Australia – Page 50 – Michmutters
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parliamentary inquiry into Northern Rivers, Hawkesbury disasters slams Bureau of Meteorology, NSW SES, Resilience NSW

But he added that issues, such as the centralization of the SES and the shortage of volunteers, had severely impacted the agency’s ability to respond to the flooding emergency.

The report made 37 recommendations, including that the SES should be restructured to harness local knowledge, coordinate with other rescue agencies, boost paid staff salaries and push for more volunteers.

It also suggested that Resilience NSW be abolished unless its role was clarified and its policies became more focused on meeting community needs, and First Nations people should be included in discussions about how to better prepare communities from flooding events and recovery.

The report found the government and telecommunications companies failed to ensure flooded communities had emergency communications after infrastructure was destroyed.

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The report also said the government failed to provide services such as housing and cash relief in time, and state infrastructure was not ready for the extent of the floods.

Inquiry participants claimed that the timeliness, accuracy and clarity of information issued by the NSW SES and BOM were inadequate and that communication issues were exacerbated by the loss of telecommunication services, particularly in the Northern Rivers region, the report notes.

A NSW SES spokesperson said the agency welcomed the “opportunity presented by the independent flood inquiry and parliamentary inquiry to identify ways in which the emergency response of the NSW SES’s volunteers and staff can be improved”.

“The NSW SES notes that the NSW government will consider the findings and recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry and respond to the parliament in due course,” the spokesperson said.

A BOM spokesperson said the agency strongly refuted several of the committee’s findings, noting its involvement with this inquiry had also been limited.

“The bureau strongly refutes the committee’s findings that it was not prepared for and did not comprehend the scale of the February-March 2022 flood events,” the spokesperson said.

They added that it warned governments and the community via traditional and social media of the likelihood of a La Nina event for that summer three times before the weather event was declared. The agency said it reinforced this messaging several times, including a briefing to NSW and Queensland premiers and senior officials.

The agency also rejected the report’s criticism that it functioned as a “nine to five business”, noting they operated each day and around the clock.

“The bureau will review and consider the report’s recommendations and respond as appropriate,” the spokesperson said.

NSW Emergency Services and Resilience Minister Steph Cooke said the government would consider its findings and recommendations, and respond in due course.

It comes as many await the findings of the government’s independent flood inquiry report. The report was provided to NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet last month and he will prepare his response to its findings before they are publicly released, but one of the key recommendations will see Resilience NSW boss Shane Fitzsimmons dumped and the agency scaled down.

The report, prepared by former police commissioner Mick Fuller and Professor Mary O’Kane, will call for the agency to be cut to a small office and its responsibilities reallocated to existing government departments. A new deputy police commissioner will also be appointed to emergency and disaster management under the recommendations.

Former emergency service chiefs said the disaster agency didn’t have time to adequately establish itself before it was forced to step into action and poor planning doomed the agency from the start.

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Former NSW Liberal minister suspended from parliament after corruption finding

Former NSW Liberal minister John Sidoti has lashed the independent corruption watchdog in an emotional speech before he was suspended from parliament weeks after being found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct.

The government, along with the opposition, on Tuesday voted to suspend Sidoti from the Legislative Assembly after he refused to resign following the corruption finding.

NSW MP John Sidoti addresses the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday before being suspended from parliament.

NSW MP John Sidoti addresses the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday before being suspended from parliament.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption last month found Sidoti had engaged in corrupt conduct to benefit his family’s property interests in Sydney’s inner west between late 2013 and early 2017.

Sidoti became emotional during his speech to the lower house during the suspension motion, criticizing the ICAC, which he described as an out-of-control “Frankenstein monster,” and urged Labor leader Chris Minns to reform the agency if he wins government next year .

“This Frankenstein monster is out of control and nobody is safe. Reform the beast before it takes a bite out of you too,” he said.

The ICAC found Sidoti persistently emailed, telephoned and sought meetings with councilors in the lead-up to every council meeting at which relevant planning matters were to be discussed.

He also directed the councillors’ attendance at meetings, berated them for non-attendance, and implied their positions on Canada Bay Council could be threatened if they did not advance the positions he wanted.

