the sun-herald revealed that under the terms of Hasler’s two-year deal, Manly require a top-eight finish this season to trigger an automatic extension for 2024.
Sources with knowledge of the situation have indicated those terms have been revisited in talks between Manly management and Hasler’s agent George Mimis recently. Discussions took place before seven Manly players stood themselves down from NRL duties on religious and cultural grounds over the club’s ‘Everyone in League’ rainbow jersey.
‘Everyone has been brave here, including the chairman, the coach, Daly Cherry-Evans, the players who didn’t play – everyone has been brave.’
Tony Mestrov
The Sea Eagles’ subsequent loss to the Roosters has left them two points adrift of the top eight and in desperate need of a win over Parramatta on Friday.
Manly’s playing group assembled at their Brookvale base on Sunday morning for a “clear the air session”, according to Penn.
Penn insisted on Sunday that Hasler is under no pressure to keep his position, though he declined to comment on specific performance clauses in his contract.
“I’m not going to go into detail, but we’ve always said that Des is here as long as he wants to be and as long as the team’s performing,” Penn told the herald. “He’s not in any danger and we’re competing to make the finals.
Incoming Manly chief executive Tony Mestrov.
“If we were competing for the wooden spoon it would be a different story, but we’re tenth and we’ve got to win at least four, if not five, out of our last five games and that’s what we’re focused on right now.
“We won’t entertain any discussions with Des until the off-season and he’s on contract for 2023 as it is.”
A surprise top-four appearance last season triggered a monetary bonus in Hasler’s deal, which was originally negotiated with one eye to the two-time premiership winner’s next move beyond coaching.
Penn reiterated that an off-field role for Hasler whenever his time as head coach wraps up remains the plan, with specifics around a coaching director or consulting role yet to be revisited since.
Manly’s precarious place on the ladder leaves them fighting for a final spot over the next five weeks.Credit:Getty
“There’s always been discussions to have Des on board for as long as he wants to be,” Penn said. “The most important thing as people come toward the end of their career, you do look at how you transition and when they transition.
“That’s been considered previously but right now, we’re not even there yet. The focus is this year and ends.”
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Meanwhile, the ‘Sea Eagles Seven’ were advised to stay away from last Thursday’s home game against the Roosters amid police fears around crowd backlash.
The players concerned met with Penn and Manly officials last Thursday to discuss their stand-down and the lack of direct consultation from the club around the jersey.
They also trained together last week but Sunday was the first time they have re-joined the wider playing group with an eye to salvaging the Sea Eagles finals bid.
“There was a plan for the guys to get together, have a chat and a clear-the-air session,” Penn said.
“There aren’t any major dramas, it’s just that it was a very busy week and there hasn’t been a chance for everyone to get together and have a chat.”
Stream the NRL Premiership 2022 live and free on 9Now.
Tambikos Driss and his daughter Grace sleep all year round in the tropical heat of the Northern Territory, besides large industrial fans to save on power.
The single father now limits the days he uses the washing machine, and has stopped cooking food in the oven to keep the bills down.
“Last night I didn’t go to sleep, I sat up all night thinking, how am I going to manage this fortnight,” he said.
Tambikos is now cutting back on using his oven to save on power. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Soaring inflation is pushing the cost of living up across the country, with warnings prices will get worse before they get better.
Consumer prices rose 6.1 per cent for the year to June this week, and another interest rate decision is expected on Tuesday.
Mr Driss, who lives in public housing in Palmerston, outside Darwin, said eating meat was now “out of the question”, and he’s buying frozen vegetables to keep his grocery bill down.
“I have my power bill to pay… my groceries, I have a car registration to come,” he said.
“It’s always a worry you know, [thinking]am I going to have enough next week and if I don’t have enough, where do I go?
Tambikos Driss says the cost of living is hitting his neighborhood of Palmerston especially hard.(ABC News: Michael Franchi )
Tambikos is worried about his family’s future.(ABC News: Michael Franchi )
Mr Driss knows what it’s like to hit rock bottom – at his lowest point he had a stint in prison, after taking drugs and sleeping rough on the streets.
But after turning his life around, and now looking after his daughter who has special needs, he never imagined life “on the right side” would be so hard to keep the lights on and the fridge full.
