Defense Minister Richard Marles says Australia is not going to challenge the status-quo of the “One China” policy in relation to Taiwan and has refused to weigh into Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the disputed territory.
Speaking on Radio National earlier, Marles said Australia is taking the risk of escalation in the region “very seriously” as a result of China’s live military exercises taking place around Taiwan.
Defense Minister Richard Marles.Credit:James Brickwood
“We’re monitoring events very closely,” the defense minister said.
“Our position, which we’ve said repeatedly over the last few days – but over a long period of time now – is that we want to see is that there’ll be no alteration to the status quo, which exists on either side of the Taiwan Strait.
“And, in that sense, the One China policy – which has been, you know, the bipartisan position of governments of both persuasions in Australia since the 1970s – remains the case.”
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Australia’s One China policy means it does not acknowledge Taiwan as a separate country.
Asked whether Pelosi’s recent diplomatic visit represented a break from that stance, Marles replied that he wasn’t going to comment on the visit as it was a matter between the US and Taiwan.
“We are not about to tell people that they can or can’t go to Taiwan, that’s that’s not our position. And there are many people from the Australian government who are in the Australian parliament who have gone to Taiwan. And, obviously, we have a strong engagement with the people of Taiwan, and that will continue.”
YoIn a conference room at the Sheraton in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, people screamed, whooped, cheered and cried as a vote to protect abortion rights in Kansas’s state constitution came down late on Tuesday night.
And it wasn’t just Democrats.
James Quigley, 72, a retired doctor and a Republican from Johnson county, sat on his own drinking a glass of white wine after hearing the news. “Abortion is a much more nuanced issue than anti-choice individuals would have you think,” he told the Guardian. “It is deeply personal, sometimes tragic, but also sometimes a liberating decision – and we should trust women, their physicians, and their God on that,” he said.
“We could feel it – we’ve been feeling it for weeks,” said Marcia Corbett, 71, a swing voter and local business owner, before the vote came in.
The result had been eagerly awaited, as Kansas was the first state in the country to put abortion rights on the ballot since Roe v Wade, which federally guaranteed them, was overturned by the supreme court. It came after weeks of uncertainty, in a race in which misinformation bounded and tactics got ugly.
Kansas: celebrations after voters uphold right to abortion – video
The victory – and its sheer scale in a usually reliably Republican and socially conservative state like Kansas – has sent shockwaves through the United States and provided a shot in the arm for efforts to protect abortion rights under siege across America.
In Kansas, that fight had gotten dirty. On Tuesday, a former Republican congressman was linked to messages targeting voters with an anonymous, misleading text encouraging people to vote yes to protect abortion – when in fact a yes vote would have overturned a constitutional right to abortion. Vandals also spray-painted the walls of a Catholic church weeks earlier, with the phrase, “My body, my choice.”
Nor had victory seemed certain on the day of the vote.
On Tuesday, as voting began, the mood seemed amicable in Douglas county on a hot, sticky day, where temperatures consistently threatened to hit the hundreds. Polling booths in Lawrence and Eudora saw a steady drip of voters, even in the middle of the day, with dozens of voters lining up to vote at any given time. Many were unaffiliated, but turned up just to vote in the referendum.
At the Eudora community center in Douglas county, Patrick Perry, 43, a mechanic and registered Republican, said he was voting no. A veteran who had fought in Iraq, he said he was voting due to his own “personal circumstances” – his wife needed an abortion in a medical emergency during their marriage, in a pregnancy that would have otherwise taken her life. But he didn’t expect Kansas to side with him. “We’re a Republican state,” he said. “And we don’t generally vote that way.”
But on a night of huge turnout, Kansas voted to protect abortion in the state’s constitution, with the no vote securing a whopping 59% to 41% of the anti-abortion movement.
At the beginning of the night, the mood had been cautiously hopeful at the Kansas for Constitutional Freedom event in Overland Park, with the no vote ahead from the start. “We’re in the lead, and it’s not better than yes!” a young girl said to her mother de ella, from next-door Missouri. The two had been canvassing together for weeks.
