Key events
The assistant minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman, thanked the Australian crews on their return from the earthquake zone on behalf of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
Gorman said:
We are all proud of your efforts to support the people of Türkiye.
Welcoming home the Australian disaster assistance response team from Türkiye. 72 Australians worked in Hatay Province leading search and rescue efforts.
I thanked them on behalf of Prime Minister @AlboMP and the Australian Government. pic.twitter.com/4Wx3QnzfPg
— Patrick Gorman MP (@PatrickGormanMP) February 24, 2023
This team included members from Fire and Rescue NSW, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, ACT Fire and Rescue, New South Wales Departments of Health and Public Works, NSW Ambulance, NSW Police, and representatives from the National Emergency Management Agency and @dfat pic.twitter.com/1PfxaSkN44
— Patrick Gorman MP (@PatrickGormanMP) February 24, 2023
Australians return home after recovering 34 victims after Turkey quake
Australian crews sent to Turkey after the country’s devastating earthquake helped pull dozens of bodies from beneath the rubble during the recovery effort, AAP reports.
Some 72 emergency services personnel arrived back in Sydney this afternoon after a two-week deployment following the earthquake that levelled towns and cities in parts of Turkey and Syria.
The team included more than 50 Fire and Rescue NSW crew, including urban search and recovery specialists, who undertook the exhausting task of searching collapsed buildings while battling aftershocks and confronting conditions.
FRNSW said Australian support crews helped locate and recover 34 victims from the rubble during their deployment in the Hatay province, the southern region of Turkey hit hardest by the early February earthquake.
The death toll from the earthquake and aftershocks has surpassed 50,000, while more than 160,000 buildings collapsed or were severely damaged.
Millions of people have been left homeless or in need of urgent supplies following the disaster. Three Australians have been confirmed as being among the dead.
The NSW emergency services minister, Steph Cooke, said the state’s firefighters were regarded as being among the world’s best at performing urban search and rescue operations.
(They) put themselves on the frontline of this tragic disaster and I can’t thank each and every one of them enough for their efforts.
In one situation, the Australia personnel were approached directly by a local to help retrieve 13 people, including six children, from the rubble under a four-storey apartment building in Antakya.
Before the Australians arrived, people in the neighbourhood were trying to recover the dead by digging with bare hands.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, also thanked the returning rescue crews on behalf of all Australians.
The Australian team of search and rescue workers have just returned to home soil from their mission in Türkiye. On behalf of all Australians – thank you for your work. pic.twitter.com/JF8fBZzpA9
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 24, 2023
Pill testing can help protect the health of people who use drugs, expert says
The chief executive officer of the Queensland Network of Alcohol and other Drug Agencies, Rebecca Lang, has also commended the Palaszczuk government for trialling pill testing, which she says is an evidence-based public health intervention.
Drug checking (also known as pill testing) is a pragmatic and effective way to reduce the potential for drug related harm.
Drug checking services have been available in Europe for over 20 years and have contributed to significant reductions in drug related harms, particularly harms related to adulterated drug supply or high purity drugs.
The fixed site drug checking trial in Canberra has proven the value of this type of service in alerting the public to particularly dangerous substances in circulation, as well as connecting people who use drugs with credible harm reduction information.
Drug checking services have been proven to engage people who use drugs who may never have spoken with a health professional about their drug use before and provide an opportunity to provide a brief intervention that can protect the health and wellbeing of people who access the service.
Queensland mental health commissioner welcomes pill testing
The Queensland mental health commissioner, Ivan Frkovic, has welcomed the move by the state government to introduce pill testing:
The reality is people will encounter and experiment with drugs, including when they go to nightclubs or attend festivals – and these drugs can harm or kill.
Queensland parents worried about their child potentially taking drugs should be reassured that drug checking can prevent serious harm and save lives.
We need more in our toolkit to address these harms than ‘just saying no’, because right or wrong, people will experiment regardless.
The most important part of drug checking is connection with a specialist alcohol and other drug worker for someone who already possesses a drug and intends to take it.
