Health News at Your Fingertips

And with that we are going to put this blog to bed – before we go let’s recap the big stories for today:

And that’s it – thank you for spending the day with us, we will be back tomorrow!

Two bodies have been found in a home near Gosford, NSW

NSW police said:

About 2.20pm today, emergency services were called to a home on Maidens Brush Road, Wyoming, after a concern for welfare report.

Officers attached to Brisbane Waters police district attended and found the bodies of a man and woman inside the home. They are yet to be formally identified.

A crime scene has been established and an investigation commenced into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

A report will now be prepared for the information of the coroner.

No further information is available.

Federal budget allocated ‘zero’ funding to address massive backlog of ADF claims, royal commission hears

From AAP:

Former veterans affairs minister, Andrew Gee, has told a royal commission the Morrison government had initially allocated “zero” funding in its March budget towards fixing a massive 60,000 backlog of compensation claims by current and former defence members.

Gee, who at the time threatened to resign unless $96m was found to fix the problem, told the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide he stood by his claim the waiting times were “a national disgrace”.

Giving evidence on the second day of the inquiry’s public hearing in Townsville, Gee said he had been surprised and disappointed his government had failed to recognise veterans’ welfare as a national priority.

The inquiry heard a report by consultants McKinsey had found the rate of claims to the department of veterans affairs had been doubling every year since 2018, and at least 190 additional staff were needed to manage the backlog.

Gee said after taking on the portfolio in July 2021, waiting times had “just kept building and building”.

Previous attempts to “triage” claims or set targets, he said, had also been doomed without the funding and reforms needed to support them.

“What good are the targets anyway because you are not going to get within a bull’s roar of them?” Gee said.

From AAP:

The suspension of the national electricity market could be lifted as soon as Wednesday, as the market operator looks to outline a path back to normal function of the grid.

The Australian Energy Market Operator said electricity supply would be sufficient for Tuesday night, as it held talks with generators on how the national electricity market could resume.

“Aemo anticipates monitoring will continue for at least 24 hours and, if Aemo is confident the criteria are being met, the next step is to formally remove the market suspension and resume normal operation under the market rules,” the operator said on Tuesday afternoon.

“Irrespective of market operations, underlying factors mean there may continue to be challenges managing supply and demand.”

The market operator said the current state of the energy market remained dynamic and that the body may be required to force generators to meet demand.

During talks with generators, the market operator said it outlined criteria of how a normal market could resume and the suspension lifted.

Aemo said it hoped the path forward would avoid the same conditions in the energy market reappearing in the short term, should the suspension be lifted.

Ben Smee

The Queensland government’s decision to increase royalties on record-high coal prices will, inevitably, be spun as a radical move, writes Ben Smee.

South Australia receives welcome boost from Adelaide festival

From AAP:

The Adelaide festival attracted almost 12,000 interstate visitors and bolstered South Australia’s economy to the tune of $26m.

Organisers on Tuesday released financial performance figures for the March arts event, with resurgent demand for tickets and hotel accommodation reaching pre-pandemic levels.

Box office sales topped $5m despite the challenges of reduced theatre capacities, Covid-19 safety plans and close contact rules.

“The incredible success of Adelaide festival in 2022 cements Adelaide and South Australia as the festival destination in Australia,” Arts minister Andrea Michaels said.

The festival is not only a crucial tourism driver in March, but also essential to “our identity, our economy and for the incredible opportunities it gives our artists”.

“It makes this international arts festival the jewel in the cultural crown of South Australia,” she said.

Continuing current system creates ‘economic apartheid’ for First Nations, says expert

From AAP:

First Nations people are facing “economic apartheid”, with leading Indigenous development experts urging a national shift in policy.

Wealth creation will be top of the agenda for improving outcomes for First Nations people when the Australian National university holds a development roundtable from Wednesday.

First Nations at ANU vice-president, Prof Peter Yu, said government policy, which has focused on training and employment pathways, had been a “consistently flawed approach” to closing the gap over previous decades.

