Health News at Your Fingertips

Online betting exclusion register to be in place by ‘end of November’: Rishworth

Speaking of gambling ads, the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, is asked about this issue taking questions after her speech at the National Press Club.

Reporter:

As minister do you want to see tougher regulations for the online wagering industry when it comes to advertising, but also the promotion of their products? And could you in the future or would you personally like to see Australia go down the path of regulating advertising for the gaming industry, the way that we have done for the tobacco industry?

Rishworth:

Coming into this portfolio, it was one of the first issues that I was briefed on, was actually the role that our government has and that I have in enforcing the consumer framework to minimise harm on online wagering.

Since coming into this portfolio, we have introduced the activity statements, which is an email which people get monthly, and a record people get monthly, highlighting their wins and losses, and the second thing we have done is work towards the exclusion register, the Bet Stop, which will hopefully be in place at the end of November.

Where do we go next? Well, once the last steps of the consumer framework are established… I want to work with my state and territory colleagues and work with the House of Representatives Standing Committee that has started an inquiry into advertising and other areas of problem online wagering, so it is an area I am particularly interested in addressing.

Nationals call for consideration of gambling ad ban

Paul Karp

The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, has welcomed news of tougher anti-gambling warnings in gambling ads, but opened the door to banning the ads entirely.

In a statement, Littleproud said:

I believe changes to gambling ads don’t go far enough. We need to have a [conversation] about whether or not gambling ads should be on at all – especially given that children are often watching sport, or families are together to support their favourite team when the betting ads come on.

Children are exposed to gambling ads as soon as they start watching sport on television or online and that’s often from a very young age. I encourage public debate on this matter through the online gambling committee process.

Luke Henriques-Gomes

Former director was ‘almost immediately’ concerned by early plans for robodebt

Plans for what became the robodebt scheme “almost immediately” concerned policy advisers at the Department of Social Services and were viewed by one official as “unethical”, a royal commission has been told.

Cameron Brown, a former director of payment integrity and debt management at Department of Social Services, said he was responsible for seeking advice from its internal legal team in late 2014.

That was in response to a proposal from the Department of Human Services to use “income averaging” to raise welfare debts – the central plank of what became the robodebt scheme.

He said he and his team were “almost immediately” concerned about the plan, which he viewed as unethical.

Brown compared the proposal to the so-called Dallas Buyers Club “speculative invoicing” saga in which copyright holders sent legal demands to alleged downloaders for large amounts of money in the hope they will settle”.

He noted that many of the people to be targeted by the robodebt scheme were vulnerable and the “onus of proof” was unreasonable given much of the information they would need to source went back years.

Brown said the subsequent internal DSS legal advice was “black and white” and that it “should have been the end of the proposal”.

The inquiry heard there were discussions within DSS about seeking more formal legal advice from the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS).

However, it heard this was complicated by the fact that at this time there was no formal plan – known as a “new policy proposal” – to be referred for the AGS’ consideration.

It remains unclear what the Department of Human Services – which led the proposal – did in response to the legal doubts within DSS.

The inquiry previously heard DSS’s internal legal were subsequently approached to review a more concrete proposal a few months later in early 2015. It heard this left them with only two days to review it, because the plan had been taken into the budget process after winning support from the then minister Scott Morrison. There is no suggestion Morrison was aware of the legal doubts.

The government went on to implement the scheme in July 2015.

It ran until November 2019, when the government accepted in federal court that it was unlawful.

Brown’s evidence continues before royal commissioner Catherine Holmes.

‘Beescaping’ parliament gardens a success

The landscape team at Parliament House has done a “fantastic job ‘beescaping’” its gardens, says the head beekeeper at the Australian Parliament, Cormac Farrell.

(Before you ask, yes head parliamentary beekeeper is an official role and Gabrielle Chan has written about it.)

Social services minister speaks at press club on domestic violence plan

Amy Remeikis

As we mentioned a little earlier this morning (it was at least three coffees ago) the social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, is giving a national press club address today.

It is her first address and she is using it to speak on the national plan to end family violence which was released recently. The government plan aims to end family and domestic violence and sexual violence within one generation.

It’s a big ask.

The main announcement is an additional $100m from the commonwealth to deliver up to 720 safe places for women and children – and it is overwhelmingly women and their children – fleeing violence.

That’s on top of the $100m which was already committed as an investment in crisis and transitional housing for those fleeing violence, as well as older women at risk of homelessness. An announcement of $169m for frontline services has previously been made.

