Category: Australia

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Australia

Fears for safety of disabled student at Walgett Community College

Young boy kissing his mother

There are fears for the safety of a severely disabled child after an application for him to bypass the town’s only high school due to student violence was rejected.

Walgett resident Xander McKenzie, 12, has hydrocephalus, a condition that means he is tube-fed, in a wheelchair and has a shunt in his brain.

His mother, Kylie McKenzie, formally asked him to stay at the local primary school for another year but the NSW Department of Education denied her application.

He is now required to start at Walgett Community College in 2023.

But Ms McKenzie said her son would be too vulnerable and said Xander’s therapists agreed.

“We’ve been to meetings here before and chairs and tables have come flying over from the second level,” Ms McKenzie said.

“He can’t get out of the way. One knock anywhere between his head and his stomach where he has a shunt place could be life-threatening.”

‘Let common sense prevail’

Walgett is a town already devoid of education options due to its isolated location, almost 300 kilometers away from the nearest inland city, Dubbo.

Zoning regulations dictate children can only attend either of two local primary schools and the only secondary school, which has been plagued with violence.

Ms McKenzie was informed Department of Education guidelines dictated her son had to move to the high school because of his age.

“The Department of Education looks at all disabled children the same,” she said.

A group of women surround a boy in a wheelchair in front of a fenced building
kylie mckenzie [C] says she fears for her son’s safety if he is forced to attend Walgett’s only high school.(ABC News: Olivia Ralph)

Ms McKenzie said it had taken years for Xander to get assistance with staff and modifications to which he now had access.

“We’d like to keep Xander where he is, where he’s happy,” she said.

“The education department has spent a fortune in the last 12 months on provisions at the primary school for him and now they’re telling us he can’t stay.”

She attended a protest during the NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell’s visit to Walgett yesterday after not receiving a response to requests for help.

“Let common sense prevail,” Ms. McKenzie said.

“He has a mental age of three years old.”

Big sister’s fears

Xander’s older sister Anicia left Walgett Community College last year after she was assaulted twice at the school, moving away from her family to attend school in central Queensland.

“As his sister who went through trauma here and suffers [poor] mental health from this school, I don’t want him — a vulnerable person with severe disabilities — to go to a school like this,” the 16-year-old said.

Three women stand in a circle talking on a sidewalk
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell speaks to protesters outside Walgett Community College.(ABC News: Olivia Ralph)

“If there’s a fight and he’s near that fight and gets bumped, I might not have a brother anymore.

“I want the minister to listen to how terrible the school has gotten over the years.”

Meeting with the minister

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell met Xander and spoke with his family when they attended the protest in Walgett.

“It’s now about me going to see what other things can we put in place for Xander, how can we make sure he’s supported,” Ms Mitchell said.

“I’ve already given an undertaking to his family that I will come back to them and work with him to see what options we’ve got, so Xander can continue to have great opportunities and get that love and support that he so clearly has from his family and from his community.”

A boy in a wheelchair sitting next to a woman standing and smiling
Xander meets with Education Minister Sarah Mitchell.(Supplied: Kylie McKenzie)

She commended Anicia for advocating for her little brother.

“I was really impressed by how strong these young people were in their advocacy for their community, particularly in relation to Xander and to meet his sister, mother and grandmother,” she said.

“It was really wonderful for me to meet them and understand.”

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Australia

Third-generation monkeypox vaccines secured, with gay and bisexual men in ‘high-risk’ categories targeted for first rollout

The arms and torso of a patient with skin lesions

The Australian government has secured 450,000 third-generation vaccines for monkeypox in what it described as a “highly contested” global market for the jabs.

Speaking after today’s national cabinet meeting, Health Minister Mark Butler announced it had locked in the jabs after “27 meetings” with the vaccine company Bavarian Nordic.

The vaccine can prevent the transmission of monkeypox virus and also be used as a post-exposure treatment.

Of the 450,000 doses secured, the government says 22,000 will arrive this month, 100,000 “over the course of the year” and 350,000 doses in 2023.

“The first element of the government’s actions against monkeypox is to procure the world’s best vaccines for Australians,” Mr Butler said.

“We are one of only a very limited number of countries that have been able to secure supplies of this in a highly contested market,” Mr Butler said.

