Exclusive: 16% plan to look for new jobs according to survey of 348 Ambulance Victoria staff
Bill Briggs had worked as a paramedic for more than three decades when, during Victoria’s second extended Covid lockdown, he “lost the plot”.
“I was just plodding along, doing the job, not getting any complaints from anyone and then I had a disagreement with another paramedic and I just exploded, which is not like me at all,” Briggs says.
Continue reading...Scott Hines, who formerly worked in ANZ’s Mildura branch, has been sentenced to three years and five months in prison
A vulnerable single mother was focused on caring for her disabled daughter when she trusted Scott Hines, an ANZ financial adviser, to look after her finances.
Over seven years, the 41-year-old Mildura man gradually took full control of her bank accounts, stealing more than $363,000.
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Continue reading...Omicron BA.4/BA.5 likely to become dominant coronavirus strains in Victoria as nation records at least 23 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed
The Australian literary community is paying tribute to the writer Frank Moorhouse, who died on Sunday, aged 83.
His publisher at Penguin Random House, Meredith Curnow, said in a statement to Nine Newspapers:
Renowned for his use of the discontinuous narrative in works such as The Americans, Baby and Forty-Seventeen, Frank Moorhouse has been an active participant in Australian literature for nearly 50 years.
The Edith Trilogy, made up of the astounding novels Grand Days, Dark Palace and Cold Light have not only brought immense pleasure to so many readers, but have also affected the career paths of many women. I feel so privileged to have worked with Frank on Cold Light.
It does happen a lot in plants – like Banksia, for example, after [Joseph] Banks.
Usually, a frog scientist of such prestige and contribution will get a frog [species] named after them eventually. [Marion Anstis] never had anything named after her.
Continue reading...Allan was endorsed unanimously by the Victorian Labor caucus to replace James Merlino ahead of the November state election
The Victorian government has unveiled the frontbench it expects to take to the November state election and crowned a new deputy premier.
Transport infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan will replace James Merlino as deputy premier, after he was one of four senior Labor ministers to announce their retirement and step down from cabinet on Friday.
Continue reading...NSW Greens criticise ‘overreach’ of police operation against climate activists; Anthony Albanese leaving Sunday for Europe visit; protester interrupts Chinese ambassador’s Sydney address; Chris Bowen says energy market has returned to ‘normal market conditions’; report of aged care providers operating at a loss; nation records at least 46 Covid deaths. Follow the day’s news
Qantas is forecasting a loss of up to $550m this year, despite strong demand for domestic and international flights allowing it to reduce its net debt to $4bn by the end of this financial year.
That’s a $1.5bn improvement in the past six months.
We don’t want a circumstance whereby there’s risk to Australian personnel by undertaking such a visit, but we’ll take that advice and we’ll act accordingly.
We’ve formed a special bond with Ukraine. President Zelenskiy is one of the century’s great heroes, and he’s provided inspiration not only to his people but to the rest of the world as well.
I hope that we can visit in due course and if the prime minister is able to visit, if that’s the security advice he’s received, that it’s safe for him and for his delegation to visit, then I think it’s entirely appropriate that he would.
Continue reading...People on low incomes, who had disabilities or who were carers were less likely to recover quickly post-lockdown, study shows
“Everyone became withdrawn, even after restrictions ended,” one man said of his experience following Australia’s pandemic lockdowns.
“No one wants to hang out any more … [it] feels like life and society have permanently changed.”
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Continue reading...Housing market posts first monthly decline since September 2020; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed
Australian scientists celebrate world first
AAP is reporting that in a world first, Australian scientists have developed a device with “exquisite precision” that they say is a huge step towards a commercial quantum computer.
This is a remarkable piece of engineering. This experiment paves the way for larger and more complex quantum systems to be emulated in future.
It won’t be long before we can start to realise new materials that have never existed before.
All of this is just a fantasy because they don’t understand what actually happens at the bargaining table.
I think the Reserve Bank governor has weirdly changed his tune, he was the one who said so long as wages keep up with inflation and productivity, they are not inflationary.
Continue reading...Dominic Perrottet called on to halt Barilaro appointment pending inquiry; at least 63 Covid deaths recorded nationwide. This blog is now closed
NSW teacher strike ‘about politics, not pay’, Kean says
Matt Kean has hit out at plans by public and Catholic school teachers to strike next Friday after receiving a 3% pay rise offer, well below the rate of inflation.
Our 3% pay increase is far more than the Labor government’s 1.5% pay increase for public servants down in Victoria.
So the same unions complaining about our generous pay rise up here in NSW and protesting aren’t marching in the streets down in Victoria.
A senior woman, a senior public servant with knowledge of financial markets and trade particularly with the United States was offered the job, it was rescinded by the New South Wales government.
We don’t know by whom. And then John Barilaro mysteriously was given it just last week.
Continue reading...Accusations of academics being paid per piece, rather than per hour, comes amid widespread higher education wage complaints
The National Tertiary Education Union has accused Victoria’s Deakin University of paying casual academics per student assignment marked, rather than an hourly rate, in a formal dispute notice lodged with the institution.
The alleged breach of the institution’s enterprise agreement comes amid an underpayment scandal that has plagued Australia’s tertiary sector for the past two years. The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating 11 cases of potential wage theft at universities.
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Continue reading...Pandemic-hit resorts in Victoria and NSW celebrate perfect conditions and more forecast snow
The bumper start to the Australian snow season has continued, with perfect conditions and “bluebird days” at resorts this weekend and more snow forecast for the alps in the coming week.
