Live updates
7:28am
7:28am
7:27am
7:26am
Latest posts
Triple vax mandates see 420 public school teachers suspended in Victoria.
About 420 public school teachers have been stood down for breaching Victoria's COVID-19 vaccination rules.
Most have been put on leave without pay for not meeting the valid requirements. Those who failed to meet mandate requirements were placed on forced leave and are unable to work.
"I'm not going to apologise. Vaccines work, vaccines save lives," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said today. "I'm very confident that people who have had one or two (doses) will get three very quickly and I thank them for that."
"I'm just about sick and tired of this constant negativity when it comes to schools. Our schools were open on day one of term one. Our absentee rates in staff, support staff and students is lower today than it was before the pandemic."
Under the orders of the Victorian Minister for Health, teachers who work in schools must show proof of a triple dose or a medical exemption. The state's Department of Education said the majority of staff have met these requirements.
"As of 26 April, 99.2 per cent of the Victorian government teaching service have had three doses of a COVID vaccine and are permitted to attend work," a department spokesperson said. "We encourage any staff members who have not yet had their third dose to book in to protect themselves, their families and their school communities."
Victoria and the Northern Territory are the only states requiring teachers to have a booster shot.
Andrews thanked education staff for their persistence through two years of lockdowns and remote learning.
"They pushed through to support their students, who they are passionate about, not just in terms of education but schools are centres of care and support as well as places where people learn the skills that they need for the future."
Victoria stands down 420 public school teachers over vaccine mandates https://t.co/8aYTHucW97
— The Guardian (@guardian) April 27, 2022
- With AAP.
Feature Image: Getty.
Evening News: Scomo quizzed over record inflation.
Do you find the news cycle overwhelming? Depressing? Confusing? Boring? Endless? Then you need The Quicky.
Listen to tonight’s episode right here.
Data suggests a gap in information for rural cancer patients.
Cancer patients in rural Australia are missing out on critical information about recovery and disease recurrence, potentially affecting their chances of survival, a study has found.
A survey of 201 cancer patients from rural Queensland found 65 per cent did not receive survivorship care plans, documents which detail follow-up appointments, treatment side effects, and signs the disease has returned.
The University of Southern Queensland study is part of a project investigating why people in rural areas are up to 31 per cent more likely to die within five years of a diagnosis, compared to patients in the city.
Lead author Arlen Rowe said there had been limited research into rural patients' access to survivorship plans, which are recommended worldwide.
"You can see how if people don't receive that information, potentially, that could be contributing to those disparities in survival rates," Dr Rowe told AAP.
The results also found 30 per cent of the participants did not receive information about medical resources in their communities. There is also a gap in information about signs and symptoms of disease recurrence, future screening, financial support and counselling programs, and recommendations for diet and exercise.
"It's not as easy to coordinate care in a rural area as it would be in a city, where resources are much more readily available," Dr Rowe said. "So it would be really important for people who are returning to rural areas to have all the information they need for the best outcomes."
The study, backed by Cancer Council Queensland, said overseas studies had shown the benefit of dedicated support nurses and telehealth services for rural patients.
"There's an opportunity here to improve the delivery of this information," Dr Rowe said. "It has potential to have significant impacts on survival rates, and on the long-term wellbeing and recovery of all people in cancer survivorship."
- With AAP.
The absolute pettiness behind that Olivia Wilde envelope stunt.
The first images from the upcoming Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and directed by Greta Gerwig, have been released, meaning the movie that seemed cursed to never be made might actually make it onto our screens.
And Kim Kardashian has posted a very passionate explanation to her Instagram account after fans accused her of photoshopping out her belly button in some new promotional images. Kim went into great detail about which photos she has actually had to photoshop, and it was Kylie’s daughter Stormi who took the biggest hit.
Plus, last night Olivia Wilde was standing on stage in front of the movie industry’s biggest decision-makers to present her new film when a mysterious envelope was handed to her. It appeared to be legal papers from her ex-partner Jason Sudeikis, and we have to say, the story behind this event appears to be petty as hell.
Listen to The Spill now!
Cleo Smith kidnapper facing more charges, and all the news you need to know this morning.
Morning,
An inquest began this week into the death of Veronica Nelson, who was found dead in her prison cell in January 2020.
The 37-year-old proud Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman called out for help nine times before her death. You can read about her story here.
These are the top five news stories you need to know today, Thursday April 28.
1. Cleo Smith kidnapper Terence Kelly faces 10 new charges.
The man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping four-year-old Cleo Smith has been charged with possessing child exploitation material.
Terence Kelly has been hit with 10 new charges of possessing child exploitation material. However, police have not released any details of what the charges involve.
According to news.com.au, the alleged offending is not related to Cleo Smith.
The loner who kidnapped Cleo Smith has been hit with 10 fresh charges of possessing child exploitation material. #9Newshttps://t.co/TTRw5NUAKc
— 9News Perth (@9NewsPerth) April 27, 2022
Cleo was found in Kelly's house in Carnarvon, Western Australia,18 days after she went missing from a campsite in October.