More than 25,000 cases of the highly transmissible disease have been reported in 76 countries outside of the endemic areas of Africa.

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Australia

Melbourne Employer Claims Real Estate Agent Asked “Invasive” Questions

Melbourne Employer Claims Real Estate Agent Asked "Invasive" Questions

The employer is calling for prospective tenants’ rights to be better protected.

Melbourne employer Luke Hilakari is calling out real estate agents for asking invasive and irrelevant questions about one of his staff members.

Hilakari, secretary for The Victorian Trades Hall in Melbourne, says that he was contacted by an agent who asked him to fill in a referee check for a prospective tenant, reports Guardian. While the form included questions about income and probation status, Hilakari was also asked questions like “would you consider renting to this person?” along with queries as to whether the staff member was hard-working and punctual.

“These questions are deliberately and unnecessarily invasive,” Hilakari said, per Guardian .“In a reference check for someone getting a job you wouldn’t ask that many questions. “[They] are completely unnecessary to rent a house.”

Hilakari posted his experience on Twitter.

The employer is calling for changes to Victoria’s Residential Tenancy Act to prohibit real estate agents and landlords from requesting applicant information that is really none of their business.

While amendments were made to the Residential Tenancy Act in Victoria in March 2021, and certain requests for information were regulated; including marriage status, sexual orientation, and former tenancy disputes, Hilakari’s experience had shed light on the many invasions of privacy that are still going on unchecked.

In reply to Hilakari’s tweet, one Twitter user wrote: “Before even inspecting a property I had to do a full tenancy application including 100 point check, payslips, employment check, car rego, etc. They now have my data and the property wasn’t suitable.”

“It’s not even them”, another person added. “They hand it off to third party aggregator sites. Gives the agent’s plausible deniability for hacks and leaks and an extra revenue stream from kickbacks when the aggregators onsell the data — to credit agents, to harvesters, to insurers.”

Hilakari indicated that he ended up acquiescing to the request as he was concerned his staffer would be denied the property if he didn’t. “[I] did not want to provide one bit of data, but I felt like I had no choice,” he said. “[The employee] I was worried, and I was worried, that if I didn’t answer [they] wouldn’t get the property.”

The story comes after news that Australian rent prices have gone up more than 70 percent in the last 12 months due to a scarcity of vacant properties.

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Australia

David Elliott seeks NSW deputy leadership

David Elliott seeks NSW deputy leadership

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott says he will nominate for the deputy leadership of the Liberal party to support an “under the pump” premier after the position was vacated by embattled former minister Stuart Ayres.

Elliott is set to take on Treasurer Matt Kean in the contest for the role after the former trade minister resigned on Wednesday over his potential involvement in the John Barilaro trade job fiasco.

Transport Minister David Elliott is seeking to become deputy Liberal leader in NSW.

Transport Minister David Elliott is seeking to become deputy Liberal leader in NSW.Credit:Brook Mitchell

Skills and Science Minister Alister Henskens and Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward are also contenders for the position, which will be decided in a party room vote next Tuesday.

The transport and veterans affair minister – who is also one of the government’s most outspoken ministers – on Thursday said he was “very sad to see” that Ayres had to stand down in the circumstances and was only reluctantly offering to take his place.

“He’s been a superior servant to the party, he’s a great member for Penrith, and he’s been a wonderful minister for Western Sydney… It’s one of those occasions where I don’t put my name forward, or I don’t canvasses support, out of excitement or enthusiasm,” Elliott said on radio station 2GB on Thursday morning.

“The premier’s under the pump at the moment. The easiest thing for people to do at the moment, I think, is to walk away or to keep their head down because, you know, the premier is dealing with a number of difficult issues.

“But that’s just not my style. If a mate needs a hand, I’m putting mine up to give him that assistance.”

Premier Dominic Perrottet’s government has faced rolling crises since Barilaro was appointed to a plum $500,000-a-year trade posting in late June. Perrottet lost two ministers to scandal this week alone: ​​former fair trading minister Eleni Petinos amid bullying allegations, as well as Ayres.

