Key events
Victoria police announce renewed search for Samantha Murphy
Adeshola Ore
Victoria Police has announced a renewed search for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy in Enfield State Park, about 25km south of the regional city.
Murphy was last seen more than two months ago when she left her Ballarat East home to go for a run on 4 February. Last month, police charged 22-year-old Patrick Stephenson, from nearby town Scotsburn, with the murder of Murphy.
Victoria Police say the search will focus on an area highlighted by intelligence derived from a number of sources.
Mark Hatt, Acting Det Supt for Crime Command says the search will involve a number of detectives from the Missing Persons Squad:
Since Samantha’s disappearance over two months ago, a range of searches and other enquiries have been undertaken in the Ballarat area as part of this investigation. This includes extensive large scale searches such as we have planned this week, but also smaller targeted searches focused in very specific areas.
I want to assure those in the Ballarat community that police remain focused on doing everything we can to return Samantha to her family.
Tamsin Rose
Crakanthorp thanks community after Icac investigation dropped
The former New South Wales minister, Tim Crakanthorp, has thanked the community for its support after the state’s corruption watchdog announced it had dropped its investigation into his conduct.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption announced it had “terminated” its preliminary investigation yesterday afternoon, eight months after the Newcastle MP was dumped from cabinet. A spokesperson said:
As the commission is satisfied that there are no reasonable prospects of finding Mr Crakanthorp’s conduct is sufficiently serious to justify a finding of corrupt conduct, it has terminated its investigation.
Today, Crakanthorp said:
I welcome yesterday’s statement from the NSW Icac that they have terminated their inquiry. I want to thank the countless people who have offered kind words and support. It has truly been appreciated. My focus for the last 16 years, as both a councillor and a member of parliament, has been to serve the people of Newcastle to the best of my ability. That will continue to be my priority.
More here:
Man to face court after alleged home invasion in Sydney’s south-west
A man will face court today over an alleged home invasion in Sydney’s south-west last year.
On 28 September, emergency services were called to reports of shorts fired at Chester Hill. Officers were told five men had allegedly forced entry into a home and threatened occupants with weapons including a baseball bat and firearm.
A 46-year-old woman was allegedly hit with a bat, while a 48-year-old man suffered a leg wound. Neither required hospital treatment.
A number of children were home at the time of the incident, police say, but were not injured.
Following investigations, a 23-year-old man was arrested at a correctional facility yesterday. He was charged with specially aggravated breaking and entering with intent while armed with a dangerous weapon, and discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was refused bail to appear at Bankstown local court today. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Angus Taylor says talk of Palestinian state ‘reckless’ and ‘inappropriate’
Angus Taylor also reiterated the opposition’s stance that it is too soon to be considering recognising a Palestinian state.
On the Today show, Taylor said:
The precondition for getting to what Penny Wong is asking for is the hostages to be returned, the terrorist infrastructure to be dismantled, a good faith negotiations and agreement on borders, a knowledge that both sides will be able to be secure under the new arrangements and we are nowhere near any of those things.
So talk about putting the cart before the horse. This is reckless. It’s inappropriate. We need to, we all want to see peace. We all want to see peace. But this is not the pathway to get there.
For a full explainer on what Wong said during her speech earlier this week, my colleague Daniel Hurst has you covered:
Opposition responds to government’s new industry plan
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has criticised the government’s new industry plan and argued it would require “throwing hard-earned taxpayers’ money around”.
Speaking on the Today show, Taylor also said more information was needed on the proposal:
Of course… we want to see more manufacturing in Australia [but] you don’t beat a cost of living crisis, you don’t address a cost of living crisis by throwing hard earned taxpayers’ money around. And that’s exactly what Albanese is proposing here. We haven’t seen any of the details, I should say, and we’ll look at those closely as they come in.
In case you missed it: Albanese has announced plans for a green interventionist industry policy, which would use direct government support to speed up the energy transition. You can read the full story from Karen Middleton below:
Taylor argued that last time there was a lot of inflation in Australia it was solved by “getting government out of the way”.
By getting rid of the red tape, by letting small businesses get on with the job of doing the things that they do. And right now they’re being crushed.
Look, the country that’s been going down this path fastest is the United States. And we learn overnight that their inflation is going up, not down. It’s not working. This approach doesn’t work. It won’t work. Australians need a solution to the cost of living crisis. But this isn’t it.
Peter Hannam
Proposed $4bn pumped hydro project could power a third of Sydney’s households by 2031
Sydney’s main source of drinking water could also supply enough renewable energy to power almost a third of the city’s households by 2031 if a pumped hydro project using a former coal washery proceeds as planned.