He called himself a “proud man”, but had been left with no choice but to take offers of free pantry items, like pasta and rice, from a local charity to fill the gaps.
“All I see in the supermarkets is just the prices going up, at some stage people won’t be able to buy,” he said.
Salvation Army Team Leader Jamie-Leigh Barnard (left) says there’s been a huge jump in the number of people seeking help. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Charities hit with a storm of new faces in trouble
Beneath a dark shopping center car park in Darwin’s north, the city’s homeless meet for a hot coffee at the break of dawn each week.
The event is organized by Jamie-Leigh Barnard, who manages the Doorways Program with the Salvation Army in the Northern Territory.
“A lot of our clients are feeling hopeless,” she said.
“They are feeling that there isn’t a way out this current climate and that they are drowning and there isn’t a rescue boat anywhere in sight.”
Salvation Army’s Jamie-Leigh Barnard says the rising cost of living is forcing more people to sleep rough.(ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Working at the coalface of homelessness in the Northern Territory for six years, Ms Barnard said 2022 has been the worst year yet.
She blamed the rising cost of living for pushing more people out of communities onto the street.
“In the last month we’ve seen a 72 per cent increase in the number of clients that have attended our sites in Darwin city, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” she said.
Ms Barnard said the price of food in remote communities was “insane” and not sustainable.
“I had a friend who recently went to the Tiwi Islands and a tin of baby formula cost $60.
“So people come into Darwin wanting to get formula, blankets and clothing at a cheaper cost but then they get stuck.”
Adding to the pressure is the decision by some electricity retailers to end COVID-19 moratoriums on overdue bills.
“We’ve seen clients attend our centers with [power] bills of upwards to $5000, and the payment facilities on those bills are exorbitant,” Ms Barnard said.
“We have clients that are at risk of electricity disconnection, eviction, they’re at risk of homelessness … we do all we can but it’s a dire situation.”
Ready to pitch a tent with nowhere to go
Further south in Katherine, Leah Burch and her partner Darrell Lee have been in a race to find a rental property within their budget.
Leah Burch and Darrell Lee have spent over a month trying to find an affordable home to rent in Katherine.(ABC News: Pete Garnish )
The couple have months to move out of the home they’ve lived in for six years because the owner wants to renovate.
But finding another rental, let alone one that’s affordable, has been near impossible, and the stress has taken its toll.
The couple is preparing for the worst.
“I’m even considering moving into a caravan park and setting up our tent to live in, that’s the way I look at the market at the moment,” Mr Lee said.
Katherine’s vacancy rate has hit 0 per cent.(ABC News: Michael Franchi)
Despite the pressure, they still call themselves the “lucky ones” to have secure employment and each other, and don’t know how others on lower incomes are getting by.
“It’s horrible, terrible… the amount of money that people are paying just to have a roof over their head,” Ms Burch said.
“The ones that are lucky enough to be able to afford the rent, it’s enjoyable for them, but you feel for the ones that can’t.”
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
A group of Washington Post opinion writers ranked who they believe would be the Democratic nominee for president in 2024 on Friday if President Biden doesn’t run for reelection.
“Well, President Biden is who we’ve got, and he’s who the Democrats have got going into 2024. Unless …” the article said. The opinion columnists on the “Post Pundit Power Ranking” ranked Vice President Kamala Harris as most likely to win the Democratic nomination. They describe her as the most obvious choice of her, but columnist Megan McArdle said she was also “charmless, gaffe-prone and not particularly beloved by voters.”
Jennifer Rubin wrote that “it would be shocking if the incumbent vice president didn’t run.”
The second most likely to win the Democratic nomination, according to the Post columnists, is Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
BIDEN’S 2024 INTENTIONS DON’T STOP POTENTIAL DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CONTENDERS FROM RAISING THEIR PROFILES
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a meeting with Guatemalan justice sector leaders, in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex, Wednesday, May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ((AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta))
“Nobody is smarter, nobody is better in a debate. The deficiencies that hampered Buttigieg in 2020 — he was so young, he had never run anything bigger than a small Midwestern city — are taken care of,” Eugene Robinson wrote.
