Category Archives: Melbourne

Former soldier who held woman at gunpoint to retrieve cat in Melbourne jailed for six years

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Judge finds Tony Witmann had PTSD and was ‘genuinely remorseful’ but victim fears she will never recover

A former soldier who tied up a woman at gunpoint while trying to get his cat back from Melbourne’s Lost Dogs Home has been jailed for six years.

Tony Wittman was armed with an assault weapon and dressed in full-military style clothing when he went to the Home in January 2021, causing victim Bailey Scarlett to initially believe he was a legitimate police officer due to his appearance.

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Australia news live updates: Perrottet urged to work with union over NSW train dispute; international border reopens; 17 Covid deaths

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Perrottet urged to work with union over NSW train dispute; Peter Dutton says all signs on Ukraine ‘pointing in one direction’; at least 17 Covid-related deaths; Australia’s international border reopen for the first time in nearly two years. Follow the latest updates live

AGL Energy has rejected a takeover bid by tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and Canadian asset management giant Brookfield, saying the preliminary offer “materially undervalues the company”.

Brookfield and Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures made the extraordinary offer to take over Australia’s most polluting company on Saturday, with a goal to shut its coal power plants earlier than planned.

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‘We’re letting these people die’: a family’s anguish for Melbourne grandmother lost to Covid in aged care

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Merilyn Saunders, who loved sport, music and, above all, her family, spent her final two years almost entirely in isolation

Merilyn Saunders loved sport, music, dressing up and, most of all, her family.

The Melbourne grandmother died alone after contracting Covid in her aged care facility in January.

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NT chief minister says Omicron ‘too infectious’ for lockdowns to work as nation records at least 88 Covid deaths – As it happened

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Michael Gunner says lockdowns and lockouts no longer effective; At least 88 Covid deaths recorded around the country as Kerry Chant says Omicron sub-variant is circulating in NSW; Queensland reveals back-to-school plan. This blog is now closed

Albanese says Labor will boost aged-care funding, but cannot specify by how much.

There has been a boost.

Two things they haven’t done: One is to tie that funding of actual delivery of better healthcare for aged-care residents in terms of some of the regulatory measures required that were recommended by the royal commission, but the big missing piece in this workforce, we still don’t have a commitment to have a nurse in a nursing home.

We still don’t have a commitment to increase in the number of other care workers in aged care, and we still don’t have a commitment to increases in wages and conditions so that aged-care facilities are able to attract the staff.

Quite clearly there will be a need for increased health funding, but there is a need also to look at the particular areas of funding.

GPs, for example. One of the reasons there is so much pressure on the hospitals is we have GP shortages in terms of training, we have GP shortages in terms of some of the changes that they’ve made to the Medicare schedule that have had an impact in our regions.

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Australia news live update: at least 98 Covid deaths on nation’s deadliest day; PM responds to Grace Tame photo; Russia’s ambassador hits back at Dutton

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At least 98 Covid deaths recorded across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA and ACT; Scott Morrison comments on viral photos of Grace Tame meeting; Russia’s ambassador to Australian condemns ‘propaganda’ reporting; additional Covid deaths in Sydney aged care homes confirmed. Follow all the day’s news

Hazzard said NSW is supporting the Victorian government push to change the definition of fully vaccinated in Australia from two doses to three.

But he says there are some issues to be ironed out before that change can be made. He doesn’t know what issues, he says, because he is not a part of national cabinet.

I understand that most of these things require a range of medical expert input. In fact, they all require a range of medical expert input, and I think when you’ve got a committee of a large number of people, all giving their input, sometimes it takes a while to get there. Sometimes it is easier being a minister, I’ve got to say, than being on a committee.

So for everybody who is eligible, please go and get the booster as quickly as possible.

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Australia live news update: Novak Djokovic federal court decision expected today; ‘difficult three weeks’ ahead for NSW amid Covid surge

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Government argues Serbian tennis star has become ‘icon’ for anti-vax groups as federal court adjourns; Victoria records 13 Covid-19 deaths and 28,128 new cases; Perrottet warns of ‘difficult three weeks’ as NSW records 20 deaths and 34,660 new cases; Queensland records three deaths and 17,445 new cases; ACT records two deaths and 1,316 cases. Follow all the day’s news here

In further Australian Covid news, the Morrison government has announced $24m in new funding to widen the use of telehealth for GPs and other specialists. The funding is a direct reaction to the infection rate from the Omicron outbreak. AAP reports:

The $24m will also cover the continued supply of personal protective equipment, such as masks, respirators, face shields and gowns for face-to-face consultations including patients that have tested positive through a rapid antigen test.

The latter aligns with national cabinet’s January 5 decision that RAT tests no longer need to be confirmed by a PCR test.

