Health News at Your Fingertips

A New South Wales man has been charged following a shooting in Sydney’s west on Sunday morning.

Police responded to reports of a fight in a suburban street at 3am with members of the public saying a 39-year-old man had been shot in the leg and shoulder outside his home.

Upon arrival police arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with the incident and seized a pistol and shotgun from the scene. The man was taken to Fairfield Police Station and where he has been charged with intent to murder.

In an unrelated case in Queensland, a 56-year-old man being taken to hospital has allegedly attacked two paramedics before stealing their ambulance south of Bundaberg.

The incident took place at 10.3opm Saturday night when the man is said to have attacked a paramedic by punching him in the head before throwing an item at the driver.

After the paramedics withdraw, the man stole the ambulance and fled.

Police found the ambulance a short distance away and arrested the man who is expected to face charges of assault.

-With AAP

The independent candidate for Mackellar has backed an outgoing Liberal MP’s call for the creation of an independent infrastructure body to plan long-term projects in the national interest.

In a statement released on Sunday, Dr Sophie Scamps through her support behind a call for an independent body to make long-term decisions over infrastructure funding.

“If elected as the Independent MP for Mackellar I will push for this reform, also supported by Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe, as taxpayers and all hard-working Australians deserve much better,” Scamps said.

Alexander, who is about to retire after 11 years in parliament, has attacked both major parties for being too focussed on the short-term and using infrastructure projects to buy votes.

Scamps echoed these criticisms saying the “short-termism” has resulted in “taxpayer money funding rorts like Scott Morrison’s commuter car park scheme instead of projects which are in the national interest.”

“Too often, politicians in major parties only support common sense reforms when they leave office. If we want to see change, such as an independent infrastructure body and a national anti-corruption body established, we need more independents in Parliament.”

New South Wales police say a man has died after being pulled from the water on Sydney’s northern beaches today.

Emergency services were called to Palm Beach just after midday following reports a man had been pulled from the water unconscious.

Members of the public told officers they had found a surf ski floating in the water and reported it to volunteer Surf Life Savers.

After a search of the water, life savers found the man and brought him to shore where they performed CPR but he died at the scene.

Authorities have yet to identify the man who is believed to be in his 50s.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

South Australia has reported 3,815 new Covid-19 cases overnight, with no deaths, 158 people in hospital, six in ICU and two on ventilation.

The death of Taylor Hawkins, the drummer of US rock band Foo Fighters, is being investigated by Colombian authorities after he died at a hotel in Bogotá, Reuters reports.

The band announced late on Friday that Hawkins, 50, had died, but did not give a cause of death.

In a report late on Saturday, Colombia’s attorney general said an initial analysis including toxicological tests had found 10 types of substances, including THC found in marijuana, tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines and opioids.

It did not give a cause of death or say what volume of substances had been found in the analysis. It said it would continue with its investigation:

The National Institute of Legal Medicine continues the medical studies to get full clarification of the events that led to the death of Taylor Hawkins.

An ambulance was sent to the hotel after an emergency call reported a man experiencing chest pains, Bogotá’s health department said. Hawkins did not respond to CPR and was declared dead, it added.

The group had been set to perform at the Estereo Picnic festival near the Colombian capital. Festival organisers said the group was cancelling the rest of its South American tour. The band said in a tweet:

The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever.

The US embassy in Bogotá said it was not in a position to comment on Hawkins’ death because of privacy issues.

Thanks Nino. It’s good to be back, lunched and ready to rock. Speaking of, I really should check the legals on sharing music videos through the blog as a soundtrack.

It is my pleasure to hand you back to a suitably replenished Royce Kurmelovs for some afternoon delight. Enjoy!

Here is the full story on Labor senator Kim Carr bowing out of politics.

This piece by Jordyn Beazley is an interesting read about the shortage of EVs in Australia:

South-east Queensland is again bracing for severe weather as a slow-moving and potentially dangerous system moves across the state, AAP reports.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning for more heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash floods.

A severe warning for the Sunshine Coast to the border extends to the Darling Downs, predicting thunderstorms and heavy downpours.

The coastal trough over south-east Queensland is expected to deepen, creating intense storm cells throughout today and tomorrow.

Six-hourly rainfall totals between 80mm and 140mm are possible, reaching up to 180mm over coastal areas and ranges.

The bureau says:

Intense rainfall leading to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible with thunderstorms with six-hourly rainfall totals up to 250mm.

The warning comes as the clean-up continues after deadly floods triggered by the state’s wettest February in 130 years.

Weeks after the deluge, the Brisbane River has reopened to recreational boating after some 2,000 tonnes of debris were removed from the river.

CityCat ferry services remain suspended and are not expected to resume until April, according to Brisbane city council.

Western Australia has reported 7,197 new Covid-19 cases to 8pm yesterday.

One death was recorded yesterday and three earlier deaths from other previous days were reported.

A man in his 80s died yesterday, with the other deaths a man in his 90s and women in their 60s and 80s.

There are 215 people with Covid-19 in hospital in WA, with 10 in ICU.

The full update is here.

Thanks to Royce for his unwavering commitment to blog excellence so far today. Let’s see what the afternoon brings us.

I’ll be taking a little break now, so I’ll be handing over to my colleague, the distinguished Nino Bucci, to take the helm for the next hour.

In a preview of the upcoming federal election, Scott Morrison is now talking about “choices” and working hard to cast Labor as big spenders with a leader who is “wishy-washy”.

The presser has wrapped up now.

Stuart Robert spends a bit of time promoting the governments credentials on boosting training and apprenticeships before the presser is opened to questions. I’m having trouble hearing the specific questions, but Scott Morrison is defending his government’s actions during the pandemic, saying they “saved the economy”:

Throughout the course of this pandemic, we have had to put in place the biggest economic support an Australian government has ever had to do to frankly save the economy.

He also throws a few barbs Labor’s way, claiming it “can’t stop spending” and describing its policy pitch as “Albonomics”.

Makes you wonder how long they’ve been workshopping those attack phrases.