Health News at Your Fingertips

Perre has been convicted of murder and attempted murder in the SA supreme court after a long-running trial. He sent a parcel bomb to the National Crime Authority building on 1 March 1994, which detonated, killing Det Sgt Geoffrey Bowen and injuring lawyer Peter Wallis.

Beekeepers to be compensated for hives destroyed in fight against parasite

Compensation will be paid to commercial beekeepers whose hives and bees are destroyed as attempts to contain the deadly varroa mite continue, AAP reports.

The NSW and federal agriculture ministers met on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the response to the discovery of the mite, which was first detected at the Port of Newcastle last week.

About 600 beehives have so far been destroyed and eight properties infected as NSW continues attempts to contain the outbreak.

Eradication zones are in place from the city of Newcastle north to Seaham, with another around Bulahdelah.

NSW agriculture minister, Dugald Saunders, says about 600 hives have been destroyed so far, with as many as 30,000 bees affected in each hive.

Around 440 beekeepers have been affected, with Saunders telling AAP that commercial operators who have had their hives destroyed will be compensated:

Registered commercial beekeepers will be compensated for all essential equipment, hives and bees that are destroyed through this process. This support will be shared by industry and the state and commonwealth governments.

But the minister said at this stage no compensation is on offer for recreational apiarists:

We know that recreational beekeepers will play a big role in helping to help prevent the further spread of varroa mite. They aren’t included in the current compensation agreements. We are looking at what support we can provide them if there is a need for it.

Neither federal nor NSW ministers were able to confirm how much would be paid to commercial beekeepers or the size of the compensation package on offer, but discussions on reimbursement costs are underway.

Paul Karp

Hearing in ACT to discuss documents for trial of Brittany Higgins accused

The prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged sexual assault of Brittany Higgins was in the ACT supreme court on Thursday for a brief return of subpoena hearing, which is a procedural hearing to discuss who documents are being sought from and when and how they’ll be produced.

The subpoena list includes: Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, who conducted the first TV interview with Higgins; Samantha Maiden, who won a Gold Walkley her for work on news.com.au on Higgins’ allegation and is writing a book; the Australian Federal Police; and Laura Tingle, who had a story in April about Higgins’ complaint about the AFP’s handling of evidence in the case.

On Thursday Maiden’s counsel said there had been “technical difficulties” producing some audio, and asked for a further week to return material by 7 July.

Before the hearing, ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold was heard observing that “the interview was 21 January [2021]” and questioning “what facilitated the interview” – which gives an idea of what sort of communications they’re after.

At the bar table mid-hearing, Drumgold asked about a subpoena to Penguin. Lehrmann’s counsel replied it was “still coming back”.

Higgins has signed a book deal with Penguin, one of several books about the specific allegation or treatment of women in parliament that now can’t be published until after the trial is over.

At an earlier hearing, Lehrmann’s counsel had suggested that Wilkinson’s husband, Peter FitzSimons, had acted as a “go-between” in facilitating the Higgins book deal.

Lehrmann’s trial has been delayed until at least October. He denies any form of sexual activity took place and is pleading not guilty.

The matter returns on 14 July for another return of subpoena hearing.

There were 9,926 new Covid cases recorded in the state yesterday, with 21 people in intensive care.

There were 11,504 new cases recorded the state in the latest reporting period, with 37 people in intensive care.

Call for work to begin urgently on five big transmission projects

Work must begin urgently on five big transmission projects if Australia’s main power grid is to succeed in its “once-in-a-century transformation” away from fossil fuels without shortages and energy cost blowouts, the market operator said in its blueprint report.

The integrated system plan, updated biennially by the Australian Energy Market Operator and released today, estimated the grid serving eastern states would need at least 10,000km of new transmission lines to link up a nine-fold expansion of wind and solar farm capacity by 2050 under its mostly likely scenario.

By mid-century, almost two-thirds of Australia’s detached homes will have their own solar panels, up from about 30% now. To support the rapid expansion of energy sources that vary according to the sunshine and wind, the grid will also need to triple the amount of firming capacity, such as pumped hydro or gas plants.

Read the full story here:

Sarah Martin

Hospital recruitment failure

Just 24 medical practitioners received direct assistance to come to Australia under a travel program announced by the Morrison government which promised to bring an extra 2,000 doctors and nurses into the country.

As Australia faces skills shortages across the health and aged care sectors, information obtained from the Department of Health shows that a program set up by the former health minister Greg Hunt in October last year that promised to bring in an extra 2,000 health practitioners over six months was discontinued after just two months.

At the time of the announcement, Hunt said the scheme would allow 2,000 extra doctors and nurses to sidestep travel restrictions to secure flights and take up hospital jobs as part of the government’s pandemic response in a “one-off boost” to the system.

