1. Baby dies after balcony fall
A three-month old baby boy has died near Gosford on the Central Coast of NSW after he and his mother fell from a balcony.
Neighbours reported loud arguing before the mother fell. For more read this post here.
“Tragic: Baby dies after balcony fall”.
2. Search for MH370
The investigation into the pilot and co-pilot of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is gathering pace with a flight simulator seized from the pilot’s home yesterday.
There was confirmation overnight that the plane’s tracking systems and the transponder were switched off before the pilot sent his final radio communication to air traffic control. His final words – “Alright, good night” – were uttered without hinting at any trouble with the transponders, which has furthered the suspicion placed on the pilot.
At a press conference the acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed that the pilot and co-pilot had not actually asked to fly together.
25 countries are now searching for the missing plane.
Meanwhile video has emerged of the pilot.
3. Brett Cowan
The parents of Daniel Morcombe have told 60 Minutes that if a public register of paedophiles had been in place at the time Brett Cowan raped and almost killed a seven-year-old boy in 1987, their son would be alive today.
”I think once they’ve offended the first time and been charged and found guilty for that offence, they should be on the register from day one,” Denise Morcombe said. ”No second chance.”
The boy who was raped, Timothy Nicholls, now aged 33, told 60 Minutes that Cowan destroyed his life. “He took everything. He took my life.”
4. South Australia election
Independents will hold the balance of power in South Australia after the result of Saturday’s election, which is still too close to call.
Negotiations have started with the major parties as South Australia almost certainly heads for a hung parliament.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said it was ‘more likely than not’ that Labor would retain 23 seats, leaving the party one short of governing in its own right. 68% of the vote has been counted.
5. Red tape repeal
The Federal Government this week will repeal 9000 regulations set to free up childcare centres, cafes, schools and hospitals.
The red tape repeal bill designed to cut bureaucratic compliance costs for businesses and households by more than $300 million will be introduced on Wednesday by cabinet ministers.
6. Zoe’s Law
The Guardian reports that three Catholic bishops have written to New South Wales politicians urging them to vote for the controversial Zoe’s Law.
The bill, which gives personhood to a fetus, passed NSW’s lower house last year. It was due to be introduced to the upper house a fortnight ago, but was pulled at the last minute.
Guardian Australia reports that at least three bishops – Wollongong’s Peter Ingham, Parramatta’s Anthony Fisher and Lismore’s Geoffrey Jarrett – have joined the lobbying for the bill, writing to MLCs in the past week.
7. Crimea reaches temporary truce
As people in Crimea went to the polls today for a referendum on breaking away from Ukraine to rejoin Russia, a temporary truce was announced aimed at easing tensions.
The region’s 1.5 million voters are expected to support leaving Ukraine. Ukraine’s Defence Minister Igor Tenyukh said Ukraine’s troops in Crimea remained on full combat alert but that the situation on the ground was calm.
8. Royal Commission
The Royal Commission will today hold public hearings in Adelaide into the case of a paedophile school bus driver who sexually abused up to 30 intellectually disabled boys in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The driver, Brian Perkins, already had a criminal record for sexual abuse when he began working at St Ann’s Special School.
Perkins was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to 10 years in jail where he died in 2009.
7. National Curriculum concerns
Queensland teachers have supported recently expressed concerns that the national curriculum is overcrowded. In a submission to the Australian Curriculum Review, Queensland teachers have warned that too much content is putting pressure on students and teachers, forcing teachers to rush through lessons.
The submission states, “NAPLAN results and Australia’s performance in international tests will not improve if teachers do not have time to attend to the ‘basics’ in deep and meaningful ways.”
9. Uni drop outs
A study has shown that 1 in 5 university students drop out before they graduate due to stress, boredom or financial difficulties.
The Daily Telegraph has revealed that the cost is billions of dollars in lost productivity, earning potential and high-level skills.
10. Breastfeeding rally
A mother who was labeled a tramp for breastfeeding in public has received the backing of her community, with hundreds turning out across the UK for “breastfeeding flash mobs”.
The mother, from the town of Rugeley in Staffordshire, was photographed nursing her baby by a passer-by who posted the picture on a Facebook page along with a caption: “I know the sun is out an all that but there’s no need to let your kid feast on you nipple in town! Tramp.”
The ‘breastfeeding protests’ took place in towns right across the UK including Stirling, Milton Keynes, York, Swansea and Newcastle.
11. Claims ADHD doesn’t exist
A controversial new book by Chicago doctor Richard Saul claims that ADHD doesn’t exist and that patients are likely to be suffering from other conditions, such as bad eyesight, sleep deprivation, poor diet, bipolar or learning difficulties.
In his book, ADHD Does Not Exist, he argues that once these underlying conditions are found and treated, the ADHD symptoms ”almost always go away”.
Australian Doctors have called his claims sensationalist and dangerous.
What news are you talking about today?
Top Comments
The Guardian reports that three Catholic bishops have written to New South Wales politicians urging them to vote for the controversial Zoe’s Law
When the churches pay tax then and only then should they have right to lobby the government.
That's ridiculous. Anyone who votes has the right to lobby government.
Even then, children and other non voters should be able to lobby government.
That's not what I said is it. I said if the church wants a say let them pay tax like everyone else ! You have missed the point entirely ! And shouldn't they be sticking up for the children who have been terribly abused or don't they count after they are born ?
PEOPLE should always be able to lobby the government. Corporations (which is really what churches are) should not be able to unless they pay taxes.
I agree, and also when the laws apply to them equally!
I'll put Richard Saul with Andrew Wakefield, Meryl Dorey and all the other nutbags.
I think ADHD is terribly over-diagnosed! While I do believe that ADHD is definitely a real condition I believe it is rarer than we see diagnosed and feel that what Saul says may have some cred. From a teacher's perspective, most of the kids labelled with ADHD need a bit of firm discipline from home, a decent lunchbox and a good night's sleep! In a school of nearly 1000 students I can count on one hand the number that I believe genuinely have ADHD.