Hugh Hewitt praised Buttigieg’s ability to answer questions from the media.
“He’s still smooth as silk on air and online, and he has a campaign in waiting. Democrats need someone who can win arguments, not sputter through cliches and talking points, all while being under 60,” Hewitt wrote.
Democratic lawmakers have spoken out against the president’s bid for reelection in recent weeks as some are concerned with Biden’s age and plummeting approval rating. A New York Times/Siena College poll from June found that 64% of Democratic voters want a different nominee in 2024.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif, was next on the Washington Post columnists’ list.
“Given his state’s makeup, Newsom is free to sign all kinds of progressive legislation, contrasting the national party’s failures,” Greg Sargent wrote, adding that his efforts to respond to the Supreme Court’s abortion decision will appear to voters angered by recent decisions.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 09: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a bill signing ceremony. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
DEMOCRATS GRUMBLE OPENLY ABOUT BIDEN’S AGE, EFFECTIVENESS AS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION LOOMS
Columnist Matt Bai argued that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., was the party’s strongest candidate. She was ranked as the fourth choice, followed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., Sen. Raphael Warnock, DG.A., Sen. Cory Booker, DN.J., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
“If Biden doesn’t run (and I really think he won’t), hypothetically, the party’s strongest candidate would be Whitmer,” Bai said. “She’s media savvy and she has a record to run on. Only one person pushes every button. Nearly being kidnapped by crazy extremists does n’t hurt, either.”
Columnist Greg Abernathy said Ocasio-Cortez as a potential candidate should not be dismissed.
“AOC is a media darling and social media superstar with a knack for getting attention. She’s intelligent and well-spoken and a perfect fit for the selfie generation. In a culture that demonizes older leaders like never before, she’ll be just old enough , constitutionally, to be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025,” he wrote.
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 26: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a news conference to discuss legislation that would strengthen Social Security benefits, on Capitol Hill October 26, 2021, in Washington, DC (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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The president is reportedly annoyed by the growing questions surrounding his 2024 bid coming from members of his own party. His aides told the New York Times in June that they see it as a “lack of respect from their party and the press.”
Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed, for example, lifted his forecast for cash earnings before tax, depreciation and amortization (EBTDA) for 2023 and 2024 – the latter year when Zip hopes to move into the black. However, in a sign of the uncertainty still facing Zip, Ahmed added a “high risk” rating to his “neutral” stance on the stock.
BNPL businesses such as Zip and Afterpay provide short-term, interest-free facility loans to consumers, and are seeking to challenge the might of the global credit card industry. They were market darlings last year, but have since been swamped by a wave of negative forces: high bad debts, growing competition and plunging tech valuations, as rising interest rates cause investors to demand profits sooner from companies that burn through cash.
In response, Zip unleashed a drastic reconfiguration of its business known internally as “Operation Blue Sky.” It promised to slash more than $30 million in employee costs, tighten new lending, halt global expansion plans, and pause proposals to push into new products, such as cryptocurrency trading.
Gray, a finance industry veteran who co-founded Zip in 2013 with chief executive Larry Diamond, says it has been a tough period for the company and affected staff. But, ultimately, the changes are about survival.
As a loss-making company focused on rapid growth, Zip was reliant on raising capital from investors to fund its operations. Gray says that since the market “collapsed in the short term,” it must prove it can make a profit.
“I think it’s very important that we have that as an underlying part of our thinking – we don’t want to rely on capital markets to support our survival,” Gray says.
“We were in the fortunate position where we had sufficient capital to adjust our settings to deliver the outcomes we want without needing to tap the market again.”
Gray grants Zip did not expect the blowout in bad debts, which have reached 3.8 per cent of accounts in its flagship Australian business.
“I think we’ve acknowledged that bad debts are performing outside our target range,” he says. But he argues the company is dealing with the problem by tightening its lending criteria, which flows through quickly into loan performance because short-term loans roll over quickly.
Despite the recent share price rise, many analysts remain skeptical about Zip’s future. UBS’s Tom Beadle, who has a “sell” rating on its shares, last month said Zip’s credit risks appeared to be worsening – in contrast to the big banks’ consumer-loan portfolios, which are improving.