The Democratic congresswoman Sharice Davids stood up to speak early in the night, telling the audience of about 100 people: “The [supreme court] decision definitely felt like a gut punch to a lot of people in our community … But we stood up and got to work.”
Following speeches, all eyes in the room were on a television projection blaring MSNBC’s election statistics guru Steve Kornacki, whose voice was barely audible over the sounds of people chattering, drinking and bursting into cheers whenever a county’s no vote was called.
“Imagine how good we are going to feel when we beat the anti-abortion movement and the Republicans, who lied at every turn,” state congresswoman Stephanie Clayton said.
“I feel really good right now,” said Leslie Butsch, who had tears in her eyes by 8.30pm. She was watching as the vote in Johnson county first showed signs of leaning heavily towards no, after weeks of spending her evenings knocking on doors there. An hour later, when the result came through, she was one of the few people without a celebratory drink in her hand – she’d just spent all her cash from her tipping the bar staff in a flurry of happiness.
“I feel overwhelmed with gratitude. Today we learned that organizers are more powerful than ever. We did the impossible,” she said.
Voters mark their ballots during the primary election and abortion referendum at a Wyandotte county polling station in Kansas City, Kansas. Photograph: Eric Cox/Reuters
State Senator Dinah Sykes burst into tears when the vote was called, covering her mouth and showing friends goosebumps on her arms. “It’s just amazing. It’s breathtaking that women’s voices were heard and [that] we care about women’s health,” she said.
She knew that the vote would be close in a state that gave Trump a 15 percentage point lead over Biden in the 2020 election. “But we were close in a lot of rural areas and that really made the difference – I’m just so grateful,” she said.
Ashley All, the spokesperson for KCF, said the success of their campaign was testament to non-partisanship – and other states should take heed. “It will be interesting for other states to watch this, and see this is not a partisan issue,” she said.
Joe Biden made a statement on the result late on Tuesday. “Voters in Kansas turned out in record numbers to reject extreme efforts to amend the state constitution to take away a woman’s right to choose and open the door for a statewide ban,” the president said.
“This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own healthcare decisions.”
Meanwhile, the defeated anti-abortion group Kansans for Life sent out an email to supporters following the vote, sharing their dismay. For a movement that has been on the rise in America – since before Roe was overturned, and after – it was clear they had suffered a powerful blow.
“The mainstream media propelled the left’s false narrative, contributing to the confusion that misled Kansans about the amendment,” he said, and vowed to fight on. “Our movement and campaign have proven our resolve and commitment. We will not abandon women and babies.”
Charisma Amoe-Tarrant, Australia’s strongest woman, says her super-heavyweight weightlifting medal can be celebrated by both her country of choice and of her birth, Nauru, after winning bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
The Tokyo Olympian, who won silver for the small Pacific Island nation at the Gold Coast four years ago, finished third in a dramatic session at Birmingham’s NEC, behind England’s flag-bearer Emily Campbell, who hoisted a Games record 286kg to win.
Charisma Amoe Tarrant performs a clean and jerk during the women’s 87+kg final on day six of the Birmingham Commonwealth GamesCredit:Getty Images
An emotional Amoe-Tarrant looked skyward after the lift that catapulted her from the also-rans and onto the podium, signaling towards the heavens in memory of her late mother, whose death when she was 12 prompted her family’s relocation to Australia, and a close uncle who recently died.
“I couldn’t help looking up to both up there. All the lifts were for them,” she said afterwards.
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Amoe-Tarrant, 25, began weightlifting at the age of 11, under the tutelage of her uncle, who was a coach at a weightlifting gym. She was a field athlete, training in shot put and discus before her uncle de ella asked her to train in the weightlifting gym, where she fell in love with the sport.
