Isaiah Papali’i has drawn a considerable dose of empathy amid his contract shambles because of Michael Maguire’s axing.
The hesitant thoughts of the Parramatta back-rower are reasonable, many believe, because he signed a deal with Wests Tigers thinking Maguire would be his coach.
Billy Slater doesn’t buy that argument.
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Billy Slater has delivered Isaiah Papali’i an unapologetic message as the back-rower considers a contract backflip. (Getty Images)
“If you sign with a club, go to the club,” Slater said on Nine’s post-match coverage of the Rabbitohs’ defeat of the Eels.
“You’re signing with a club. You’re not signing with a coach, you’re not signing with a player — you’re signing with a club. Go to the club.
“You’re not allowed to walk away from a contract. It’s just pressure, public pressure if you want out.
“If you sign with a club, you want to take that money and you sign the deal, go to the club.”
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Star considers backflip on Tigers
Papali’i penned a three-year deal with Wests Tigers in November 2021, tying him to the joint-venture club from the 2023 season.
But the New Zealand international’s commitment to the contract has waned, with the 23-year-old revealing this week he’ll decide on his future at the end of the season.
A common belief is Papali’i’s second thoughts were triggered by Maguire copping the boot in June.
“You sign with the jersey, the club,” Brad Fittler said.
“I can’t believe (in these) contracts they’re able to walk away.”
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Paul Green’s life in pictures: From Sharks prodigy to premiership-winning coach
Oppo has just announced its promised duo of smartwatches featuring Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip — the first wearables to adopt the new platform since Qualcomm announced it last month.
The new Oppo Watch models build on last year’s Oppo Watch 2. However, neither is a direct successor to that earlier model. Instead, it looks like Oppo has split the difference, with the Oppo Watch 3 moving the specs down a notch to make room for a new Oppo Watch 3 Pro on the higher end.
Oppo
The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 is here
Oppo has notably gone for the lesser of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon wearable chips, the W5, rather than the W5+. Interestingly, this is the chip that Qualcomm has targeted at “segment-specific wearables” rather than “mainstream smartwatches,” but Oppo likely considers that good enough for its target market. It’s also worth noting that Qualcomm defines “segment-specific” to include China, as well as kids, seniors, health-focused devices, and enterprise solutions.
Qualcomm
The new chip follows the Snapdragon Wear 4100 used in last year’s Oppo Watch 2, but it’s interesting that Oppo hasn’t chosen to distinguish the Oppo Watch 3 Pro by packing in the more powerful flagship W5+ chip. However, the boost over last year’s model should be pretty significant, as Qualcomm promises 50% better power efficiency and double the performance of the Wear 4100 chip.
Qualcomm
The Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 platform also supports better health and fitness experiences thanks to the ability to keep the sensors active at all times. It’s unclear how this will play out on the Oppo Watch 3 since Oppo has its own co-processor in the mix for lower-power tasks, but Oppo promises faster app launching and assessment of vascular elasticity in under 30 seconds.
A familiar design with a twist
If you’re thinking the Oppo Watch 3 looks strangely familiar, you’re not alone. Oppo has been mirroring the iconic design of Apple’s wearables since it first arrived on the scene two years ago, and this latest release is no exception.
However, it seems Oppo is willing to take a few more risks than Apple. The higher-end Oppo Watch 3 Pro is the first wearable to feature a 3D AMOLED LTPO display, and with that comes a flexible curved face that follows the contour of your wrist.
Oppo calls this the “third form of smartwatches,” and with the striking similarity to Apple’s design, it offers a fascinating glimpse into what a curved Apple Watch might look like. Even Oppo’s marketing photos strongly resemble Apple’s.
Oppo
Interestingly, Oppo has also brought a digital crown-like control to the Oppo Watch 3 Pro with mechanical haptic feedback during rotation. Unlike the Apple Watch, the crown is placed centrally on the side, with a single button below. The non-Pro model lacks the dial and loses one of the two buttons found on the prior model.
In terms of screen size, it’s the Oppo Watch 3 Pro that comes closest to its predecessor, with the same 1.91-inch display presented in a 378 x 496 resolution due to the taller aspect ratio. The Oppo Watch 3 has a smaller 1.75-inch 372×430 AMOLED screen.
