Teenager dies after being stabbed in northern NSW
A teenager is dead following a stabbing in northern NSW, AAP reports.
Police say the still to be identified victim, thought to be a 17-year-old boy, was found suffering stab wounds at a home in Casino around 1.30am on Saturday.
He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene.
The residence is to undergo forensic examination, while a search of the surrounding area has been conducted with help from the dog unit and local police.
The homicide squad will also assist with the case, with initial inquiries suggesting the incident was targeted.
The boy’s death follows that of a 50-year-old man involved in a physical altercation at South Grafton, on the state’s north coast, on Friday morning.
Police say a 64-year-old man arrested at the scene will face court charged with manslaughter.
Emergency services were called to Phoenix Close following reports of a neighbour dispute shortly after 9.30am.
On arrival, they found the man unresponsive and suffering head injuries.
He was treated by ambulance paramedics but was unable to be revived.
The accused man was expected to appear in Port Macquarie local court on Saturday.
Finally Andrews is asked if he is concerned about the institutional knowledge leaving with the four ministers resigning ahead of the state election.
He says it has been “an orderly, professional, seamless process” to replace the ministers and they’ll be building experience, skills and knowledge:
So, of course, there is a lot of experience, but there is also a lot of depth in this team and I’m proud to think that just like the cabinet, the senior leadership group, the coordinating ministers’ group, is now more than 50% women. We’ve got a much more diverse cabinet as a result of these decisions that have been made. Of course I pay tribute to all of those who were leaving yesterday, and that was right to do because they are outstanding people, but they are being replaced by equally outstanding people as well.
Andrews is asked if he discussed a handover with Allan at all. He says “not at all”:
We are focused – every single member of my team is focused, all of us, on doing the things we said we would do over the next five months and putting a positive and optimistic plan to the Victorian community.
Those who know me know I’ve never taken the Victorian community for granted. Never taken any vote, any seat, any contest for granted. The state election will be very close. They always are. It is a handful of votes and a handful of seats.
We will put forward a positive, optimistic plan and give Victorians the choice: Keep building, keep the place strong, make it fairer, create jobs, or go a different way – and closures and all the risks involved in that. But that’s not a choice for me, that’s a choice for the Victorian community.
My job, our job together, all of us, is to put forward that optimistic and positive plan, and that’s what we are focused on. We don’t take that outcome for granted. We simply don’t. We never have, we never will.
Daniel Andrews announces new ministry appointments
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is speaking in Melbourne about the new appointments to his ministry, after Labor caucus voted today.
He says he will make announcements about portfolios later today or tomorrow, with the new ministry sworn in on Monday.
He welcomed the appointment of Jacinta Allan as deputy premier:
Jacinta is someone who came into the parliament in 1999, one of the very youngest MPs in the history of our parliament, and right through her long career, she has been a champion for regional Victorians, Bendigo and has made a such a huge contribution to building our state, to employing hundreds of thousands of Victorians to getting things down. That’s why, I think together with her work ethic and her character, that’s why her colleagues, all of them, have unanimously supported her today. She has big shoes to fill, of course.
James Merlino, not only our friend, but no one could have asked for a better deputy than James Merlino. I pay tribute to him and thank him for his amazing work and all he has done, and his great loyalty and support to me at a personal level. But JA is just outstanding and it is fitting that the caucus have elected her unopposed.
La Niña WATCH activated; negative Indian Ocean Dipole likely
While 2021–22 La Niña has ended there is ~50% chance of a La Niña forming again during 2022
Above median rainfall is still likely across E & S Aus during winter & spring
More detail: https://t.co/jGschk9NVB pic.twitter.com/TSaz1WiKFB
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) June 25, 2022
Jacinta Allan appointed Victoria’s deputy premier
AAP is reporting Jacinta Allan has been voted by Victorian Labor caucus to be the deputy premier, with Lizzie Blandthorn, Colin Brooks, Steve Dimopoulos, Sonya Kilkenny and Harriet Shing approved to fill ministerial vacancies. Maree Edwards will be the new speaker.
JUST IN: Jacinta Allan has been appointed Victoria’s deputy premier. The decision was unanimous. More on @AAPNewswire soon.
— Callum Godde (@calgodde) June 25, 2022
Analysis: Daniel Andrews’ dilemma after losing four ministers
The next crop of Victorian government ministers to lead Labor’s re-election push is set to be decided, as premier Daniel Andrews lobbies for the party to break with convention.