She spent her early childhood in Nauru, where her mum struggled with kidney problems. Without a transplant, her mother de ella died in 2009, and Amoe-Tarrant’s grandparents, Rick and Thelma, promised to bring the family to Australia. She became a citizen in 2016.
“At the end of the day, I’m Australian and I’m also Nauran, so I’m representing both countries. I’m proud to be Australian and I’m also proud to be Nauran – and no one can take that away from me.
The154kg powerhouse produced a magnificent performance in the over-87kg category despite admitting to having felt “a lot of pressure” following recent knee and elbow injuries that were still troubling her.
When the national State of the Environment report was released a fortnight ago – an important report that told “a story of crisis and decline”, according to federal minister Tanya Plibersek – it had been delayed for around six months.
Key points:
The Tasmanian State of the Environment report is supposed to be released every five years, but one hasn’t been released since 2009
The Australia Institute Tasmania said RTI documents “reveal that no material progress has been made towards the preparation of a State of the Environment report”
Planning Minister Michael Ferguson said the government was “undertaking a review of the reporting requirements”
Specifically for Tasmania, the report highlighted the pressures of climate change, including abrupt changes in ecological systems, affecting things like giant kelp forests, agriculture and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and also touched on the impact of humans on the endangered Tasmanian devil. .
But its delayed release after it was handed to the Morrison government in December last year is nothing on the Tasmanian State of the Environment report, which was last seen 13 years ago — missing its last two reports, in 2014 and 2019.
That is despite legislation (the State Policies and Projects Act 1993) stating the Tasmanian Planning Commission must produce a report every five years.
The Act says the report should cover the condition of the environment, trends and changes in the environment, the achievement of resource management objectives, and recommendations for future environmental management.
The Planning Minister should then present it to parliament within a speedy 15 days.
So where is it?
We’ve done a deep dive to try to answer that question.
The most recent report was in 2009, which said the Tasmanian Planning Commission’s top priority over the next five years was to “improve the standard of land use planning and to ensure that Tasmania’s sustainable development objectives are furthered as far as possible”.
“This SOE Report is a first step to facilitate that change without losing our baseline environmental performance data and reporting framework,” it said.
“This will be achieved through a number of mechanisms including performing its statutory roles and functions effectively and efficiently in accordance with section 29 of the State Policies and Projects Act 1993 and the Tasmanian Planning Commission Act 1997.”
So, basically: future reports were considered important. However, since then, there has been radio silence.
Tasmania’s environment is world-renowned.(ABC News: Peta Carlyon)
RTI documents reveal ‘no material progress has been made’
The Australia Institute Tasmania has been on the case, submitting a Right to Information (RTI) request.
Institute director Eloise Carr said the RTI documents showed a “complete disregard for the law by the Tasmanian Planning Commission and a lack of oversight by the government”.
“They reveal that no material progress has been made towards the preparation of a State of the Environment report and that the Planning Commission as statutory authority appears to have made a decision not to comply with the law, which requires it to produce these reports every five years,” she said.
“The Minister for Planning, who is responsible for receiving the State of the Environment Reports, has not intervened. The Department of Justice, which has responsibility for administering the Tasmanian Planning Commission has not intervened.
“The Environment Minister appears to have been absolved from his responsibilities to the environment.”
Planning Commission executive commissioner John Ramsay stated in an email released as part of the RTI documents that the reasons for the failure to produce a report “are somewhat elusive”.
“Whatever the rationale, when the Commission initiated some action of the SoE a couple of years (sic) back, the outcome … was a recommendation to the Minister that the Commission no longer be responsible for SoE,” he wrote.
“Shortly after that, the review of the Commission was undertaken, and it also recommended that SoE not be part of the Commission responsibilities. That recommendation and the rest of the review recommendations have not to my knowledge been resolved.”
Ms Carr said the national report showed the impacts of the changing climate and highlighted its importance.