And even if Zip can curb bad debts and make a profit, its recent changes still raise major questions. For one, when it is slashing its expansion plans so deeply, is it still classed as a growth company?
Gray maintains it can still grow with tighter lending standards, due to the sheer scale of the potential market in the US, where BNPL is far less common than in Australia. “Tempering our risk appetite doesn’t necessarily need to come at the expense of growth,” he says.
He also says there is still “burning ambition” to be a global company, despite announcing it would close its small Singapore business and put operations in Europe and the Middle East under review.
Another massive question still looming over BNPL firms is the entrance of cashed-up giants into the sector: Apple, Commonwealth Bank, Citi and PayPal have all launched or announced plans to enter BNPL.
Some analysts question whether “pure-play” BNPL firms such as Zip can compete against such size, but Gray dismisses the threat from what he calls the “imitators.” He says the entry of larger rivals into the BNPL market has had a “very minimal” impact on Zip, partly because these businesses do not provide the same digital services to merchants as BNPL firms.
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The crucial test for Zip will remain whether it can deliver on its hopes of posting positive EBTDA by 2024, against a challenging environment of more subdued consumer spending.
For many investors, and analysts at Macquarie, there remains a chance Zip could be caught up in merger and acquisition activity as the industry consolidates. However, Gray indicates Zip is unlikely to be on the lookout for merger opportunities – for now.
“For the short term, no, we’re pretty laser-focused on our core markets of ANZ and the US, and accelerating that path to profitability. So, it would have to be something extraordinary that fits in with that objective.”
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Watch 5 on August 10, and a series of images published by 91mobiles offer the best preview of the watch’s design yet.
The images are the typical renders you’ll see on an online retailer’s website, showing off the Watch 5 series from all angles.
They are most useful as a way to decide whether you would be more interested in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 or Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, the two key models Samsung is likely to introduce in just under two weeks.
The base Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 has a slighter appearance, the Pro version more a severe metal rim around the display.
These pics also suggest the black Galaxy Watch 5 will have more of a sporty leaning, although all members of this family are likely to have similar core features.
Renderings of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
91mobile
There is also no sign of a rotating bezel in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, which has been a defining feature of this series since the beginning. It suggests the watch may have a redesigned version of Samsung’s watch UI, which was still partially constructed around the rotary bezel controller in the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.
Without a rotating crown to replace it, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will have to rely on touchscreen control unless the screen surround acts as a capacitive touch surface to allow for gesture controls without moving parts.
The images also show off the watch’s colours: lilac, cream and dark gray for the Galaxy Watch 5, black and grey, or perhaps sage green, for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
Samsung also uses a different strap style for the two models. The base Galaxy Watch 5 has a classic watch strap, the Pro a clasp.
However, these images don’t tell the full story. Samsung is expected to launch both 40mm and 44m versions of the standard Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, while the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro will likely have a 46mm watch face.
My presumption is we’re looking at the 46mm and 44mm versions here, leaving the 40mm models out of the picture.
The Art Deco-style fantasy face and concept was based on the success of the first Luna Park on Coney Island, in New York in 1903. American entrepreneur Herman Phillips and others brought the idea to Australia and opened Luna Park in Melbourne in 1912 and Luna Park Glenelg, Adelaide in 1930.
The Sydney site ran smoothly under the management of the first operator, showman David Atkins, until 1957 and engineer Ted Hopkins took over after that until 1969.
A host of different leasees operated the park in the 1970s including the World Trade Center. The lease expired in 1975 with managers unable to negotiate a long-term lease. It operated from week-to-week resulting in limited investment in park infrastructure.
In 1979, six children and one adult were killed in the ghost train fire.
In 1980 it closed and was threatened with demolition until the “Friends of Luna Park”, including artists Martin Sharp and Peter Kingston, rallied to keep it open.
After financial difficulties Luna Park closed its doors in 1996, where the lease was awarded to a group including the owners of the Metro Theater in Sydney (headed by co-directors Warwick Doughty and Peter Hearne) and The Edgley Group.
Luna Park was listed on the NSW State Heritage Register in 2010, and is owned by the Luna Park Reserve Trust, an agency of the NSW government.
