Australia news live: Labor will not lift jobseeker despite recommendation for ‘substantial increase’ to base rate

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Joyce describes Indigenous voice as ‘a consultative power by selected group’

Joyce says the voice will affect all Australians, not just Indigenous Australians, because a selected rather than elected body will move away from the democratic process.

It is a massive change to how democracy works because we’re now dealing with a consultative power by selected group, not an elected group … and that move away from the democratic process.

What I’m asking you is that you say on one hand that there’s no legislation … But you also make a claim about a model which doesn’t exist, you can’t have it both ways.

In all the narrative from Mr Pearson, to his Ms Langton, to the Calma Langton report, they talk about selection, not election.

So then you do think you’ve got a model?

Then let us see the legislation.

I just don’t believe that we should be inserting a racial clause into our constitution in 2023.

Tick the box that you believe in racial differentiation. You’ve just ticked the box that you believe in racial differentiation.

It’s the form that it comes in. I’ve got no problems with the statement of fact that Indigenous Australians were the first people in Australia.

I’ve got no problems with the constitutional recognition referendum on the premise that we see the details first … I’m talking to about a more proper and pertinent alternative approach, which means that we get all the details not some of the details, we see the legislation before we vote, we don’t get a blank check. And we also make sure that we see the proper legal opinion before we vote not someone’s opinion of the opinion, which is what Mr Albanese is going to give us.

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Experts urge Victoria to provide promised CBD safe injecting room or risk further harm to vulnerable people

Andrews government bought a Flinders Street site for $40.3m in 2021, but it has sat empty since

Victoria risks falling behind the rest of the world if it fails to expand on the success of its safe injecting room in Richmond, according to the head of an international harm minimisation group.

The executive director of London-based Harm Reduction International, Naomi Burke-Shyne, is in Melbourne for the organisation’s annual conference and has called on the Andrews government to provide a promised second safe injecting facility in the CBD.

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Government to target ‘criminal syndicates’ and ‘shoddy therapies’ in NDIS fraud crackdown

Bill Shorten wants to stop practices that treat people like ‘cash cows’ as he reveals taskforce had 1,700 tipoffs in a month

The Albanese government will target “unethical practices” and “shoddy therapies” as it broadens its crackdown on fraud against the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Bill Shorten has revealed.

The government services and NDIS minister will on Tuesday call for an end to practices that treat disabled participants like “cash cows”, such as pressuring them to pay for services they don’t need or that are not in their plan.

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‘Buckling’ NHS fails to treat 250,000 children with mental health problems

Exclusive: child mental health crisis deepens with one-third of all referrals denied help

A quarter of a million children in the UK with mental health problems have been denied help by the NHS as it struggles to manage surging case loads against a backdrop of a crisis in child mental health.

Some NHS trusts are failing to offer treatment to 60% of those referred by GPs, the research based on freedom of information request responses has found.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk. YoungMinds is at youngminds.org.uk.

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Democratic senators condemn federal judge’s ruling to block abortion drug

Lawmakers from New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin decry the ruling, now on hold by supreme court until at least 19 April

Top Democratic senators across the US are pushing back after a federal judge in Texas decided to block the FDA-approved abortion drug mifepristone.

On Sunday, the New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand criticized as an “outrage” Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision, which is currently halted until at least Wednesday 19 April by the supreme court.

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Rishi Sunak appears ready to try to tough out further wave of NHS strikes

High-risk tactic increases likelihood of combined stoppages by nurses and junior doctors in England

Rishi Sunak appears set on trying to face down unions in a high-risk strategy to tough out a renewed wave of NHS strikes in England that health service leaders warned were unsustainable and could put patient safety at risk.

With the prime minister and his health secretary, Steve Barclay, seemingly offering no fresh concessions for nurses or junior doctors, they risk the possibility of combined strike action, a scenario one NHS leader said would put the health service “into uncharted territory”.

