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NSW officials urge those with injuries ‘that can wait’ to avoid emergency department
Top NSW officials are urging people to avoid the emergency department except in cases of extreme health needs, warning the next three weeks will see hospitals at capacity amid a surge in winter illness.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the next few weeks will be the “worst of the year” after a moderate beginning to the winter season:
I’ve spoken to emergency departments in Maitland, in Cessnock, in Western Sydney over the last two or three weeks since who have said it’s a late-starting season, but it’s hitting us hard now.
Minns said that advice was targeted at those with “cuts, abrasions, bruises, things that can wait until the morning”. But people fearful of a dangerous health condition, including those with symptoms of stroke or heart attack, should absolutely head to the ED. He said:
If you feel or you’ve got any suspicion that your life might be in danger, please go to the emergency department, please call 000.
No one’s going to yell at you if you turn out to be wrong and it’s some other ailment that’s not life-threatening. Everybody understands that.
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, added earlier this morning:
We always prioritorizing those most unwell, and that’s why we’re calling on people. If you don’t need to use an emergency department, if it’s not an emergency, use that 1800 022 222 number.
Key events
Hastie ‘not worried’ as One Nation eyes his seat
Andrew Hastie said he’s “not worried” about the next election, but hopes he receives preferences from One Nation when it comes down to it.
Hastie spoke to News24 (formerly Sky News) this morning ahead of One Nation’s expected launch in his seat of Canning in Western Australia. He had this to say:
I’m not worried. Everyone who comes in this job has to have a sense of their political mortality, and if this is the end, this is the end. You do your best, and it’s up to the Australian people.
We’re also a democracy. So I don’t have a problem with any political party starting a branch.
Hastie maintained the Coalition had ruled out any deal with One Nation for a joint government, saying the s were the “one Coalition partner” for the Liberals. But he said he still hopes One Nation preferences flow to him:
We’re in a two-party preferred system. So preferences matter.
Labor receives preferences from the Greens, and I’d hope we’d receive preferences from one nation. But in the end, I want to form government under Angus Taylor by winning on primary votes.
Luca Ittimani
Most Sydney road tolls to keep rising after Transurban accused of blocking reforms
The cost of using Sydney’s biggest toll road will continue to rise at least 4% a year after the multinational private operator was accused of blocking the state government’s push for sweeping reforms.
Only a handful of Sydney’s motorways will receive one-off toll cuts under a deal announced by the state Labor government on Monday, as the tolling bill footed by taxpayers surpasses $1bn.
Eleven of Sydney’s toll roads are run by Transurban, a $47bn company with operations in Victoria, Queensland and the US, with most under contracts granting exclusive operating rights into the 2040s or later.
The deal will see the state pay $850m to widen the M2-M7 tollway, boosting traffic flows, which Transurban expects will increase its toll revenue. The government will separately spend $143m to settle the deal, negotiated over two years.
Read more:
Your guide to Alan Jones’ trial – Full Story podcast
Alan Jones is fronting court on 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges, spanning a nearly two-decade period. He denies all charges.
But how did we get here? Once a media giant who enjoyed the height of influence and power, he is now the centre of one of Australia’s highest-profile criminal cases. The Guardian’s media correspondent, Amanda Meade, joins Nour Haydar to get us up to speed on the trial.
Minister says anyone who engaged in alleged illicit gambling inducements should be punished
Murray Watt, the federal environment minister, was asked earlier about former rugby league star Luke Bateman’s testimony before a parliamentary inquiry on gambling reform.
Bateman alleged betting company promoters supplied him with cocaine and alcohol, also alleging he attended private Gold Coast events hosted by gambling firms where senior figures took illegal drugs with clients.
Watt said those claims were distressing, before noting that anyone who engaged in such behaviour should face penalties. He told RN Breakfast:
We all feel for him and the circumstances that he went through. And for anyone to be offering illegal drugs as an inducement or for any other reason is obviously a crime. Should not be committed and people should pay a price if they’re engaging in that kind of criminal behavior.
Watt said the government was trying to strengthen gambling guardrails, including a national register to opt out from betting and gambling inducements.
NSW officials urge those with injuries ‘that can wait’ to avoid emergency department
Top NSW officials are urging people to avoid the emergency department except in cases of extreme health needs, warning the next three weeks will see hospitals at capacity amid a surge in winter illness.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the next few weeks will be the “worst of the year” after a moderate beginning to the winter season:
I’ve spoken to emergency departments in Maitland, in Cessnock, in Western Sydney over the last two or three weeks since who have said it’s a late-starting season, but it’s hitting us hard now.
Minns said that advice was targeted at those with “cuts, abrasions, bruises, things that can wait until the morning”. But people fearful of a dangerous health condition, including those with symptoms of stroke or heart attack, should absolutely head to the ED. He said:
If you feel or you’ve got any suspicion that your life might be in danger, please go to the emergency department, please call 000.
No one’s going to yell at you if you turn out to be wrong and it’s some other ailment that’s not life-threatening. Everybody understands that.
The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, added earlier this morning:
We always prioritorizing those most unwell, and that’s why we’re calling on people. If you don’t need to use an emergency department, if it’s not an emergency, use that 1800 022 222 number.
