South Australia officially appoints an Assistant Minister for Autism.

In an Australian first, South Australia’s autism community will get its own state government minister.

Emily Bourke has been appointed Assistant Minister for Autism in a bid to ensure people with the neurological condition are better represented. As well as the new minister, the South Australian Government said they would deliver on their election commitments to invest $28.8 million for an autism lead teacher in every public primary school and increase the number of autism-qualified staff in preschools.

They will also work with providers, including Autism SA, to offer early intervention services in children's centres, develop a state autism strategy and invest $50 million for 100 additional speech pathologists, occupational therapists, psychologists and counsellors.

So proud to be the first Government member in the nation to hold this new role.
We will be implementing a whole-of-government autism inclusion strategy, starting with our schools. pic.twitter.com/qbYP8yaHtW

— Emily Bourke MLC (@emsbourke) August 14, 2022

In her new role, Bourke will establish the Autism Education Advisory Group, involving autistic people, parents with lived experience, experts, community stakeholders and unions to ensure policies are supported by consultation. Bourke acknowledged she did not have lived experience with autism, but she said the government had heard the years of advocacy by the autism community, through emails, letters, phone calls and forums.

“I am a mother of three, so I know that every parent and caregiver wants their child to reach their individual potential,” she said.

In a statement, South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said: “We’ve appointed the country’s first ever Assistant Minister for Autism. The time has come for a dedicated effort from the government to make autism a priority. That is why we have created this new role.”

Malinauskas also noted that the state government has made major commitments to implement a whole-of-government autism inclusion strategy, starting with schools.

“I could not be happier that Emily Bourke has taken on this role to be a strong advocate for the Autism community,” he said.

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Morning all,

Here are the top news stories you need to know to start your week.  

1. Man arrested after woman's body found in QLD bush.

A man has been arrested after a 44-year-old woman's body was discovered in bushland in North Queensland.

The woman's body was discovered by a group of teenagers yesterday afternoon on a sandy track off Jaloonda Rd in Bluewater, near a fishing village.

Queensland police say the woman had four children, aged 14 to 24, but had recently moved to the area and was living alone.

A man has been arrested over the death of a woman whose body was found dumped in bushland. @miaglover_9 #9News

DETAILS: https://t.co/80hnAQR0Wv pic.twitter.com/0ZzX73hEn9

— 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) August 14, 2022

Detectives believe she knew her attacker but are not treating it as a family or domestic violence incident.

"It doesn't appear to be a situation where it's a random attack on a stranger," Detective Inspector Jason Shepherd told reporters yesterday. "It appears that she would have known who her attacker was. They probably went to that location together."

Police believe the woman died at the location and Det Insp Shepherd said it didn't appear there had been any attempt made to conceal her body.

"It would have been very easy for anyone going along that track to see her instantly," he said.

A 38-year-old man was arrested around 8.30pm last night in Proserpine.

Police also allege the man was involved in a shooting incident with a passing motorist on the Bruce Highway yesterday morning. The motorist was not physically harmed.

2. Man charged after Canberra Airport shooting.

Canberra Airport has resumed normal operations and a man has been charged after a shooting incident inside the terminal prompted its evacuation.

A 63-year-old man was arrested at the airport after firing as many as five shots inside, some leaving bullet holes in airport windows, just after 1.30pm on Sunday.

The man, who is believed to be the only person responsible for the incident, was taken to a Canberra police station, with the firearm seized by officers. He has since been charged with discharging a firearm at a building, unlawful possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm near a person causing alarm. 

A man has been charged following a shooting which led to Canberra Airport being evacuated and locked down on Sunday.
GET THE LATEST: https://t.co/HBs7HclJj1 pic.twitter.com/LfD0DXJ9KG

— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) August 14, 2022

Police are yet to establish a motive behind the incident, but ACT Detective Acting Superintendent Dave Craft said the shots were not aimed at anyone. He said the man did not go through airport security and sat near the check-in counters before firing shots at the windows. 

The airport was evacuated shortly after the shooting incident, with parts of the terminal locked down. Passengers who had boarded planes were also stuck on the tarmac for hours before being allowed to disembark.

Police said there was no ongoing threat to the community or to other passengers.

The man is set to appear in ACT Magistrates Court this morning. Bail will be opposed. 

3. Two women shot dead in Sydney after criminals 'throw out their rule book'.  

A mother-of-two with links to organised crime and a hairdresser have been identified as the two women killed in a targeted shooting in Sydney over the weekend. 