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Company advertising and selling bubblegum-flavoured cannabis vape products in Australia under investigation

Exclusive: Ethically Enhanced website sold Hubba Bubba-flavoured vapes containing cannabidiol, as owner of bubblegum brand considers legal action

A company advertising brightly packaged Hubba Bubba-flavoured cannabis vape products to Australians through sponsored TikTok posts and selling them without checking for ID or requiring a prescription is being investigated by the country’s drug regulator.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration confirmed it was investigating the content and owners of the Ethically Enhanced website, which sells vapes containing cannabidiol under the name Temple CBD Australia. A TGA spokesperson said the regulator would now “determine the most appropriate regulatory action”.

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Some ‘nicotine-free’ vapes high in addictive substances, tests reveal

Concerns raised after some brands sold in shops in England and Wales found to exceed legal limits

Some high street vapes claiming to be nicotine-free actually contain the same level of addictive substances as full-strength e-cigarettes, tests shows.

Data shared with the Guardian by Inter Scientific – which offers analytical testing of products to check whether they are following regulations – examined dozens of vape brands sold in shops across England and Wales.

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Is vaping safe or not? All you need to know about e-cigarettes

Why is the government promoting vapes for smokers in England while discouraging them for youth?

E-cigarettes are being promoted in England as part of the government’s efforts to help people quit smoking tobacco at the same time as it cracks down on youth vaping. We take a look at why there are two very different campaigns on the devices.

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NHS crisis deepens as nursing union plans ‘mega strike’ in England

Doctors could join coordinated strike as Royal College of Nurses announce national ballot on mass action

England’s biggest nursing union is to ballot its members on whether to join a “make or break” mega-strike that would lead to mass action by nurses in every hospital trust in the country, the Observer can reveal.

The move by the Royal College of Nursing to “up the ante” by holding a single national vote – rather than conducting ballots in each individual trust as it did last October – would, if passed, mean twice as many trusts being hit by industrial action by nurses as have been so far.

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Further England nurses’ strikes present ‘severe challenge’ to NHS

NHS leader says threat of joint strike with junior doctors could pose hardest challenge yet

A 48-hour nurses’ strike in England in May will present “severe challenges”, and the threat of coordinated industrial action with junior doctors could pose the “most difficult challenge” to date, an NHS boss has said.

Speaking after a four-day junior doctors’ strike ended at 7am on Saturday, Sir Julian Hartley, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said fresh strike action announced by the Royal College of Nursing from 30 April until 2 May, and the possibility of stoppages continuing into next winter, was “extremely worrying and concerning”.

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US supreme court justice blocks ruling that limits abortion pill access – live

Temporary pause on lower court rulings gives court additional time to consider a longer stay

Danco Laboratories has said that they will continue to distribute the abortion pill, according to an email from the company.

Reuters reported that the company emailed a statement confirming that they will still continue to dispense Mifeprex to its customers.

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Nurses will strike again in England after voting to reject government pay deal

RCN members refuse offer recommended by union leaders by 54% to 46% in ballot

Nurses are to launch fresh strike action across England later this month after rejecting the government’s pay offer, sparking fears stoppages could go on until Christmas.

In a major blow to ministers, union leaders and health service bosses, members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) voted narrowly, by 54% to 46%, on a turnout of 61%, to reject the government’s offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year.

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Royal College of Nursing rejects government pay offer and announces new strike – as it happened

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here

Nurses in England are preparing to go on strike until Christmas after members of the country’s biggest nursing union voted against the government’s pay deal, the Guardian has learned.

The Royal College of Nursing will announce that members have rejected the government’s offer and will at the same time announce a new ballot for more aggressive strikes likely to last for the next six months.

The vote has closed and the figures are being verified. There is no result until that point. We will make an announcement later today and tell our members first.

Members of the GMB union at the company’s Coventry fulfilment centre will walk out on Sunday for three days.

Further strikes are planned from April 21 to 23.

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Why NHS in England appears destined for months of further strikes

Rejection of pay deal underlines nurses’ fury at state of health service as RCN’s handling of dispute is questioned

Friday’s announcement by the Royal College of Nursing that its members had rejected the pay offer on the table for NHS workers dashed any remaining hopes in Downing Street of drawing a neat line under months of debilitating strike action across the public sector.