Zen Energy, an energy retailer, has announced it had signed an agreement with the state-owned Water NSW to build a reservoir at Nattai on the escarpment about 400m above Lake Burragorang on Sydney’s south-west fringe.
The project has an initial cost of $3bn to $4bn and would be financed mostly through debt, a Zen spokesperson said. At 1,000 megawatts of capacity and with about 3km of tunnels, the venture would be about half the generation size of the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project, which is presently estimated to cost at least $12bn with its 27km of tunnels.
Continue reading:
Campaign video to launch on World Parkinson’s Day, highlighting impact of disease
Today is World Parkinson’s Day, and the nation’s peak body for those suffering from the disease has released a report demonstrating its prevalence across the country.
Parkinson’s Australia says more than 150,000 Australians live with the disease, equating to 1 in 173 people. And reported cases are increasing, with 12,000 people diagnosed in 2020 alone.
And by 2050 the number of Australians living with Parkinson’s is projected to more than triple, according to Parkinson’s Australia.
International cricketing legend Allan Border, now living with Parkinson’s, will be lending his voice to a video campaign highlighting the impact of the disease on Australians. Olivia Nassaris, Parkinson’s Australia, CEO, said:
The video highlights facts and figures from a scoping study conducted by Griffith University. This study addresses some fundamental gaps in knowledge about prevalence and incidence and other factors critical for the assessment of the burden of Parkinson’s in Australia.
Our research underscores the urgent need for increased awareness, support, and research into Parkinson’s. With incidence and prevalence rates set to skyrocket in the coming years, it’s imperative that we take proactive steps to address the challenges faced by individuals living with Parkinson’s and their families.
Greens say quarterly rent increase data shows need for rent freeze
Earlier, we brought you news via AAP that renters have been hit with the steepest quarterly hike in 17 years.
According to Domain, the median cost of renting a house in the combined capitals reached a new record of $630 a week. Advertised house rents rose 5% over the quarter in the nation’s urban centres, with units also up a solid 3.3%.
The Greens’ housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, said this demonstrated the need for a rent freeze. He wrote on X:
Renters just copped the *biggest* quarterly rent increase in 17 years, according to Domain. House rents went up 5%, units 3.3% in 3 months. That’s more than 5 times the recent quarterly wage increase. For the sake of millions of renters we must freeze rent increases and stop this.
Renters just copped the *biggest* quarterly rent increase in 17 years, according to Domain. House rents went up 5%, units 3.3% in 3 months. That’s more than 5 times the recent quarterly wage increase. For the sake of millions of renters we must freeze rent increases and stop this
— Max Chandler-Mather (@MChandlerMather) April 10, 2024
Medical association calls for national action plan on menopause in Australia
The Australian Medical Association is calling for a national action plan to improve equality for women suffering from menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms.
In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into menopausal issues, the AMA said many women have difficulty accessing support and that there is profound disparity among the population of those suffering. AMA’s president, Prof Steve Robson, said:
A third of Australian women in midlife say menopause symptoms make it hard to do daily activities and they are also being targeted with misinformation in order to deal with it.
The out-of-pocket health expenses for women are, in general, higher than for men and it is a significant barrier for women to get equitable healthcare.
Australia is currently without a national menopause framework or action plan and we hope it will be a recommendation of the Senate inquiry.
The AMA said an plan would include analysis of medical and therapeutic support to combat menopausal symptoms such as high anxiety, depression, mood swings, forgetfulness or brain fog and suicidal tendencies.
Daniel Hurst
Here’s more on the letter from the union representing Australian journalists:
The MEAA has demanded the Albanese government publicly call on the US government drop its charges against Julian Assange, warning presidential intervention will become less likely the closer the US election gets.
The letter coincides with the fifth anniversary of Assange’s detention in Belmarsh prison in the UK. The MEAA said the UK high court decision to conditionally grant Assange leave to appeal against the extradition order was “a small and unsatisfactory reprieve” and the only solution was a US decision to drop the charges.
In a letter to Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong, the MEAA’s media section president, Karen Percy, said Assange’s extradition and prosecution by the US “would set a disturbing global precedent for the suppression of press freedom and would constitute an assault on the public’s right to know”.
It would mean that any journalist, anywhere in the world, could be charged and extradited for handling any information that the US government classifies as ‘secret’.
We are writing to urge you in the strongest possible terms to take immediate public action to demand the United States government drop the charges against Julian Assange so he can resume life as a free man in Australia.
The call was issued prior to Joe Biden’s comments overnight that he’s considering the Australian government’s request:
