Indonesian authorities investigating death of West Australian university student Niamh Finneran Loader ‘following medical procedure’
An accomplished West Australian university student has died suddenly in Bali, where she had travelled to receive dental treatment.
Niamh Finneran Loader, 25, died on 2 December. Indonesian authorities are investigating the circumstances of her death.
Continue reading...The 17-year-old boy allegedly threw a concrete block through the open window of a car killing Diane Miller and her unborn child
A teenager accused of throwing a concrete block at a Perth woman, killing her and her unborn child, has had his charge upgraded to murder.
Diane Miller suffered a heart attack last week when the object was thrown through the open window of her car at a Karawara shopping centre.
Continue reading...North of Western Australia, NT and Queensland to swelter in up to 47C as ‘monsoon break’ allows build-up of intensely hot air mass
Temperatures are expected to soar across northern Australia over the coming days as a heatwave spreads across Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.
Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said hot air was building over the north-west of the continent and moving east, driving temperatures in some areas as high as 5C to 6C above average.
Continue reading...Noongar woman Diane Miller and her unborn baby died in hospital three days after incident at Waterford Plaza shopping centre
Instead of planning a baby shower, Diane Miller’s family is preparing for her funeral.
The pregnant 30-year-old Noongar woman’s life support was switched off at 2am on Friday, three days after she was struck in the head with a concrete missile that was launched into her open passenger-side window at a Karawara shopping centre in Perth’s south-east.
Continue reading...Guardian Australia brings together all the figures on Covid-19 cases, as well as stats, charts and state-by-state data from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, the ACT and NT. Here you can also find the numbers on the vaccine rollout and fourth dose booster vaccination rates.
In September 2022, federal and state governments began releasing data once a week, on Fridays, rather than daily. As a result, Guardian Australia has aggregated the data released before that date to weekly values, to make the new figures comparable with the old.
Continue reading...Push comes after 13-year-old Noongar boy left ‘traumatised’ and needing skin grafts following mauling in Perth
Western Australia police have been urged to stop using unmuzzled dogs, as the state’s Aboriginal Legal Service raises concerns about the “disproportionate” number of canine-assisted arrests involving First Nations people.
The ALSWA said it was supporting the family of 13-year-old Noongar boy Jayden Abraham, who was hospitalised and needed surgery after being mauled by a police dog during an incident in Perth earlier this month.
Continue reading...Kathy Penny calls on social media companies to put a stop to ‘hatred and revenge’ following comments about her son
A Noongar woman whose teenage son was seriously injured in an apparent vigilante attack says she has been threatened and abused online, but has urged supporters not to retaliate.
Kathy Penny’s 18-year-old son, Ronaldo, was left in a critical condition when a 49-year-old woman chased him and his friend through Perth’s northern suburbs after it was alleged they had stolen a motorcycle. The woman has pleaded guilty to charges of driving dangerously and causing aggravated grievous bodily harm.
Continue reading...Foreign minister says ‘Australia stands with Ukraine’ following reports a Russian missile landed in Polish territory killing two people. Follow the day’s news
ABC Radio asked Simon Birmingham about reports from this morning that a Russian missile has hit Poland near the Ukraine border: The shadow foreign affairs minister says:
This is deeply, deeply troubling news.
If an accident occurs it can result in a real escalation ... it shows just how dangerous a game Russia is playing.
We can’t expect instant miracles, but the ultimate test of dialogue will be the outcomes that are received if this dialogue is successful, to see breakthroughs in regard to those trade barriers... and also critically the just treatment of Australian’s detained in China.
And then of course challenges in terms of engagement within the region, that we must continue to argue for China to respect international law, international rules and norms
Continue reading...Chief health officers urge people to take up protective measures as Covid hospitalisations double in some states
The number of active Covid cases has exploded across the country as Australia enters its fourth wave, prompting renewed warnings to protect vulnerable aged care residents.
Jurisdictions collectively recorded more than 58,000 new cases of Covid in the past week, with some states reporting a doubling in the number of people hospitalised with the virus.
Continue reading...Mechelle Turvey says ‘outpouring of tributes across the nation has been so appreciated’ after her son was allegedly murdered
The mother of schoolboy Cassius Turvey, allegedly murdered in Perth, has called for calm ahead of nationwide vigils to honour her son who she says was the “heart and soul” of the local community.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with the Indigenous teenager’s murder after the alleged attack on 13 October when Cassius and several of his friends were walking home from school in Middle Swan.
Continue reading...People have been cleared to return to their homes as flood threat eases in Victoria, but the Bureau of Meteorology is warning of renewed flooding in parts of NSW. This blog is now closed
Chalmers on the size of government debt and making it ‘sustainable’
The treasurer is asked whether the government will consider rethinking taxes like GST and PRRT.
We have already found $22bn in savings, $28.5bn in budget improvements overall. We kept real spending growth flat across the forward estimates. We have got the debt down over the forward estimates. We have let 99% of the temporary revenue surge from higher commodity prices flow through to the budget.
That is good progress when we have shown in doing that … you can move sensibly on all fronts, restraint, trimming spending, sensible tax reform, you can make the budget more sustainable and that will be the task of the two or three budgets remaining in this parliamentary term as well.
We need to work out how do we maintain a focus on Australians with a disability and their families, how do we put them front and centre, and at the same time make sure that spending on the NDIS is sustainable and important part of that is making sure we get value for money for every dollar that is spent in what is a really important, really, really important service that we provide to Australians.