As nurses kicked off the first strike action in the RCN’s history before Christmas, the union was demanding a pay rise of 19%. In January, its general secretary, Pat Cullen, urged the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to “meet me halfway here”, and conceded that 10% might be acceptable.

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NSW minister calls frontline workers ‘heroes’ after paramedic killing – as it happened

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Kerrynne Liddle says ‘prove it’s not happening’ on child sexual abuse in Alice

Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle, the first Indigenous senator from South Australia, and a name being touted as a contender for shadow minister for Indigenous Australians after Julian Leeser’s resignation.

I think we have to be really careful about politicising this issue, because matters related to any form of assault are sensitive, but important to understand and respond to.

… I think what’s really important though, is it can’t ignore the issue of sexual abuse, but you must also tackle those issues, alongside other issues which include [service] delivery and decision dysfunction.

Do you encourage your leader to temper his language given we haven’t yet seen evidence to say that there is a widespread phenomenon of this?

I say prove it’s not happening. And then we can have a conversation about the kind of language that we can actually use for this.

… You’ve got you’ve got the statistics, which everyone accepts are underreported and underrepresented. You’ve got to have relationships with communities to enable people to start talking about these safe spaces for young people to raise this issue of need to support people to have housing so that young people and older people are not at risk of this.

It’s possible to be optimistic about Australia’s economic future, and to be realistic about a global slowdown.

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New nurses’ strikes likely in England if RCN members reject pay offer

Union to announce result of vote on Friday after its leaders recommended that ministers’ offer be accepted

Nurses in England will go back on strike this month if RCN members reject ministers’ latest pay offer, with officials saying the result of the three-week ballot is too close to call.

The Royal College of Nursing will announce the results of its vote on Friday after a lengthy consultation period in which many members have opposed the recommendation of union leaders to accept the government’s proposed deal.

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Joe Biden due to address Irish parliament after saying US relationship with Ireland getting ‘stronger and stronger’ – politics live

US president praises emerging relationship with Ireland to taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Chris Philp, the policing minister, has published an article in the Telegraph today explaining the changes being introduced to the way that police record crimes in England and Wales. The changes are being introduced following recommendations from the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

Philp says:

Firstly, we are dropping the requirement for police to record some crimes twice or more, reintroducing the previous “principal offence” rule. This will remove multiple entries on the database which effectively re-record the same incident many times.

Accurate crime recording is vital, and these changes will better reflect victims’ experience. Recording crime does not equate to investigating crime and the police will continue to pursue all offences involved in the incident.

Accurate records of crime must be kept, and crimes will be recorded. These changes to the crime-recording rules will enable police to target and focus investigations and provide victims the service they deserve.

Ambulance response times for all types of emergencies have got longer, including for life-threatening illnesses and injuries, but remain below record levels.

Meanwhile around one in 10 people arriving at major A&E departments are having to wait more than 12 hours before being admitted, transferred or discharged – the first time data of this kind has been published.

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Medical crowdfunders for Britons surge amid record NHS waiting lists

Appeals to pay for private care linked to waiting lists or cost of living crisis have soared since Covid pandemic

The number of Britons crowdfunding for private medical care has soared since the Covid-19 pandemic, as NHS waiting lists continue to reach record lengths.

Figures provided to the Guardian by GoFundMe, a website that helps people raise money, show 84% more medical crowdfunders mentioning “waits” or “waiting lists” were launched this March than in January 2019, before the pandemic.

The number of medical campaigns containing the words “go private” or “privately” had also doubled.

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Melbourne’s new combined addiction and mental health treatment centre ‘a no-brainer’

The creation of a facility such as the Hamilton centre was a key finding of Victoria’s mental health royal commission

When Benn Veenker first confided in his GP about his struggle with depression and alcohol, he was holding back the full extent of his addictions.

“I was so scared of being able to say to somebody, ‘I can’t get through a day without drinking’,” he remembers.

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