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Monash University joins international effort to educate thousands of Ukrainian children

Amid the sound of air-raid sirens and the threat of missiles, Sofiia Yakymenko logs onto her computer for an online lesson.

The 12-year-old takes two to five online classes a day from her home in kyiv about anything from atmospheric science to how to practice yoga.

These classes are held by teachers from all over the world, including from Monash University in Melbourne.

“I walk a lot, I read a lot – but mostly I take online classes,” she said.

With ambitions to be a biologist, the lessons have been a lifeline for Sofia since school stopped when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Her mum Yuliia Lashko is a physicist and has found comfort in the classes too.

“There’s no guarantee any missile does not hit your house,” she said.

“But it’s important to understand there are much more good people who can share something good.

“They remind us we do not stay alone and our children have a future.”

A mum and her daughter holding a dog with hills in the background
Sofia, Yuliia and their dog Peppi on holiday before the war.(Supplied: Yuliia Lashko)

Monash University provides lessons

More than 120 Monash University student teachers have been involved in providing online lessons for Ukrainian children who are living in the war-torn country or have fled abroad.

Maria Pakakis is one of the student teachers who ran a session about Mars from the Victorian Space Science Education Centre, where they have a simulated Mars surface.

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How Victorian teachers are helping Ukrainians

She said 30 students joined the session, where they spoke about all aspects of the planet.

“It was a privilege and a pleasure — they were definitely eager to learn and asked some really great questions,” Ms Pakakis said.

“They were amazing considering what they’re going through.”

Michael Phillips has been Monash University’s faculty of education digital transformation associate professor and said the program started after Ukrainian organization Smart Osvita — an online learning NGO — approached him to run virtual classes.

A man holding a laptop and smiling with two students sitting at desks in the background looking at him
Monash University’s Mike Phillips with student teachers John Wall and Emma Hart.(Monash University: Tim Herbert)

Dr Phillips quickly said yes and within 24 hours of sending the word out to his students more than 100 put their hands up to teach.

He said he has been able to equip his young teachers with the skills to teach virtually, guided by “trauma-informed practice”.

“For [people in Ukraine] being able to experience that and see there are people who are wanting to support and help in any way gives them a sense they are not alone in this,” Dr Phillips said.

But he says remote learning also has a significant place at home and is an essential platform for teachers of the future.

“A lot of people don’t realize it, but Victoria’s biggest school is a fully online school with 5,500 students,” he said.

“And what we’re realizing with issues like COVID and the flu is the place of online learning isn’t going to go away any time soon.”

‘We’re going to keep going’

Smart Osvita international volunteer program coordinator David Falconer is continuing to search for ways the program can be not only expanded in Ukraine, but in other places affected by conflict.

An older man sitting at his desk with two computer monitors looking at the camera
Smart Osvita volunteer David Falconer working from his home in northern Canada.(Supplied: David Falconer)

Mr Falconer is an educator based in northern Canada who started working with the kyiv-based NGO soon after Russia invaded Ukraine.

“They invited me to coordinate the recruiting effort and to invite educators for the online learning program,” he said.

After approaching educators around the globe, he has since involved more than 20 institutions and organizations that are now teaching thousands of Ukrainian students.

They have even facilitated lessons hosted by Canadian film director Sergio Navaretta and astronaut Chris Hadfield.

Despite many children living in a war zone, Mr Falconer says the internet has been reliable thanks to Elon Musk’s low-lying satellites providing high-speed connections.

“We have kids joining lessons from bomb shelters – not for days, but weeks,” he said.

But it has not come without its challenges. Dr Falconer says the team has thwarted attempts by mysterious hackers attempting to derail the lessons.

“They’re wanting to disrupt these sessions because this program is successful and they want us to stop,” he said.

Mr Falconer is continually looking to grow the program and provide specialized tutoring for high school students in Ukraine.

Two people walking in a meadow near their home in kyiv.
Yuliia and Sofiia recently walking in a meadow near their home in kyiv.(Supplied: Yuliia Lashko)

He is also currently working to develop a similar program for children affected by the conflict in Burma.

But for now, Mr Falconer is calling for Australian institutions, organizations and individuals to get in touch if they want to join the effort.

“We’re going to keep going as long as it takes,” he said.