When the councilors refused to comply, Sidoti withdrew his endorsement for those of them who were contesting the 2017 council election.

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Missing family who vanished on road trip found after two days in remote NSW

A young family, who went missing for two days while traveling from Queensland to New South Wales, was forced to drink water from a roadside puddle to survive and used a car mirror to get the attention of a search aircraft.

The harrowing details emerged on Tuesday night after Darian Aspinall, 27, her two kids Winter Bellamy, 2, and Koda Bellamy, 4, and their grandmother Leah Gooding, 50, were found safe and well on Tuesday, two days after they were last seen on Sunday.

The family were found near Tiboobura in NSW, and were being transported to hospital for assessment following an emotional reunion with Darian’s fiancé Linny Bellamy.

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Speaking with 7NEWS, Bellamy said his loved ones had to take drastic measures in order to survive in the outback of NSW.

That meant getting sustenance from a roadside puddle and making themselves visible to aircraft by using a car mirror

The family were reunited on Tuesday afternoon. Credit: 7NEWS

“I can’t believe they managed to stay as strong as they did… they looked after each other and just tried to ration everything out,” Linny said.

Darian’s fiancé Linny Bellamy told 7NEWS he was traveling behind the young family. Credit: 7NEWS

A visibly relieved Linny added that despite being “a bit tired”, his family seemed like their normal selves.

“My daughter said hello and told me she loved me… I haven’t spoken to my son yet, but I’ll speak to him soon,” he said.

The family were moving back to Adelaide, where they were originally from, after spending a year living in Queensland.

They embarked on the journey to Adelaide after leaving the Noccundra Hotel in southwest Queensland between 12.30pm and 3pm on Sunday and were heading to accommodation in the remote far northwest NSW township of Packsaddle along the way.

Linny told 7NEWS he was traveling behind the young family in a truck full of their belongings right before they went missing.

Linny says his family had taken a different route along the way, believing they could get through a road badly affected by the weather, despite advice against taking that road from hotel staff at the Tibooburra Hotel, near Packsaddle.

Darian Aspinall, 27. Credit: NSW Police

But when they failed to turn up at their destination, and Linny hadn’t heard from them, he contacted police.

“They’re my world… but I don’t know what I’d do without them,” he said.

In an update earlier on Tuesday, police said they had begun a major search across Tibooburra, Broken Hill, Wilcannia, Packsaddle and surrounds, with assistance from the Missing Persons Registry, and Queensland and South Australia Police.

But by Tuesday afternoon the missing quartet had been found.

“Following inquiries, a search and rescue helicopter located a vehicle off-track, about 50km southeast of Tibooburra, about 4.15pm on Tuesday,” NSW Police said in a statement.

– With Hannah Foord

Horrific moment child falls out of car window.

Horrific moment child falls out of car window.

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Australia

Hannah Gadsby on her memoir, Ten Steps to Nanette, and how her autism diagnosis changed her life

Hannah Gadsby’s memoir, Ten Steps to Nanette, opens at the scene of a fancy Hollywood garden party at the home of actress Eva Longoria.

Celebrities are queuing to talk to Gadsby, whose Netflix comedy special, Nanette, had just sucker punched the world.

But the world-famous comedian extracts herself from a conversation with celebrated singer-songwriter Janelle Monáe to examine the preternaturally green lawn underfoot.

It’s an immediate insight into Gadsby’s brain, where thoughts and ideas bubble over — often clashing abruptly with the real world.

“My world is so much different than it was five years ago. I cannot explain how different it is,” she tells ABC RN’s Big Weekend of Books.

She’s referring not only to the global success of Nanette and its follow-up show, Douglas, but also to her 2017 diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

“It was an eye-opening thing, to start to understand that you think differently,” Gadsby says.

‘Begin at not normal’

Ten Steps to Nanette details Gadsby’s quest to understand her own biology, beginning in her conservative and isolated hometown in north-west Tasmania.

Her memories from childhood and her teen years have jagged edges, often tinged with self-loathing and confusion over her sexuality and neurodiversity.