“We know there’s a global hotspot of warming off the east coast of Tasmania, we know that we’ve had several high impact fire seasons since the last SoE report, we know that industries are increasing their size and their impacts,” she said.
“And without accurate data, how can we make decisions about how we manage the impacts on the environment? It’s like flying blind.”
The national report highlighted how climate change is affecting Tasmania’s environment.(Supplied: Arko Lucieer)
Government ‘currently reviewing reporting requirements’
The State of the Environment Report website offers little insight.
It states: “Over recent years the Commission has conducted internal reviews on meeting the SoE requirement, identifying a need for a policy review of the SoE legislation. In 2019, the Commission formally recommended that such a review be undertaken.”
But there is no detail about the gaping hole where reports should have been released in 2014 and 2019. The website said the review was started in late 2019 but no further updates have been provided.
Planning Minister Michael Ferguson had little to say on the matter.
“The Tasmanian State of the Environment sits with the Tasmanian Planning Commission, but given its statutory roles and responsibilities, it is widely recognized as not the most appropriate authority for this work,” he said in a written statement said.
“The government is currently undertaking a review of the reporting requirements, the format of the report and the most suitable authority for the work and will include extensive public consultation.
“I understand that a number of Tasmanian government agencies contributed to the Commonwealth State of Environment report.”
The Walls of Jerusalem, part of Central Tasmania’s spectacular natural environment(ABC News: Rick Eaves)
Planning Commission ‘effectively hog-tied by government failure’: Greens
Tasmanian Greens environmental spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff laid the blame for the lack of reports on successive Liberal governments, which have held power since 2014.
“The Tasmanian Planning Commission is guilty of not doing the SoE assessment – but it’s been effectively hog-tied by the Liberals’ failure to provide the necessary information, or to resource this demanding, important body of work,” she said.
“The multiple agency failures to deliver a report for 13 years are a deliberate tactic to hide the evidence of the impact of Liberal policies on the health of Tasmania’s environment.
“They’d be confronted with the evidence that they’re trashing the place.”
According to the lawsuit, the National Archives learned of Navarro’s private account from the House committee investigating the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which obtained messages from the previously unknown email address.
Between 200 and 250 of the emails on Navarro’s private account should have been given to the National Archives, prosecutors say.
Navarro, however, did not copy these messages to his official government email account, according to prosecutors, and when the archivist attempted to contact Navarro in order to secure these records, Navarro did not respond.
The lawsuit is a bold and unusual enforcement move by the Justice Department’s Federal Programs Branch — which pursues civil, not criminal, matters — to strike at allegedly sloppy federal records maintenance during the Trump administration.
Public records advocates have long taken issue with lost, never-created or deleted records, but the Justice Department has rarely sued former administration officials over the Presidential Records Act.
“Mr. Navarro has refused to return any Presidential records that he retained absent a grant of immunity for the act of returning such documents,” the lawsuit says, adding that Navarro “is wrongfully retaining Presidential records that are the property of the United States, and which constitute part of the permanent historical record of the prior administration.”
The lawsuit says that Justice Department officials attempted to negotiate with Navarro and his legal team to obtain a copy of the emails, but Navarro refused unless he was given “a grant of immunity” in exchange. It is not clear what Navarro wanted immunity from.
The former trade adviser is facing separate contempt of Congress charges after failing to comply with a subpoena by the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021. In July, Navarro rejected a plea offer, claiming that former President Donald Trump told him he was covered by executive privilege.
Navarro’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Over the past few years of Emily Campbell’s life, as it has transformed beyond recognition, she has spent her time methodically expanding her list of triumphs. She is already the only British woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal, snatching an unforgettable silver in Tokyo last year.
Campbell is a world championships bronze medalist and two-time European champion. As the Commonwealth Games began, she entered Alexander Stadium as England’s flag bearer, a face of the Games.
And now she is one of her champions. In a show of spectacular dominance, she became the Commonwealth Games gold medalist for the first time in the women’s 87+kg division. Campbell produced a faultless performance under immense pressure, moving through her six lifts with skill and power, producing personal bests across the board.