Battery life, storage capacity, and more
The smaller model only features a 400mAh battery, a significant drop from last year’s 510mAh cell. However, thanks to the power efficiency of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon W5 combined with Oppo’s own Apollo 4 Plus co-processor, it still delivers up to four days of battery life with normal usage. The Oppo Watch 3 Pro features a larger 550mAh battery that can deliver up to five days of battery life under the same conditions.
Much of the magic here comes from Oppo’s in-house chip that handles routine tasks like timekeeping to let the more power-hungry Snapdragon W5 take a nap whenever it’s not needed to handle more powerful tasks. A lower-power mode can give you up to 10 days on a single charge for the Oppo Watch 3 or 15 days for the Oppo Watch 3 Pro.
Oppo
In addition to the new Snapdragon W5 chip and screen changes, both models also get a healthy storage increase to 32GB. However, the other specs remain largely the same as before, including 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth 5.0, eSIM, NFC, 5 ATM water resistance, and GPS capabilities.
The Oppo Watch 3 models also offer the same 100 workout modes, 150 watch faces, and other built-in sensors, including an optical heart rate monitor, blood oxygen sensor, and ECG sensor.
China only, for now
So far, the Oppo Watch 3 and Oppo Watch 3 Pro are only being released in China and are expected to go on sale August 19 for around $220 and $280 respectively at current exchange rates. Both models will be available in Platinum Black, while the Oppo Watch 3 adds Feather Gold and the Pro comes in Desert Brown.
It’s unclear when or if there will be an international release. The versions announced today use a proprietary operating system for China. However, Oppo adopted Wear OS for the international releases of the Oppo Watch 2 last year, so presumably, the same will happen if the Oppo Watch 3 models launch outside of China.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten has said star forward Max King “won’t be seeing anybody outside the club” to help improve his set-shot routine, instead backing in those at the club to help steady the 22-year-old’s game.
King imposed himself in the air during Friday night’s loss to Brisbane at Marvel Stadium, but kicked five behinds and ended up goalless as the Saints’ final hopes were all-but dashed.
Speaking post-game, Ratten was staunch in his defense of King.
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“It’s part of the game and you look through great forwards to have played the game, they’ve had a night where they haven’t scored like they wanted to,” he said.
“The pleasing part we know about Max is that Tuesday was a day off for the players and he was at Marvel Stadium for an hour-and-a-half having goal-kicking practice. Every day we’re at the footy club or not at the footy club he’s there having extra goal-kicking and really rehearsing and fine-tuning his game to make sure he gets the opportunity to score on game-day. He’s doing a power of work.
“What I do know is I want Max King in my corner. He’ll be at our footy club for 10 years and when we look back we’ll be saying what a great player he is and what he’s done. Tonight he had a night where it didn’t work for him.
“He did everything right but finish, for great forwards that’s happened in the game. He’s 21 years of age, we love what he brings to the footy club, he’s developing and we know that he’s doing the work. Sometimes you don’t get the reward all the time but he’ll keep doing that and you watch, he’ll turn it around.”
King has enjoyed a relatively impressive season in front of goal, booting 47 goals from his 21 games.
There have been occasions, however, where inaccuracy has plagued him, most notably his return of one goal and seven behinds in round six and two goals and five behinds in round 20 before tonight’s five behinds.
Ratten said a myriad of factors were at play for King.
King kicked five behinds on Friday night (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/via Getty Images).Source: Getty Images
“I wouldn’t say high pressure, I think sometimes the goal-kicking, it’s got so many elements to it,” he said.
“It’s the technical aspect, the mental aspect, the fatigue, what part of the ground, people score from different parts and score easier when the ball is on the right side versus the left.
“I want to go to war with Max because he delivers and he will deliver.”
The Saints in 2021 knocked back Max King’s request for help from Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd – who also coached King at Haileybury College – instead opting to leave King’s goal-kicking practice to those internally.
Asked on Friday night if there had been a change since then, Ratten’s response was firm.
“He won’t be seeing anybody outside the club, he doesn’t need to. We’ve got people with the skillset to keep working there,” he said.
