The federal government has clashed with the Royal Commission into Aged Care, strongly rejecting the claim by senior counsel assisting the inquiry Peter Rozen that it had no specific COVID-19 plan for the sector. Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck told a news conference: “We have had a plan to deal
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Perhaps thinking he was helping to promote the financial strength of the NBN, Tony Boyd noted in the Australian Financial Review’s Chanticleer column today that the National Broadband Network delivered an EBITDA — earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation — of $1.77 billion. A large and impressive number, most
read now The government and the Australian Defence Force are bracing for reputational damage to the military from damning findings in an imminent report on Australian Special Forces’ behaviour in Afghanistan. The report, expected within a month, is from a long-running inquiry by Justice Paul Brereton. Earlier this year the inspector-general of
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I used to regularly look forward to watching Alan Kohler’s financial report on the ABC news each evening. But when the global financial crisis hit, I suddenly realised that even he didn’t know what was going on. Fast forward to 2020 and I’m having that strange sense of déjà vu—all
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ShutterstockCOVID-19 restrictions in Victoria have had a marked effect on how and where we spend our time. For many people, home has become the workplace, and for most school-aged children, home is also the classroom. We compared Victorian emergency department presentations in May 2020 to those in May
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ShutterstockAs time passes, our fertility declines and our bodies start to fail. These natural changes are what we call ageing. In recent decades, we’ve come leaps and bounds in treating and preventing some of the world’s leading age-related diseases, such as coronary heart disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
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ShutterstockTo fix inequality in Australian education, governments should fully fund all non-government primary schools, according to former former NSW Education Minister and now head of the UNSW Gonski Institute, Adrian Piccoli. In an opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Piccoli suggests government funding be dependent on
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ShutterstockOver the weekend, Victorian Education Minister, James Merlino, announced the individual impact of COVID-19 will be taken into account for every Year 12 student in the state when calculating their VCE score and ATAR. Under usual circumstances, individual students are assessed for special consideration on a case
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As a female-led media organisation that has reported on women’s careers and work for eight years now, we’d love to have been able to cover what happened at the ‘Women’s Job Creation’ forum held by the Office for Women and the Minister for Women today. We’d especially
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The Labor Party must choose between an ambitious renewable energy policy platform, or, protecting jobs while seeing fossil fuel to its inevitable demise. read now…
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Kin Cheung/APThe arrest this week of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong reveals the repressive reality of the city’s new made-in-China national security law. It also sends a sharp signal to the remaining independent media in the territory: watch your step, or you could be
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HealthcareGeorge ZangalisIssue 1276Australiaaged careCOVID-19MelbourneAugust 11, 2020The tragedy for the coronavirus victims in aged care could have been avoided, or greatly reduced, if authorities had implemented early calls for radical reforms to the very sick health system. This is still a question for the present catastrophic stage, if we are to draw
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It would seem a logical step, at least from an existential perspective: to ban something so utterly horrendous to life; to forbid its use in any circumstances, whatever rationale employed to justify its use. But the nuclear weapon has its admirers. There are those who continue to worship its sovereign
read now EnvironmentSusan PriceIssue 1276 Mauritiusoil spillResistanz ek AlternativAugust 11, 2020An ecological catastrophe is unfolding in Mauritius, as oil continues to spill from a Japanese bulk carrier that struck a reef off its coast on July 25. Mauritian ecosocialist organisation Rezistans ek Alternativ (RA) has criticised the government for
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Imperialism & warJim McIlroyIssue 1276AustraliaHiroshima DayBritish nuclear testsInternational Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)August 11, 2020A webinar sponsored by the Sydney Hiroshima Day — “Fighting the Bomb” — heard from prominent peace activists on August 6. It coincided with the 75th anniversary of the United States’ nuclear attack on the Japanese
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The shutdown in Victoria is devastating the state economy retarding the national recovery. The data on which a picture actual downturn and longer-term national costs is confusing. Measured GDP has seen a
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Those characterising themselves as ‘sovereign citizens’ have been re-animated by COVID-19 restrictions. Personally, I think if we live in and enjoy the benefits of society, we should act within the laws of the land and resist flagrantly flouting societal norms of behaviour. However, two caveats apply. Laws should be duly
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Back in the 2010s, the great healthcare transformation on the horizon was precision medicine, which promised to make treatments hugely more effective by matching them to the genome, history and context of each individual. Barack Obama featured a precision medicine initiative in his 2015 State of the Union address. Precision
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Cancel culture has made it to the ancient Greeks. The post Tips and Murmurs: Pericles is cancelled … a doc is docked … job of the year appeared first on
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ShutterstockEndometriosis is a debilitating, chronic condition that affects 1 in 10 women worldwide. It occurs when tissue which has similar properties to the womb lining, ends up in the body and attaches to organs, forming a patch of tissue called a lesion. The condition can cause chronic pelvic
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For the first time in six years, no women of colour CEOs are on this year’s Global 500 list. The list calculates the world’s largest 500 companies by revenue. This year’s companies employ a total of 69.9 million people worldwide across 32 countries. Out of the 500
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The future for young Australian workers looks dire with news their income was well in decline before COVID-19. read now…
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The NSW government’s icare scandal is not going away, with questions for Treasurer Dominic Perrottet remaining unanswered. The post Conflict of Interest: More conflicts emerge in icare scandal appeared first
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The Victorian premier faced a grilling from state MPs over his handling of the pandemic. But a number of questions remain unanswered. The post Andrews fronts inquiry, ducks on
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The NDIS regulatory body is overwhelmed and ineffective, with thousands of complaints going ignored. The post Overwhelmed disability watchdog routinely dismisses abuse and neglect appeared first on Crikey.
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The return of The Masked Singer last night brought some fun (and better ratings) to the Ten Network last night. The post The Masked Singer brings some fun to Ten
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read now By 2353NM A few years ago, we were in Canada. One cool and wet day in St Jacobs, Ontario (a couple of hours west of Toronto), we walked into a building dedicated to The Mennonite Story because it looked dry and warm inside. Unsurprisingly, the building went someway towards explaining the history
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New arrests of Hong Kong media figures and political activists prove that China is wasting no time in its great purge. The post China’s Hong Kong media crackdown reveals truth
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ASIC has confirmed it is no longer investigating Brenner over her role in the allegations arising out of the banking royal commission. But her part in the ultimate demise of
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Southerners won’t be allowed into the NT any time soon, plus more of the latest COVID-19 news. The post NT borders stay shut, high school hotspots, and the key to
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If Teddy Sheean does receive a Victoria Cross, as the Prime Minister has recommended today, it will right a wrong which has persisted since World War II. No member of the Royal Australian Navy has ever received a Victoria Cross. That, of course,
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Outsourcing is crucial to the aged care sector — but the regulator prefers to let private providers ensure that outsourced services are up to scratch. The post Outsourcing in aged
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The Great China dream will replace all private dreams.~Ma Jian, China Dream In Ma Jian’s new novel, the protagonist, Ma Daode, may be a corrupt, womanizing local official, but he is a corrupt, womanizing local official with a mission. His goal is to develop a drug that will allow President Xi
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Our world has changed. Right now, we are out of the CBD, out of offices, we are online, we are collaborating, creating, connecting. We are managing anxiety, uncertainty, and significant social disruption. Many of us are separated from family and friends, and some of us, have lost
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AAP Image/Daniel PockettThe COVID-19 crisis has thrown up an array of new habits and coping mechanisms. But the fetishisation, and even sexualisation, of prominent health officials is one of our more unexpected pandemic pastimes. Is this trend equality in action, or an extension of harmful objectification? In Australia,
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