“You see those faces, you hear those voices, and you don’t forget.”

If you are interested in getting involved, you can register with Monash University here.

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Victorian hospital introduces new program to defuse conflict

With aggression toward medical staff on the rise, a leading melbourne hospital has introduced a new program to defuse conflict.

Instead of introducing more security staff, clinicians are being encouraged to use calming strategies.

At Sunshine Hospital, staff are building a rapport with patients through conversation and fun personal profiles posted on the walls.

At Sunshine Hospital, staff are building a rapport with patients through conversation and fun personal profiles posted on the walls.
At Sunshine Hospital, staff are building a rapport with patients through conversation and fun personal profiles posted on the walls. (Nine)

Sunshine Hospital associate nurse unit manager Karen Garrett said she was taking the time to talk with patients.

“It might be a matter of walking into a room and the football’s on and going ‘oh I’m a Carlton supporter too’,” she said.

“Or it might an in-depth conversation for a person who’s distressed.

“Rather than interrogating them to get information, we provide them with information about ourselves and then they are more comfortable providing information about themselves.”

There is a chill out room for those stuck in hospital to enjoy a change of scenery and iPads are on hand to distract those feeling restless.

Western Health safe wards Manager Elisa Ilarda said there had been a “significant problem” in healthcare settings.

At Sunshine Hospital, staff are building a rapport with patients through conversation and fun personal profiles posted on the walls.
There is a chill out room for those stuck in hospital to enjoy a change of scenery and iPads are on hand to distract those feeling restless. (Nine)

She said however, resources such as the iPads had made a difference in setting patients down.

The program has already reduced the prevalence of code gray violent incidents by up to 30 per cent.

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the policy, officially known as Safe Wards, will be adopted by more hospitals to help reduce conflict.

“Violence and aggression have no place in our healthcare system,” she said.

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Spirit of SA art exhibition showcases state’s people, places and icons to support children with cancer

Among the lovelier lyrics in Don McLean’s song about Vincent van Gogh are those that refer to “faces lined in pain” being “soothed beneath the artist’s loving hand.”

Something of that tender spirit is reflected at Mark Lobert’s Port Adelaide studio, where, for the past few months, an impressive act of artistic altruism has been taking shape.

“Hopefully we’ve done SA proud because we’re very proud of this collection,” Lobert said when describing the project.

Painting is a paintaking business, but these portraits and landscapes are about alleviating pain — specifically, the pain of very sick children.

Collectively, the 42 canvases will comprise the Spirit of SA exhibition, and they depict prominent South Australian faces, places and icons.

A painting of the Granite Island to Victor Harbor horse-drawn tram.
The Granite Island horse-drawn tram is popular with tourists at Victor Harbor.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

From Monday, they will be on display at Adelaide’s Westpac House, and will be auctioned online to raise at least $100,000 for the Childhood Cancer Association (CCA), to support children battling the illness.

Subjects include rock legend Jimmy Barnes, actress Theresa Palmer, the Hills Hoist, Kangaroo Island’s Remarkable Rocks, chef Maggie Beer, and pop singer Guy Sebastian.

There are also the ABC’s Collinswood building, AFLW star Chelsea Randall and former prime minister Julia Gillard.

A portrait of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Born in the UK, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard moved to Adelaide at a young age.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

“As a female in politics, and in general, she’s an amazing person,” Lobert said of Gillard.

“The painting that has been done by Barnesy is linked in with the Largs Pier Hotel.

A portrait of Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes with the Largs Pier Hotel.
Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes with the Largs Pier Hotel.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

“That image would have to be one of my favourites.”

The project has evolved collaboratively — fellow artist Phil Hodgson has worked closely with Lobert, and it is testament to their commitment to the cause that both have volunteered their time.

Each has brought different and complementary skills.

Hodgson’s talents include the ability to capture the lineaments of a human face, while Lobert has focused on non-human subjects, as well as color schemes and other touches.

42 paintings in 30 weeks

In person, Lobert can look a little like a canvas himself—his arms are impressively inked, and his paint-stained shirt resembles a palette for mixing colors.

His studio is every bit the artist’s den.