It stung, but he managed to channel his frustration in the right way. When he woke up the next day, he blasted a mid-48s relay split to power the Australian 4x100m freestyle quartet into the final as the quickest seed.
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“It got me fired up. My mixed relay lead wasn’t the greatest time I’ve ever done. It was my first race here, massive crowd, I’m only 17, so it’s also an experience whether the results are good or bad,” Southam said.
“But I just trusted myself and my ability. Good times. With a disappointing time like that, you can’t get too down about it, which I was a bit. But I woke up determined to get our team the fastest seed into the final. Hopefully we can go on and kick some butt.”
Southam’s fresh arrival on the scene and the glut of talent in Australian swimming has allowed him to enjoy a luxuriously low profile. But that won’t last once he begins to strip time off his personal bests and start to set his sights on Chalmers, the 2016 Olympic champion and Tokyo silver medallist.
For all the depth in the women’s sprinting stocks, the Australian men’s remains thin, with Chalmers out on his own ahead of a group of swimmers who are well off the kind of times that would put them in and around an Olympic final.
Southam has a personal best of 48.60 but already Popovici, at the same age, has a blistering 47.13 on the books. But Olympic medals are n’t handed out between Games’ cycles, so time is on his side as he tries to join the rush for medals in Paris in 2024.
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Photos of Benjamin Shaw are displayed in the Loadsman family’s Cairns home as if he’s a cherished part of the clan — but they never met the larrikin teenager who died five years ago.
They tell youngest child Harper Loadsman, 15-year-old Ben is her angel — the boy who saved her life.
“He lives inside of you,” Harper’s mum Jana Loadsman says.
The seven-year-old, one of five children, listens intently as she’s told “Ben stories” — how he loved playing rugby league and the North Queensland Cowboys. How he would make people laugh with his irreverent sense of humor and how he gave her a priceless gift in 2017 — apart from his liver.
Harper with her dad Shane.(ABC News: Tegan Philpott)
Under laws designed to protect both families’ privacy, DonateLife Queensland is unable to confirm whether Harper received Ben’s liver.
But through an extraordinary twist of fate, family and friends who were connected on Facebook were able to solve the mystery and bring the families together.
Ben Shaw donated his organs when he died in 2017. (Facebook: Ben Shaw)
In May, their detective work culminated in Harper being a flower girl at the second marriage of Ben’s dad, Scott Shaw, to long-term partner, Brei Milne.
For Mr Shaw, the knowledge that his son’s liver saved Harper’s life has helped him through the darkest of days without his beloved only child.
“He was just the best kid,” Mr Shaw says proudly, describing the day his son came into the world as unquestionably the best day of his life.
“He was loud, brash, had a devious sense of humour, a real cheeky smile.
“I still miss him every day. I couldn’t imagine a life without him.
“I wanted to check out — but following Harper’s journey, it sustains me.
“I count it as one of the things that probably kept me going because I don’t know where I’d be now if I hadn’t had that. That was like a rescue.
“It gave me hope.”
Harper and Scott now have a close relationship. (Supplied)
Ben was declared brain dead in the Queensland Children’s Hospital intensive care unit at South Brisbane several days after he was bench pressing almost 100 kilograms unsupervised at the Pine Rivers Police Citizens’ Youth Club. The bar slipped, crushing his neck. He was not found by staff until about 20 minutes later.
Mr Shaw was in Sydney when his ex-wife phoned and told him to “come home right away”.
Ben, their in-vitro fertilization “miracle”, had been seriously injured in an accident.
He says he knew Ben “was gone” soon after he arrived at his son’s bedside in the ICU.
“It stays with me forever, when they shone a torch in their eyes and their pupils didn’t react, that’s when I knew,” Mr Shaw says, his voice choking with emotion.
“That only happens when your brain’s shut down. His eyes were the eyes of a dead person. Nothing will ever prepare you for it.”
When doctors confirmed their worst fears later that week, it was not a difficult choice for Ben’s parents to donate their son’s organs.
Their hearts breaking, Ben’s mum and dad said in unison: “What about organ …” and then they stopped.
Without finishing the sentence, they both knew what they wanted to do without any discussion.
Ben would become an organ donor, in keeping with his generous spirit.