‘Grim news’ on bird flu but country well prepared, environment minister says
Murray Watt, the federal environment minister, added that Australia is likely to see more mass mortality events, in line with what has happened overseas in other countries where bird flu has affected local wildlife populations.
Watt spoke to RN Breakfast, saying:
I’m sorry to have such grim news at this hour of the morning but it’s best to be honest with people. As you know, Australia is the last continent on earth to have this strain of bird flu come to our shores. It was inevitable that it would come here at some point but the fact that it has taken a bit of time means that we are well prepared as a country.
But the reality is that we are going to see increased numbers of birds die as a result of this virus. And, of course, it can potentially get into mammals as well. So grim news ahead.
But as I say, we are as well prepared as we possibly can be for this.
Agriculture minister says bird flu could be in Australia for a ‘long period’
Julie Collins, the federal agriculture minister, said Australia had prepared for H5N1 bird flu and would increase surveillance and monitoring after confirming the first mass mortality event on Monday.
Collins spoke to ABC News Breakfast, saying it could be a “long period of time” that Australia has to deal with bird flu, pointing to other countries that have wrestled with outbreaks for years.
Collins said:
The state and territory governments are increasing surveillance so we can have a better understanding of where it’s become entrenched … It’s important that we can keep up locations so industries nearby and wildlife carers nearby are on high alert in those regions … That surveillance and monitoring is critical, so we keep doing that.
This could be a long period and a long journey. We’ve seen other countries deal with this since 2022, this particular H5 strand, and we’ve seen devastating impacts overseas, particularly in terms of the mass mortality is that have occurred.
Josh Taylor
Kmart sells out of low-cost rival to Meta camera glasses across Australia
Kmart has sold out of Anko-branded $89 camera glasses across Australia, which a digital rights expert says presents a “privacy nightmare” as people face being filmed without their consent.
As of Monday, the clear-lens, black-rimmed glasses, which can capture images and record high-definition videos, were sold out at Kmart stores across Australia and online.
The price point at $89 is significantly cheaper than the Meta Ray-Bans that the Anko brand glasses are styled on, which sell from $337.
Meta has faced significant pushback from privacy advocates since launching the glasses – which some people have dubbed “pervert glasses” – for their ability to record people in public.
Read more:
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take things over. Let’s get to it.
Red Cross appeals for blood donors
Runny noses and sore throats are keeping blood donors away, the Red Cross has told Australian Associated Press.
Donated blood is needed for a range of patients including cancer sufferers, new mothers, people undergoing surgery and children.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood says 12,000 donations are immediately needed to support patients in life-threatening situations.
Those who have been lucky to stave off flu symptoms are urged to head to centres in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, where shortages are dire with the greatest need for O-negative and O-positive blood.
Up to 1,600 donation appointments sit empty every day, with many more people cancelling or rescheduling appointments, the Lifeblood chief customer officer, Cath Stone, said.
“Even mild symptoms such as sniffles, sore throats and headaches make people temporarily ineligible to give blood, and this can severely impact the availability of donors during winter months,” she said.
“We’re urging anyone who is fit and well to book an appointment now, and anyone recovering from illness to donate as soon as they can.”
‘Massive’ fuel loads pave way for worrying summer fires in 2027
Kat Wong
As wildfires rage in the northern hemisphere, Greg Mullins, Australian firefighter and former commissioner of Fire and Rescue New South Wales, warns an incoming El Niño combined with significant fuel loads could contribute to bushfires in Australia.
Since 2020, wet weather in places and floods in places such as Lismore in NSW have prevented firefighters from doing as many hazard reduction burns as scheduled.
Mullins told the ABC’s 7.30:
It’s been too wet to burn and what we increasingly find is that conditions swing from being too wet to suddenly too hot and dry.
The hotter temperatures dry out the bush very quickly and the windows to carry out hazard reduction have reduced from months every year to just weeks.
He is less concerned about the current conditions as many parts of Australia are not in drought.
But with the El Niño coming, hotter, drier conditions are also likely to follow.
What worries me is the year after an El Niño is usually the hottest.
So 2027, I think, we’ll have a busy year for fires – it will be back on the TV screens, but then the summer of 27-28 could be a real worry.
Charges laid after alleged replica gun scare in Sydney entertainment precinct
NSW police have arrested and charged two men after one of them allegedly brandished a fake replica gun, wearing a bulletproof vest with a US flag and carrying a toy police badge, at a busy Sydney entertainment precinct, AAP reports.
Uniform and specialist police swarmed the pair at the Entertainment Quarter at Moore Park on Monday afternoon.
Chaotic social media footage showed dozens of police officers including some wearing tactical gear surrounding the alleged offenders and confused shoppers running, just before 5pm.
On arrival, officers located two men, one of whom was allegedly wearing a vest and carrying a firearm, police said in a statement.
The two men, aged 35 and 39, were arrested and a replica firearm, a vest, plastic handcuffs and a badge were allegedly seized.
Both were taken to Surry Hills police station where, during a search of the older man, police allege they located an amount of prohibited drugs.
The younger man was charged with possessing an unregistered, unauthorised pistol in a public place and for offensive behaviour.
He was refused bail to appear in court today.
The older man was charged with possessing a prohibited drug.
He was granted conditional bail to appear in court on 20 August.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
We start with charges that have been laid overnight after a security scare and major police action at Sydney’s popular Moore Park entertainment precinct. More on that soon