Adelaide artist Mark Lobert stands in front of paintings.
Lobert’s shirt, like the floor of his studio, is suitably stained with paint.(ABC Radio Adelaide: Daniel Keane)

It is brimming with brushes, paint pots, blank canvases, and works in progress, and its floor is so densely covered with splashes of pigment that it resembles an example of Jackson Pollock’s abstract expressionism.

But the paintings themselves suggest other suitably eclectic influences.

A carton of Farmers Union Iced Coffee, a packet of FruChocs and a selection of frog cakes evoke Andy Warhol’s soup cans, while the blues and yellows of an image of Adelaide’s skyline bring to mind van Gogh’s Starry Night.

A painting of a packet of FruChos.
An Andy Warhol-esque painting of a packet of FruChocs.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

“I kind of love colour, I’m always trying to chase color — I need to have color all around me,” Lobert said.

Despite that passion, he admits the production of 42 sizeable works in about 30 weeks has been a challenge.

A painting of Kangaroo Island's Remarkable Rocks.
Kangaroo Island’s Remarkable Rocks were among Hodgson and Lobert’s subjects.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

But when he admitted, “I won’t lie — it’s been very stressful”, he spoke with the smile of someone who knows the finish line is in sight.

“They have taken a lot of time,” he said.

“Originally, we were going to start off with about 14 — then it went to 20, and 25 went to 30, then it bloomed out to 38 and shot out to 42.”

A painting of a Hills Hoist clothes line.
The Hills Hoist clothes line was produced in South Australia.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

‘The fight of his life’

The driving force behind the project has been media identity and CCA ambassador Mark Soderstrom.

Media identity and former SANFL footballer Mark Soderstrom.
By auctioning the paintings, Soderstrom hopes to raise $100,000.(ABC Radio Adelaide: Daniel Keane)

“I thought, we’ve got to be grateful for where we live, what can we do to raise $70,000 to $100,000?” he said.

“What if we try and showcase the best part of South Australia, and then auction them off for Childhood Cancer?

“They need something like $1.3 million a year to function and provide their services, so if we could put a dent in that, it’d be bloody brilliant.”

A painting of tuna fish.
Chosen subjects also included Port Lincoln’s tuna industry.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

Soderstrom admits he is not “arty” himself — but he is impressed by the power of art not only to raise funds but to provide respite.

Through CCA, he struck up a friendship with Lobert.

Their work has put them in contact with some harrowing stories.

A portrait of AFLW star Chelsea Randall.
Three-time AFLW premiership player and two-time premiership co-captain Chelsea Randall.(Supplied: Phil Hodgson and Mark Lobert)

Soderstrom recalled the case of Jaxon, “an unbelievably brave little boy” who was undergoing palliative care at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

“He was in the fight of his life, and his parents called him Iron Man because he was so strong,” Soderstrom said.

Soderstrom asked Lobert to paint a picture of the superhero for Jaxon, to go over his hospital bed.

“Every time he woke up, with the time he had left, all he could see was Iron Man.”

Easing the burden on children like Jaxon is at the heart of the Spirit of SA.

“Our father passed away with cancer,” Lobert said.

“So whenever I hear of any [fundraiser] that’s to do with cancer, it’s always going to be a ‘yes’.

“I love to be able to give.”

Adelaide artists Leandra McKay and Mark Lobert at Lobert's Port Adelaide studio.
Assistant Leandra McKay and artist Mark Lobert at Lobert’s studio, where he has been working on a painting of CCA mascot Elliot.(ABC Radio Adelaide: Daniel Keane)

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What not to say to grieving parents

That was the reason Walkerden called the Red Nose Grief and Loss support line (1300 308 307, available 24 hours a day).

Between July 2021 and June 2022, volunteers who have experienced the sudden and unexpected loss of a child have received 5,238 calls – a 20 per cent rise compared to the previous year.

Red Nose chief executive Keren Ludski said the protracted COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns had eroded normal support structures for grieving families, creating an even greater need for the service.

“We’ve had parents who haven’t been able to see their families or attend their support groups,” she said.

Ludski said anyone affected by the death of a child or by pregnancy loss can call the helpline knowing that the person on the other end understands their grief.

“They don’t have to justify their feelings,” Ludski said. “They can tell us about their experience without worrying they’re being a burden.”

Natasha Walkerden with her newborn baby girl Leila.

