care have been forcibly removed from the the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel and Apartments in Brisbane, which was used for their long-term detention, supporters say.

It is understood they have been taken to the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation Centre on the outskirts of the city, but it is unclear if the men will be held there long term or be moved to another centre or another state.

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Andrew Peacock, former Liberal party leader and Australian foreign minister, dies aged 82

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Peacock served as foreign minister under Malcolm Fraser, but lost the 1984 and 1990 elections to Labor’s Bob Hawke

Former federal Liberal party leader Andrew Peacock has died in the United States aged 82.

Peacock was the leader of the Liberal party for two stints in the 1980s and led the Australian conservatives to defeat at the 1984 and 1990 federal elections.

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Australia records first death from blood clots likely linked to AstraZeneca Covid vaccine

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NSW woman, 48, died this week after receiving vaccine on 8 April, federal health authorities say

Australia’s drugs regulator has determined the death of a 48-year-old diabetic woman who developed blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine was likely to be linked to the vaccine.

After a meeting of Australia’s vaccine safety investigation group on Friday, the Therapeutic Goods Administration said experts had concluded the case of the New South Wales woman, who died this week, “was consistent with causal association to immunisation”.

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What does the Christine Holgate affair tell us about Scott Morrison’s leadership? – with Lenore Taylor

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Scott Morrison’s reaction last year to revelations that Christine Holgate had rewarded Australia Post executives with Cartier watches was back in the spotlight this week when Holgate told a Senate inquiry she felt bullied and humiliated by the prime minister. Did Morrison overreact and what can the media learn from this story?

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Cutting Asian language courses at Australian universities hurting students’ job prospects, experts say

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Axing of four subjects in 2021 a ‘crisis’ that will disadvantage businesses in the future, says president of Asian Studies Association of Australia

Australian universities are failing students and leaving them unprepared for the future job market by cutting courses in Asian languages, according to teachers and experts.

Four university-level Asian language subjects have been cut in 2021 as universities cope with the ongoing economic impact of the Covid pandemic.

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Australia news live: NSW Aboriginal deaths in custody inquiry recommends sweeping reforms; dance squad blasts ABC over navy twerking coverage

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NSW MPs call for end to police investigating themselves on 30th anniversary of royal commission; Queensland eases Covid restrictions; fashion designer Carla Zampatti farewelled in Sydney. Follow updates live

Scott Morrison is speaking now.

Now that unemployment has hit 5.6%, the treasurer Josh Frydenberg has signalled he will revisit the budget strategy - which is that the Morrison government won’t tighten fiscal policy until unemployment is “comfortably within” 6%.

Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra that 5.6% was not “comfortably within” 6% and that now is “not the time for austerity”.

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Twerking for a new Australian navy ship: the dancers who launched a thousand memes

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The Australian defence force’s latest scandal involves a twerk dance in hotpants in front of the HMAS Supply – and an upset Liberal MP

So I hear there is a new scandal involving the Australian defence force?

Yeah, there’s been further developments this week regarding the investigation into war crimes allegedly committed in Afghanistan …

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Snakes and lettuce: shoppers in Australia find venomous snake in Aldi fresh produce bag

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After finding the baby pale-headed snake, Alexander White had a troubling thought: ‘What if the snake has come from something else?’

A Sydney couple received a fright when they discovered a rare venomous snake in a bag of supermarket lettuce – but recovered and later used the fresh produce in a salad wrap.

The juvenile pale-headed snake, Hoplocephalus bitorquatus, was tucked into a two-pack of cos lettuce which Alexander White and his partner, Amelie Neate, purchased from an Aldi supermarket in Sydney on Monday.

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Phone wet and won’t turn on? Here’s what to do with water damage (hint: putting it in rice won’t work)

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While many smartphones are advertised as ‘water resistant’, this doesn’t mean they’re immune from water damage

If you’ve ever gotten your phone wet in the rain, dropped it in water or spilt liquid over it, you’re not alone. One study suggests 25% of smartphone users have damaged their smartphone with water or some other kind of liquid.

