Health News at Your Fingertips

New updates from NSW authorities:

A Melbourne council has voted to change its name to an Indigenous word, cutting ties with an 18th century Jamaican slave estate.

Councillors voted in a special meeting on Sunday to change Moreland City Council in Melbourne’s inner north to Merri-bek, meaning “rocky country”. The name was among three put forward by Wurundjeri elders, and supported by 59% of more than 6,300 ratepayers who filled out a survey.

The member for Brunswick, Tim Read, posted on Twitter that the council had voted to become Merri-Bek City Council, seven to three.

The vote represented a momentous day of celebration, reconciliation, and healing for the community, councillor Annalivia Carli Hannan said.

“Merri-bek has clear support from the community, and we hope to start formally implementing the name later this year, once it is approved by the minister for local government.”

The number of people who chose Merri-bek was significant and reflected a spread of postcodes and demographics, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation’s deputy chair, Uncle Andrew Gardiner, said.

“We thank the people for their responses and we are proud to walk with them with their new council name that reflects the vision of ‘one community, proudly diverse’, and a council that backs up its statement of commitment with action and respect.”

Following the vote, the new name will be submitted to the newly appointed local government minister, Melissa Horne, for consideration, with final approval at the discretion of Victoria’s governor, Linda Dessau.

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 it came from land between Moonee Ponds Creek to Sydney Road that Farquhar McCrae acquired in 1839.

He named the area Moreland 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.

It is expected the council will start changing its name on digital materials and major signage later in 2022.

– from AAP.

Ben Smee

A Queensland police whistleblower has claimed she was directed to withhold evidence of police failures in domestic violence cases from the state coroner’s office, and that detectives did not properly investigate the deaths of at least four First Nations women who had previously been subject to repeated violence by their partners.

The former senior sergeant – a veteran of more than 20 years in the Queensland Police Service (QPS) – worked as a police liaison to the domestic and family violence death review unit, which is part of the state coroner’s office. Her role in 2020 included auditing death investigations for any link to domestic and family violence (DFV).

The officer, who has asked not to be named, recently made a submission to the commission of inquiry into police culture. The statement – not released to the public but seen by Guardian Australia – alleged it was “made explicitly clear” by her supervising officer that “I was to protect the QPS’s reputation at all costs”.

For more, read the full story from Guardian Australia’s Queensland correspondent, Ben Smee.

There appears little doubt that the Reserve Bank of Australia will lift the cash rate again when its board meets on Tuesday, the third monthly hike in a row.

If economists are correct, borrowers will be looking at another 50 basis point increase as the RBA tries to rein inflation as it balloons towards 7% this year from an already lofty 5.1%.

In his recent public appearances, the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, has made it clear that his board will do all that is necessary to bring inflation back to the 2-3% target.

However, he appeared to rule out taking a lead from the US Federal Reserve, which last month jacked up its key rate by 75 basis points, the biggest move in nearly 30 years.

Lowe told a conference that he expects the RBA board will have the same discussion as it did in June, when the option of 25 or 50 basis point increases were on the table.

– From AAP

No people with Covid-19 have died in Queensland overnight, with the state recording 3,971 new cases on Sunday morning, 630 people in hospital, and 18 in ICU.

No people with Covid-19 have died in Western Australia overnight, with the state recording 4,390 new cases on Sunday morning, 223 people in hospital, and 9 in ICU.

Six people with Covid-19 have died in South Australia overnight, with the state recording 2,413 new cases on Sunday morning, 226 people in hospital, 8 in ICU and one on ventilation.

No amount of flags could encourage me to swim in this weather.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of waves of up to five metres for much of the NSW coast, with a marine wind warning in place for today and Monday.

Be careful out there.

Some photos of the floods today:

As our economics correspondent has noted, this weather prefaced an extremely dry month.

You can catch up on why we’re seeing so much rainfall here. Unfortunately, this weather pattern could be sticking around for awhile yet.

More floods forecast for Australia’s east as La Niña weather pattern lingers | Australia weather | The Guardian

Tasmania has reported 1,062 new Covid cases overnight and no further deaths.

There are 53 people being treated in hospital with the virus, an increase of six.

There are three people currently being treated in ICU.

Statewide, there are 7,174 active cases.

Not sure why you’d want to right now but just in case anyone out there had the urge to go camping around Bendeela, it isn’t happening.

No people with Covid-19 have died in the ACT overnight, with the territory recording 1,031 new cases on Sunday morning, 130 people in hospital, and 4 in ICU.