Natasha Walkerden with her newborn baby girl Leila.Credit:

Walkerden’s daughter Leila lived for 12 days, and each day, her mother and father, Jake, would take turns holding their baby skin-to-skin.

“She caught what would have just been a common cold for us, but her little body couldn’t cope with it,” Walkerden said.

It took several days for Leila’s death to sink in.

“It was when my milk dried up. All my hormones were protesting the fact that there was no baby to feed any more. That’s when it hit me that she was gone,” she said.

Walkerden retreated into herself after Leila’s funeral. She barely left the house and stopped eating.

“I knew I needed to talk to someone,” she said. “Being able to call Red Nose to talk to other bereaved parents, and having a support worker, Rachel, come to the house made it easier to open up.”

Her support worker helped her through the tangle of emotions when – around Leila’s due date – she and husband Jake realized she was pregnant again.

The program offers support to parents in the immediate aftermath of stillbirth, neonatal death or the unexpected death of a baby.

“It was bittersweet, exciting and scary,” Walkerden said of her pregnancy with her son Lachlan, now six-and-a-half months old.

“We were very fortunate that we knew exactly where to go for support,” she said.

About 3000 babies and young children die suddenly and unexpectedly in Australia every year.

Ludski urged people supporting grieving parents to get used to “sitting in discomfort”.

“Instead of trying to make them feel better, give them room to feel the sadness and anger and guilt, which is very difficult to talk about,” she said.

“Avoid any sentence that starts with ‘at least’,” she said. “’At least you know you can get pregnant’, ‘at least you’re young’. It minimizes their experience.”

“Instead, try saying, ‘I don’t know what to say’, ‘I’m so, so sad this has happened to you’, ‘I want to try to make you feel better, but I know I can’t ‘” she said.

“Talk about their baby. Remember their anniversaries and birthdays and make room for those conversations,” she said.

Red Nose recently received federal government funding for four years, with the aim of expanding its hospital-to-home pilot nationally to support parents in the immediate aftermath of stillbirth, neonatal death or sudden unexpected death.

“The program offers aggrieved parents the support of someone with lived experience who can say, ‘These are some of the things you can think about if you are planning a funeral’ or ‘Do you need help filling out Centrelink forms, or with your workplace ?’”

Red Nose currently provides one-on-one support to 1070 people dealing with infant or pregnancy loss. The support service aims to raise $800,000 in the lead-up to Red Nose Day on August 12 to fund research, education and initiatives towards the goal of zero babies dying unexpectedly in Australia.

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The latest COVID-19 case numbers from around the states and territories

Here’s a quick wrap of each Australian jurisdiction’s latest COVID-19 statistics for Sunday, July 31.

You can get a more detailed, visual breakdown through the ABC’s Charting the Spread story here.

This list will be updated throughout the day, so if you do not see your state or territory, please check back later.

You can jump to the COVID-19 information you want to read by clicking below.

New South Wales

Five people in the state died with COVID-19 in the latest reporting period.

There are 2,265 people in hospital and 66 in intensive care.

10,993 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the past 24 hours.

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Victory

The state reported 21 new deaths related to COVID-19 today.

There are 768 people hospitalized with COVID-19. There are 43 people in intensive care and seven patients on a ventilator.

Victoria has recorded 7,115 new cases of COVID-19.

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Tasmanian

There have been no COVID-19 related deaths in the state in the past 24 hours.

There are 150 people in hospital with COVID-19, and six patients requiring intensive care.

Tasmania recorded 649 new cases.

queensland

The state has recorded 4,655 new cases of COVID-19 in the past day.

There are 762 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 28 in intensive care.

Queensland does not report COVID-19 related deaths on weekends.

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ACT

There were 556 new cases of COVID-19 reported in 24 hours.

There are 163 people in hospital with COVID-19 and one person is in intensive care. No-one is requiring ventilation.

No new deaths have been reported.

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Northern Territory

There have been 236 new cases of COVID-19 reported in the Northern Territory in the past day.

There are 56 people in hospital with the virus and none in intensive care.

There have been no new deaths.

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Western Australia

Six people have died with COVID-19 in Western Australia in the latest reporting period.

There are 415 people in hospital with COVID-19 in the state, with 14 patients in intensive care.

