Tuesdays news in under 5 minutes

1. Father poisoned 4-month daughter

A Brisbane father who poisoned his four-month old daughter with antipsychotic drugs and forced her to swallow a 10-cent coin has applied to a court to be allowed access to the baby.

The 19-year old man was charged with attempted murder in August and granted bail but yesterday applied to the Family Court to be allowed contact with his former partner.

Magistrate Paul Kluck denied the application, upholding the bail conditions, which prevent him from contacting his former partner or daughter.

2. Charlotte Dawson

Scott Miller has vowed to stay off drugs and focus on helping others following the suicide of his ex-wife Charlotte Dawson. News Limited report that Miller was in a state of shock after Dawson’s death but had said “this is showing me how many people that are out there that need help, now I’m going to channel my energies into helping others.’’

Meanwhile close friends Maddy Huett, 25, and Simone Holtznagel, 20 who met Dawson through the TV show ‘Australia’s Next Top Model’ have posted tributes on their instagram accounts saying they much they loved and admired their “2nd mum”.

3. Bashed baby dies

A newborn baby reportedly bashed by his 15-year old father has died in a Perth Hospital.

Fairfax Media report that the baby died with his family at his bedside, and that no decision was required to be made regarding life support.

The father has been charged with aggravated grievous bodily harm.

4. “Hey Dad!” star in court

Robert Hughes, the popular star of the late 1980’s hit show “Hey Dad!” has pleaded not guilty to 11 sexual and indecent assault charges against five girls.

In the first day of his trial yesterday the jury heard the list of the former actor’s alleged offences. For more read this post here “Hey Dad star allegedly abused victim then gave her a teddy bear”.

5. Call for Minister to resign

There have been calls for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison to resign after he confirmed that he knew a week ago that his initial statement about a riot on Manus Island was wrong, but he took until Saturday to correct himself.

In Parliament yesterday Mr Morrision claimed he was given incorrect information.

Meanwhile author Tara Moss has put forth an account of the violence from a contact on the island who claims that there were 20+ shots fired during the riots. For more read this post here. 

6. George Pell’s promotion

Australian Cardinal George Pell has been appointed to one of the Vatican’s most senior positions in Rome.

The Pope announced overnight that Cardinal Pell will become the prefect for the economy of the Holy See and the Vatican.

7. Newspoll

A poll released in The Australian today shows that support for Labor is the highest it has been since Kevin Rudd was ousted in 2010.

The government’s primary vote dropped from 41 per cent two weeks ago to a post-election low of 39 per cent while Labor’s rose to 39 per cent.

8. Doctors fees could rise

The Health Minister, Peter Dutton has floated the idea of means testing access to bulk billing medical procedures such as x-rays and blood tests.

He has also refused to rule out the proposed $6 GP fee.

9. Dangers of Batteries

A Sydney Mum has spoken to News Limited of how her four-year old daughter nearly died after swallowing a lithium battery and has warned other parents to be vigilant.

Her daughter swallowed the battery after absent-mindedly playing with the battery in her mouth while watching TV. The damage was extensive with the little girl requiring emergency surgery and spending three weeks feeding from a tube.

She is a calling for parents to understand the potential dangers the batteries pose.

10. Bali drugs case

A former boyfriend of Veronica’s singer Jess Origliasso, Azaria Byrne, has become embroiled in the case of a New Zealand woman arrested in Bali over drugs.

Reports today that Bali police have asked Interpol to assist in an investigation into Sydney rock band frontman Azaria Byrne.

Byrne rented the villa where Leeza Tracey Ormsby was arrested and the drugs were found, but he had already returned to Sydney the night before her arrest.

Byrne has told News Limited that he knew nothing about the drugs and that he believes Ormsby is innocent.

11. Should alcohol-advertising bans be extended?

The Australian National Preventive Health Agency has released a major report which recommends closing the loophole that allows alcohol advertising to be shown in live sports broadcasts to be aired before 8.30pm.

They have called for tough new financial penalties for breaches of the rules in order to stem the tide of teenage binge drinking.

The watchdog have said that the alcohol-advertising ban should be banned within 500m of a school.

12. What’s app to add voice calls

WhatsApp has announced they will soon be offering free voice calls. The CEO announced overnight that the voice service will be available for Android and iPhones later this year, with BlackBerry and Microsoft and Nokia phones following.

In Brief:

Qantas is set to axe up to 5000 jobs and sell the lease on its terminal at Melbourne Airport in response to massive financial losses.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has signed a new bill that punishes anyone convicted of having gay sex with jail terms up to life.

What news are you talking about today?