“Some would say it was a perfect Games,” she said. “To walk out the crowd in the opening ceremony was immense for a start. To lead out the home nation in a home Games is a very, very special privilege. The reason why we come here was to perform on the stage. To get that perfect performance on the stage? Yeah, you could call that a perfect Games.”
As Campbell strode into the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham with her arms outstretched, her hair braided in red and white buns, the tightly packed crowd roared her name. Her biggest competition was the defending champion Feagaiga Stowers, who at 17 years old in 2018 had outperformed Campbell to win gold for Samoa in the previous Games on the Gold Coast of Australia.
After the rest of the field competed for the minor positions in the snatch competition, the duel began. Campbell tore off her headphones, which had been blaring out bashment and soca, then she walked into the arena for her opening snatch lift. After initially electing her de ella first lift de ella as 115kg, she increased her opening weight to 117kg. She was ready.
Emily Campbell in the women’s 87+kg weightlifting final Photograph: Andrew Cornaga/EPA
She lifted her first attempt cleanly, which Stowers swiftly matched. At 121kg, Campbell punctuated her successful attempt by sticking her tongue out to the crowd with the weight above her head. Stowers, however, initially faltered at 121kg before lifting it in her final attempt. Campbell marched on, shattering her personal best of her with a lift of 124kg, pumping both of her fists and yelling.
They returned later for the clean and jerk, with Stowers first laboring through a difficult opening lift of 147kg and then failing both of her subsequent attempts at 154kg. While Stowers struggled, Campbell soared. She cleared 152kg with ease, which was enough for her victory after Stowers’s failed lifts.
But she kept on going. She easily completed 157kg. Then she signaled for 162kg, one kilo above her silver‑medal lift in Tokyo, her personal best of her. She began her routine: after pressing down her palms to calm herself and rolling her shoulders backwards, she gripped the bar, drove her legs and extended her arms, driving home a personal best for an overall Commonwealth Games record of 286kg.
Over these past few years, as her success has endured, life has changed immensely for Campbell. She had famously arrived at the Olympics still splitting her time between weightlifting and self-funding her career as a receptionist. Now she is a full-time athlete with lottery funding, finally able to devote everything to her craft de ella. The gains are plain to see and they have enabled her to envision even loftier successes.
“It means that I can move closer to the gym now, I’ve got a real plan in place, a real team around me now,” she said. “Pushing forward towards Paris because we’ve got eyes on another medal in Paris. We want to do everything we can to make sure we’re there in the best shape possible. It’s not gonna be an easy ride.”
Before the competition, Precious McKenzie, the legendary former weightlifter, was ushered on to the stage where he was greeted by the audience. Campbell said he had also visited her before the competition, giving her some clear words of advice. “His words from him to me before I came out today: ‘Everyone’s expecting to win. You go out and win.’” And she did.
Jostling is underway for the deputy leadership of the New South Wales Liberal Party after the resignation of Stuart Ayres from cabinet yesterday.
The main contenders so far are: Treasurer Matt Kean, Transport Minister David Elliott, Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward and the Science, Innovation and Technology and Skills and Training Minister Alister Henskens.
Mr Ayres resigned from his portfolios and leadership position in the Liberal Party after an inquiry “raised concerns” about his conduct in the appointment of John Barilaro to a lucrative US trade role.
The deputy leadership will be determined at a party room meeting next Tuesday.
Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced three New South Wales ministers will have their portfolios expanded to take over Mr Ayres’s ministerial responsibilities.
Mr Henskens will also add Enterprise, Investment and Trade and Sport to his list of portfolios.
Ben Franklin — who already is Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for the Arts, and Minister for Regional Youth — will add Minister for Tourism to his portfolio.
David Elliott — who is Minister for Transport and Minister for Veterans Affairs — will add Minister for Western Sydney to his portfolio.