The intervention is intended to provide information, explain the risks of drug-taking, reduce serious harm, and facilitate access to treatment and support, where needed.
Pill testing gets the green light in Queensland
Pill testing will be allowed in Queensland for the first time, with the government set to introduce it at music festivals and at fixed and mobile sites in Brisbane’s inner city.
The Palaszczuk government wants to reduce the risk of harm associated with illicit drug use and ultimately change the behaviour of users.
The government is developing protocols around the operation of testing and seeking to identify a provider following successful trials at festivals and a fixed site in Canberra.
The minister for health and ambulance services, Yvette D’Ath, said:
Pill testing is all about harm minimisation; we don’t want people ending up in our emergency departments or worse losing their life.
It is important to note that pill testing services do not promote that drugs are safe, however they are among a suite of options that can positively affect outcomes regarding illicit drug use.
Pill testing services will inform people what chemical substances are in their drugs.
We know people make better decisions when they are equipped with unbiased information.
Drug testers can also influence a drug taker’s behaviour, making them more likely to dispose of substances, decrease the amount they take, tell their peers and be more likely to seek help if they or others are experiencing adverse effects.
The other benefit to pill testing is it provides critical information to law enforcement and health services about high-risk substances in the community or drug trends.
The Greens have welcomed the move:
WIN: Qld Labor has finally got on board with pill testing (AKA drug checking) at festivals and in the community! ? ?
Now we need confirmation they’ll fund this long term as a public health measure, rather than leaving it solely to under-resourced AOD orgs.
— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) February 24, 2023
Australian search and rescue workers return from Turkey earthquake mission
The Australian search and rescue team sent to assist Turkey following its devastating earthquake has returned home. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has thanked them for their service:
The Australian team of search and rescue workers have just returned to home soil from their mission in Türkiye. On behalf of all Australians – thank you for your work. pic.twitter.com/JF8fBZzpA9
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) February 24, 2023
‘Please come back’: Zelenskiy calls for Australian embassy return
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for Australia to reopen its embassy in the war-torn country, saying he would like to see the ambassador returning on a Bushmaster armoured vehicle, AAP reports.
When asked if he would like to see Australia’s ambassador return to Kyiv, Zelenskiy replied via a translator:
It’s so nice to hear a question that you can say ‘yes’ to.
Switching to English, he added:
I’ll be very happy, really. I have relations with Australia and they really helped us a lot.
I have had a huge deficit with armed vehicles – I don’t want to share all of the information (about) how many we have got from Australia, but anyway we’ve got it and that is great.
That’s why, to shake hands with the ambassador of Australia – I would do it with pleasure. Please, come – come back – but on a Bushmaster, we need one more.
Ukrainian ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko previously said officials in Canberra could be missing out on vital information and meetings by not being on the ground.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has defended the decision to hold the ambassador back despite other nations returning, citing security advice for the move.
We mentioned in the first post the inferno at the Campbelltown petrol station last night.
More than 60 fire and rescue firefighters and 16 fire trucks were called in to attack the ‘4th Alarm’ fire, which engulfed a petrol tanker, three cars and several LPG cylinders.
Here’s some vision of the blaze:
Daniel ‘not overly keen on’ changes to super tax concessions
The conversation turns to the superannuation debate after the government left the door open to changing superannuation tax concessions.
Independent MP Zoe Daniel says she and Linda Burney, the minister for Indigenous Australians, are in “furious agreement” in supporting the Indigenous voice to parliament.
However, Daniel flags she may not be in agreement with the Albanese government on any potential future changes to super:
We are here this morning to talk about the voice, and Linda and I are in furious agreement on that. We’re not going to be in furious agreement on everything, so maybe we not in agreement on superannuation, but that said, at this point, the government has floated an idea.
We don’t have the detail on what the actual policy might end up being, or what the legislative change might be. I’ve said, yes, that I’m not overly keen on political parties of any iteration fiddling with super, but I’m up for big debates.