“As I said to you, it’s not just all about the technical aspect, there’s a mental aspect to it as well. With goal-kicking, it’s a closed skill and there’s different elements to it.
“It’s not just we bring somebody in and they fix up the hand drop or anything like that. He hasn’t got many flaws, but sometimes it can go against you.”
In the movies, a hero can always tell he’s being followed because the goons tasked with following him never blend in. In real life, figuring out if someone is tailing you is much trickier, and can be a matter of life and death. At the Black Hat security conference, a speaker demonstrated a low-cost device that looks for the tell-tale wireless signature of bad guys on your tail.
Watch Your Back
Matt Edmondson, who works with the US Department of Homeland Security, was approached by a friend from a government agency and declined to name onstage at Black Hat. This friend worked with confidential sources, and one in particular had links to a terrorist organization. Edmondson’s friend was concerned that if they were followed after meeting with the confidential source, his friend’s government connections could be discovered and the source put in danger.
The traditional spycraft method of surveillance detection, Edmondson explained, is to change your route and see who does the same—such as exiting the highway and then getting back on again. “It’s really obvious the [Washington, D.C.] Beltway was designed as a surveillance-detection route,” quipped Edmondson, perhaps joking, perhaps not.
Edmondson said his friend asked if he could revisit an idea he had discussed years ago: Using network-detection technology to scan for devices that were following you.
Even if you’re being tailed by a nation-state-backed surveillance team, “isn’t there still a really good chance they have a phone in their pocket?” asked Edmondson.
Tattletale Devices
This works because so many of our devices are constantly trying to communicate with other devices and various wireless networks. Many mobile devices, for example, are constantly seeking familiar wireless networks to connect to. Other devices, such as AirPods, Bluetooth speakers, laptops, and so on, can be similarly chatty.
All those wireless conversations can be easily detected. If the same devices are in your vicinity repeatedly, Edmondson reasoned, it’s likely you’re being followed.
At PCMag, we’ve looked at similar devices before. The PwnPro was a multi-thousand-dollar device with sophisticated backend software that could monitor devices within 1,000 feet. It, too, could identify specific devices and usage patterns, but was far from affordable or portable.
SimpleComponents
To build a device that could scan for wireless communications and alert you when such a device stayed in your vicinity, Edmondson set out to use low-cost materials, and settled on the Raspberry Pi single-board computer. “How many of us have multiple Raspberry Pis sitting in your closet doing absolutely nothing?” Edmondson joked.
Add to that a low-cost touch screen purchased off Amazon, a portable power bank, and a USB wireless adapter (Alfa AWUS036ACM), and Edmondson was off and running.
A view of the ‘minimum viable product’ version of Edmondson’s detection device.
Scanning duties on the device would be handled by Kismet, a free and open-source wireless monitoring tool. Kismet scans the airwaves and records its findings in an SQLite database. “Everything else is shoddy python code,” said Edmondson.
Users interact with Edmondson’s device via the touch screen and a custom interface Edmondson described as “literally the worst user interface you’ve ever seen.” It consists of several large, gray buttons, which are intended to be easily pressed while driving. For this task, Edmondson explained, “you don’t want a nice interface designed by Apple, you want something designed by Fisher-Price.”
Once activated, Edmondson’s device compiled data on the surrounding devices into lists broken down by time. If the device detects something that already appears in the list from 5-10 minutes ago, or 15-20 minutes ago, that’s a sign someone might be on your tail.
A Few Challenges
There were still some challenges with the device, however. First, Edmondson needed to build in a mechanism where detected devices could be added to an ignore list. That way, trusted devices wouldn’t trigger an alert.
Edmondson’s presentation showed a better, more neatly arranged version of his device.
During a field test in the Arizona desert, Edmondson discovered another problem: MAC address randomization. This is a security feature of many modern devices, where wireless requests are sent with a random, spoofed MAC address.
Edmondson’s solution was to also look at what Wi-Fi networks devices were asking for. If the same Wi-Fi network request appears again and again, that probably means a single device is nearby. Edmondson said that this could possibly be expanded upon, since tracing the location of the requested Wi-Fi networks could tell you where the device had been previously. Even the requested Wi-Fi network name could contain clues. Edmondson said he also wanted to add a GPS component, so it was possible to see where a potential follower first appeared.