Aboriginal inmates on rise
New data reveals Aboriginal people remain over-represented in NSW jails.
Bureau of Crime Statistics figures show the overall number of prisoners dropped since the start of the COVID pandemic, with around 1,000 fewer inmates than three years ago.
However the number of Aboriginal men in jail has risen by more than 100 and they are now 28 per cent of the jail population.
Aboriginal women make up 40 per cent of the state’s jail population.
Police release images in murder probe
Police have released images of a man and woman who may have seen something that can help their investigation. (Supplied: NSW Police)
Detectives have released images of two people they believe could help with their investigations into the murder of Western Sydney man Shady Kanj.
Shortly after 11pm on Friday, August 6, Mr Kanj was treated for gun shot wounds by paramedics on Rhodes Avenue, Guildford.
Despite their efforts, Mr Kanj died at the scene.
Strike force detectives have released CCTV of a man and woman in a white Audi Q5 captured at a fast-food restaurant on the corner of Vaughan Street and Olympic Drive at Lidcombe prior to the murder.
They do not believe the man and woman were involved in the murder, however, they may have information that could assist with inquiries.
Homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty urged the man and woman, or those with knowledge of their identities, to come forward.
Premier criticized over Leichhardt snub
Leichhardt Oval is set to miss out on redevelopment funding.(AAP Images: Craig Golding)
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has been criticized for committing more than $300 million to rebuilding Penrith Stadium while ignoring Leichhardt Oval.
NRL boss Peter V’landys said the government had reneged on a promise to upgrade a number of suburban grounds.
Inner-West Deputy Mayor Jessica D’Arienzo said that it was despite more games and more sports being played at Leichhardt.
“It means that, again, Leichhardt misses out,” Ms D’Arienzo said.
“We should make it clear that it’s not just the Tigers that play there. Actually, you’ve got soccer, the rugby league and rugby union. We’ve got around 50 to 60 games a year being played on Leichhardt oval.”
Call for flood report’s release
NSW Labor’s Jihad Dib wants the findings released.(abcnews)
The New South Wales government has been criticized by the opposition for failing to release the findings of an inquiry into the floods earlier this year.
Severe weather and flooding devastated the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury Nepean regions in February and March.
Premier Dominic Perrottet was due to release the final report from the inquiry on July 31.
Opposition emergency services and climate and environment spokesperson Jihad Dib said Mr Perrottet must put aside political issues within his party and release the report immediately.
“Local communities that are devastated by the floods are not interested in the government’s internal rumblings,” he said.
“What they’re interested in is a report that identifies what went wrong and a pathway forward into the future.
“He needs to release the report now rather than when its politically expedient to do so.”
Empty CBD offices
The number of empty offices in Sydney’s CBD has risen, which the property council says is due to an increase in supply.
Office vacancies in the CBD have risen from 9.3 per cent to 10.1 per cent, according to the Property Council of Australia’s latest Office Market Report.
The council says that, while vacancies have risen, the figures are actually positive, given the pressures of COVID-19, working from home and industrial action.
Property Council executive director Luke Achterstraat said there was still strong commercial property confidence in Sydney.
Thredbo cancels lift operations
Damaging winds averaging 80 to 90 kilometers per hour are forecast. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
Thredbo resort has made the decision not to operate any ski lifts on Thursday due to an extreme weather forecast.
A complex low pressure system, along with an associated through and cold front, are causing vigorous winds across south-east New South Wales, as well as the potential for heavy rainfall from Thursday morning.
Damaging winds averaging 80-90 kilometers per hour are forecast for Alpine areas above 1,900 meters.
Five teenagers charged after stabbing
Police have charged five teenagers after a stabbing at Bankstown in South-West Sydney.
About 3:15pm yesterday, emergency services were called to Chapel Road, where they found a 15-year-old boy with stab wounds, who they took to hospital.
Two other 15-year-old boys were also injured.