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Barilaro’s meeting with sacked minister in spotlight amid questions about Western Sydney development

It’s been revealed former New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro met with then fair trading minister Eleni Petinos weeks before a building ban was lifted for the developer for whom he has been working since leaving parliament.

The meeting with Ms Petinos — who was sacked from cabinet last month — threatens to cause further headaches for the New South Wales government amid the ongoing inquiry into Mr Barilaro’s appointment to a lucrative US trade job.

After resigning from politics in October 2021, Mr Barilaro took a job with Sydney-based developer Coronation Property.

At the time, the company’s Merrylands Road development had been hit with a stop-work order.

On June 2 and June 21, 2022, former Small Business and Fair Trading Minister Ms Petinos met with Coronation Property representatives, with Mr Barilaro present at the latter meeting.

The stop-work order was then lifted on July 4, 2022.

The revelations come after Ms Petinos filed notes in her ministerial diary about the meetings.

Mr Barilaro said the function on June 21 was to celebrate his appointment as the state’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner (STIC) to the Americas, which he later drew from.

The recruitment process for that role is now at the center of a parliamentary inquiry.

“I attended a social engagement with the former minister to celebrate my appointment to the STIC Americas job,” Mr Barilaro said in a statement.

“I was no longer an employee of Coronation.

“I did not meet with the minister during my time with Coronation.”

Ms Petinos says the revocation of the stop-work order had nothing to do with her and was a decision made by the Office of the Building Commissioner.

“The issuing and revocation of stop-work orders is a matter for the Building Commissioner, not the minister,” she said.

New South Wales Building Commissioner David Chandler abruptly quit in late July, telling the public he thought the time was right for a “reset”.

The state opposition now wants to see Mr Chandler’s resignation letter after reports his relationship with Ms Petinos had soured.

Debate on a motion to compel the government to hand over a copy of the letter is expected on Wednesday.

Ms Petinos was sacked from her ministerial appointment last month over bullying allegations, which she denies.

Yesterday, Premier Dominic Perrottet was pressed about the fresh revelations concerning Mr Barilaro.

“Premier, what action will you take to investigate revelations … that John Barilaro met with the [then-]Minister for Fair Trading while representing his then employer, Coronation Group, after Mr Barilaro told the parliamentary inquiry yesterday that no such meeting occurred?” Labor MP Sophie Cotsis asked in parliament.

Mr Perrottet replied that he would seek the “requisite advice”.

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Australia

NSW building commissioner’s resignation letter set to be made public

The confidential resignation letter of the NSW building commissioner is likely to be released to state parliament amid scrutiny over the conduct of the recently dumped fair trading minister Eleni Petinos.

David Chandler, tasked in 2019 with cleaning up NSW’s construction industry as the state’s first building commissioner, tendered his resignation last month despite having recently signed a contract extension.

David Chandler tendered his resignation last month despite having recently signed a contract extension.

David Chandler tendered his resignation last month despite having recently signed a contract extension.Credit:Kate Geraghty

The NSW opposition on Tuesday said it would use Legislative Council powers to compel the government to release the letter after it was revealed that Petinos met representatives from a property development company that employed former deputy premier John Barilaro.

The opposition queried the meetings between Petinos and Coronation Property, given a stop work order had been placed on one of its major projects, and also called on the premier to provide Chandler’s resignation letter.

Chandler, who reported to Petinos, had oversight of stop-work orders and whether to revoke them. Perrottet told question time that Chandler’s resignation was not a factor in his decision to sack Petinos as minister, but added that he had not read the letter in question.

Opposition fair trading spokeswoman Courtney Houssos said the government needed to provide more clarity over Chandler’s snap departure.

Former fair trading minister Eleni Petinos.

Former fair trade minister Eleni Petinos.Credit:Wolter-Peeters

“We think it’s important that the public has the opportunity to see why the building commissioner resigned so suddenly from his post. It’s not good enough for us to keep trying to piece together this picture,” she said.

“I’m really concerned that the premier has not taken the time to read this letter after we’ve been asking about it for several weeks. It’s either extreme negligence, or maybe there is something in there that he doesn’t want to know.”

