High Court overturns same sex marriage in the ACT.

1. Same-Sex Marriage – UPDATE

The High Court has handed down its ruling on same sex marriage in the ACT, stating their act is invalid.

In the judgement, it was decided “unanimously” that:

The Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013, enacted by the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, cannot operate concurrently with the federal Marriage Act 1961.

The Court held that the federal Parliament has power under the Australian Constitution to legislate with respect to same sex marriage, and that under the Constitution and federal law as it now stands, whether same sex marriage should be provided for by law is a matter for the federal Parliament.

So… in other words… no gay marriage in Australia. Boo.

You can read the full decision here.

15 couples married in Canberra on Saturday when Australia’s first same-sex marriage law came into effect, with more since.

2. Elite school sex incident

Three 14-year-old boys in year 8 at Sydney’s elite Cranbrook School have agreed to leave after a sexual incident involving a 14-year-old girl.

The incident is said to have taken place in the grounds of Bronte Public School after the girl sent a SMS to one boy and arranged to meet him. The girl is alleged to have had consensual sex with one boy, but the two other boys present then allegedly engaged in sex acts as well.

The boys have left the school.

Another incident involving Cranbrook boys is alleged to have taken place in late September.

Two year 9 boys, aged 15, are alleged to have had sex with a very drunk year 8 girl at a party in Sydney’s east while a third boy allegedly filmed it on his smartphone.

According to the SMH, in that case the school proposed referring the incident to the police.

3. NRL player indecent assault

Rugby League star Blake Ferguson has been convicted of indecent assault after he touched a woman on her vagina in a South Sydney nightclub earlier this year.

His defence – that the woman was drunk, and the lighting was bad was dismissed by the Magistrate. For more on this read this post here. “Sports star convicted indecent assault”.

 4. Smacking

Australians are being encouraged to ‘have a national conversation about smacking’ after the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child released a report calling for Australia to abolish the longstanding right of parents to use “reasonable chastisement” in smacking a child.

Comparing corporal punishment to domestic violence and assault, it has demanded that Australian parents use “other forms of discipline”.

5. Time’s Person of the year

Time magazine has named Pope Francis its person of the year, crediting him with shifting the message of the Catholic Church while capturing the “imaginations of millions” who had become disillusioned with the Vatican.

6. Holden to close

Australia’s entire car making industry and tens of thousands of jobs have been thrown into doubt by Holden’s decision to close down.

Nearly 3,000 Holden workers are set to lose their jobs over the next four years as the iconic manufacturer winds down its Australian manufacturing operations.

7. Kissing suspension

A six-year old boy in the US has been suspended from school for kissing a girl. The boy said that he kissed the girl on her hand.

The school has a policy against ‘unwanted touching’ and suspended him for several days. His mother told an American TV network she was shocked when the school’s principal brought up the term “sexual harassment” during a meeting.

8. Midwife fails to attend disciplinary hearing

A former midwife who was at homebirths where four babies died has decided not to attend or challenge disciplinary proceedings.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board in South Australia has accused Lisa Barrett of professional misconduct, saying she planned and was involved in homebirths in unsafe circumstances.

Ms Barrett did not attend the tribunal hearing in Adelaide.

She sent a note, which was read to the hearing: “To save the parties time and expense, I’ve decided not to participate in the proceedings”.

9. Breastfeeding Mum

A US  mother has been thrown out of a court for breastfeeding her son.  Danielle Gendron was sitting in a Connecticut family courtroom waiting to testify as a witness when she attempted to breastfeed her 3-month-old son. After being made to feel “uncomfortable,” a female court employee ushered her out. The marshal has since apologised.

10. Best time to have a baby

Researchers have said that women who delay having children enter a ‘risk zone’ of problems in their early thirties, much earlier than was previously thought.

The risk of problems such as premature and stillbirth rises by as much as 20 per cent for women aged between 30 and 34, compared with those having babies in their late twenties.

First-time mothers have previously been told they are at high risk above the age of 35. Researchers have claimed, “biologically the best time is probably 20 to 30.”

 11. Santa’s dark message

A concerning video message from Santa claims that Christmas this year has been cancelled. Children worldwide will be devastated at the news that due to climate change and melting ice in the Artic Santa’s warehouse has been flooded.

The Greenpeace video, featuring Downton Abbey’s Jim Carter also claims that President Obama has been put on the naughty list.

In Brief:

Cheerleaders are to be axed from the NRL Bulldogs and Raiders teams for the 2014 season.

India’s Supreme Court overturned a 2009 ruling and re-instated a law criminalising gay sex, in a move seen as a major blow to gay rights.

What news are you talking about today?