Five teenagers aged between 15 and 16 years were arrested.
The five were taken to Bankstown Police Station, where all were charged with reckless wounding in company, and affray.
They were refused bail and are due to appear before a Children’s Court on Thursday.
The severe thunderstorm scenario for this afternoon and evening is becoming clearer. Here is the likely scenario for timing and location of the line of storms.
The new severe thunderstorm outlook is out, issued at 12:30 this Wednesday afternoon. The area for possible severe weather has been expanded southeast somewhat. Ann Arbor and the Detroit area are now also in the chance of severe thunderstorms.
Here are the latest outlines of where each type of severe weather could occur this afternoon and evening.
Overall chance of severe weather now includes most of southeast Lower Michigan.
The tornado chance now includes all of southeast and south-central Lower Michigan.
Tornado chance forecast for this afternoon and evening gives a two percent chance of a tornado within 25 miles of any point in the green shaded area.
The previous tornado forecast shown below, updated at 8:40 this morning, didn’t have southeast Lower in the area possibly affected by a tornado.
Tornado chance forecast from earlier forecast issued at 8:40 am today did not have Ann Arbor and Detroit in area
This is expected to be a line of thunderstorms, so straight-line winds are still the most likely form of severe weather.
Severe wind gust forecast for this afternoon and evening now includes Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Isolated large hail is possible, but is not expected to be a widespread type of severe weather.
Large hail forecast for this afternoon and evening has only a five percent chance of one inch hail.
Earlier it was hard to tell if we would have one, two or three lines of thunderstorms, and which line would be the severe thunderstorm line. Now as we get into early afternoon, I feel the weather picture is clearer. It appears like we will have one main line of thunderstorms, and that would also be the severe line of storms.
Here’s the latest radar forecast from the model that is best at forecasting thunderstorms in the next 12 hours.
Radar forecast from 1 pm to 10 pm today, August 3.
The scenario looks to be one line of thunderstorms that progresses southeast through this afternoon and evening. Over the last few months, these models have been an hour or two too late on forecasting the storm lines. This is probably the case here. You can take the look of the storms, but figure they could be an hour or two earlier than the model forecasts.
Here is the always updated radar, showing the line of storms already forming as of 1:00 pm across the middle of Lower Michigan. You can also see the line of storms becoming severe across southern Wisconsin as of 1:00 pm
Here are some estimated windows of time for the severe storms.
Grand Rapids and Muskegon to Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and the northern Thumb should be in the storms between 1 pm and 5 pm
The line of storms shifts southeast into Kalamazoo, Lansing, Jackson and Flint sometime between 3 pm and 7 pm
The severe storms then finally move into Ann Arbor, Oakland County and the entire Detroit area between 5 pm and 9 pm
An isolated tornado is possible. This is more likely what I call a “commonsense” severe weather outbreak. The line of thunderstorms could have segments of 60 mph to 65 mph wind likes. As the storms move toward your location, move into the middle of a sturdy building like a house or business. Stay away from windows as the storms move through.
Like the MLive Facebook page and allow notifications. If the weather becomes widespread severe, I will broadcast live and keep you updated on the movement and severity of the storms. Also, join the Michigan Weather Facebook group to get lesser severe weather updates in short posts.
After missing the entire England series through injury, Waratahs forward Jed Holloway looks set to earn his Wallabies debut against Argentina.
Wide World of Sports can reveal Holloway will be named to start at blindside flanker for Australia in Sunday morning’s (AEST) opening Rugby Championship clash, in Mendoza.
The 29-year-old was tipped to win his maiden gold jumper against England in July, but an untimely injury saw him miss all three games of Australia’s series loss to Eddie Jones’ side.
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Having overcome a minor calf injury, Holloway will finally get the opportunity to represent his country.
Although capable of playing lock, blindside flanker or No.8, Holloway has spent the 2021 Super Rugby Pacific season in the second row for New South Wales.