I am up for the conversation about imbalances in the superannuation system, and I’m up for big debates about broad-based tax reform, so I’m looking forward to that conversation with the treasurer.
And yes, I represent my community, and there are many self-funded retirees in my community who will be concerned about this, and I will be representing them in those conversations with the government. But those people who are on pensions, for example, who really do need an increase in their pension, and we need revenue for that – my mum is on a pension, and I know that is very difficult … We have to have a talk about the detail.
Burney says her focus is on the voice during this week of action and that while superannuation is important, she’ll “leave it up to the finance people in our team to make comments about that”.
Asked about what the government is doing to make this an inclusive debate, especially for, as Lidia Thorpe mentioned, the progressive no side, Burney says:
The work towards a positive referendum, of course, has been guided by our First Nations working group and engagement group. But I want to reach out across the parliament, which is [why it is] so fabulous to be here with Zoe this morning in Goldstein, to make sure everyone is involved and clear on what we are really talking about.
What we are asking people to do later this year is vote yes or no in a referendum that will create a First Nations or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to the parliament. It will have two jobs. It will make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have an involvement in the things that the parliament decides, and it will also recognise the extraordinary history of this country, 65,000 years in our nation’s birth certificate. It is no more complicated than that.
And then, of course, the structure of the voice, how it will be elected or appointed or selected, those things are going to be worked through. And it really is a very exciting time to bring a unifying moment to this country and forever having the truth told in this country.
Week of action on voice switching narrative back to the people, Zoe Daniels says
Circling back to the minister for Indigenous affairs, Linda Burney, and independent MP Zoe Daniels’ conversation with ABC News: Daniels says the yes campaign is all about switching the narrative around the Indigenous voice to parliament from the “politicians to the people.”
I think by and large it’s a really positive mood, and Linda saw this morning we had 40 or 50 volunteers, people who worked on my campaign and people who really believe in participatory democracy, coming along at 7.30am in the morning to talk to the minister about the voice and the referendum process.
I held an event in the electorate earlier this week, we only gave people a couple of days’ notice and we had 200 people come to hear Marcus Stewart, who is on the referendum working group, talking about the voice as well.
So there is huge interest in creating this change in being involved in it, and I think there is real excitement. I think one thing about the launch of the yes campaign this week is actually to switch the narrative from politicians to the people, and that’s what we’re doing here. And it’s actually just a beautiful, exciting and positive thing to see the community come out to talk to the minister about what can we do to help explain and support people’s understanding of the invitation from First Nations people for constitutional recognition.
Goldstein is saying Yes to the Voice! Thanks for having me along @zdaniel.
The Voice is an opportunity for us to come together to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution, and make sure our Voices are heard so we can improve lives. pic.twitter.com/RtImZpM5oT
— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) February 24, 2023
Perth man dies in Bali after allegedly being assaulted in bar
A 40-year-old Perth man, Troy Johnston, has died in Bali after allegedly being assaulted in a bar.
Balinese media report that on Wednesday night Johnston had been out drinking at Uncle Benz Caffe in South Kuta.
The Bali Sun reported the head of public relations of the Bali police, Stefanus Satakake Bayu Setianto, said:
The perpetrator and the victim [started] drinking alcohol at 7.30pm. Shortly thereafter, the victim got drunk and hit the perpetrator.
Before hitting the victim using a chair, the victim first threatened the perpetrator to hit using a chair.
Seeing the victim lift a chair, the perpetrator reflexively lifted the chair and hit the victim’s head many times at once.
Johnston worked for mining company Rio Tinto, which has confirmed his death and expressed their sympathy for his family and friends:
We are devastated by the news that one of our much loved and valued team members has tragically passed away overseas.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Troy’s family and friends, and we are providing them all the support we can during this very difficult time.
Troy’s colleagues are deeply saddened and we are providing them access to a range of support services.
Momentum for voice is ‘enormous’ as week of action launches, Burney says
This week has been the week of action launching the “yes” campaign for the Indigenous voice to parliament.