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GPs warn over children’s vaccine rollout ‘failings’; 3,500 cases in hospital nationwide – as it happened

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‘Serious failings’ in children’s vaccine rollout, GPs warn; 2,186 Covid cases in NSW hospitals, 816 in Victoria, 502 in Qld and 211 in SA; NSW reports 25,870 new Covid cases and 11 deaths, Victoria 37,944 cases and 13 deaths, Qld 20,566 cases after testing glitch fixed, SA 2,921 cases, ACT 1,508 cases and one death, Tasmania 1,379 cases, NT 594. This blog is now closed

The Health Services Union has warned the aged care sector is experiencing an “unprecedented crisis” with “chronic understaffing, excessive workloads and extended shifts” hitting the sector amid the Omicron wave of Covid-19.

According to a survey of more than 1,000 HSU members:

The Morrison government comprehensively failed to plan before allowing Omicron to rip through the community and modestly paid workers, and residents in aged care facilities who built this country, are paying the price. Only just over a third of members surveyed have received their booster shot, despite working overtime in high risk settings.

There are active outbreaks in almost 500 aged care facilities across the country. Yet workers can’t access RATs, they can’t access PPE. They are on the front line with very little protection. Not only are staff at risk but vulnerable residents are at a heightened risk of severe disease or death.

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‘If it was me …’: tennis players respond to Novak Djokovic visa saga – video

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Figures from across the tennis world have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Novak Djokovic's entry – and now hotel detention – in Australia, as the world number one awaits a court ruling on his entry visa after his vaccine exemption was revoked. 

The 34-year-old is being held in isolation at the Park Hotel in Carlton, Melbourne, awaiting the outcome of an appeal against the decision to cancel the reigning Australian Open champion's entry visa and deport him. 

Players offered a range of views about Djokovic's predicament. 'In some way, I feel sorry for him. But at the same time, he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision,' said the Spanish player Rafael Nadal

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Australian Open players given exemptions similar to Novak Djokovic under investigation

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Home affairs minister Karen Andrews says border force officials received intelligence about other players who may not have met entry requirements

The Australian Open could be thrown into further disarray with the home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, revealing other international players and officials are being investigated after Novak Djokovic’s visa was cancelled.

Andrews also defended the government’s treatment of Djokovic, who is in a Melbourne detention hotel waiting for a legal hearing, rejecting his family’s accusation the government was “keeping him captivity”.

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We know the hell we’re in. It will get worse before it gets better | Melbourne ICU nurse

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I’ve seen people die without their family. It used to bring me to tears. Now I just feel weary

My therapist says it’s OK that sometimes I feel dead inside.

I’m a critical care nurse. I worked in intensive care for all of 2020 and 2021.

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Novak Djokovic wins interim injunction against deportation; more than 72,000 new cases nationwide – As it happened

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Karen Andrews, home affairs minister, did give a hint of how things might play out.

AAP reports that, before Novak Djokovic’s arrival, she said that while the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may allow a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it was the federal government that dealt with border entry requirements.

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‘We’re struggling’: Covid surge spoils summer for Australia’s hospitality and tourism businesses

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Staff shortages and a drop in customers dampen peak season as Covid cases skyrocket and testing regimes struggle

For Phil Johnson, the licensee of Aireys Pub, keeping the hotel open seven days a week at what should be peak season has instead become a “day-by-day proposition”.

During summer the hotel’s lawn, which boasts spectacular views of the sea and sunset, is usually packed with holidaymakers who have flocked to the Victorian surf coast town of Aireys Inlet to escape Melbourne’s heat.

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‘Appalling message’: outrage over Novak Djokovic’s medical exemption to play Australian Open

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Former AMA president says Djokovic shouldn’t be allowed into Australia, while fellow players express surprise at the decision

The decision to grant Novak Djokovic an exemption from Covid-19 vaccination requirements to play in the Australian Open in Melbourne has been labelled “appalling”, with some players expressing surprise at the late decision.

On Tuesday night, the defending Australian Open champion posted on Instagram that he was coming to Melbourne to participate in the tennis tournament with an “exemption permission”.

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Cases rise as Qld tightens mask rules – as it happened

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NSW records 22,577 new cases and four deaths, Victoria 7,442 cases and nine deaths, Queensland 2,266 cases, South Australia 2,100, Tasmania 428, Northern Territory 54 and the ACT 448; Queensland makes masks mandatory indoors; SA clinic sends wrong test result to 11 people. This blog is now closed

We’re still waiting on official stats to be released, but there are reports that Tasmania has recorded 428 new Covid cases – a jump from 148 cases yesterday.

A man has allegedly driven a car through a tent at a campground in Tasmania in the early hours of New Year’s Day, injuring two adults and three children, AAP reports.

They were taken to the Northwest Regional Hospital with injuries ranging from minor lacerations to suspected internal injuries.

The incident occurred about 2am on Saturday at the West Kentish Road Campgrounds in the state’s north-west.