In his talk, Edmondson didn’t reveal whether the device was ever practically put to the test, or what became of his friend’s informant. He did, however, bemoan the lack of similar detection technology. “There’s so much technology out there to stalk on people and invade their privacy and very little to protect yourself,” he said.
Keep reading PCMag for the latest from BlackHatBlackHat.
Junior Paulo has handed the Kangaroos a major blow as the Parramatta prop confirmed he will play for Samoa at the World Cup.
The 28-year-old male is yet to represent Australia at international level but has nine State of Origin games for New South Wales under his belt.
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Paulo also has nine caps for Samoa to his name and although he was “torn” between the blue shirt of the nation or the green and gold of Australia, it was a quote from Phil Gould that ultimately swayed his decision.
“Gus Gould really hit the nail on the head when he said, ‘What nation do you cry for when you sing the anthem,’” Paulo told 9News.
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“That plays a big part for me, and for me that’s being proud of my home, and that’s Samoa.”
Paulo joins Canberra forward Josh Papalii as well as Panthers duo Brian To’o and Jarome Luai as NRL stars who have confirmed they will represent Samoa instead of Australia at the World Cup.
The Parramatta star also hopes that by not choosing to play for the Kangaroos, it could inspire several youngsters to be proud of their home nation when it comes to representative footy.
“I want to be able to inspire the next kid who is coming through the ranks and will be at home, or whether they’re in the islands watching that World Cup thinking they want to be able to represent their country,” Paulo said.
The Blues star is also hoping that by playing for Samoa, he can make his family proud as punch.
“I’ve got my two grandmothers, who are both overseas and while they’re still alive I want to make them proud,” Paulo said.
Japan’s Ambassador to AustraliaShingo Yamagami, has branded China’s use of ballistic missiles in its live fire exercises around Taiwan as “shocking” and a “dangerous act”, that matched the rogue behavior of North Korea.
Some of the missiles had failed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, a response to the visit by US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, that was “disproportionate” and “beyond our understanding”.
“Is this a dangerous act? Of course,” Yamagami said.
Japan’s Ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami. (Nine)
“We are talking about busy maritime routes. So without any prior notification missiles are being shot into those waters.”
‘We are living in an increasingly severe security environment’
The Chinese envoy said his nation was a responsible stakeholder in the international order and spoke of the “opportunity to reset the China-Australia relationship” before laying the blame for all the recent trouble at Australia’s door.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, aircraft of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conduct a joint combat training exercises around Taiwan on Sunday. (AP)
Xiao stressed that Beijing reserves the right to take Taiwan by force, would not apologize for a dangerous intercept of a RAAF plane by a PLA jet fighter in international airspace, and assured the audience that the “basic rights” of two Australians who had been tried in secret were “well protected”.
“Don’t worry about that,” Xiao said.
Yamagami said he found the tone of the address jarring and that China would be judged by its actions.
“This behavior does not match their words,” Yamagami said.
“So we would like to see their deeds and actions matching their words.”
The Japanese envoy said he was deeply troubled by the strategic competition in the region.
“We are living in an increasingly severe security environment,” he said.
You can watch the full interview at the top of the page.
Elden Ring‘s faith stat is pretty flexible to build around, particularly because developer FromSoftware baked so many incantations and spells into the game. Still, it tends to see very little use at high levels, as YouTuber Your Average Gamer put it in an email to Kotaku DotCom, folks claim it’s not as good as other in-game stats like the health-defining vigor. In an effort to prove the masses wrong, Your Average Gamer took their ardent belief in faith and put it to the test. Not only did they take on the hardest difficulty possible, they also absolutely demolished a variety of bosses, including ones like Radagon and the Elden Beast, in a single attack. It’s nuts!