The Victorian Labor caucus is meeting to confirm the make-up of its cabinet after the resignation of MPs James Merlino, Martin Foley, Lisa Neville and Martin Pakula from their high-profile portfolios.
Current agriculture and regional development minister Mary-Anne Thomas will become health minister, while corrections minister Natalie Hutchins will pick up the education portfolio.
It is expected to be the Andrews government’s final cabinet reshuffle before the November election, with new ministers likely to be sworn in early next week.
You can read more analysis of the reshuffle in the link below:
NSW residents urged to ensure they have working smoke alarms
NSW residents are being urged to check they have a working smoke alarm after a horror start to the winter, AAP reports.
Five people have died since the start of June in house fires, a toll already higher than last year’s total.
So far firefighters have attended 202 house fires across NSW with 42% of those homes not having a working smoke alarm and another 16 per cent without one entirely.
Fire and Rescue NSW deputy commissioner Megan Stiffler reminded people that firefighters can check a household’s smoke alarms and replace them at no cost:
It’s also a great opportunity to ask for advice from the experts on how you can keep yourself and your family warm but safe.
Our firefighters are dedicated to protecting the irreplaceable but it’s important everyone takes steps to safeguard their homes from the threat of fire, especially during winter.
Three of the five fatalities are still under investigation with investigators finding a faulty fridge behind the deaths of an elderly couple earlier this month.
Emergency services minister Steph Cooke said there was a simple precaution that people could take to keep themselves safe: having a working smoke alarm.
Fire can engulf a home in a matter of minutes and while smoke won’t wake you up, a smoke alarm will, which could be the difference between life and death.
Josh Taylor is going to take over for a bit, while I go and perform some mysterious duties*.
*Not that mysterious.
Victoria records 24 Covid deaths
In Victoria, 24 people have died with Covid. 420 have been hospitalised, and 26 are in intensive care:
This is a lovely tale about a remarkable transformation from Philippa Duncan:
Victoria eases mask mandates and lifts Covid restrictions
Mask mandates have been relaxed in Victoria, AAP reports:
Victorians no longer have to wear masks inside airports as Covid restrictions are lifted across the state.
Select vaccine mandates have also been scrapped, including third dose requirements for staff in education, food distribution, meat and seafood processing and quarantine settings.
However they remain for health workers and those in emergency services.
School staff previously placed on leave without pay for not being fully vaccinated are now free to return to work. Under the new rules, parents will not be informed of a staff member’s vaccination status.
Victorian health minister Martin Foley says the changes are minor and progressive, and have been implemented sensibly.
Employers will set their own requirements around vaccines.
Rules requiring people to work from home if they’re not double-dosed have also been lifted and aged care and disability care visitor caps have been removed.
Positive cases still need to isolate for seven days from the day they took their test but may now leave home to drive a household member directly to or from education or work.
With case numbers continuing to rise during winter, Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly is urging people to get their boosters, along with the flu vaccine:
The flu vaccine [is] very important now, and right across Australia, that’s been made free for most people, but particularly those who are vulnerable of severe flu…
That includes young kids, actually. That’s a difference to the Covid message. We need to increase that flu shot as well.
70% of the eligible population have received their booster.
Once you’ve had a morning coffee or three, Graham Readfearn has an energy quiz for you (I both enjoyed and nailed it):
Australians should have faith in ‘narrow path’ back from inflation, RBA governor says
If Australians don’t have faith in the Reserve Bank’s promise of a “narrow path” to avoid recession, they could end up being the cause of one, the central bank’s governor Philip Lowe has warned, according to a report from AAP.
If people start worrying that the path back from 5% inflation to a more normal level is unrealistic, it might push the economy into a downward spiral, he says.
Australians are copping increasing costs of living as inflationary pressures rise, leading to higher prices at the supermarket and made worse by high fuel and gas prices.
The national minimum wage also recently rose, a move that’s hoped to ease the financial burden on households. Lowe told a central bankers meeting in Zurich on Friday:
There is a path to have inflation come down without the economy having too much pain, but it’s a narrow path.
But if people start to worry that we can’t show that credible path back … to two to three per cent inflation … then I think that shift in psychology could be quite persistent. And we know where that ends – it ends in persistent inflation and then you’ve got to have much higher interest rates and an economic downturn to get inflation back down.
There was quite a lot I didn’t know about vaping before I read this piece from Bianca Nogrady: