Health News at Your Fingertips

Queensland website to provide “single source of truth” for those moving into aged care

Queensland Premier has announced a new government website to help seniors and their families compared options for retirement living in the state.

The website will serve as a tool to allowed users to compare services, facilities and locations.

Speaking to reporters outside Southern Cross Care facility on Saturday, Minister Leeanne Enoch described the website as a “single source of truth” for those who needed help to “navigate the system”.

”When people decide to think about moving to a retirement village, there’s quite a great deal of stress about that – all the usual things involved with taking that next step in life.

“It can be quite confusing.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the website was part of her government’s commitment to providing better services.

Katharine Murphy

If you’ve been following the parliamentary tussle over the Albanese government’s workplace reform package this week, you will have clocked some interesting divergences between the progressive forces in the 47^th parliament.

If you’ve missed it, let’s catch up quickly. Labor’s efforts to implement multi-employer bargaining to boost wages growth hasn’t won universal approval. The case study confirms progressivism in this parliament runs along a spectrum from centre-right to centre-left to hard left.

There’s a very old proverb in Australia: money runs Sydney and the unions run Melbourne. This is a gross generalisation, and the whole notion feels pretty antiquated in the modern economy, but I remembered it this week when the Melbourne teal independents – Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel – voted with the government on the second reading of the industrial legislation, while the Sydney contingent opposed the policy.

For more analysis on how the new parliament is shaping up, read the full story for Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy.

Billion dollar hospital redevelopment on the cards if Victorian Liberals win election

The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne would undergo a $2.4 billion redevelopment if the Coalition wins the upcoming Victorian election.

An extra 150 beds and a new hospital wing would be created, with construction set to begin in its first term.

The revamp includes more operating theatres, greater intensive care capacity, extra car parks and an updated emergency and trauma centre.

The hospital pledge is the Coalition’s single biggest election promise and Liberal Leader Matthew Guy expected it would take more than five years to complete.

Liberal health spokesperson and former midwife Georgie Crozier used to work at The Alfred and described the facilities as “crumbling”.

“A hospital that is not fit for purpose, it is not up to scratch in the 21st century. That is Labor’s failure, that is Daniel Andrews’ failure,” she said.

Jason Hennessey attended the press conference with the Liberal leadership and explained his wife Kylie, who had a brain tumour, had to travel to Adelaide to get a specialised MRI scan because the machine at the Alfred was broken.

Hennessey said there was a three month wait before his wife could get the scan at another Melbourne hospital.

“If we had to wait three months, my wife would have died,” he said.

Guy reiterated his health spending plan was possible because if elected he would shelve stage one of the $35 billion Suburban Rail Loop project from Box Hill to Cheltenham.

The Coalition will preference the Greens over Labor at the November 26 poll, which it hopes will mean the government could lose up to three seats.

So far the Coalition has committed funds to more than 20 hospitals, $125 million to triple zero and plans to recruit an extra 40,000 nurses.

Heath has become the dominant issue in the 2022 campaign, after pressures on the system were highlighted through the pandemic.

– AAP

Renewed flood warnings across parts of New South Wales.

New climate modelling suggests South Australia will grow hotter, more arid

South Australia is in for hotter days and more of them, less rain but with heavier falls, and more severe fire conditions as the world’s climate warms, AAP reports.

The forecast by the state’s department for environment and water is based on the likely effects of climate change obtained by modelling different greenhouse gas emission scenarios

The concerning projections indicate increases in maximum, minimum and average temperatures, and a decline in average annual rain despite a greater frequency of extreme falls.

They have been issued as a summary of likely changes in the decades ahead to key variables such as temperature, rainfall, evapotranspiration, days of severe fire danger and sea level rises.

Acting climate minister, Joe Szakacs, says the data will be used by government, business and communities to prepare for change.

“These projections reinforce why the state government declared a climate emergency and why South Australia can’t afford to wait any longer on real climate change action,” he said.

“They further highlight the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through our hydrogen jobs plan, which will accelerate SA’s renewable energy industry.”

The modelling’s mid-range scenario is representative of a global temperature increase of between 1.9C and 2.9C by 2100, while a high-range scenario represents a 3.6 to 5.0C increase.

Statistical tables for Adelaide and nine regional South Australian towns, along with statewide maps, provide an in-depth analysis on projected climate variables to 2030, 2050 and, for the first time, 2090.

Szakacs said the figures provided the best information available to help plan for the future.

“The time for climate change action is now and it is incumbent upon us all to support businesses and the community to adapt and reduce emissions,” he said.

SA’s deputy premier and climate minister, Susan Close, is currently attending the UN’s Cop27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

Here is the joint statement on the new cybersecurity taskforce that was announced earlier today.

Victorian Electoral Commission rejects independent candidate how-to-vote card

A community independent for a high-profile Melbourne seat is threatening court action over a dispute about her how-to-vote card design, AAP is reporting.

The Victorian Electoral Commission has told Brighton candidate Felicity Frederico her design for the 26 November state election is not permissible as it has blank boxes next to other candidates.

“Your district HTVC must not include any visuals of blank boxes next to candidate names,” a VEC candidate services officer wrote in an email to Ms Frederico.

“The reason for this is that it may induce a voter to vote 1 for you, but not number all the remaining boxes. This would mislead the voter to cast an informal vote.”

Frederico is attempting to prise the south-east Melbourne seat from Liberal MP and shadow cabinet minister James Newbury, who holds it on a notional margin of 0.5% after an electoral boundaries redistribution.

The former Bayside mayor quit the Liberal party after losing a preselection race against Newbury last year.

Under Victoria’s Electoral Act, how-to-vote cards must indicate the order of voting preference for all listed candidates or a statement that a number must be placed against each candidates name.

The Act states that the commission must refuse to register a how-to-vote card if it is likely to mislead or deceive an elector.

Frederico’s preferred design directs voters to “place a 1 in this box, then number all other boxes”.

She says the VEC’s interpretation of the legislation is wrong, with a similar design used by teal independent Monique Ryan during her successful campaign for the federal seat of Kooyong in May.

“I want an open ballot because, as an independent, I want voters to choose who their preferences go to,” she told AAP on Saturday.

How-to-vote card submissions for parties and candidates open on Monday, the same day as early voting begins across the state.

Designs must be registered with the VEC in order to be distributed on election day but it is not required at early voting centres.

Frederico plans to submit two designs on Monday, including one as a back up that does not mention any other candidate on the ballot.

“I will definitely consider legal action if my preferred how-to-vote card is not registered,” she said.

The VEC has been contacted for comment.

Severe thunderstorm warnings have been issued for parts of South Australia along with the risk of large hail.

Similar warnings have also been issued for parts of Queensland’s southern interior.

Severe weather warnings have also been issued for parts of eastern Victoria.

O’Neil is asked about the Majestic Princess cruise ship that docked in Sydney overnight.

New South Wales Health is the lead agency for managing how they are going to assist the passengers and deal with this embarkation on a case-by-case basis.

I would say that there are regular protocols and plans that have arisen out of the Ruby Princess.

She also said “the role of border forces supplementary to the lead on health issues”.

Back on the new taskforce, O’Neil says a permanent standing committee will be formed to oversee the partnership between the Australian Signals Directorate and the AFP.

Dreyfus is asked whether Australia is considering expelling Russian diplomats. He says the Australian government is “looking hard at Russia’s diplomatic profile in Australia and all options remain under consideration”.

However:

Our preference is to maintain diplomatic channels but diplomatic profiles must always be consistent with our national interest.

On whether the AFP can reasonably expect to go after those responsible in Russia, O’Neill says Australia needs to change its “mindset”.

I think we need to shift away from the mindset here that the only thing that needs success is having someone behind bars. There is an enormous amount that can be done which doesn’t look in that exact direction.

I won’t go into the specifics but this term disruption is what we’re here to talk about. And this joint standing operation is not simply responding to crime, they will be hunting these gangs where ever they are around the world and the their activities, we’re going to hack the hackers.

O’Neil says cybercrime is a global problem and is the No 1 crime of concern for law enforcement globally.

I think what we’re seeing in Australia is that we’re waking up from a cyber slumber that we’ve been in. When I look at previous years, you saw in 2020, 2021, major attacks which are quite similar in nature to Optus and many bank happened in countries around the world.

Dreyfus is asked about relations between Russia and Australia and whether this may affect the attempt to track down those who stole the Medibank data.

He says the AFP will work with international partners that includes Interpol. He calls on “all countries” to assist in the elimination of this type of cybercrime.

Russia remains a member of Interpol and [it is] doubly appropriate that Russia do all that it can to ensure that people who are within its borders are not engaging in this kind of criminal activity.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is speaking now about how this new partnership will work. He says the government is doing all it can to “limit the impact of this awful criminal act”.

The AFP has been working day and night, scouring the internet and no criminal online sites to identify those who are buying and selling personal information, personal identification information.

Dreyfus says a government bill will be introduced and he called on “all parties” in the Senate to support its bill so it can be “passed without delay”.

O’Neil says the new taskforce will not be a reactive organisation but will be set up to “hack the hackers”:

Today we are putting cybercriminals on notice. The joint standing operation will not simply be responding to crimes as they affect Australians, they will be hunting these gangs around the world and disrupting the activities of these people.

The smartest and toughest people in our country are going to hack the hackers. From now on cybercriminals will be a constant and enduring target for our agencies to disrupt and they will be working closely with the international partnerships that these two organisations have.

The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has announced a “new model of policing” following the Medibank hack.

You are entitled to keep information about your health, whatever it is, completely private. It doesn’t matter who you are or what that information might be, that is your right. And it has been stolen from you by Russian thugs. Our message today is that those thugs should watch out.

O’Neil says a new partnership will be formed between the Australian federal police and the Australian Signals Directorate.

This will be through a joint standing operation against cybercriminal syndicates. Around 100 officers around these two organisations will be a part of this joint standing operation, many of these officers will be physically colocated working from the Australian Signals Directorate.

This is the formalisation of a partnership, a standing body within the Australian government which will, day in, day out, hunt down the scumbags who are responsible for these malicious crimes against innocent people.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyus, and the cybersecurity minister, Claire O’Neil, are about to give a press conference on the Medibank breach.

We’ll bring you the latest when it gets underway.

The Majestic Princess has docked in Sydney’s Darling Harbour and is currently allowing passengers to disembark.

Special measures have been put in place to ensure passengers who have contracted Covid-19 remain isolated from healthy passengers as they leave.

All passengers must wear masks and will be required to follow special measures as they re-enter the community, for example those infected are being told not to take public transport.

When disembarkation takes place the cruise ship will then be disinfected and will take on new passengers before shipping out later today.