Early snowfall has already seen decades-long records broken across Victoria and New South Wales, where resorts at Mt Buller, Thredbo and Perisher were able to open well before the official start to the snow season on the June long weekend.
Continue reading...Differences between Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet are part of their successful relationship
Victoria and New South Wales’ premiers, Daniel Andrews and Dominic Perrottet, couldn’t be more different: one is a progressive from Labor’s socialist left faction and the other a conservative from the Liberal party’s right.
But together, they represent a political vibe shift – a sense that long-term ambitions for their states can be achieved, with cooperation paramount.
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Continue reading...NSW premier says health funding ‘a great start’ after national cabinet meeting; electricity reserves improve across National Energy Market; ASX plunges to lowest level since November 2020; nation records 51 Covid deaths. Follow live
The PM is making the rounds this morning, appearing on Sunrise and repeating his line that almost a decade of “delay and denial” under the former Coalition government led to the current energy crisis (I feel like this will be a recurring theme today.)
People want an end to the nonsense that’s gone on for the last decade.
You can’t fix 10 years of inaction in just 10 days but we are taking immediate action through Aemo to make sure that the lights stay on. At the same time, we’re making sure that we create the investment environment to make sure we get it right.
The gas is actually the property of the people of the state, whichever state that is, and there should have always been enough for the state and the country in question. It just seems to me to be very strange that there’s no gas for local people yet.
Coal-fired power generation is very old technology and very difficult for coal plants to cope with renewables coming onto the grid, basically, new renewables every minute
Continue reading...Newly elected convener Linda Gale co-authored a 2019 document described as ‘inconsistent with Greens values’
Two Victorian Greens MPs say there is “no alternative” but for the party’s recently elected state convener to resign after she refused to disavow past comments that have been labelled “transphobic”.
Linda Gale, a senior industrial officer at the National Tertiary Education Union, was elected on Saturday to fill a casual vacancy of state convener of the Victorian Greens.
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Continue reading...Foreign minister says Australia ‘has ground to make up’ in Pacific region; jobless rate steady at 3.9%; nation records at least 73 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed
So the below comes as both the NSW and Victorian government move to introduce an extra, free year of preschool in the next decade.
Both the NSW and Victorian premiers, Dominic Perrottet and Daniel Andrews, want to introduce a new year for four- and five-year-olds.
It will mean that, in the next 10 years, every child in Victoria and NSW will experience the benefits of a full year of play-based learning before their first year of school. At the same time, it will benefit hundreds of thousands of working families.
We want to expand our existing preschools. It’s a game changer and it’s exciting and there is big money behind it, because we have to do well for our kids.
They do an amazing job, our early childhood workforce, so this is our chance to invest in them and grow and set children up for that best start of life.
Continue reading...Experts say spread of misinformation and use of encrypted services drives far-right extremists and racism
The federal government needs to take action against encrypted messaging apps like Telegram to curb the rise of far-right extremism, a Victorian inquiry has been told.
Dr Belinda Barnet, a media lecturer at Swinburne University, told a hearing that far-right extremists had initially been sharing hateful content on mainstream sites such as Facebook and Twitter but were increasingly being deplatformed.
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Continue reading...Newly elected Victorian convener Linda Gale co-authored a 2019 document described as ‘inconsistent with Greens values’
Greens senator Janet Rice says the position of the party’s recently elected Victorian convener is “untenable” unless she distances herself from previous comments that have been labelled transphobic.
Linda Gale, a senior industrial officer at the National Tertiary Education Union, was elected on Saturday to fill a casual vacancy of state convener of the Victorian Greens.
Continue reading...Paul Erickson speaks at National Press Club; Bowen says energy system ‘under pressure’; AEC says it will not conduct a recount in federal seat of Gilmore; foreign affairs minister’s first trip to Solomon Islands since security deal with China; Victoria records 18 Covid deaths, NSW records 14. This blog is now closed
Quick note:
NSW is reporting 7,260 new Covid cases and 14 deaths this morning.
Continue reading...Tribunal finds dental assistant was unlawfully discriminated against during Victoria’s Covid restrictions
A Melbourne dental assistant has been awarded $12,000 after she was sacked during the Covid-19 pandemic while forced to homeschool her children.
Fiona Carpenter took her former employer Pearly Whites to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, claiming she was discriminated against because of her family responsibilities and a broken foot.
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Continue reading...Eight people became trapped on Mt Wellington’s summit, and another is missing, as blizzard-like weather causes ‘deadly’ conditions
Eight people have been rescued from blizzards and extreme winds on the summit of Tasmania’s kunanyi/Mt Wellington on Saturday night, as winds, rain and below-average temperatures moved across Australia’s eastern states over the weekend.
Six people became trapped in intensifying winds and snow on Mt Wellington’s summit, which overlooks Tasmania’s capital city, Hobart, just after midday on Saturday. The group took shelter in the summit’s toilet block.
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Continue reading...Swings at federal election hint at shifts that could be replicated in state polls due in November and March
With the federal poll decided, upcoming elections in Australia’s two biggest states will be the next electoral test for our country’s political parties. The dramatic swing to independents raises interesting questions about what might happen in Victoria in November and New South Wales in March.
It’s important to note that federal election results are not predictive of what happens in state elections, or vice versa. Indeed, there is a history of state and federal elections held in quick succession producing quite different results. The 1992 Victorian state election swept Jeff Kennett to power, less than six months before the state voted strongly for the Keating Labor government in 1993.
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