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Australia

Matthew Guy’s leadership ‘damaged’ by Mitch Catlin donation scandal, MPs say

opposition leader risks voter backlash over 'abysmal' judgment

“Hey MG. Attached is the proposed agreement between [the donor] and Catchy Media Marketing and Management,” Catlin wrote to Guy’s private Hotmail address. “It’s as per the original email agreement between you and me. Can I leave you to forward onto him?”

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Guy said he did not forward the email to the donor, that no payment was made, and no contract was signed. He said Catlin stood down to “maintain the perception of integrity.”

“Mitch stood down because we want to maintain the perceptions are right, that there is nothing that could be incorrect, even though nothing was signed, nothing agreed,” Guy said.

“[It’s] totally different from the government who robbed and stole and thieved. I will not be read to by some corrupt government.”

The opposition leader refused to answer detailed questions about the integrity crisis engulfing his party less than four months from the state election, saying he would not comment because the government had referred the matters to integrity agencies and Victoria Police.

Several members of shadow cabinet told The Age they were unconvinced by Guy’s reassurances that the scandal was finished.

“We are all waiting to see what comes next,” one backbench MP said, speaking to The Age on the condition of anonymity.

Federal MPs from Victoria met on Wednesday evening for a pre-arranged dinner at which Catlin’s resignation and the resulting political damage were discussed, according to several sources in attendance.

One MP said Guy would likely remain in his role, but federal Liberals shared the concerns of their state colleagues that more issues might arise before the election.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) on Thursday said it had received a complaint from the government.

“Every complaint IBAC receives is assessed in accordance with the IBAC Act to determine whether we will investigate it, refer it to another organization for investigation, or dismiss it,” an IBAC spokesman said.

“IBAC will be making no further comment on this matter at this stage.”

Premier Daniel Andrews refused to be drawn on his government’s complaints to the integrity agencies, but senior government minister Danny Pearson said Guy needed to “answer fundamental questions about what’s occurring in his office”.

He called on Catlin to release an audited copy of Catchy Media Marketing and Management’s financial statements to make public what, if any, payments he was receiving.

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“Since 2014 when Matthew Guy first became leader of the opposition, he’s portrayed himself to be the prince of probity, yet he cannot or will not answer fundamental questions about what’s occurring in his office,” Pearson said.

Meanwhile, long-standing Liberal campaigner Simon Frost had been seen as a frontrunner to replace Catlin. However, the ally of former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg will not become Guy’s new chief of staff and will likely take up a role in the private sector.

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Australia

Missing Persons Week prompts calls for information on human remains found in South Australia

Detective standing in suit with woman and man beside him

National Missing Persons week has prompted renewed calls for information on unidentified human remains and missing South Australians.

An average of 12,000 South Australians are reported missing every year, but detectives confirm 99 per cent of those cases have been solved.

Major Crime Investigation Branch Detective Inspector Brett Featherby said investigations are underway into multiple unsolved cases.

“Currently in South Australia, there’s 147 long-term missing persons,” said Detective Inspector Featherby.

Of those, 55 have been declared major crimes and deemed to be suspicious.

Detective Inspector Featherby said 42 of the 147 missing people were believed to be lost at sea.

Operation Persevere was set up by SAPOL to provide a structured consistent approach to locate missing persons.

Detective Inspector Featherby said all uncovered information is uploaded to a national database.

This includes human remains found.

“Currently we’ve identified 11 of those [human remains] and there’s 18 under investigation,” he said.

‘We frequently hold forensic case meetings, where we review the investigation.

“We may require assistance — locally, nationally or internationally.

“Since February 2022, we’ve provided 12 samples to the national database.

“We intend to deliver further samples next week.”

Forensic Science SA director Linzi Wilson-Wilde and her team of scientists work with police.

A portrait photo of a woman smiling.
Forensic Science SA Director Linzi Wilson-Wilde says families deserve answers.

“Forensic technology is continually evolving,” said Professor Wilson-Wilde.

“We can revisit decades-old cases with new techniques and fresh eyes that can uncover information that was previously unavailable.

“Investigating these often tragic cases to bring much-needed closure to the families of missing persons.”

Calls for public help to identify human remains

A search for evidence is underground after human remains were found in a South Australian park last week.

But there are also some human remains of interest that have remained a mystery for years.

Detective Inspector Featherby has called for renewed public help, particularly around four cases.