‘She’s going to make it’
Later that day, after getting “the call” for Harper’s transplant, as the Loadsmans drove into Brisbane from their then home at Cabarita, in northern NSW, they were greeted by a sky lit up with fireworks.
“It’s a sign,” Jana Loadsman said at the time, clinging to anything she could show that her daughter would be OK.
In her world, rainbows had always been a symbol of positivity.
Looking at her husband Shane, Harper’s dad, she told him: “She’s going to make it. Look, there’s the rainbows.”
Harper is one of five Loadsman children.(ABC News: Tegan Philpott)
At the same time, Ben’s bed was turned to face the windows and fireworks on his last night, machines keeping his heart beating, surrounded by grieving family and friends.
The next day, Mr Shaw read his son a children’s book they shared when Ben was little — Guess How Much I Love You.
Then, holding Ben’s hand one last time, he walked beside his son’s bed as it was wheeled down the corridor towards the double doors of the Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) operating suites.
“So long, buddy. I love you,” he says.
But as the fifth anniversary of Ben’s death nears, Mr Shaw prefers to focus on his last memory of his son as “a functioning human being”.
The weekend before he died, they watched the rugby league together, Ben’s team the North Queensland Cowboys triumphing, and enjoyed their first — and last — beer together.
“I love you, Ben, I love you mate,” Mr Shaw tells his son, giving him a hug.
“I love you too, Dad,” Ben replies.
Scott and Ben Shaw bonded in the traditional Queensland way — over rugby league.(Supplied)
That night is etched in Mr Shaw’s memory as a “beautiful” time with his son.
“It started out as just a very ordinary night – a dad and his boy watching the footy,” Mr Shaw says.
“It’s become a very important night to me. We had a great time together.”
A week later, Mr Shaw watched the rugby league alone as he mourned, the television news updates showing images of Ben after journalists were advised of the teenager’s death.
On the other side of town, at the QCH, Harper was beginning her long recovery from the liver transplant that would see her in and out of hospital for months.
She was not yet three years old.
Her mum chronicles her journey on the Hope for Harper Facebook page and through “a friend of a friend”, Mr Shaw serendipitously learned of the little girl who received a liver transplant in the same hospital and on the same day his son became a donor.
In those early days, the families first connected via Facebook Messenger.
“She didn’t have much time left, poor little thing,” Mr Shaw says, recalling the photos of Harper before her transplant, her skin tinged yellow because of her liver disease.
Without a new liver, doctors feared Harper would not have survived beyond early childhood.
Soon after birth, her parents were told their youngest daughter was unlikely to live beyond six months after being born with serious health issues — a chromosomal abnormality and biliary atresia, resulting in blockages in the tubes that carry bile from the liver to the intestines.
Harper has faced down many medical challenges. (Supplied)
As Ms Loadsman contemplates the enormous gift Ben—and his parents—have given her daughter, and her family, she talks of ongoing feelings of grief for their huge loss.
‘I’m a really emotional person and it was hard for me to fathom the fact that somebody had lost somebody and saved my daughter in the process,’ she says.
“And especially when we later found out that Ben was an only child – an only child saved my fifth child –and then I felt: ‘Oh God.’ It’s quite overwhelming.
“I think we’re all still quietly traumatized. All of us, we’ll always grieve for Ben.”
It’s a burden, Mr Shaw does not want the Loadsmans — or any other recipient families — to carry.
“It’s only recently Scott actually said: ‘You’ve got to stop grieving for us. You’ve got to let this go, Jana,'” Ms Loadsman says.
“You’ve got to be so thankful and just love that little girl in every part. We’re OK.”
Scott says Ben was his “miracle.” (Supplied)
From their first interaction the year after the liver transplant, the relationship between Harper and Mr Shaw has been heart-warming for both families.
On the first anniversary of Ben’s death, the Loadsmans drove from Cabarita to the home Mr Shaw shares with Brei at Taigum, in Brisbane’s north, for the families to meet. Harper got out of the car, yelled Scott’s name, and ran into his arms from him.
“She just grabbed him around the neck and squeezed like you cuddle your dad,” Ms Loadsman recalls.