2. Aussies brace for first rate rise in 12 years.
Australians are bracing for the first interest rate hike in 12 years, as Labor and the coalition clash on managing the economy.
It comes as three of the four big banks predict a rise in the cash rate by next week, following new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing the annual inflation rate jumped 5.1 per cent, the highest level since 2001.
The figure could force the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise the cash rate from its record low of 0.1 per cent.
Australia's cost of living crisis is deepening, with inflation soaring to a 21-year high. #9Today pic.twitter.com/aoPME8PB8p
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) April 27, 2022
The ABS figures released on Wednesday also showed food price inflation has hit an 11-year high, with food prices up by 4.3 percent over the year to March, and 2.8 percent from the previous quarter.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a time of "great uncertainty" with cost of living pressures, voters should return his government to power based on their track record.
"As Australia comes out of these difficult times, we don't want them to be hit down again by forces well beyond Australia's borders but ... what we've shown as a government is we've been able to keep as much pressure down on those forces as good governments can," he said.
Labor's economic plan, if it wins office, would include an audit of "waste and rorts" as well as crackdowns on multinational companies avoiding tax in a bid to make $5 billion in budget savings.
READ: Tax cuts, childcare and Medicare: Here's where the major parties stand on cost-of-living.
3. Greens to launch full climate plan today.
The Greens will launch its full climate plan today, with leader Adam Bandt saying his party would use a balance of power to push for a levy on coal exports to fund Australia's exit from the industry.
The plan, entitled Powering Past Coal and Gas, aims to create 805,000 jobs across the next decade while improving the budget bottom line by $51.9 billion across by removing handouts to huge corporations.
Bandt will again establish his party's ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2035 and produce negative emissions to lower pollution by more than 100 million tonnes a year by 2050.
Coal & gas corporations are fuelling the climate crisis and communities are footing the bill.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) April 25, 2022
Flood victims should be able to sue them for the damage they’ve done.
It’s time the culprits were held accountable & paid up.
The plan takes aim at the major parties and calls for immediate action rather than continued debate around Australia's net-zero emissions by 2050 pledge. It is costed by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office.
"Net-zero by 2050 is an empty slogan for 'someone else's problem'... we don't have another three years to waste," Bandt said.
The plan includes a $1 levy per tonne of thermal coal and $3 for coking coal, with that rate to rise each year.
4. Russia blasted as Ukraine calls 'karma'.
Russia has reported a series of blasts in the south of the country and a fire at an ammunition depot, in the latest of a number of incidents that a top Ukrainian official described as payback and "karma" for Moscow's invasion.
Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a fire at an ammunition depot on Wednesday had been extinguished and no civilians have been injured.
Roman Starovoyt, the governor of Kursk, another province that borders Ukraine, said explosions had also been heard in Kursk city early on Wednesday and that they were most likely the sounds of air defence systems firing.
🔴 A series of blasts sounded near the Ukrainian border in Russia in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) April 27, 2022
Follow the latest updates from Ukraine in this #thread ⤵️https://t.co/WMQ6TdJCQE
Without directly admitting that Ukraine was responsible, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said it was natural that Russian regions where fuel and weapons are stored were learning about "demilitarisation".
The use of that word was a pointed reference to Moscow's stated objective for the nine-week-old war in Ukraine, which it calls a special military operation to disarm and "denazify" its neighbour.
"If you (Russians) decide to massively attack another country, massively kill everyone there, massively crush peaceful people with tanks, and use warehouses in your regions to enable the killings, then sooner or later the debts will have to be repaid," Podolyak said.
5. York strips Prince Andrew of city honour.
Prince Andrew has been stripped of the freedom of the northern English city of York.
Local councillors voted en masse to rescind the honour bestowed on Andrew, the Queen's second son, in 1987.
Andrew, who has fallen from grace as a member of the royal family, in February settled a US lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre accusing him of sexually abusing her when she was a teenager, potentially sparing him further embarrassment.
"The honorary freedom of our great city is bestowed on those who represent the very best of York. It's inappropriate for Prince Andrew to retain any connection to our city," Darryl Smalley, a York city councillor, said.
Prince Andrew: Duke of York loses Freedom of City honour https://t.co/3Z3LoDybGq
— BBC Yorkshire (@BBCLookNorth) April 27, 2022
Andrew, 62, did not admit wrongdoing in agreeing to settle the civil lawsuit. He has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing.
The royal family in January removed Andrew's military titles and royal patronages and said he would no longer be known as "His Royal Highness".
And that's it, you're all up to speed. We'll be back to bring you more stories women are talking about throughout the day.
- With AAP.
Flight credits: How the heck can I use them?
During the past couple of years, you might have had to cancel a few holidays, and for many of us that means we received flight credits for those trips we simply couldn't take.
In fact, so many of us are in this position, it turns out that the airlines are currently sitting on billions of dollars of our money - so why does it seem so difficult to try and book a new trip using these credits now things are getting back to normal?
The Quicky speaks to a woman who got stuck with flight credits early on in the pandemic that she still hasn't been able to use, a travel expert, and a consumer affairs guru to find out if and how you can ever actually get your money's worth.
READ:
Feature Image: Getty.