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James Marape will be Papua New Guinea’s prime minister after an election marred by violence

Papua New Guinea’s incumbent Prime Minister, James Marape, has been returned to the top job.

Mr Marape was voted in as prime minister unopposed, with unanimous support from all MPs present in the first parliamentary sitting following the country’s controversial, and at times violent, national election.

He is set to lead at least 17 parties in a coalition government.

Mr Marape first became PNG’s leader in 2019 after leading a walk-out on then-prime-minister Peter O’Neill.

Mr Marape fended off similar attempts to oust him from the job the following year, before leading the country to the polls in July.

PNG’s ‘worst’ election in living memory

The first parliamentary sitting was delayed for almost three hours while some late writs were delivered.

As the country’s newly elected MPs gathered, some of the 118 seats were empty.

The results for 105 MPs were presented to parliament.

After a series of delays and extensions, vote is continuing counting in most of the outstanding 13 seats.

Politicians sit at their seats in a bright green carpeted chamber.  Several chairs are empty
A handful of seats remained empty at the first parliamentary sitting after the election.(ABC News: Natalie Whiting)

Extensions have been granted for electorates that need more time to declare a winner, which is not uncommon in PNG elections.

Controversy hangs over several seats where counting was interrupted or completed ballots were burned, or in areas where there is mounting evidence of vote-rigging.

The prime minister’s political rival and predecessor Mr O’Neill went to the Supreme Court in an attempt to have the parliamentary sitting delayed until counting was completed, but the bid failed.

At a ceremony at Government House yesterday, Mr Marape’s PANGU Party was invited to attempt to form government on the floor of parliament after securing the most seats of any party in the election, with at least 36.

“The greater the responsibility, the greater the mandate, the higher and greater the obligation of those of us elected to parliament, to give back the trust you’ve given to us,” he said after the ceremony.

Peter O'Neill wearing a blue suit jacket and brown hat.
Former prime minister Peter O’Neill had pushed to have the first parliamentary sitting delayed to allow more time for counting votes.(ABC News: Natalie Whiting)

The election has been described by several analysts and MPs as the worst they have seen.

Mr Marape insists the issues in the election affected all candidates evenly and said most of the country polled well, describing the issues as a “minor difficulty”.

He defended the government funding of what he said was an independently run process, adding: “We have washed our hands clean of the electoral process.”

But he said his government would implement changes to try to address issues with transparency and the problems with the common roll, which saw an estimated 1 million people unable to vote.

“The census that will take place in 2023, from that we will overlap with a modernized electronic voter ID system,” he said.

Women return to PNG parliament for the first time since 2017

For the past five years, Papua New Guinea had no female MPs, making it one of only four countries in the world where that was the case.

This election, at least two women have secured seats in parliament.

Rufina Peter has been elected as the governor for Central Province, as a member of Mr O’Neill’s People’s National Congress (PNC) Party.

Rufina Peter
The PNC Party’s Rufina Peter (left) has been elected governor for Central Province.(Supplied)

She took a seat on the opposition benches next to Mr O’Neill.

At her declaration, Ms Peter paid tribute to the women and men of her province for voting in their first female leader.

“You decided it was time to give women a chance, and so we have come into this victory,” she said to applause from her supporters.

While parliament was sitting, another female candidate, Kessy Sawang, was elected in the Rai Coast Open seat.

Counting there finished this morning and her declaration was underway while her fellow MPs were being sworn in. She will join parliament when it next sits.

MPs ‘camp’ at private resort while public calls for basic services

Members of the new government’s coalition have been gathered at an island resort in the days leading up to Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting.

The system of “camping” is a standard practice to illustrate and control the numbers needed to govern in PNG, where coalitions are vital and notoriously unstable.

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Australia

WA weather: Perth shivers through coldest day of the year so far as temperature dips as low as 9C

Perth shivered through a cold snap on Tuesday as the city experienced its coldest day of the year so far.

It reached a top of just 12.4 degrees just before 4pm on Tuesday, blanketing Perth suburbs in an icy blast as the lowest temperature reached 9 degrees.