A sketch of a man
A fully clothed deceased male was located on the sand at Victor Harbor, this sketch was created from photographs of the deceased. (Supplied: SAPOL Media)

“One is a man aged around 50 years, located at Kings Beach west of Victor Harbor, in 1964,” he said.

“Another is a middle-aged older man who was located near the Playford Highway west of the Airport on Kangaroo Island in 1983.”

Detective Inspector Featherby also highlighted the remains of a young adult found at Woolwash Beach bay near Port Macdonell in 2004.

“That person had surgery on their upper arm and they have a surgical plate in their arm,” he said.

The fourth case is a man aged between 25 and 50 who was found near Mount Lofty in 2010.

“That gentleman has had restorative dental work, which we believe was conducted in Japan or China, and we believe he is of Asian descent,” Detective Inspector Featherby said.

Historical missing persons cases in spotlight

Detective Inspector Featherby said police were also seeking information specifically regarding two missing persons cases.

Age progression shots of a young man into an old.
The age progression of Gregory John Michael Christiansen. (Supplied: SAPOL Media )

“One of those is Gregory John Michael Christiansen who at the time of going missing was aged 41 years,” said Detective Inspector Featherby.

A man with black shaggy hair in a police image
Gintautas Paul Stimbury’s family has waited 30 years for answers after he was reported missing from his home at Gawler River on 8 August 1992. (Supplied: SAPOL Media )

“I arrived at Port Germein by bus on the 6th of January 2003.”

“He stayed at a hostel for several days, and then on the 7th of January he was last seen when he said he was going to go for a walk on the beach.

“I have left his possessions at the hostel.”

The other is Gintautas Paul Stimburys who was 35 at the time he went missing.

‘He was reported missing on the 8th of August 1992 when he left his house at Gawler River,” Detective Inspector Featherby said.

“This year marks the 30th year of his disappearance.”

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Australia

Gender pay gap remains worst for women in WA despite uptick in those working, report finds

Gender pay gap remains worst for women in WA despite uptick in those working, report finds

Women are participating in the workforce at a higher rate than ever before in Western Australia but they still face the biggest gender pay gap in the country, a report has found.

The WA government’s 2022 Women’s Report Card — which measures the health, safety, economic independence and leadership opportunities of the state’s women — says female participation in the workforce is the highest it has ever been.

The report shows female participation in the workforce has reached 64.5 per cent, a rise of more than 3 per cent since 2007.

Among these working women, just over 50 per cent are employed full-time, compared with 82.6 per cent of men.

A row of people in chef uniforms cooking and preparing on a stainless steel bench.
Female participation in the WA workforce is up to more than 64 per cent, the report says.(ABC News: Cason Ho)

The report also reveals changing attitudes on gender roles.

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Australia

Adelaide Remand Center general manager revealed as the who stole $100,000 prisoners of suspect’ money

Brenton Williams

A suppression order on the identity of Adelaide Remand Center’s general manager, who is charged with theft, has now been lifted.

Brenton Williams is accused of stealing more than $100,000 of prisoners’ money.

The offense was allegedly committed between April 27 and July 27 this year.

The 47-year-old was arrested last week and charged with an aggravated count of dishonestly taking property without consent.

His identity was suppressed by the Adelaide Magistrates Court “in the interests of the administration of justice”.

An item of clothing hangs from the exterior of the Adelaide Remand Centre.
The Adelaide Remand Center general manager is accused of stealing more than $100,000 of prisoner’s cash. (ABC News: Alina Eaton)

That suppression order was lifted today, after the police prosecutor confirmed she did not want to pursue it.

The Department for Correctional Services says it will launch an independent investigation into theft.

“The department’s main priorities are the welfare of employees at the Adelaide Remand Center and the person who is currently before the courts,” a departmental spokeswoman said last week.

Serco, the private company that runs prisons in Adelaide’s CBD, said it would also be working with police.

Williams did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody, with the case scheduled to return to court in October.

Corrections Minister Joe Szakacs said the allegations are deeply concerning.

“It is incredibly disappointing to be informed of these serious allegations relating to the senior Serco employee at the privately run Adelaide Remand Centre,” said Mr Szakacs.

“These are serious allegations, which I’m deeply concerned about.

“I want answers, and a full review is being undertaken by DCS to investigate this matter.