I do understand there is a substantial part of the community that would prefer that that PRRT take was higher.
We haven’t been working up an option to do that to change the PRRT arrangements but the treasury has been commissioned by my predecessor and by his predecessor to do some of this work around the taxing point in the PRRT.
We do want to make sure Australians get a good return for their resources. We need to balance that against the investment that’s been made into the sector. When I get that advice from I will engage in it a meaningful way and I will listen to it.
We have seen I think as you acknowledged in your first question, on this topic, company taxes are up quite substantially. That’s a good thing and we have let that flow through to the budget. The PRRT, there’s a modest increase. I will wait to see what the treasury advises us on the conclusion of the review that my two predecessors put in place.
Continue reading...‘We did not hear from any detectives, no police. Nothing. For five full days. That was their opportunity’ said Mechelle Turvey
The grieving mother of 15-year-old Cassius Turvey, killed in an alleged violent attack in Perth, has paid tribute to her son while questioning why police took only a brief statement from the schoolboy before he died in hospital.
Mechelle Turvey, the mother of the year 9 student, said the family has been left heartbroken after the attack. She remembered him as a “young leader” who loved basketball, school and his friends. The Noongar teenager died on the weekend.
Continue reading...Group of fans including former WA premier Carmen Lawrence say having fossil fuel company as major sponsor is ‘no longer appropriate’
High profile Fremantle Dockers fans, including Tim Winton and former Western Australian premier Carmen Lawrence, have called on the club to end its partnership with Woodside Energy.
In a letter to the club’s president, Dale Alcock, and other board members, the group wrote it “it is no longer appropriate to have a fossil fuel company as our major sponsor moving forward”.
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Continue reading...Daniel Andrews says 500 homes have been flooded and another 500 have been isolated. This blog is now closed
An estimated 500 homes are flooded in Victoria with number expected to grow: Daniel Andrews
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, has been on ABC radio Melbourne this morning, providing listeners with an update on the floods.
Obviously this has been a very, very significant flood event and it’s far from over. There’s a little bit more rainfall but as that weather event passes through, the real challenge is waters continuing to rise and more and more houses being inundated, more and more communities being closed off, becoming isolated, then of course we move to clean up and all of those issues.
We think there’s about 500 homes that are flooded, we think there are another 500 that have been isolated across the state. But I would just say they’re very early estimates and the aerial intelligence gathering choppers are up in the air now ... they’ll be doing all their reports back to the state control centre. So I’d say those numbers are absolutely certain to grow. And indeed, we’re still asking people to leave in some areas. There have been important, important evacuation notices have been issued in a number of communities. So those numbers will go up. That’s why we’ve got nine important relief centres opening and 50 sandbag collection points. There’s an enormous amount of work going on.
Continue reading...Coroner’s court also investigating allegations doctor was asked to backdate man’s death certificate
A palliative care patient may have been alive when he was transferred to a Perth morgue, according to claims being investigated by the coroner’s court.
The court has confirmed it is investigating the allegations, first reported by Business News, which include claims a doctor was asked to backdate the man’s death certificate in an apparent attempt to cover up the incident.
Continue reading...Ex-chair of Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation says hydrogen plant, gas facility and proposed urea plant are all threats to cultural sites
Traditional custodians fighting to protect ancient rock art on the Burrup peninsula have raised concerns that construction work has begun at multiple sites despite the federal government ordering a cultural heritage assessment of the area.
The peninsula in northern Western Australia is home to industrial operations including of the country’s largest gas producer Woodside, the Yara Pilbara ammonia plant and a proposed urea plant by Indian company Perdaman.
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Continue reading...Industry bodies join medical association in criticising Albanese government over notice for national day of mourning after death of Queen Elizabeth
Australian retail and business groups have joined the medical association in raising concerns about disruptions caused by the public holiday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II after her death on 8 September.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made the announcement on Sunday that a “one-off public holiday” would be held on 22 September as a national day of mourning, after the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.
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Continue reading...New research also says southern parts of the country may experience deadly heatwaves annually by that time
Tropical regions including northern Australia could experience dangerously high heat levels most days of the year by 2100, while southern regions of Australia may experience deadly heatwaves annually, new research suggests.
The study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, suggests that even if the world meets the Paris agreement of limiting global warming to 2C, exposure to dangerous heat will “likely increase by 50-100% across much of the tropics”.
Continue reading...Jacqueline Taylor tells court she was running desk alone with 96 patients on afternoon Aishwarya Aswath presented
A nurse who inspected Aishwarya Aswath at a Perth hospital has told an inquest into the girl’s death that her triage score was appropriate but says time constraints prevented a more thorough assessment.
Seven-year-old Aishwarya died of sepsis in April last year, hours after presenting to the Perth children’s hospital emergency department with a fever and unusually cold hands.
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Continue reading...Save Our Songlines accuses environment minister of ‘false conclusions’ and ‘faulty reasoning’ about support for development and says it risks ‘another Juukan Gorge’
Traditional custodians opposed to a contentious $4.5bn fertiliser plant on Western Australia’s Burrup peninsula have accused Tanya Plibersek of “faulty reasoning” and drawing “false conclusions” about the views of local Aboriginal communities after she decided not to pause the development.
The environment minister decided work on the plant could go ahead after visiting the peninsula, in the state’s north, earlier this month. She said her decision was based on support for the development from the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which she described as the “legally constituted and democratically elected group that safeguards First Nations culture in the Burrup area”.
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