“Her spirit knows. It’s the most unbelievable thing. Those two have the most incredible, spiritual bond. To see them together, it’s just beautiful.”
Harper Loadsman was a flower girl at Scott and Brei’s wedding this year.(Supplied)
On May 7, wearing ballet slippers, a party dress and with a crown of flowers in her hair, Harper was a flower girl as Mr Shaw married Brei, his partner of 15 years.
“She came running out yelling: ‘Uncle Scott, Uncle Scott, yay,” he says.
“Seeing that little face light up when I turned up was really special.
“She seems to be quite drawn to me and wants to be with me whenever I’m around and loves hanging out with me.
“She’s a little angel, she really is.”
After the nuptials, they lit a candle in memory of Ben.
“We said that while it’s sad that Ben isn’t with us, part of him is with us in Harper,” Mr Shaw says.
“It was important to acknowledge our loss, but at the same time, I don’t think it detracted from the sense of joy of the day, because it was a great day.”
Ben, who attended Bray Park State High School, was one of 510 Australians who donated organs after their deaths in 2017.
Last year, 421 Australians donated organs after death, including 91 Queenslanders, the COVID-19 pandemic impacting numbers.
DonateLife Queensland manager Tina Coco urged Australians to use DonateLife week, which ends today, to consider joining the Australian Organ Donor Register and to ensure their loved ones are aware of their wishes.
She says four out of five Australians support organ and tissue donation, but more than 13 million Australians aged 16 and older have not yet signed on to the register.
Tina Coco says not all organ donation connection work out so well. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)
Ms Coco says while social media is resulting in more donor and recipient families meeting than in the past, privacy legislation prohibits health professionals from facilitating contact.
“We’ve seen some very positive connections between donor families and transplant recipients and that’s been lovely,” she says.
“But there’s also been some unhappy occasions.
“It is a unique experience for everyone. People are different, families are different.”
After years spent in and out of hospital, Harper Loadsman proudly started school this year in Cairns — her every achievement providing solace for Ben’s dad.
Harper started school this year.(Supplied)
“We don’t have Ben but I’m looking forward to seeing Harper grow up,” Mr Shaw says.
The Loadsmans plan to stay in close contact, describing the Shaws as family, and will continue to tell Harper “Ben stories.”
“Ben will live in everything we do,” her mom says.
“He’s part of us.”
To sign on to the Australian Organ Donor Register visit their website.
“I think it’s a great piece of legislation and on normal times, my Republican colleagues would be for something such as this. We’ve basically paid down debt, (which) is what they want. We’ve accelerated permitting, which is what they want. And we’ve increased production of energy, which is what they want. We’ve done things that we should be doing together,” Manchin, who represents West Virginia, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
“Well, we found that they were wrong. And people can be wrong, but how in the world can it be inflammatory?” Manchin Told Tapper. “How can it add flames to inflation fires right now if you’re paying down debt?”
He added: “We’re doing everything we can to make sure we attack the problem. And these are solutions to the problems we have. So I know the ones playing politics with it.”
When Manchin and Schumer, a New York Democrat, announced the deal last week, it represented a breakthrough after more than a year of negotiations that have collapsed time and again.
Though many details have not been disclosed, the measure would invest $369 billion into energy and climate change programs, with the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030, according to a one-page fact sheet. It would also address the permitting of energy infrastructure, which could ease the path for a shale gas pipeline in West Virginia.
Manchin on Sunday was asked about getting a fellow moderate Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s support for the legislation.
“Sen. Sinema is my dear friend. We work very close together on so many things, and she has so much in this piece of legislation. She’s formed quite a bit of and worked on it very hard. And with that, she’s brought down drug prices, she’s been very instrumental in letting Medicare go ahead and negotiate for lower drug prices,” Manchin said of the Arizona senator.
He added: “I think that basically when she looks at the bill and sees the whole spectrum of what we’re doing … hopefully she will be positive about it, but she’ll make her decision and I respect that.”
Manchin also said he hopes the legislation passes before the August recess, which is what Democratic leadership is hoping for.
The senator’s support is notable given his stance earlier this month that he “unequivocally” wouldn’t support the climate or tax provisions of the Democratic economic package, which appeared to torpedo any hope Democrats had of passing legislation to fight climate change in the near future . But he told Tapper on Sunday that he “never did walk away” from negotiations with Schumer.