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has been attending events all over the country to mark the occasion, including in the electorate of Goldstein where the independent member, Zoe Daniel, hosted an event. The pair are talking to ABC News this morning.
Burney says:
The momentum for the voice is just enormous. I’m here with Zoe in Goldstein this morning meeting volunteers, meeting with people who are really keen to make sure that we have a successful referendum. This is above politics.
I’ve been all over the country this week, yesterday on Flinders Island. Such a moving place where women who were put there in the 1830s put feathers on their arms thinking they could fly back to the mainland and Tasmania, and of course didn’t.
So this is about the Australian people. This is about making sure that we get a successful yes vote.
Burney visited the historic site of Wybalenna on Flinders Island yesterday where hundreds of Tasmanian Aboriginal people were exiled by colonial authorities with Liberal MP Bridget Archer.
Emotional day on Flinders Island with @BridgetArcherMP.
Flinders Island is home to the historic site of Wybalenna where 100s of Tasmanian Aboriginal people were exiled by colonial authorities in 1800’s.
Thank you to Flinders locals for allowing me to visit & hear your history. pic.twitter.com/6li3W77gYZ
— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) February 24, 2023
And among those 350 WorldPride events is of course the parade tonight, AAP bring you these details:
Sydney’s Oxford Street will be awash with glitter as it welcomes an estimated 300,000 partygoers during the crown jewel of the WorldPride program.
More than 200 floats and 12,500 parade participants will dance through 1.7km of rainbow-lined streets in a celebration of queer identity, community and equality.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras returns to its heritage-listed route after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the parade to do laps within the confines of the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2021 and 2022.
Transgender activist Kalypso Finbar said the parade’s return has come with a renewed sense of pride.
It’s almost like a resurrection. There’s a different energy in the air this year because there’s more accessibility because of that Oxford Street factor.
For Mardi Gras veterans such as Dykes on Bikes president Emily Saunders, it feels like a homecoming.
It’s our natural home, we ride motorcycles, for us, being on the street is where we belong.
The 2023 celebration will also mark 45 years since Sydney’s first Mardi Gras parade. Lance Dow, who was part of that first 1978 march, says he feels “excited but odd” to still be attending almost five decades later.
Being a ‘78er, it’s incredible how far we’ve come since that night.
We didn’t know much about pride in those days, it was all camp. But now I feel a lot of pride.
In recognition of their historical significance, Dykes on Bikes and their gay counterparts will lead the parade alongside a First Nations float and one dedicated to the 78ers.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade begins at 6pm AEDT tonight.
Sydney WorldPride opening concert: Kylie and Dannii Minogue gloriously launch season of golden hot pants
Sydney WorldPride opening concert took place last night in the Domain, officially heralding the beginning of WorldPride which will see some 350 events across 17 days.
Read Steve Dow’s five star review of the concert which featured not only Kylie and Dannii Minogue, but also:
A Priscilla drag spectacular, replete with thong dress and emu costumes; Casey Donovan nailing Make You Feel My Love to images of the fight for marriage equality; British singer Charli XCX grinding in her uninhibited sexuality, acknowledging this community’s support in keeping her career afloat.
Amid an audience abundance of tulle, massive heels, rainbow wings, spangled suits, see-through mesh tops, pink cowboy hats and sequined military caps, there was recognition of Australian gay icons from performer Bob Downe to Labor senator Penny Wong.
The NSW Teachers Federation president, Angelo Gavrielatos, has described the Black Dog Institute’s survey findings as “damning”:
This damning research again highlights the impact and severity of the teacher shortage crisis in NSW.
Unsustainable workloads mean teachers are burning out and kids are missing out.
The [state] government’s lack of action in addressing the teacher shortage crisis is forcing many teachers to take on lessons outside their area of expertise causing increased stress and anxiety and adding to burnout.
The NSW education minister, Sarah Mitchell, this week suggested claims of teacher shortages were overblown, saying three in four public schools had one or no vacant teaching positions.