Jed Holloway of the Waratahs fends off Richie Mo’unga of the Crusaders. (Getty)
His selection in the No.6 jersey will give the Wallabies almost a third lock, and with it extra height and options in the lineout.
Holloway’s well-known physical style will be useful to combat Los Pumas’ notorious abrasiveness.
Holloway is expected to pack down in the back row alongside captain Michael Hooper, and No.8 Rob Valetini.
Hailing from northern NSW, Holloway made his Waratahs debut in 2013 under then coach, Michael Cheika – the man now in charge of this weekend’s opponent.
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Commonwealth Games in pictures: Fighter left in tears after coach calls off fight
An aged care advocate wants the federal government to support facilities in rural and remote areas to have registered nurses, rather than giving them an exemption to the requirement.
Key points:
Proposed aged care reforms would mean registered nurses would need to be in aged care facilities at all times
Rural aged care facilities want more information about how exemptions will be applied
Many rural facilities are finding it difficult to recruit staff
Labor’s aged care reforms include a requirement for there to be a registered nurse (RN) on-site at aged care facilities at all times, but there will be exemptions for rural facilities that are unable to find staff.
Charles Sturt University academic Maree Bernoth acknowledged the regional workforce shortages but said the government was taking an “easy” option.
“Our older people in rural areas deserve the same standards of care as everywhere else,” Dr Bernoth said.
Maree Bernoth wants a long-term strategy to recruit and retain nurses in aged care.(ABC Riverina: Emily Doak)
“We shouldn’t be looking for a lesser standard or a lesser qualification of people working with our rural older people than is available in metropolitan areas.”
A Senate committee is considering the proposed legislation for 24-7 registered nursing in aged care and will report back at the end of August.
Paul Sadler of the Aged and Community Care Association said exemptions were necessary, particularly for facilities in rural and regional areas.
Paul Sadler from the Aged and Community Care Providers Association is lobbying for clarity around exemptions.(Source: Paul Sadler Twitter)
“In particular we don’t want the process of making it mandatory to have a registered nurse 24-7 mean at the end of the day that small aged care homes in country towns have to close because they fail to do that,” Mr Sadler said.
RNs ‘like hen’s teeth’
At Hillston in south western NSW, the community-run aged care facility has first-hand experience of the challenges in recruiting a registered nurse.
Board member John McKeon said the first registered nurse for the 18-bed facility was employed last year after but finding her somewhere to live was also a problem.
“It’s very hard to get accommodation for people, especially out of town people,” Mr McKeon said.
“The manager we have now has to live in a caravan park which is far from satisfactory.
“It’s almost double the cost to have a nurse on your staff as it is a standard care worker, if we need to have more than one nurse it’s going to cost a lot more money and we would struggle without government assistance.”
It is a similar story at Coleambally, also in southern NSW, where the not-for-profit aged care home provides 18 beds for full-time residents and one for respite service.
Manager of Cypress View Lodge at Coleambally, Karen Hodgson is calling for more detail about the aged care reforms.(Supplied: Karen Hodgson)
Manager Karen Hodgson said she was lucky to have two part-time registered nurses.
“Registered nurses are just like hen’s teeth, they’re just not out there, they’re certainly not in our community but they are not even the wider community,” she said.
Concern for the future
Ms Hodgson said there had been no detail about how the proposed exemptions to the aged care reforms would be applied.
“We just want to keep providing the excellent care that we do but I worry about these 19 people; what’s going to happen to them,” she said.
“We run here so that the elderly in our community can stay here, so that they don’t have to go to the nearest town, which is 50 minutes away… My concern is where do they go if we shut our doors? “
Dr Bernoth said long-term strategies were needed to tackle the underlying problem of workforce shortages.
“In our smaller centers we need to think about reliability and certainty of employment, accommodation once they’re there, and a career pathway for them,” Dr Bernoth said.
“I would suggest we think of a another model … where a team of registered nurses might be able to move around a number of smaller facilities.”
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