“As the matter is now before the courts, the state government cannot make any further comment.”

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Australia

‘Disgusting’: Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi slams former prime minister Paul Keating’s attack on Adam Bandt

'Disgusting': Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi slams former prime minister Paul Keating's attack on Adam Bandt

Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has labeled comments made by former prime minister Paul Keating about Adam Bandt as “disgusting” and “disappointing”.

Mr Keating dubbed Mr Bandt a “bounder” and a “distorter of political truth” after the Greens leader said Labor is a “Neoliberal” party during a National Press Club address on Wednesday.

Senator Faruqi came to the defense of her leader and supported his comments about the characterization that Labor has become more “neoliberal” over time.

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“I think the attacks on Adam’s character like this are frankly pretty disgusting and disappointing,” she told the ABC on Thursday.

“There is no doubt that over the last three or four decades Labor have adopted neoliberalism.”

Mr Keating ridiculed Mr Bandt’s assertions, pointing to a range of “mammoth changes”, including Medicare and compulsory superannuation, enacted under Labor.

“How could any reasonable person describe the universality of Medicare as an exercise in conservative neoliberalism,” Mr Keating told Nine newspapers.

“Or providing the whole Australian community, every working person, with mandated capital savings leading to substantial superannuation assets and retirement incomes.

“How could any reasonable person describe these mammoth changes as ‘neoliberalism’, a word associated with the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

“And more than that, the world’s leading system of minimum award rates of pay, a safety net superintended by the Fair Work Commission – a Keating government creation. Again, hardly an exercise in neoliberalism.

“But Bandt is a bounder and a distorter of political truth.”

Mr Bandt confirmed his party’s support of the Climate Change Bill – which enshrines its emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050 into law – during the National Press Club address.

However, he said the Greens would still challenge the government to end fossil fuel production.

“To be crystal clear, the Greens have improved a weak climate bill,” Mr Bandt said during on Wednesday afternoon.

The Greens had initially threatened to block the bill over the “weak” 43 per cent 2030 emissions reduction target and concerns that it could be ratcheted back by future governments.

Labor then amended the bill to clearly enshrine the 43 per cent target as a floor – or a minimum requirement -rather than a ceiling to higher goals, but the Greens continued to steadfastly refuse to support the legislation if it failed to act on coal and gas .

Ms Faruqi flagged their support for the legislation showed it can still work with the government despite having differing opinions.

“We clearly have disagreements with Labor and a whole range of policies but we have shown that we want to work in good faith the way we can and our negotiations on this bill are a prime example of that,” she continued.

“It has now improved with the genuine floor, which means that the target cannot go backwards.”

The bill will be sent to the Senate where it is now expected to pass when Parliament returns in September.

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Australia

Multiple crime scenes, five locals in custody after deadly shootings

Multiple crime scenes, five locals in custody after deadly shootings

After providing police with vague information as to what had taken place, the man was airlifted by rescue hospital to Mackay Base Hospital in a critical condition.

He underwent surgery and was deemed to be in a “serious but stable condition” on Thursday night, according to a Mackay Hospital and Health Service spokeswoman.

Police were dispatched from surrounding areas and at 11.30am sought to establish an exclusion zone over a vast area of ​​country, hoping to contain whoever was responsible.

Vehicles, including even media helicopters, were warned to stay away, as police sought to prevent any further shootings. By 2.30pm, police had located the bodies and shifted the exclusion area.

Police searched scrub and grazing land at Bogie after being alerted to a triple murder.

Police searched scrub and grazing land at Bogie after being alerted to a triple murder.

On Thursday afternoon, Mackay District Police Superintendent Tom Armitt said the “killer or killers” were still at large, in an area he described as remote, hilly and heavily forested.

Armitt said the survivor had traveled “many, many kilometers” to raise the alarm.

“Originally, when the male person spoke to us, he was obviously in a distressed state,” he said.

“There was some confusion about where the shooting had occurred.

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“We do not know who is responsible.

“No indication has been given to us as to why this has occurred.”

According to the most recent census, Bogie has 207 people, almost two-thirds of them men.

The nearest major employer is the Glencore mine at Collinsville, however there are numerous large cattle properties.

There was speculation on Thursday of a boundary dispute involving neighboring graziers, however police remained tight-lipped.