The national plan does recognise that men can be victims of family, domestic and sexual violence, but its aim is to stop gendered violence. And that also means acknowledging the violence against LGBTQ+ people, as well as a focus on the violence Indigenous women and non-binary people face.

Paul Karp

Mark Dreyfus says voice will send ‘unequivocal message’ that First Nations people have a say

He said:

The government committed during the last election to implementing the Uluru statement from the heart in full, including recognising First Nations people in the constitution by enshrining an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to parliament.

The voice will be an advisory body to parliament and the government that will have a practical impact for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by giving them a direct say in laws, policies and programs which affect their day-to-day lives.

Putting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice in our constitution is a very important step towards achieving true reconciliation with Indigenous Australians, and closing the gap. It sends a clear and unequivocal message of respect for our Indigenous culture and heritage by ensuring our First Nations people are heard and that they are given a direct say in matters that affect them.

The government has already begun work on the voice referendum, and we are committed to delivering it in partnership with the Australian community.

A successful referendum requires as much support as possible, at the heart of which lies support from First Nations people. We are working in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the Australian community more broadly, in the lead up to the referendum. This engagement with Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians will be broad, it will be based on respect, and it will be focused on building consensus.

Paul Karp

Discrimination complaints surged during pandemic, attorney general says

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, is giving the Enderby Lecture hosted by the Australian Human Rights Commission.

In it, Dreyfus noted that race discrimination commissioner, Chin Tan, has pointed to “a documented resurgence in discriminatory attitudes in our communities”.

Dreyfus said:

There was a 14% increase in complaints made under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 prior to the pandemic from 2017 and 2019. During the pandemic, between 2018 and 2021, there was a significant 57% increase in complaints.

We continue to hear allegations of race-based misconduct across sporting codes and within workplaces and in other aspects of public life. The government condemns racism without reservation.

Like so many Australians, to me, this issue is deeply personal. My father, his brother, and their parents, were forced to flee from Nazi Germany for the simple reason that they were Jewish. My great-grandparents could not be convinced to leave. They died in the Holocaust. My family’s story, as well as the broader history of the Jewish people, informs my work as attorney general today …

It is a history that makes me appreciative of the wonderful diversity of this nation and the need to continually protect that diversity. It reinforces the need to uphold and, where possible, to strengthen the fundamental human rights in which that diversity flourishes.

Australia’s continued success as a multicultural nation must include an ongoing commitment to addressing racism. The government takes this obligation very seriously.

Dreyfus did not refer directly to the government’s plans to introduce a religious discrimination bill, but he did say that through the anti-racism strategy the government “will not just tolerate people from other cultures and religions but actively seek to understand, accept and welcome people”. He also said that “our understanding of human rights is continually evolving, and with it so must our law”.

More than 500 people under evacuation orders in Forbes, NSW

The New South Wales emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, has given a midday press conference about the state’s flood situation.

She said while blue skies have emerged and weather conditions are set to ease over the coming days, “the flooding risk is very, very high at the moment.”

Many of our river systems are in significant flood, particularly the Lachlan River, Murrumbidgee River, and the Murray.

In relation to Forbes we are anticipating record floods to move through that community. There are evacuation orders in place impacting 500 to 600 people, and they are evacuation order is to take effect by 4pm today.

We have evacuation orders in place for the entire suburb of North Wagga.

Cooke encouraged residents in areas with evacuation orders “do not to leave it to the last minute to evacuate.”

She acknowledges that many communities are “exhausted” after repeated floods.

We also saw an evacuation order for Gunnedah. That community has experienced seven or eight flood in the past month. Down here in Wagga this is the fourth peak to come through since August. I appreciate communities right across central and southern New South Wales are exhausted.

Our rivers tend to rise very quickly because the ground is saturated and we are continuing to see peaks roll through the system, even though there isn’t water falling from the sky at the moment.

Benita Kolovos

Victorian Ibac granted interim injunction order against the Age over draft report

At a press conference the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is being asked about the Victorian anti-corruption watchdog’s decision overnight to launch court action to prevent the Age from publishing any details from a draft report.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (Ibac) was granted an interim injunction order against Nine’s the Age newspaper during a late hearing on Wednesday.

Ibac’s lawyers attended the supreme court hearing in Melbourne, but no lawyers for the Age were present.

The matter is currently before justice Gregory Garde.

Asked if the public has the right to know about the report, Andrews replied that it was “not a matter for him”:

They’re an independent agency.