Western Australia has recorded 3,252 new cases of the virus in the past 24 hours.

South Australia

Nine people have died with COVID-19 in the state in the past day.

There are 346 people in hospital with the virus and 11 in intensive care. No patients required ventilation.

The state recorded 2,364 new cases in the latest reporting period.

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As an adult, parkour helped Amy Han rediscover the joy of play and her surroundings

Most adults wouldn’t even think of “playing” outside, but with parkour, Amy Han does just that.

Amy is not jumping off any buildings though. She’s there for the softer side of parkour, that almost anyone can do.

“I can’t think of a better way to incorporate movement and exercise and play into life,” she said.

“I don’t really think about it as training, I just think about it as going outside. I’m just going outside to move.”

The discipline was founded in Paris in the 1990s.

“Parkour is based on functional movements like running, climbing, jumping, etc., and in play and curiosity,” Women of Parkour Melbourne coach Kel Glaister said.

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“It’s all about using the capacity of your own body to explore and play in your environment.”

‘It felt like being on a playground’

Amy’s introduction to parkour was in a gym room in London, about 10 years ago. A friend invited her to a class because he thought she’d like it. Curious, Amy went along with her friend of hers.

They entered a room full of gymnastics equipment and watched as the instructor moved across the obstacles to get to the other side. Amy had never been sporty, but for the next two hours she moved, people helped her and they helped each other.

“Although it was hard, it didn’t feel like exercise — it felt like being on a playground,” she said.

Amy Han does parkour on some wooden poles in a park
Amy Han does parkour on some wooden poles in a park. (Supplied: Amy Han)

The parkour class came at a pivotal time in Amy’s life when things were heavy and disheartening. She said she connected with parkour in a metaphorical sense.

“I came to this class and [said to myself]: ‘Here are all the obstacles, it doesn’t matter how you go over them, just find your way. It doesn’t matter if you scramble over them, if it takes you a long time, if you have to try a few times, just get through to the end’,” she said.

The power of visibility

After that first class, Amy moved rapidly from participant to instructor, working with Melbourne Parkour for several years.

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She said people were often surprised to see her as an instructor because they weren’t expecting a woman. But Amy believes a lot of women stayed because of her.

The taller and stronger male instructors would be able to step up and pop themselves over a wall, but Amy would have to take a big run-up and use a rail as a step before hopping up onto the wall.

“I’d say: ‘This is the way that this person would move over the obstacle because that’s the most-efficient way for them, but for me, I’m going to have to find another way because I’m not 6- foot tall, and I don’t have the same level of upper body strength’,” she explained.

“If you have a female instructor, more girls will join because it shows it’s for them too. And I think that applies for all kinds of diversity.”

Women of Melbourne Parkour is an organization working to diversify the sport.

“It’s a discipline that remains dominated by young men,” Glaister said.

“But there are loads of people and organizations worldwide working to change that, to make space for more people — of all genders, ages, abilities and backgrounds — within parkour.

“Women of Melbourne Parkour is one of those organisations, and we have regular training sessions that [cater for] women and other genders.”

Growing up, Amy said she was told not to do the types of jumping and climbing inherent in parkour because they were dangerous, and she would hurt herself.

However, her brother was never given the same caution.

“For me, it was a huge ‘unlearning’ and almost like a new childhood when I discovered parkour,” she said.

Amy Han coaches a younger girl to do parkour on some concrete steps
Amy Han coaches a younger girl to do parkour on some concrete steps.(Supplied: Amy Han)

For Amy, parkour is more about play and movement than rigid training.

“As adults, we don’t give ourselves permission to play enough,” she said.

“It’s always, ‘I’m going out to train’ or ‘I’m going to the gym’, for a specific purpose. But how many adults just go out to play?”

‘Possible but scary’ — learning how to dance

Amy said she believed in the maxim “find your own way”, not just in parkour, but in life.

There’s a common misconception that parkour is just big jumps and jumping off rooftops.

However, Amy said, parkour was different for each person. It doesn’t have to be about the big jumps. It can also be about smaller movements.

“It can be just walking around on a rail,” she said..

“It can be just going to a playground and finding a challenge for yourself, it can be a park bench. It can be just looking at a park bench and thinking, ‘How many ways can I move over this park bench’?”