“I never did walk away, but we reorganized the bill, if you will,” he said. “What we had before that, there were things in there that I considered and thought could be considered to be inflammatory. … Inflation is the greatest challenge we have in our country right now — around in my state and around the country. So that’s what we’re fighting.”
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania slammed the deal in a separate appearance later on “State of the Union,” arguing that it would negatively impact the US economy at a critical time.
“We haven’t seen any text, we don’t even know what it looks like. So this is a disaster. This is going to make our recession worse. It’s going to make inflation worse. It’s not gonna do any good. I am really surprised that Joe agreed to this,” he told Tapper.
This story has been updated to include additional information from the interview.
The Federal government has been urged to consider intervening in the energy market, amid concerns of a gas shortage that could lead to higher prices, according to the latest report by the consumer watchdog.
Key points:
The ACCC’s report projects the largest supply shortfall of domestic gas since 2017
The projected shortfall could place further upward pressure on prices
Concerns are raised that some manufacturers could shut down
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released an interim report of its inquiry into gas supply along the east coast.
It noted that while Australia has “relatively abundant gas resources”, most of it is produced for export and substantial volumes were required for the domestic market next year to avoid a shortfall.
“The outlook for 2023 is very concerning and is likely to place further upward pressure on prices, which could result in some commercial and industrial users no longer being able to operate,” the report said.
“This is a significant deterioration in conditions relative to what we projected for 2022 at the same time last year and presents a real risk to Australia’s energy security.”
It has recommended that the government consider intervening in the market, by pulling what’s known as the “gas trigger” to ensure there is enough supply.
The Gorgon project in Western Australia has been supplying gas since 2017.(Chevron)
The ACCC has predicted a shortfall of 56PJ next year, which is equivalent to about 10 per cent of domestic demand, the largest projected supply shortfall since 2017.
“This represents a further [almost tenfold] deterioration in conditions relative to what was forecast for 2022 at an equivalent time last year,” the report said.
The ACCC has partly pointed the blame at liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporters.
“LNG exporters are expected to contribute to the shortfall in 2023 by withdrawing 58 PJ more gas from the domestic market than they expect to supply into the market,” the report said.
The shortfall is expected to mainly affect New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, with less significant consequences for Queensland.
How to fix the problem
To avoid the gas shortage, the ACCC has encouraged LNG exporters to act immediately to increase domestic supply and has recommended the government work with exporters to ensure they supply more into the domestic market.
“LNG producers will need to divert a significant proportion of their excess gas into the domestic market,” the report stated.
It has also recommended the federal government go further and initiate the first step of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (ADGSM), more commonly known as the ‘gas trigger,’ and formally determine if 2023 will be a shortfall year.
The gas trigger is an emergency provision, which allows the Resources Minister to directly intervene in the gas market and impose export controls to ensure there are adequate supplies for use in Australia.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the report highlights “alarming” elements of the east coast gas market.(ABC News: Adam Kennedy)
The government is yet to outline whether it will follow the recommendations but in a statement, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he was concerned by the findings.
“The ACCC’s latest gas inquiry report highlights some alarming features of the east coast gas market,” he said.
“The government takes these findings extremely seriously and will shortly respond to the ACCC’s recommendations.
“I urge gas producers to do the right thing by Australians.”
The ACCC said other measures that could also help with supply issues include sourcing additional gas from the Northern Territory and withdrawing gas from storage.
Long-term plans
The government has an agreement with LNG exporters that aims to ensure there is enough reasonably priced gas supplied to the domestic market, known as the Heads of Agreement.
However that deal ends next year, and the ACCC has recommended the government strengthen the stipulations which include reporting obligations.
It has also made a similar recommendation on strengthening the ADGSM.
The ACCC has also pointed to supply issues being resolved in the medium to long term through the expansion of gas projects in the Gippsland Basin, the south-west pipeline in Victoria and further progress on LNG import terminals.
However the report notes the growing focus on other energy supplies, as Australia tries to reduce its emissions, and has acknowledged federal funding will help further support natural gas, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen projects.
