Seven primary school children in Melbourne have suffered life-changing injuries including amputations, after the bus they were travelling in collided with a truck and rolled over. The students, aged between five and 11, were on their way home from Exford Primary School on Tuesday afternoon when the crash happened. Eleven other children were also taken to hospital and seven, who are in a stable condition, remain at Royal Children's Hospital. The bus driver was injured and subsequently charged with four counts of dangerous driving. Victoria Police Superintendent Michael Cruse said: "This incident was avoidable".
Despite being four wins, four losses and a draw, Carlton's performances this year have generated an incessant and unwarranted level of scrutiny, according to the Sydney Morning Herald's Jake Niall. Although the team's first nine games were on par with the same period in 2022, their failings have been less egregious than the media discourse suggests, with Niall criticising the "collective anxiety" and "20 years of failure and dysfunction" which have fuelled negative commentary and frustrated fans.
The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix has been cancelled amid severe flooding and torrential rain. Formula One boss, Stefano Domenicali arrived at the swift decision to call off the sixth round of the season in northern Italy following an emergency meeting with local authorities and race officials. The right decision was made due to grave concerns over the safety of transporting 300,000 spectators to and from the event over the course of three days and diverting emergency services. This comes after the 2020 Australian Grand Prix was called off when a McLaren mechanic contracted coronavirus.
Developers are bypassing thousands of approved housing projects due to the expense of construction and stagnant property prices. In Victoria, 10,388 houses, townhouses and flats slated for construction in March are inactive, double the figure from the previous year and a level not reached since December 2017, KPMG found. Property developers are unwilling to finance projects due to the high associated costs and the smaller returns generated by flagging property prices, several of which are going bankrupt as a result, according to KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley.
65 former students who attended the independent Catholic Kilbreda College girls' school in Melbourne have each received a letter containing a used condom. The women, who left the school in 1999, live in south and south-eastern Melbourne. At least 100 letters have been sent, each in similar handwriting, with graphic messages. The women have speculated that their details may have been taken from an old year book. The case is being treated as a targeted attack.
Climate scientists face a communications challenge to convey the scale of the climate emergency to which they are alerting the world, according to Bloomberg Opinion’s David Fickling. Scientific projections of the future impact of global warming may seem abstract and distant to many, even as the effects of the crisis become blindingly apparent. The broad techniques used by scientists to make verifiable forecasts about the future, and the way the human brain processes statistical data, exacerbate this disconnect, Fickling argues. There are also substantive obstacles to predicting some of the short-term effects that generate media coverage and to forecasting things like the highest temperature ever recorded in a particular region. Meanwhile, the public faces a constant barrage of short-term distractions. Fickling argues that, instead of accusing scientists of alarmism when their predictions are confounded, society should take such concerns seriously.
New York's Eastern District Court has gained a reputation for its extraterritorial reach, indicting an array of high-profile defendants over the years, including R&B singer R Kelly and Mexican cartel boss Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán Loera. Despite covering a district that includes Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island, and serving a diverse demographic of 8 million residents and an international airport, the court has few qualms about exercising its jurisdiction to prosecute defendants based in other areas of the US, or even in foreign countries.
This year, the Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Australian Novelists prize has been awarded to Katerina Gibson for short fiction collection Women I Know, George Haddad, for his debut novel Losing Face, and Jay Carmichael for second novel, Marlo. Previous winners include Christos Tsiolkas. Tsiolkas won the award in 1995 for his debut, Loaded, which was released the previous year. The awards are open to Australian fiction writers aged 35 and younger at the time of publication of their nominated books. The prize encourages emerging writers and attracts entrants from a range of genres. It helps bring new talent to recognition and is designed to give early career writers the boost they need and the financial means to keep writing. Each of the winners of the prize receive a $5,000 award. The judges of the award were critic and novelist Fiona Kelly McGregor and Bram Presser, as well as Spectrum SMH editor Melanie Kembrey.
The legal dispute between John Pesutto, the leader of the opposition for the Australian state of Victoria's Liberal party, and Moira Deeming, an exiled Liberal MP over comments Pesutto made about Deeming's views on trans rights is set to bring together formidable legal talent. Deeming has hired Patrick George, who has represented two Australian prime ministers, to act on her behalf. Pesutto's legal team includes two well-regarded lawyers, media specialist Peter Bartlett and Defamation List member Matt Collins KC. The question of the liberal party's platform on transgender rights has been a contentious one in recent months across the country.
The rising cost of mortgage repayments is closing in the affordability of more Perth suburbs for single buyers and couples with lower deposits. During the 12 months following interest rate rises, the average couple's borrowing power has declined, with 15% of Perth's suburbs becoming unaffordable. Meanwhile, 115 out of 252 suburbs -- almost half of the state capital -- were deemed irrational purchases for single homeowners, according to Core Logic data. Despite the affordability decline, Western Australia remains the cheapest part of the country to purchase a home, with the median price of a house at AUD587,274 ($394,740).
North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson is taking an indefinite leave of absence for the sake of his health. Clarkson has been under great strain after allegations were levelled against him by former players during his time at Hawthorn, which he strongly denies. North Melbourne assistant coach Brett Ratten will take over while Clarkson is on leave.