“This unchanged governmental stance over the past 40 years has, in effect, created a form of economic apartheid, with many outside the mainstream economy having limited avenues to pursue economic development,” he said.

“It’s clear the continued commitment to the same systems by Australian taxpayers is a bad investment.”

Prof Yu said Indigenous Australians were becoming more asset rich, but remaining cash poor.

“Without the development of an economic self-determination framework, Indigenous Australians will continue to be second-class citizens in their own country,” he said.

He said the nation is the only Commonwealth country that has never signed a treaty with Indigenous people.

The Bureau of Meteorology has announced an end to the 2021-22 La Niña in the tropical Pacific.

The status changed to La Nina WATCH, which means there is around a 50% chance of a La Niña event forming again during 2022.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s head of long-range forecasting, Dr Andrew Watkins, said the Bureau has been monitoring this trend of a weakening La Niña over several weeks.

A La Niña WATCH does not change the outlook of above average rainfall for most of Australia over coming months.

The Bureau’s long-range outlook remains wetter-than-average, consistent with model outlooks from other global forecast centres, reflecting a range of climate drivers including a developing negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and warmer-than-average waters around Australia.

Sea surface temperatures are currently warmer than average for much of the Australian coastline, particularly to the north and west. This pattern is likely to increase the chance of above average winter-spring rainfall for Australia.

Currently, the IOD is neutral. But all climate model outlooks surveyed suggest a negative IOD is likely to form in the coming months.

Rainfall across eastern and southern Australia is typically above average during winter and spring during a negative IOD.

But before you ditch your raincoat – remember Australia’s east coast could be hit by a rare “triple La Niña”. Great.

Benita Kolovos

Outgoing Victorian Liberal MP condemns treaty oversight body as ‘woke tokenism’

The Victorian Coalition has announced it will support the establishment of an independent authority to oversee the state’s treaty negotiations, although outgoing Liberal MP Tim Smith has vowed to cross the floor to vote against the bill, describing it as “woke tokenism”.

The state’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, and Nationals leader, Peter Walsh, confirmed the Coalition’s position on the Treaty Authority bill after a party room meeting on Tuesday.

Josh Taylor

More 3D scanners for Australian airports

Sydney airport has started using new scanners in its Qantas domestic terminal as part of the shift away from metal detectors.

New South Wales to abolish stamp duty for first homebuyers

From AAP:

First homebuyers in NSW will be able to opt out of one of the biggest barriers to homeownership, as the premier pulls the trigger on his long-held plan to abolish stamp duty.

From January, first home buyers can choose between paying stamp duty once or opting into an annual tax, paying $400 and 0.3% of the land’s value.

The government has budgeted $728.6m for the scheme over four years, with plans to introduce legislation later this year and give first homebuyers the choice by 16 January.

First homebuyers can opt for the tax on properties up to $1.5m and the property won’t be locked into the tax if sold.

Existing stamp duty exemptions for properties under $650,000 and concessions for properties under $800,000 will remain.

NSW opposition leader, Chris Minns, says the government is hiding behind first homebuyers to introduce its coveted land tax.

“If you’re going to put money on the table for first homebuyers, why introduce a brand new land tax system for NSW, one we’ve never had before, rather than just extending exemptions?”

It’s here, it’s short and it means Spring is on its way

Paul Karp

ACT supreme court chief justice ‘regrettably’ postpones trial of Bruce Lehrmann

The trial of the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins will be delayed, likely until October, due to public comments on the case that could “obliterate” the distinction between an allegation and finding of guilt.

At an urgent ACT supreme court hearing on Tuesday, the chief justice, Lucy McCallum, ruled “regrettably and with gritted teeth” to vacate the trial, which was set to begin on Monday, due to comments by journalist Lisa Wilkinson and broadcasters Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones.

Winter solstice celebrations from around the country and Antarctica

Researchers in the Antarctic have taken a dip into a sub-zero pool to mark the winter solstice as Australians prepare to celebrate the shortest day of the year on Tuesday.

The winter solstice marks the middle of winter when the shortest day and longest night occurs. It will occur at 8.14pm AEST on Tuesday evening.