CATEGORY

Law & order

It’s not good enough

Michelle Daw. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Foundation has slammed the state government and Yorke and Northern Local Health Network for its lack of urgency in responding to security concerns at Wallaroo Hospital. The ANMF SA branch is calling for 24/7 restraint-trained guards to be employed at Wallaroo and Port Pirie hospitals, following recent "code black" incidents.

Council to hold off on Fisherman Bay fences

Michelle Daw. Barunga West Council appears to have backed down on plans to immediately tackle the issue of unauthorised fences around homes at Fisherman Bay ...The Papps family had erected a fenced enclosure at the rear of their property to keep [retired greyhound] Max safe, and are awaiting more information about fencing requirements from Barunga West Council.

Local 8 ball legend recovers from vicious machete attack

Long-time local Damien Ha was in good spirits as he recovered from surgery after a vicious attack by a group of teenagers in the early hours ... "I get the stitches out in two weeks so I should be right to play." Damien has ranked four in the Territory for the Masters, and travels each year to represent Tennant in the Australian Titles. "I told them I know your face, and he told me he had a machete, grabbed it out of the bush and hit me with it."

Stronger, more effective Aboriginal heritage protection laws: Maher

The Malinauskas Labor Government is delivering on its election commitment with the introduction of new laws for stronger penalties for people who disturb or destroy Aboriginal heritage ... The new laws will make the maximum penalty for the damaging, disturbing or interfering heritage offences $2 million for body corporates and $250,000 for individuals and/or 2 years prison.

Yanchep man arrested by child exploitation operations squad

A Yanchep man is one of eight people arrested by child exploitation operations squad officers between Monday, May 1 and Friday May 5 ... The eight people arrested were charged with a total of 89 offences, including sexually penetrating a child of or over 13 and under 16 years...

New fee system to help protect Aboriginal cultural heritage: Buti

At the lowest scale, a fixed fee of $250 will apply for a company or organisation with less than $10 million in global revenue, up to a fee of $1.39 million for a company or organisation with a global revenue of $5 billion or more that enters an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Plan over 20 years. Where there is no risk of impact to Aboriginal cultural heritage, no approval is required and there is no fee payable.

Maldon Central Heritage Precinct’s bid for listing with the Australian Heritage Council

Michele Waddington. This is the first part of a series on Maldon’s application for listing by the Australian Heritage Council as the outstanding 19th-century Australian Goldfields central precinct ... Part 1 claims that Maldon’s authentic and integrated streetscape was the impetus for heritage protection in Australia.

New youth detention centre to be built at Woodford: Linard

The first of two new youth detention centres for Queensland will be built at the Woodford Correctional Precinct north west of Brisbane ... The Palaszczuk Government has also committed to building a new youth detention centre near Cairns.

Regional Western Australian abandoned by Labor again: Davies

Shadow Electoral Affairs Minister Hon. Mia Davies MLA said the Labor Party’s submission on adjusting the State’s electoral boundaries confirms Labor’s contempt for regional WA. "In two short years the McGowan Labor Government has abolished regional representation in the Upper House and are now arguing to cut another country seat and create a new one in the metropolitan area": Shadow Electoral Affairs Minister Hon. Mia Davies.

Third White Spot detection as fishermen face a 2-year control order

White Spot virus has been detected in a third Palmers Island prawn farm leaving around 50 prawn trawler owners staring down the barrel of a two-year extension on the control order preventing them from removing any green prawns from the Clarence River. For an industry already on its knees after no income for the past 16 weeks due to the current control order, this third detection on April 21 on a prawn farm on North Bank Road spells further problems.

Dad seeks answers over son’s death at ‘spiritual retreat’

Jarrad Antonovich died during a “spiritual retreat” held at Arcoora Arts & Eco Retreat at Collins Creek near Kyogle ... Glen speaks softly. He has been living with his son’s death since October 17, 2021 ... The court was told by an “expert kambo practitioner” that most deaths associated with the practice involved a delay in calling an ambulance.