Matthew “Your Average Gamer” Farnkopf is a YouTuber dedicated to putting together “crazy Elden Ring builds.” they’ve got a video on destroying Malenia in 90 seconds, another breaking down the effectiveness of Godrick the Grafted’s Great Axeand a different one on the ultimate status effect build. In short, Matt has spent a lot of time with Elden Ring since it dropped on February 25. And yet, it’s still remarkable they were able to find a one-shot build powerful enough to take out two of the game’s hardest bosses, Radagon of the Golden Order and the Elden Beastwith an assortment of equipment and incantations on New Game Plus Seven, the highest difficulty option Elden Ring currently has to offer. Every round of new game plus retains all your gear and stats while increasing the overall damage output and health pool of the enemies around you, meaning Your Average Gamer’s run is some seriously gnarly shit.
FromSoftware
It looks like Matt’s just throwing things to be throwing things during the fight, but there’s actually an order to the madness. as they explained in a short video detailing what they’ve dubbed the “ultimate PvE build,” Matt first casts the Howl of Shabriri and Golden Vow incantations for some initial status effects, like madness buildup for attack power and attack negation, respectively. They then poison themselves to increase their intelligence stat and temporarily boost lightning attack damage, the latter is especially important when paired with the sole attack spell Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strikea late-game ability you find in the labyrinthine legacy dungeon Crumbling Farum Azula. After a quick buffing session, Matt turns to their gear for even more buffs—the Gravel Stone Seal to up the damage of Dragon Cult/lightning-related incantations, the Jellyfish Shield for 20% increased damage for 30 secondsand the Kindred of Rot’s Exultation Talisman to raise attack power by 20% for 20 seconds when there’s poisoning or rot nearbyamong others—before entering the battle arena to show the final bosses what’s up.
It was curtains once Matt stepped in front of Radagon. They cast the Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike, a multi-hitting attack that sends down several bolts of lightning to strike in a determined area, and watched as the hammer-wielding god’s health bar melted away in seconds. The same thing happened to the colossal Elden Beast, and y’all, I’m gagging RN.
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matt canopy Kotaku over email that they wanted to dispel the myth permeating the game’s community that “faith [builds aren’t] nearly as good as magic.” It took them “nearly 20 hours of trial and error” to find the right combination of gear and incantations to do the necessary damage to slay Radagon and the Elden Beast in one shot, and the results were stunning.
“I was primarily inspired to prove that something that many said couldn’t be done could actually be done…even on the hardest difficulty,” Matt said. “When I pulled this off on Journey Three, that gave me hope that it was technically possible. Once again to prove how powerful faith can be!”
Matt, to put it plainly, loves faith. It’s one of their favorite stats to construct characters around, and a central theme to the game overall. Still, getting things just right to accomplish this feat was quite the headache, something that forced them to “quit two separate times” because of how time-consuming it was becoming. Regardless of the frustrations, Matt said they were “glad [to have] stuck it out” in the end.
“So I’m physically disabled,” Matt said. “I have ongoing day-to-day stomach issues that can get/have gotten severe at times. I had just gotten over a flare-up of Colitis that I had to go to the ER for. After failing so many times throughout several hours, I found myself possibly going back into another flare-up. So I relaxed, calmed myself down, and spaced out my time. From then on I set hours I would do it and took the pressure entirely off myself. The moment I said ‘Okay, if someone else does it that’s fine,’ I was able to relax. Shortly after, I was able to achieve it anyway!”
FromSoftware
Doing a one-shot kill in Elden Ring is impressive but not entirely new. there was one Redditor back in April who killed the notorious Tree Sentinel in one hit and another speedrunner that created a glass-cannon build to bonk bosses with a single swing of their hammer in May. While it may not be that fresh, slaying FromSoftware’s infamously challenging enemies in one hit is still a cool sight to see. I wish I were patient enough to do this.
While Matt’s Beaten Elden Ring several times now, he’s not done with the game. They’re hoping FromSoftware adds new content in the form of “very challenging bosses, much like Dark Souls 3‘s DLC” or “another late game spike that would test us yet again.” Until then, Matt is trekking through the Lands Between once more looking for new builds to experiment with.
“I’ve retired the lightning build/character,” Matt said. “He’s kind of a legacy to me now. I’m starting a new build fresh, and I’m going to focus on exploring and the next cool build I can come up with. Elden Ring is a fantastic game, and the community is amazing! And remember ‘Seek Lightning!’”