Caitlin Cassidy

Gunnedah roads strained after seven natural disasters

The Gunnedah mayor, Jamie Chaffey, said his shire’s road network was under “severe strain” following seven natural disasters in 12 months:

The frequency has made it very difficult to get across our network, we have 2,000 km and 900 km of unsealed roads … and we’ve been impacted right across the shire. It’s the compounding, cumulative effect. We’ve already spent millions just doing immediate remediation to get roads open again. It’s not even addressing the issue of how bad these roads are and how much money and time it’ll take.

Chaffey said his shire was far from isolated, with 126 out of 128 councils in NSW having declared a natural disaster in the past year.

When it comes to the local and regional road network, we don’t have the funding and manpower and equipment to get around this massive task. We need some innovative thinking.

Local Government NSW declares statewide roads emergency

Caitlin Cassidy

Local Government NSW (LGNSW), a coalition of more than 100 mayors and councillors, has declared a statewide roads emergency at the National Local Roads and Transport Congress as a result of this year’s devastating floods.

The LGNSW president, Darriea Turley, said successive floods and torrential rain coupled with “chronic funding constraints” had caused $2.5bn in road damages and a “collapse” of the local and regional road network.

More than 220 natural disaster areas have been declared across NSW this year, leaving the road network in a state of emergency. Road repair funding pledged to date has fallen well short of what is required so we’re declaring this statewide roads emergency to get help before the situation becomes even worse.

In the coming weeks close to $4bn worth of crops will need to be harvested and transported, yet harvesting machinery is unable to access some of the most productive regions in our state. The wider rural communities supporting Australia’s food bowl are on their knees, waiting for the network to be repaired. NSW communities are facing an unprecedented disaster which requires an unprecedented response.

LGNSW is calling for an “acceleration” and “significant increase” in funding for the $1.1bn fixing local roads and fixing country bridges program, a boost to the road block grant and new funding for machinery and skilled workers to to expedite road repairs.

The declaration was unanimously supported by participating councils, meeting today in Hobart.

Collingwood’s chief executive officer, Mark Anderson, has resigned after five years in the role, with the club’s football boss, Graham Wright, to step in as interim chief executive until a replacement is named.

The AFL released a statement praising Anderson’s leadership:

He also oversaw record membership numbers – which peaked at 100,384 as the club secured a top-four finish this season – while the club also signed and expanded sponsorship deals with KFC, Emirates and Nike during his time with the Magpies.

Collingwood is now the third club actively pursuing a new chief executive, with both Essendon and North Melbourne looking for chief executives after the departures of Andrew Thorburn and Ben Amarfio respectively.

The Collingwood president, Jeff Browne, has released a statement thanking Anderson:

On behalf of all at Collingwood, we thank Mark for his dedicated service to the Club.

We thank Mark for his guidance and expertise which has resulted in strong football and netball programs, record membership numbers, the highest home and away crowds in the competition and a club that has great momentum.

Benita Kolovos

Daniel Andrews promises $44m for new medical equipment for eight hospitals

Day two of the big red Labor bus and we’ve arrived at the Northern Centre for Health Education and Research in Epping, in Melbourne’s north.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, has announced a re-elected Labor government will spend $44m on new medical equipment for eight hospitals across the state.

The positron emission tomography, or PET scanners, which are used to find and monitor the spread of cancers, diagnose heart disease, brain disorders and other conditions, will be rolled out to Ballarat base hospital, Frankston hospital, Goulburn Valley Health in Shepparton, Sunshine hospital, the Northern in Epping, Werribee Mercy hospital, Warrnambool base hospital and Wangaratta base hospital.

Andrews says:

This is all about making sure you get the care, with the best equipment, free of charge, as close to home as possible.

The scanners will be rolled out over four years, he says.

Adeshola Ore

Victorian health department considering complaint about opposition’s ‘Ditch Danmobile’

Victoria’s Department of Health is considering a complaint about the state opposition’s campaign vehicle – the “Ditch Dan” vintage ambulance – and if it breaches the law.

The Coalition on Monday unveiled the 1970s-style ambulance – dubbed by the opposition the “Ditch Danmobile”.

But the head of the state’s ambulance union questioned the legality of the opposition using an “ambulance” vehicle. Under the state’s Ambulance Services Act, it is an offence to use the word “ambulance” on any vehicle that is not owned or operated by an ambulance service without written authority of the Department of Health’s secretary.

A spokesperson for the department of health told Guardian Australia on Thursday it was “considering the complaint” under the state’s ambulance legislation.

A fine of $3,698 can be imposed if someone is found to have committed the offence of using the word “ambulance” on a vehicle without the department’s authority.

One-third of large corporations paid no income tax: report

Christopher Knaus

About one-third of large corporations in Australia paid no income tax in 2020-21, a new report shows.

The Australian Taxation Office released its corporate tax transparency report on Thursday, which showed the percentage of entities paying no income tax was 32%, down from a high of 36% in 2015-16.

ATO Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Saint said there were genuine reasons why some companies might not pay income tax, but that:

We pay close attention to companies not paying tax. We hold those companies that report continual year-on-year losses to an additional layer of scrutiny.

While it’s true some large entities paid no income tax, we’re seeing through our justified trust program that there are high levels of compliance by these entities, and taking decisive action where there’s not.

The report covers 2,468 corporate entities, including 1,376 foreign-owned companies with an income of $100m or more, 563 Australian public entities with an income of $100m or more, and 529 Australian-owned resident private companies with an income of $200m or more.

The Guardian is still working its way through the detailed report.

The ATO says that the 2,468 corporate entities paid a combined $68.6 billion in income tax in 2020-21. That is a significant increase in tax on the year prior and the highest since reporting began.

The ATO says high commodity prices drove the increase in corporate tax payments.

Saint also said:

These results demonstrate there are high levels of tax compliance amongst our largest corporates.

More allied health professionals needed in schools, education union says

Peace also says a more diverse range of staff are needed in schools to address “complex and diverse needs”.

We need additional staff in our schools to support teachers, whether that’s education support staff [or] allied health professions. We’re dealing with very complex and diverse needs in our schools. We have a lot of kids who have additional needs and we simply don’t have the resources that we need to provide for all of those students, and that consequently means teachers are trying to fill gaps and consequently doing excessive and unsustainable work.

She says the inability to employ more staff does “mostly” come down to money.

Our public schools in this country are not funded to the schooling resource standard, the standard that the federal government has set to educate every child, regardless of where they go to school. Public school students are funded well below that standard.

Our public school students deserve better and the way to make sure that we have got the allied health professionals we need – psychologists, speech therapists, and so on – and also [that we are] giving teachers time to do the most important work, and that is when they’re in their classroom delivering the best and highest quality education they can.

They need time to do that preparation, planning, assessing their student work – and without the additional teachers, without additional support staff, without removing the administrative and accountability burden to some degree, then teachers will always be pressed for time.

Administrative and accountability workloads of teachers needs addressing, union says

We mentioned on the blog earlier that the government has released its draft of the $328m National Teacher Workforce Action Plan.

Meredith Peace, the deputy president of the Australian Education Union spoke to ABC News this morning about how the sector feels about the draft, including the $10m plan to raise the profession’s status and $25m boost to address workloads.

The overall plan is a good initial step to look at the issue of teacher shortages across the nation. I don’t think the plan itself will resolve all of the issues we have, but it is a good first step and obviously advertising, promoting our profession, is one small aspect of that plan.

Workload is one of the critical issues … we know our members are saying it is driving them out of the profession and I think it’s also discouraging new entrants coming into the profession as well.

We need significant investment, not only from the federal government, but also from our state and territory governments across the country to address this issue.

We need to address the administrative and accountability workloads that drag teachers away from the most important work they do and that is the planning, the preparation for their classrooms when they’re actually teaching students and delivering a high-quality education.

Japanese encephalitis discovered in north-east Victoria’s water

The threat of Japanese encephalitis increased in Australia earlier in the year when it was discovered in piggeries across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia.

If you still have questions about the virus and why it’s spreading in Australia, Guardian Australia’s medical editor Melissa Davey has this explainer for you:

Paul Karp

Andrew Leigh on $5 note: ‘We’re having a considered conversation’

The assistant minister for treasury, Andrew Leigh, has commented on the Reserve Bank’s consultation over whether the King should feature on the $5 bill.

The federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, accused Leigh of attempting to “rewrite history” and “trying to take advantage of the circumstances” by suggesting King Charles III would not automatically appear on the new $5 note.

Leigh told reporters in Canberra:

It hasn’t always been the monarch on the lowest denomination note, but it has in general been the case. We’re having a considered conversation with the Reserve Bank and the treasurer is leading that conversation. We’re not in a rush to make a decision on this. We believe it’s appropriate to take time, consult appropriately and make a considered decision.

Leigh declined to express a personal view.