Liquid penetrating a smartphone can affect the device in several ways. It could lead to:

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Neighbours: more actors come forward with allegations of racist slurs and discrimination on set

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Exclusive: Sharon Johal left the Australian soap last month but says she endured a ‘painful’ four years, alleging ‘direct, indirect and casual racism’ from fellow cast members

One of Neighbours’ longstanding cast members has claimed she endured “direct, indirect and casual racism” on set, including racial slurs and mockery, saying the past four years starring in the long-running Australian soapie were “painful and problematic”.

In a detailed 1,500 word statement provided to Guardian Australia, Sharon Johal said she tried to “deny, bury and ultimately survive” racist taunts allegedly from some of her colleagues. She also claimed that the television show’s production company, Fremantle Media, failed to take any effective action to rein in the alleged behaviour and left her feeling powerless, isolated and marginalised.

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Australian academic ‘haunted’ by possibility of false confession during torture in Qatar

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Exclusive: Lukman Thalib says he struggles to recall what he said during ‘calculated’ torture

An Australian public health professor alleges he told Australian consulate staff he was being tortured and held without charge they visited him in a Qatari prison, but says they did nothing to help.

Biostatistician Prof Lukman Thalib, 58, was arrested at his Doha home and detained for five months without charge in Qatar, where he had been working as acting head of Qatar University’s public health department.

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Australia news live: Christine Holgate says she was ‘bullied’ and Australia Post chairman fabricated evidence

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Holgate says she was ‘humiliated’ by prime minister Scott Morrison; man dies of coronavirus in Queensland. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
• Australia won’t purchase Johnson & Johnson jab
• AstraZeneca blood clotting: what is this rare syndrome?
• Andrew Laming blocked from recontesting next election
• More than half of Australians think vaccine rollout is too slow

Wow, it’s been a busy few hours! With that, I’m going to hand you over to Michael McGowan to take you through the rest of the afternoon.

Christine Holgate gave some evidence about executive bonuses. It is a little confusing and we’ll come back to it, because even the senators seem a little confused about what is being said. And it’s important we get it right, so I’ll head back over the transcript to see what she was saying there.

Liberal senator Sarah Henderson has the question call now. She says she has been very moved by Holgate, and what she went through. She asks whether she thinks the questioning on the 22 October estimates hearing was fair.

Holgate:

In all honesty, I didn’t consider whether it was fair or not fair. I absolutely respect and Senator Carr, forgive me but you’ve asked me many tough questions over my time with you (“that’s my job,” Carr says)...and I was about to say ‘that’s your job’.

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AstraZeneca blood clotting: what is this rare syndrome and how is it caused?

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Evidence is growing of a link between the Covid-19 vaccine and a deadly thrombosis – and theories are emerging as to why

Since rare but severe clotting was seen in some people following vaccination with AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, researchers worldwide have been grappling to understand why the clotting syndrome, known as “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia” (clotting with a low platelet count), occurs.

Most cases of these clots occurred in veins in the brain (a condition called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, or CVST), though some occurred in other veins, including those to the abdomen (splanchnic vein thrombosis). It has a high death rate.

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Girl’s appendix bursts at Adelaide hospital after waiting eight hours for surgery

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Parents describe overcrowded emergency room and South Australian premier admits situation ‘not good enough’

A young girl’s appendix ruptured as she waited for hours in a crowded hospital emergency department in Adelaide, prompting an official investigation and an apology from the South Australian premier.

Annabelle and David Oates took their seven-year-old daughter, Audrey, to the Women’s and Children’s hospital in March after their GP diagnosed her with acute appendicitis.

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NSW police passed up SA offer to take statement alleging sexual assault against Christian Porter

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Request to travel interstate to take accuser’s statement was rejected in March 2020 because it was not deemed essential, documents reveal

The New South Wales police passed up an offer by South Australian police to take a statement alleging sexual assault against Christian Porter – apparently without putting the option to the victim – new documents reveal.

The documents, produced to the NSW Legislative Council after a motion by MP David Shoebridge, reveal how a request to travel interstate to take the statement was rejected in March 2020 because it was not deemed essential.

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