It’s worth noting that while FromSoftware dropped patch 1.06 for the game, Matt said their ultimate PvE build is still effective against the game’s bosses. If you want to try out Matt’s full build for yourself, here you go:
Nick Kyrgios’ nine-match winning streak has come to an end at the Montreal Masters, eliminated in the quarter-finals by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
The Wimbledon runner-up lost 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (5/7), 6-1 after coming to the court with 15 victories from his past 16 matches.
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The Australian complained of body soreness after the match, and it was clear he was impacted during proceedings as he tried to keep up the pace of the match in the first two sets before wilting in the final frame.
The Aussie was annoyed as his opponent left the court for a change of clothes at the beginning of the third, saying his body was heavily impacted by the stoppage.
Nick Kyrgios of Australia favors his knee in the match against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland during Day 7 of the National Bank Open at Stade IGA on August 12, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) (Getty)
Players are given a maximum of three minutes once they have entered the toilet while they also receive two minutes for a change of attire.
The issue at many tournaments other than the majors is that the changing room facilities are not near the main arenas and such is the case in Montreal. Hurkacz was gone for nearly eight minutes.
On the live broadcast, Kyrgios vented his frustrations.
“We’re not f—ing machines, bro,” Kyrgios said.
“We can’t just go and stop, go and stop, go and stop.”
The world No.27 was also annoyed at the fact Hurkacz felt a need to change his clothes despite the relatively cool weather.
“No-one needs to change f—ing clothes in f—ing 15 degree heat,” Kyrgios said.
“15 f—ing degrees bro.”
Speaking after the match, a measured Kyrgios explained his frustrations surrounding the change of clothes.
“Obviously when you’re playing and you stop for like five to 10 minutes, it doesn’t help your body,” Kyrgios said.
“My body was so stiff after that, I couldn’t move properly.
“I mean, it’s within the rules. I’m not going to complain. I completely stiffened up.”
Kyrgios reacts after getting the ball over the net for a point. (Getty)
The Aussie said he powered through pain issues in the last week, but it eventually caught up with him.
“My body hasn’t been feeling great the last week,” he said.
“I was feeling the abdominal (muscle) a little bit before the match. My knees hurt.
“I’m not a machine. I’m a human.”
Kyrgios has all but secured a seeding for the US Open, but said he needs to take time out before playing in Cincinnati, and then the US Open, which begins August 29.
“I feel good, but the US Open is still two and a half weeks away. I have Cincinnati next week. That’s all I’m focusing on,” Kyrgios said.
“I’m focusing on today, tonight, recovery, food, then just resting, then Cincinnati. That’s where my mind is at.”
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The backstories and controversies that have ignited feuds involving athletes
Ratepayers in rural Tasmania are being slugged with a medical levy to help prop up GP clinics, prompting fresh calls for the commonwealth to step in.
Key points:
Glamorgan-Spring Bay Mayor Robert Young said the levy was necessary to ensure the municipality’s vulnerable population had access to health care
AMA Tasmania president John Saul said rural practice especially was struggling for funding
He said an urgent review into Medicare funding was required, along with long-term planning
Councils including Glamorgan-Spring Bay, the Huon Valley and the Tasman have had to step in to keep local clinics open, and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) fears more will be forced down the same route unless Medicare funding is increased.
Glamorgan-Spring Bay Mayor Robert Young said the levy was necessary to ensure the municipality’s vulnerable population — where the median age is 56 — has access to health care.
Mr Young said about 60 per cent of the adults in his municipality were either retired or on some sort of government benefit.
“The levy is $90 payable every year by every ratepayer and it’s used to subsidize general practice and to encourage general practitioners to come to the east coast,” he said.
“It costs us between $550,000-$650,000 a year.”
He said not being able to attract doctors put pressure on emergency out-patients, and making a trip to Launceston or Hobart was too much for residents.
Moving closer to population centers was also not an option, he said, because they could not afford the higher rent and housing prices.
“There’s not a house or an apartment to rent that any reasonable person not earning a hell of a lot of money — and most of our people are retirees — to rent, so they couldn’t move back to Hobart.”