Black and white photo of Amy Han doing a handstand against a park bench with the sun and a tree in the background
Amy Han does a handstand against a park bench. (Supplied: Mel Lyons Photography)

Amy’s favorite technique, she said, was balancing. She walks on rails a lot and, often, if she’s on her own de ella, she’ll go to a local oval and set herself the challenge of walking on the fence around the oval without falling off.

“You need to be strong, but you need to have fun with it. It’s just a balance of all different things,” she said.

Amy said it was also about gaining the confidence to approach things that might look uncomfortable, with the knowledge that they were still possible.

“Every training session I try to find that point where it looks possible but scary,” she said.

Parkour is also about learning how to dance.

If Amy slightly misses a jump, she knows how to fall in a way that doesn’t end in hurting herself.

This means reminding herself that the worst thing that can happen is landing on her bum.

“In parkour, you will fall sometimes, but we learn very early how to fall,” she said.

Existing fitness base isn’t necessary

While many people believe they need to get fit before they start parkour, Amy said that was not the case.

“You get stronger by starting,” she said. “Just start. Everybody in the parkour community is super friendly. If you feel drawn to it, just give it a try.”

She recommended finding your local community or classes, like Women of Parkour Melbourne.

Amy Han smiles and stretches in front of the Melbourne museum as a woman looks on
Amy Han stretches in front of the Melbourne museum as a woman looks on. (Supplied: Scott Bickle)

These days, there’s an increasing variety of male and female instructors who come from all different backgrounds.

Amy said it would be fantastic to see more girls and women involved in the sport.

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Out-of-control car crashes into front yard of Flinders Park home, leaving path of destruction

South Australia Police are investigating an incident at Flinders Park last night where a car crashed into the front yard of a home, causing significant damage.

Sylvia and Giovanni — who did not want to provide their surname — said the car crashed into the yard of their Collingwood Avenue home about 7.15pm.

“I just heard this almighty bang, and it sounded almost like a bomb,” Giovanni said.

The car crashed into brick walls, a Stobie pole and two parked cars.

Giovanni said that, if the car had not hit the fence, it would have gone through their front windows.

“If you look at the marks on the road from the car, the trajectory, it would have been into our bedroom or lounge. [We’re] just lucky,” he said.

A woman in a dressing gown stands in front of her house with her arms folded
The crash caused significant damage to the front yard of Sylvia’s Flinders Park home. (abcnews)

Sylvia said the driver of the car was knocked unconscious.

“I rang up the police straight away … I saw the air bags and I saw two car seats at the back, children’s car seats, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I hope there’s no children in there’,” she said .

“I pushed the air bags away and no children but the driver was unconscious.”

A neighbor checked the man’s pulse while Sylvia was on the phone to the police.

“Then five minutes, he came to … and the next thing he pushed us and he just ran, he just bolted down the street, he was bleeding,” Sylvia said.

“There’s a young lad that chased after him around the corner. He should have gone in the Commonwealth Games, I said to him — and her ran in thongs — I don’t know how he did it.”

A damaged car sits in the front yard of a suburban house.
The driver was knocked unconscious but when he came to, he allegedly bolted down the street. (abcnews)

A 46-year-old man from Flinders Park was later taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with minor injuries.

Two cars had to be towed away and SA Power Networks had to attend to fix the Stobie pole, which had been badly damaged.

“It was just scary, the noise. We didn’t know what it was. My heart went out and you just don’t know, split second somebody could have been killed,” Sylvia said.

Police investigations are ongoing.

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Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan announces more pay for 150,000 public sector workers

Teachers, nurses, police officers, cleaners and public servants in Western Australia have been offered a six per cent pay rise as a buffer to rising inflation.

The WA government has increased its wage offer for 150,000 public sector workers to three per cent annually over the next two years, up from 2.75 per cent, along with an additional $2500 sign-on bonus.

Premier Mark McGowan said the move was in response to cost-of-living pressures and would cost the state budget an extra $634 million over the next four years.

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“This is designed to ensure that there is fairness across the board and the public sector … is properly rewarded in the environment that we are in,” he told reporters on Sunday.

The changes will immediately flow through to workforces that have already accepted the state government’s previous offer, including teachers and public hospital doctors.