Two men have been charged with sexual offences after women reported a series of frightening incidents along the Merri Creek trail in Melbourne’s north over several months. A police spokeswoman confirmed a 40-year-old Brunswick man was charged over two alleged incidents of sexual exposure in a public place on March 20 and April 4. Separately, police from the sexual offences unit charged a 30-year-old Preston man on February 5 with nine offences, including directing sexual activity at a person, stalking and committing an indictable offence while on bail.
The adoption of the “trauma-informed” teaching model by Australian schools is growing as teachers face rising levels of disturbance in the classroom after two years of interruptions caused by coronavirus. The model focuses on developing teacher strategies to engage with struggling students. The approach uses a “check-in” system to assess whether pupils are capable of learning, with children signalling Green when ready for a lesson, Blue when not quite ready and Red when distressed. The model has transformed Mahogany Rise Primary School in Frankston over the past two years and seen demand for services from children’s charity Berry Street double.
The advice column of today has been shaped by the 20th-century newspaper, making snappy and standardised responses that are expected to fit within four short paragraphs. Writing for two audiences, the writer must address the day’s problem and the regular readers that return every week. It is difficult for the columnist to know whether any real impact has been made, since most letter-writers never send an update on whether they indeed took the advice. The purpose is to maintain a balance between confident direction and flexible humility as most advice-seekers have already lingered in uncertainty and developed second thoughts. This means that the columnist must encourage making a firm decision rather than dithering. Most of the advice is very good, but it is no longer novel or interesting and might have become too overconfident. The main goal is to render something standardised into something personally significant.
Poet and spoken-word performer Anthony Joseph has discussed the parallels between poetry and music ahead of his upcoming appearances at literary events in Melbourne and Sydney. Born in Trinidad, where he developed the rhythms and cadences that characterise his poetry, as a frontman of a rock band in London he learned to adopt a "melodic" way of speaking verse to compensate for a lack of singing ability. His work has its roots in politics, history and Caribbean culture, and he is an advocate of violence as a means of revolution, as expressed on his latest album, The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives.
Several Australian firms and a few hundred worldwide are trialling a four-day work week, following a suggestion by a Senate committee earlier this year for Australia to introduce the system. One Australian company to have shifted is the Our Community software firm, whose founder, Denis Moriarty, said the change had radically altered the company culture and improved motivation. Trials - usually involving companies with fewer than 25 employees - have resulted in benefits such as increased productivity and reduced stress. Critics have argued the costs associated with implementing a shorter working week are too high, while others have questioned whether increased pressure to be more productive could lead to more stress among employees.
Analysis: Proponents of the four-day week argue that improved levels of output per unit of time make the system economically viable. While critics of the approach cite concerns over the cost and viability of the system for some industries, as well as potential logistic challenges surrounding the increase in productivity required to complete a week’s work in four days. I believe these challenging economic times are what is pushing people and companies to examine the viability of this system.
The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, due to take place at Imola, Italy, from Friday 19 May to Sunday 21 May, has been cancelled due to severe flooding in the region. Italian authorities issued a red warning after rising water levels in the Santerno river threatened the circuit. A least three people have been killed in the floods, which have also led to the evacuation of around 5,000 people. F1 staff were advised not to travel to Imola and the car park and other areas nearby were caught in the downpour. The Monaco Grand Prix next weekend remains scheduled to take place.
The cancellation of the Grand Prix, the second event to be cancelled in advance of the race after the 2020 Australian Grand Prix due to a coronavirus infection, is seen a setback for the Mercedes team, which had specifically prepared for the Imola race, where it had planned to test a new upgrade package designed to reduce the 128-point gap that Red Bull has opened in the race for the constructor’s rankings.
F1 fans and personnel took to social media to communicate their disappointment, but emphasised their understanding of the mechanics of the decision. Lewis Hamilton, head of the Mercedes team, took to Instagram to note that safety should be prioritised over racing. Imola now faces the possibility of losing its spot on the F1 calendar after 2025, unless a new deal can be agreed with F1 owners Liberty Media. It remains to be seen if the event will be rescheduled this year.
James Hynes’ Sparrow is a historical novel giving voice to the last of the Romans in Britain. The novel is set around Jacob, who was called a cinaedus—a Roman sex slave. Raised amid prostitutes, the boy was bought by mistake, with everyone believing he was a girl. Sparrow offers readers an intimate depiction of the workings of the brothel having been overseen by the bullying pimp Audo, and as the boy grows, his effeminacy attracts scorn and increasing severe abuse. Historians know the brutal Roman sex trade, and Hynes uses it to animate Sparrow’s secret teeming with sensuality and frailty.
Marco Pierre White, widely credited as the first celebrity chef, spoke to The Guardian about life in his 61st year. White said he is surprised that people consider him a “wild creature” and how his veneer belies an introverted and quiet nature. He reflected upon the long hours and hard work associated with being a chef, refuting the idea his kitchens were cruel places, and described himself as a shy and damaged individual after the loss of his mother at a young age. White also expressed his disapproval of modern fine dining, saying he prefers abundant simplicity over paltry elegance when eating out.
A 16-year old boy has been fatally stabbed near Sunshine train station in Melbourne. The Royal Melbourne Hospital reported a 234% rise in knife-related assault admissions in the past three years, with a hospital spokesperson reporting, “We have definitely seen an increase in knife related injuries”. According to police, the attacks are unrelated to Isis terrorism. A recent six month campaign, Operation Tense, saw almost double the number of knives seized than in the previous six months, and involved police targeting knife possession and gang crime. The practice of strip searching is also reportedly increasing in the region to combat knife crime.