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Australia news live update: national cabinet agrees on new definition of ‘close contact’ as more than 21,000 Covid cases recorded nationwide

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Victoria’s case numbers have also come in and 5,137 new Covid-19 infections have been detected. That’s quite a jump from 3,767 yesterday.

Sadly, 13 lives have been lost overnight.

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Australia’s Christmas Day weather forecast: sunshine, storms and a scorcher

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Brisbane braces for a downpour, Darwin is on cyclone watch, Perth to endure 43C, and other capitals in for a warm and partly cloudy day

Most Australian capitals are in for a warm and partly cloudy Christmas with a chance of a shower in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Sydney was told to expect a maximum of 30C and a warm night with a minimum of 21C, while Melburnians would be able to enjoy a moderate high of 20C before temperatures dropped to 13C.

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Covid live news update: Australia Covid live news update: national cabinet to meet as testing centres overwhelmed; NSW records 3,763 new cases, Victoria 1,503 cases

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PM says mask guidelines up to states; NSW records 3,763 new cases and two deaths; Victoria records 1,503 cases and six deaths; ACT records 58 cases; Tasmania records 12 cases; national cabinet to meet as confidence in interstate travel plummets. Follow all the day’s news

More than 300 doctors around the world have written to deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce today urging him to seek Julian Assange’s immediate release from prison in the UK on medical grounds.

The letter cites concern over Assange’s apparent mini stroke, warning it may be “the tip of a medical iceberg”:

Indeed his symptoms suggest as much. It is therefore imperative that Mr Assange be released from prison, where his health will otherwise continue to deteriorate and where his complex medical needs cannot be met.

Perhaps our concerns were previously dismissed by your colleagues as hyperbolic. They are not. On the issue of cardiovascular pathology, we have been proven right. We do not wish to be proven right on the issue of Mr Assange’s survival.

We implore you, as Deputy Prime Minister, to intervene with the UK Government to seek Mr Assange’s immediate release on urgent medical grounds. We reiterate that he is an Australian citizen innocent in the eyes of the law, and guilty of and charged with nothing in the UK.

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Scott Morrison repeats that Australians have ‘had a gutful of governments in their lives’; Peter Cundall dies at 94 – As it happened

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Gardening legend Peter Cundall dies aged 94 as PM repeats that Australians have had a ‘gutful of governments in their lives’. This blog is now closed

Hunt is asked whether states, like Queensland, will hold off opening state borders until at least 80% of kids aged five to 11 are vaccinated given today’s announcement.

Hunt:

There is no reason for that. The Doherty modelling was set out very clearly on the 80% rates for double dosed across the country for 16 plus, and what we have seen now is that in terms of the 12 to 15-year-olds, we have now had an extra 1.8 million vaccinations over and above the Doherty modelling. The Doherty modelling was based on an 80% national rate for double dosed and didn’t include 12 to 15-year-olds.

A bit over a fifth of all cases of Covid are actually in the under 12s. Indeed, some of the early data with Omicron suggests it may actually be higher for the Omicron variant ... While most kids to get fairly mild infection and only a limited number end up in ICU, is great, there are bigger impacts.

Unfortunately about one in 3,000 of the kids who get Covid actually end up with this funny immunological condition called multi-system inflammatory condition. Those kids can end up being very sick for months. It is not the same as long Covid but it has some things in common, and it has a whole range of symptoms where the kid is just not well. That is one of the things we are protecting against by vaccinating children...

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Australia’s Covid pandemic in 60 seconds: Victoria and Melbourne map – video

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The coronavirus pandemic in Australia has caused almost 2,000 deaths and resulted in close to 200,000 cases. In the worst-hit states of New South Wales and Victoria, high vaccination rates have now reduced the rate of hospital admissions. Here we have used an experimental mapping method to show how the outbreak spread across the two states from the start of the pandemic until now. Each dot represents a person who tested positive to Covid-19, and has been placed randomly within their postcode or local government area to visualise the number of cases in a region. It’s important to remember that this is not necessarily where they caught the virus and instead is where they live. Blue dots represent those who probably caught the coronavirus overseas, and red dots are those who caught the coronavirus locally. All dots fade to grey and are removed after two weeks

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‘Twilight’ for Australia’s housing boom as prices to fall 10% in 2023, CBA says

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Commonwealth Bank expects a peak in 2022 and then a drop the following year as borrowing costs rise

Australia’s “red hot” property market has started to cool, with prices to peak next year and sink 10% in 2023 as higher borrowing costs and “natural fatigue” set in, the nation’s largest mortgage lender predicts.

Home prices in Sydney, which will post among the fastest gains in 2021 with a forecast 27% jump, will moderate to a 6% advance in 2022, according to Gareth Aird, head of Australian economics for the Commonwealth Bank. By 2023, though, the harbour city’s prices will fall 12%, the equal most of any capital city, matching Hobart’s predicted retreat.

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