Lametta Fadlallah, 48, and her hairdresser friend Amy Hazouri, 39, were killed when a hail of bullets struck their car in the southwest Sydney suburb of Panania on Saturday night. 

"This is an appalling attack on two women, who lost their lives in a planned murder and assassination that's happened in a public street in Sydney," Homicide Squad commander Danny Doherty told media yesterday. 

Fadlallah could not be revived and died at the scene, while Hazouri was taken in a critical condition to Liverpool Hospital, where she later died.

A 16-year-old girl and 20-year-old man were also in the car at the time and were left incredibly shaken but physically unhurt, Detective Superintendent Doherty said.

Police believe the shooting occurred at Hendy Avenue, Panania, before the vehicle travelled to Weston St, Revesby, where emergency services were contacted, Det Supt Doherty said.

We're being warned Sydney's worst criminals have "thrown out their own rulebook" after shooting dead two women in the city's south-west. @vella_lara #9News

MORE: https://t.co/zgCvoTOoKK pic.twitter.com/hic0NiSivt

— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) August 14, 2022

Police were familiar with Fadlallah for having past connections to underworld figures, and one theory was she was the intended target of the attack. The three other people in the vehicle had no links to organised crime, police said. 

Det Supt Doherty said underworld figures used to operate by "unwritten laws" under which women and children were protected from being attacked - but it appeared these rules no longer applied.

"I think this has just demonstrated how low they've got at this point, where any person that may be associated with someone who they want to target ... they don't discriminate, whether you're male or female," he said.

"The rule books have been thrown out the window."

Anyone who may have information, or dashcam or CCTV footage from the surrounding areas, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

4. Taliban fires shots at Kabul women's rally.

A peaceful protest by dozens of women who were marching on the streets of Kabul chanting "food, work, and freedom" has been attacked and stopped by Taliban forces.

Social media images showed Taliban forces firing warning shots and physically assaulting the women to disperse their gathering in the heart of the city on Saturday.

Another video clip showed a small group of women cornered by the Taliban in a closed place.

"We are inside a drug store, they have imprisoned us here," an activist said in one of the videos.

Three foreign journalists and one Afghan worker were briefly detained by the Taliban for covering the protest while another two local journalists were slightly wounded, according to the Afghan Independent Journalists Association (AIJA).

More footage from the women’s rally in Kabul. pic.twitter.com/Nwq8BOWxeD

— Afghan Peace Watch (@APWORG) August 13, 2022

As the one-year anniversary of the Taliban regime gets closer, women are once again on the streets to denounce the restrictions imposed by the Taliban on their rights to education, work and freedom of movement. The protesters also chanted that they were tired of discrimination against women.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have curtailed basic women's rights and those who have protested have been suppressed. No country has recognised the Taliban's defacto government.

5. One dead and 32 hurt in Spain stage collapse.

One person has been killed and dozens injured when high winds caused part of the main stage to collapse at a dance music festival near the Spanish city of Valencia.

Other infrastructure was also damaged on Saturday when gusts battered the Medusa Festival, a huge electronic music festival held over six days in the east coast town of Cullera.

Thirty-two people were taken to hospital and three remained there on Saturday afternoon, regional health authorities said.

The Medusa Festival in Spain has been canceled after at least one person was killed and 40 were injured when strong winds caused parts of a stage to collapse early Saturday morning.

“We are completely devastated and dismayed by what happened,” festival organizers said. pic.twitter.com/kV5PE65GcO

— DW Culture (@dw_culture) August 13, 2022

"We are completely devastated and saddened at what happened this morning," organisers said earlier on the festival's Facebook page, adding that "extreme" weather conditions had caused damage to various infrastructure on the festival site.

"At around four in the morning unexpected and violent strong winds destroyed certain areas of the festival, forcing management to make the immediate decision to vacate the concert area to guarantee the safety of attendees, workers and artists," organisers said.

Organisers said they were cancelling the rest of the festival for the safety of attendees.

We'll be back to bring you more of the top stories throughout the day.

- With AAP. 

We've seen a number of headlines lately discussing Australia's use of nuclear power. 

Some Aussies are now wondering if nuclear is actually an option to help lower the costs of our power bills while also bringing down our carbon emissions. 

In this episode of The Quicky, we take a look at whether nuclear power is a viable option, and the potential for it to be weaponised not for us, but against us. 

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