Dropping Medicare rebate makes it ‘impossible to bulk bill’
AMA Tasmania president John Saul said rural practice especially was struggling for funding, and it was being reflected in reduced levels of care.
The AMA’s John Saul.(ABC News: Luke Bowden)
“[Councils are] covering for the federal government inadequacies here, and they’re doing a great job, but it can’t keep going on forever,” Dr Saul said.
“We are sadly seeing the Medicare rebate drop so much that it’s impossible to universally bulk bill.
“We will see sections of communities that just won’t be able to afford to see a GP and it’s all the result of a government letting our patients down … [Medicare] has just become such a political football. No party seems to be really addressing the key problems.
“They just seem to be skirting around the edges and hiding from the key issues that are facing GPs and specialists alike who use Medicare.”
He said an urgent review into funding was required, along with long-term planning and “urgent strengthening of Medicare.”
“Our state government is doing their best to plug holes where they can, but we need some really systematic planning to work towards here.
“Years of neglect, we just need to get back on track and get some good planning in place.”
‘Not practical to travel to other clinics’
Tom Teniswood from Triabunna.(ABC News: Luke Bowden)
Tom Teniswood has been a resident at Triabunna for more than 40 years and said it was an unfair burden for local governments to be running GP clinics.
“We do want a medical service but I don’t think the local government are the right agency to be running a medical service,” he said.
“But then again, they are bound to look after the welfare of their contingency.”
He said it was not practical to travel across the state to other clinics.
“You’re an hour away minimum to a doctor in Sorell and their practices are full too.
“And with Sorell expanding the way it is, with new subdivisions going in, and things, they’ll be struggling to find more doctors.”
Federal govt must ‘come to the table’
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Tasmanian government said it “acknowledges the important role that GPs and the primary healthcare sector plays in caring for our community”, but added primary healthcare was “the responsibility of the federal government”
“We are working with the federal minister on what further supports from the federal government are required for the sector here in Tasmania,” it said.
“Recently, the government proposed a bold Primary Healthcare Reform vision to the federal government and we look forward to progressing this proposal through the development of a model to present to the Commonwealth for further discussion.”
The spokesperson said the Tasmanian government had “established a GP after-hours support initiative that provides funding through a grant process to support GPs and pharmacies to offer after-hours services to their local community and ease pressures on hospital emergency departments.
“While the Tasmanian government is doing all it can to assist general practice with innovative solutions, the federal government need to come to the table and provide additional supports and incentives to ensure the long-term sustainability of GP practices.”
The federal government has been approached for comment.
If you missed out on snapping up an NVIDIA Shield TV Pro or Shield TV when they were on sale for record-low prices, there’s some good news. The media streaming devices have dropped back to the same all-time lows at Amazon. The standard is currently $125, which is $25 off the regular price. Its more advanced sibling, the , has dropped to $170, which is a $30 discount.
Buy NVIDIA Shield TV at Amazon – $125
The NVIDIA Shield TV has a compact tube design, which should make it easy to slot somewhere behind your television, but it still makes space for the Tegra X1+ processor. You can control it using voice commands via Alexa and Google Assistant. It comes with a remote control with a voice search function and motion-activated, backlit buttons.
Owners can use it to stream shows, movies and music from the likes of Plex, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, HBO Max, Disney+, Spotify and Apple Music. The Android TV-powered device supports 4K HDR Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos audio and Chromecast streaming. You can also use the device to stream games from NVIDIA GeForce Now and Google Stadia (the Ethernet port should come in especially handy there).
Buy NVIDIA Shield TV Pro at Amazon – $170
The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro has all of those features and more. It might be the way to go if you plan to play Android games from the Google Play Store. It has 3GB of RAM, compared with the Shield TV’s 2GB, and double the storage at 16GB. Storage on both devices is expandable, via microSD on the base model and USB drives on the Pro version. The biggest difference, however, is the fact the Shield TV Pro can be used as a Plex server.
Meanwhile, if you’re not quite sold on NVIDIA’s offerings, another prominent streaming device that might fit the bill is also on sale. Last year’s version of the 32GB Apple TV 4K is , at a third off the regular price of $180.
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