20,000 South Easterners force state inquiry

Naracoorte's Lachlan Haynes and his radiation treatment working party will be at Parliament House [on Thursday 4 May 2023] where their petition of 20,0000 signatures will spark a State Legislative Review Committee inquiry. The petition calls for radiation treatment services to be available in the South East, and 20,000 people signed in less than three months ... Cancer patients, at their own cost, then must travel to Adelaide or interstate and live there for the duration of their radiation therapy which is usually 15 minutes a day for two to three months.

Covid-19 vaccine class action

A class action, organised and crowd-funded by Queensland GP Dr Melissa McCann, is taking aim at the Commonwealth government and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), along with a number of senior public servants, alleging negligence, breach of statutory duty and misfeasance in public office. The suit alleges that the respondents approved the vaccines “with no proper or reasonable evidentiary or logical basis to reasonably determine the vaccines to be safe, effective and possessing a positive risk-benefit profile.”

Have your say on modernising levies legislation: DAFF

‘Have Your Say’ consultation is now open on a redraft of existing legislation that underpins Australia’s agricultural levy system ... The new legislation aims to provide a simpler, clearer legislative framework so industries can keep benefiting from their investments in research and development, marketing, biosecurity, emergency responses, and residue testing.

Vandals devastate Speedway Club days before its opening weekend

Just ahead of the Tennant Creek Speedway’s opening race weekend, committee members turned up for a meeting yesterday to be greeted by utter devastation ... The police and firies were immediately called. "We are so close to opening night, and it’s a double feature" ... "We need to do something because these little f**ks are just running amok."

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 (WA) – Have you got any culture?

How is Aboriginal cultural heritage defined in the Guidelines? ... Are there any records we can search to identify heritage sites? ... What is an exempt activity? ... If I need a permit or plan what are the timelines? ... Isn’t there a better way?

Class action planned over White Spot

A fisherman who has been trawling the Clarence River all his life is behind a legal class action hoping to compensate fishermen who haven’t had any income since February due to a White Spot control order preventing the harvesting of uncooked prawns ... "We are on our asses, we’ve had no compensation, the only compensation we were given by the Department of Primary Industries was a one-third reduction in our management fees, which is nothing": Bruce Clark.

Keeping young people out of the criminal justice system: Symes

Victoria will be the first state to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 years old to 12, and to 14 years old by 2027 – bolstering the Victorian Government’s work to avoid young people entering the criminal justice system early and keeping the community safe. Medical evidence indicates very young children are at a critical stage of cognitive development and may be incapable of understanding their behaviour is seriously wrong.

New animal welfare and farm trespass legislation comes into operation: Quigley, Jarvis

The maximum penalty for individuals charged with illegally entering a premise used for commercial animal farming or slaughter has been doubled and the availability of misconduct restraining orders expanded under the McGowan Government's new animal welfare and trespass laws. Offenders will now face a maximum of two years' imprisonment and a fine of $24,000 if found guilty of the new offence of aggravated trespass.

SARC promotes Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness month with this year’s themes being Drawing Connections and Prevention Demands Equity. On Wednesday the Barkly Sexual Assault Referral Centre team held a Community BBQ in Peko Park to raise awareness in the community that sexual violence is not okay and that there is support available for those that are affected by it.

Police Watch House to undergo $11.5m redevelopment

The Tennant Creek Watch House will undergo a $11.5 million redevelopment as part of the Territory Labor Government’s investment to improve police resources in Budget 2023. The Territory Government committed $3.4 million to redevelop the Watch House in 2019 as part of the Barkly Regional Deal, however it was subsequently deemed that a full replacement of the facility was required.

White spot order crippling Clarence fishermen

The Clarence River Fishermen’s Co-Operative faces losing one third of its annual income due to the ban on commercial fishing in the Clarence River following the detection of the white spot virus at Palmers Island prawn farms ... On Monday April 17, Federal Member for Page, Kevin Hogan and State Member for Clarence, Richie Williamson called on the Federal and State Labor Governments to provide immediate financial assistance to the Clarence commercial fishing and aquaculture industry.

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