There has been 10.6mm of rain since 9am with Jandakot receiving the most at 40mm, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Perth has already had close to 121mm for the month of August in just nine days and should be on track to bet the monthly average of 122mm.

There is a 50 per cent chance of rain up until 8pm tonight with showers decreasing by 11pm.

Hikers in the State’s Great Southern witnessed snow fall atop Bluff Knoll, WA’s highest peak, in the Stirling Range National Park.

The short snow flurry dusted Bluff Knoll in white as hikers made the trek up the 1090m peak.

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Tony Burke must get serious about productivity and wages

Such hyperbole clashes with Labor’s talk of the summit as an opportunity to forge consensus and co-operation between business and unions. It also fails to grasp the realities of Australia’s industrial law.

Reinforcing the union chokehold

Rather than freely bargaining, the workplace system grants unions the monopoly right to represent workers in award determinations and enterprise bargaining negotiations. The union chokehold over employers is borne out by the facts of the case that Mr Burke says supposedly shows why the law needs to change.

Port tug operator Svitzer has applied to terminate an expired enterprise agreement after more than 50 meetings with the Maritime Union of Australia failed to secure a productivity-boosting new agreement that would wind back restrictive work practices and intrusions on management prerogatives. The union’s stonewalling is an abuse of its institutional privileges, and completely contrary to the original win-win – higher pay for higher performance – purpose of the enterprise bargaining system.

The MUA has delayed the hearing of Svitzer’s application before the Fair Work Commission until December. That has bought time for Mr Burke to amend the Fair Work Act and save the union’s blushes.

The focus on a legislative bailout for Labor’s union comrades, while forcing employers to stick with non-performing enterprise agreements, is a disturbing sign of the government’s priorities.

Instead, Mr Burke should be hearing what is actually another cry for help from employers to fix the broken bargaining system that has been in steady decline since the Rudd government legislated the “better off overall test” on union orders. Or – with just 15 per cent of the workforce now covered by enterprise agreements – is Labor going to turn a deaf ear to business abandoning the bargaining system?

Is it going to do nothing to fix the BOOT that makes it impossible to achieve meaningful productivity gains from the costly and time-consuming bargaining process? If so, then what credible plan is the government going to take to the jobs summit to fulfill its election pledge to reverse Australia’s lost decade of sluggish productivity and real wages growth, especially as the inflation outbreak now means workers face real wage cuts?

The starting point should be for the minister responsible for industrial relations to take a serious interest in how the workplace system needs to change to deliver wins for both employers and employees, instead of just operating as the unions’ political mouthpiece and fixer.

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Fake cosmetic doctor facing jail time for allegedly advertising services

A Mount Waverley woman who was exposed as a fake cosmetic doctor is facing jail time for allegedly advertising her services again.

Aliaa Sherif, 54, on Tuesday appeared before melbourne Magistrates’ Courtfacing 21 charges and the possibility of two years of jail time if convicted.

In 2021, Sherif was convicted and fined for pretending to be a cosmetic guru.

Aliaa Sherif, 54, appeared on Tuesday before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, facing 21 charges and the possibility of two years of jail time if convicted. (Nine)

One of her clients ended up in hospital with swollen and bleeding lips after a botched Botox injection.

The Health Complaints Commissioner later put out a warning to the public about the woman and banned her from advertising her anti-ageing services.

The 54-year-old is now accused of breaching that order.

In court today, when asked by a magistrate if she was a doctor, Sheriff responded she was an “overseas specialist.”

Aliaa Sherif was exposed as a fake cosmetic doctor in 2021 and is facing jail time for allegedly advertising her services again. (Nine)

But prosecutors pointed out the Egyptian-born woman had never been a registered medical practitioner in Australia.

Sherif said she was the victim of an “unfair attack” by health authorities and claimed her former clients only made complaints against her because they owed her money.

Representing herself at today’s court hearing, Sherif said she could not afford a lawyer because she was busy studying for exams and was hoping to join Australia’s Royal College of Pathologists as a haematology specialist.

Sheriff will return to court in December.