Lower paid workers will get a bigger proportional pay increase through the sign-on bonus, with a patient care assistant who earns just over $55,000 a year set to effectively get a 7.5 per cent wage rise over the first year.

Perth’s consumer price index jumped 1.7 per cent in the June quarter, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last week, pushing its annual inflation rate well above the national average to 7.4 per cent.

The McGowan government banked a $5.7 billion surplus in this year’s state budget, which included a one-off $400 electricity credit for every household.

But the premier said the new policy was his final offer, stressing the government cannot afford to match wage increases in the cashed-up private sector.

“We’re never going to be able to compete with the mining industry, no industry can,” he said.

“But a public sector job is a secure job. It’s a good job. It’s one that we want to properly reward and properly ensure that everyone gets a decent pay increase.”

Health workers and other WA public servants were lobbying for a pay rise above 2.75 per cent, with some holding stop-work meetings outside Perth hospitals in recent weeks.

Mr McGowan is hopeful the improved offer will be enough to stop any strike action, saying it’s more generous than those put forward to public sector workers in NSW and Victoria.

“We have provided something that no other state has, which is the across the board sign-on bonus,” he said.

“Other states have done it for certain parts of the workforce but not the entire workforce. We want to make sure the entire workforce is recognised, particularly because over COVID everyone put their shoulder to the wheel.”

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How hiking helped Chelle transform from being a ‘functioning alcoholic’ and climb out of addiction

An Albany woman has plumbed the lowest depths and climbed high peaks in a battle with the bottle.

Chelle Fisher spent 23 years struggling with drug and alcohol addiction but has now kicked those habits and this month climbed eight peaks in West Australia’s south to help people escaping domestic violence.

Ms Fisher turned to alcohol and drugs as a child after experiencing family violence.

“I go hiking every year,” the 43-year-old said.

“Part of my sobriety, or how I got sober, was basically instead of drinking that six-pack of an afternoon, I replaced that with going for a hike.”

It is now eight years since Ms Fisher had her last drink and she challenged herself to scale eight mountains in eight days to celebrate.

“I started at the age of 13,” she said.

“I started because that was my coping mechanism. I was going through a lot of family domestic violence.

“My coping was drugs and alcohol. So I battled with that addiction for 23 years.”

Some days it was more than a six-pack.

“It was half a carton and I was functioning. I was a functioning alcoholic; I started a business, I was a mum — I had to run a household,” she said.

But it couldn’t go on forever.

A woman giving peace sign
Chelle Fisher now uses hiking as an alternative to drinking.(Supplied: Chelle Fisher)

Starting new, healthy habits

Tired of waking up feeling like hell, Ms Fisher started to make changes.

“There’s so much that I don’t remember, which is sad. Because I got married, I had two children and I was kind of just on autopilot,” she said.

“I wasn’t really living, I was just kind of surviving.

“It was in my early 20s, probably about eight years later, that I sort of started to realise, ‘Hey, there’s got to be more to life than what I’m doing’.

“Slowly and surely, I began to creep out of the hole that I was in and find my way.”

It was July 2014 and a “mother of all hangovers” got Ms Fisher off the couch and onto the mountains.

“I was so badly hungover. It was very scary. And I just said, ‘No more’. And it was easier when I made that choice,” she said.

“And that’s when I was able to start [to] just get out and hike.”

Ms Fisher said challenging any negative thoughts helped her along her new path.

“I also had to remind myself that this was a pattern,” she said.

“It wasn’t so much that I was weak, it was just a pattern that I was playing over and over because I didn’t know anything else.

“So I had to give myself something else, which was hiking.”

A woman on a mountain
Chelle Fisher has been raising funds to support other family violence survivors.(Supplied: Chelle Fisher)

Peaks raise money and awareness

Over eight days, Ms Fisher climbed eight mountains in the Great Southern. She started with Mt Hallowell near Denmark and finished with Mt Frankland near Walpole.

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Australia

Perth weather: Perth is set to cop up to 75mm of rain and damaging winds over the next three days

Batten down the hatches.

Perth is set to cop up to 75mm of rain and damaging winds over the next three days.

The bureau is forecasting a very high chance of showers on Monday with the chance of a thunderstorm.

Damaging winds are also possible, the bureau has warned, with up to 25mm of rain predicted.

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