But according to the Department of Health, just 24 health practitioners received direct travel assistance, with the lifting of border restrictions allowing practitioners to travel “without the need for Australian government assistance”.

Read the full story here:

From Moreland to Merri-bek: Melbourne council ready to vote on name change

A Melbourne council is poised to pick an Indigenous word as its new name, cutting its ties with an 18th-century Jamaican slave estate, AAP reports.

Moreland city council in Melbourne’s inner north will consider changing its name to Merri-bek in a special meeting on Sunday after residents picked it as their preferred option.

The name, which means “rocky country”, was one of three presented by Wurundjeri elders and was supported by 59% of ratepayers who filled out a survey.

Moreland mayor Mark Riley said:

Many residents shared that they felt most connected to Merri-bek as it linked to the iconic Merri Creek and the rocky country where we live.

Jerrang, meaning “leaf of tree”, and Wa-dum-buk, meaning “renew”, were the other two name options, garnering 22% and 13% of the vote respectively.

The council last year voted to start consultation with traditional owners and the community on changing its name after discovering that it came from land between Moonee Ponds Creek to Sydney Road that Farquhar McCrae acquired in 1839.

He named the area after a Jamaican slave plantation his father and grandfather operated from 1770 to 1796, which produced sugar and rum, and traded slaves, with 500 to 700 enslaved people there in any one year.

Uncle Andrew Gardiner, deputy chair of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, said the survey results showed people wanted to change the name “to something that brings people together”:

The impressive numbers choosing Merri-bek is significant and shows the spread of post codes, that it wasn’t just a cluster who responded.

If endorsed by the council on Sunday, the new name will be submitted to newly appointed local government minister Melissa Horne for consideration, with final approval at the discretion of Victoria’s governor Linda Dessau.

NSW Liberal MP David Elliott was on Sky News just now, calling for former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro to withdraw from the $500,000-a-year trade commissioner job that was first offered to businesswoman Jenny West.

He’s asked by Peter Stefanovic, “Are you expecting John Barilaro to go to New York?”

Elliott:

Well, I expect him to withdraw and do the honourable thing, because quite clearly when you become the story over an appointment, well, then the appointment might be not in the best interest of the people of New South Wales …

My very, very strong view is that he shouldn’t be going to New York and I’m pretty sure that that’s the view of of the majority of people in this state.

Daniel Hurst

‘I had a very constructive discussion with President Macron,’ PM says

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was also asked in Madrid about his forthcoming meeting with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris.A journalist asked about Malcolm Turnbull’s comment that Albanese’s big advantage in repairing the relationship was that he is not Scott Morrison.

Albanese said he had already had a constructive conversation with Macron in Madrid, before the formal meeting later in the week:

I had a very constructive discussion with President Macron last night. He’s a warm character and we have had phone conversations previously. I very much look forward to my visit to Paris. I thank President Macron for his welcome, and I thank him for the discussion that we had last night.

Last night was a real opportunity for Australia to engage in a less than formal setting with a range of people from President Macron, President Biden, [German chancellor] Olaf Scholz, a range of the leaders who were there. I took the opportunity to talk about Australia’s national interest, to talk about our different plans.One of the things that is clear to me is that the whole world has noticed that Australia has a different position on climate change. What that does is give Australia a seat at the global table of opportunity and I intend to seize that opportunity.

For more on Albanese’s call for greater global cooperation to tackle the climate crisis, see Katharine Murphy’s story from last night:

Daniel Hurst

‘The international community must show the same resolve and courage that the people of Ukraine are showing’

Anthony Albanese welcomed Sweden and Finland’s plans to join Nato as “a very positive development” that showed “just how wrong Vladimir Putin’s judgment and ongoing actions have been in advancing what he saw as the cause of Russia”. He told reporters in Madrid:

I also had a meeting this morning with Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, and congratulated him on the successful outcomes we have already seen from this summit and recommitted Australia to providing support for Nato and for participation in some Nato exercises that we will do later this year.

A journalist noted that Stoltenberg was asking nations to support Ukraine for the long haul. Asked whether Australia was ready for the long haul, Albanese said:

Australia is certainly here for the long haul. We’ve already been Australia’s largest non-Nato contributor with $285m of military assistance, but also $65m of humanitarian assistance.

This is a struggle that must be won because it’s not just about Ukraine and Russia. It is also about whether the rules-based international order will continue to apply. It’s about a breach of that order by one of the UN permanent security council members. It’s about whether the UN charter means something.

And that’s why this attack, unprovoked, by Russia, must be resisted. And the international community must show the same resolve and courage that the people of Ukraine are showing.