– AAP
Almost half of all teachers looking to quit, survey finds
Unmanageable workloads, teacher shortages and having to take on classes outside their expertise have half of all Australian teachers on the verge of quitting, a new survey suggests.
Some 47% of teachers are considering leaving the profession within the next year, according to the results of a Black Dog Institute survey released today.
Associate Professor Aliza Werner-Seidler, the head of population mental health at the Black Dog Institute, UNSW Sydney, said:
The data suggests we are looking at a profession in crisis.
Teachers are working longer hours with fewer resources and this pressure is building with an increase of burnout and time being taken off due to mental ill-health.
The 47% figure stands in stark contrast to the 2021 results when 14% were considering resigning in the next year.
This year’s nationally representative survey of more than 4000 teachers also found 70% of teachers reported having unmanageable workloads and 85% arrived at work earlier than required.
Three-quarters reported current teacher shortages in their schools while the cohort reported levels of moderate to severe stress, depression and anxiety well above the general population.
Werner-Seidler said:
Teacher wellbeing doesn’t only affect teachers. Research has shown teacher wellbeing can also have an impact on students’ academic and emotional outcomes, and the emotional wellbeing and economic productivity of parents.
The researcher said more targeted government investment in programs that promote better teacher mental health was needed.
– AAP
‘Wonderful’ to welcome Kiribati back to the Pacific Island Forum, Wong says
The minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, has represented Australia at the Pacific Island Forum, where Kiribati has come back to the fold after withdrawing on the even of the July meeting.
The move, which Kiribati’s opposition leader said was driven by pressure from China, dealt a devastating blow to the unity of the PIF, at a time when the Pacific was facing increased geo-strategic pressure, coming just months after Solomon Islands signed a controversial and secretive security deal with China.
It was confirmed Kiribati would return to the regional peak body in January when the country’s president, Taneti Maamau, told the prime minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, Kiribati would return to the bloc.
As the latest PIF retreat has wrapped up Wong said, “it was wonderful to welcome Kiribati back to the PIF.”
It was an honour to represent @AlboMP at the PIF Retreat and hear from leaders from across our Blue Pacific Continent.
I appreciated their invaluable insights on issues critical to our region’s future, including climate change and security. pic.twitter.com/CVSM2rfSeJ
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) February 24, 2023
It was wonderful to welcome Kiribati back to the PIF.
The themes of this Forum were reflection, renewal and celebration.
Together we can build a strong, united and prosperous Blue Pacific region. pic.twitter.com/mY43KvCmlv
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) February 24, 2023
A untied PIF is central to ensuring we live in a region that is peaceful, prosperous and resilient.
At the retreat we worked together in the ‘Pacific Way’ – through dialogue, respect and consensus. pic.twitter.com/50K5fk4NMe
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) February 24, 2023
Good morning
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will return to its heritage-listed route after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the parade to do laps within the confines of the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2021 and 2022 instead.
Sydney’s Oxford Street will be awash with glitter tonight as it welcomes an estimated 300,000 partygoers during the crown jewel of the WorldPride program.
More than 200 floats and 12,500 parade participants will dance through 1.7km of rainbow-lined streets in a celebration of queer identity, community and equality.
The Ukrainian national anthem rang out over Melbourne last night as the community gathered at Federation Square for a vigil to mark a year on from Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Town Hall, Federation Square, Flinders Street Station and the National Gallery of Victoria were among the buildings lit up with Ukraine’s national colours. In Tasmania, Hobart’s Tasman Bridge was also lit in blue and yellow to mark last year’s 24 February invasion.
Hundreds of members of Sydney’s Ukrainian community and their supporters held a vigil outside St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday evening.
And fire crews have struggled to to contain a major blaze at a petrol station in Campbelltown in south-west Sydney.
The petrol station on Lindesay Street caught fire just after 10.15pm and a petrol tanker, three cars and several gas cylinders were also engulfed with more than 60 firefighters reportedly being deployed. The main building of the station has partly collapsed. Investigations into the fire are underway.
Let’s get into it.
Discussion about this post