Health News at Your Fingertips

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.