Australia news live: Victorian pharmacies to provide the pill without script; fire ants detected in Queensland rainforest | Australia news
Victorian pharmacists to provide the pill without doctor’s script
Benita Kolovos
Victorian women will soon be able to get the contraceptive pill from the chemist without a prescription, the premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced.
At a press conference this morning, she announced from July, Victoria’s Chemist Care Now program will be expanded to allow access to the oral contraceptive pill without a prescription at 850 pharmacies across the state.
The program currently allows pharmacists to provide only a month’s supply of oral contraceptives if the patient presents an old prescription or the medication box they used previously.
Allan said pharmacists involved in the program will need to complete a postgraduate training module. They will also be required to undertake a thorough consultation with patients, outline any risks and provide advice about other options, including long-acting reversible contraception.
She said the expansion of the program would make it easier for women – particularly those in the outer suburbs and regions – to access contraceptives, as well as save them time and money. The premier told reporters:
double quotation mark When women have run out of the pill – and many women would know what this feels like – having the hassle of having to shop around, get a bulk billing GP appointment … reorganising your whole day around that appointment that takes time out of women’s days.
Key events
ACCC puts petrol companies on notice amid accusations of price gouging
The consumer watchdog has put petrol stations on notice amid accusations retailers are using the Middle East conflict as an excuse to gouge their customers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) put out a statement on Friday saying it was “keeping a close eye on the petrol market” after the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, asked it to monitor for profiteering behaviour.
The ACCC said the prices of international crude oil and Singapore Mogas 95 – the relevant international benchmark for the wholesale price of petrol in Australia – had increased sharply and the spike was being influenced by the conflict.
However, as my colleague Patrick Commins reported on Thursday, changes in international benchmark fuel prices can take about two weeks to work their way through service stations in the major cities, and longer in the regions, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.
Yet average petrol prices in Australian city suburbs jumped almost immediately, including an 8.4c rise in average Brisbane prices since Friday, and a 7.5c average increase in Melbourne, according to Guardian Australia’s analysis of data from petrol tracking website Motormouth.
In a statement, one of the ACCC’s commissioners, Anna Brakey, said:
double quotation mark The ACCC will not hesitate to take action if representations and market behaviour by a petrol company contravene competition and consumer laws.We have written to major fuel companies to set out our expectations about domestic fuel pricing as these international events unfold.
At this time, as at any time, we encourage motorists to use fuel price apps and websites to shop around to find the lowest prices.
The ACCC said crude oil prices had spiked in early January due to “geopolitical developments” in Venezuela and Iran, but dropped again by the end of the month, with overall minimal influence on the Mogas 95 price.
You can read more here:
Catie McLeod
Hello, I hope you’re having a very nice Friday. I’ll take you through the rest of the afternoon’s news.
Nick Visser
That’s all from me. Catie McLeod will guide you into the weekend. Take care.
Major flood warnings across the Northern Territory and Queensland
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued multiple flood warnings for the Northern Territory and Queensland as tropical lows bring heavy rain to the region.
In the NT, major flood warnings are in place around the Katherine River, the Waterhouse River, the Roper River, the Daly River and the Georgina River.
Significant river level rises have been observed in many areas.
Angus Hines, a meteorologist with the BoM, said the Daly district south of Darwin could have six-hour rainfall totals of 90mm to 140mm.
double quotation mark It will continue to be extremely wet. … With more rain on the way we could see more rivers reach their flood levels and potentially burst their banks.
In Queensland, significant flooding has been seen north of Cairns and in the surrounding areas. Heavy rain is moving inland, with six-hour rainfall totals of 70mm to 130mm over interior parts of north Queensland.
Major flood warnings are in place around the Flinders River, the Georgina River and the Thomson River.
Daisy Dumas
Fire ants detected in Queensland’s prized Gondwana rainforests
Fire ants have been discovered in the world heritage-listed Gondwana rainforests in south-east Queensland.
A red imported fire ant nest was on 3 March found by a member of public in Lamington national park in the Gold Coast hinterland, a section of ancient rainforest that is internationally recognised for its extraordinary biodiversity and ecological history stretching back to Gondwana.
The nest’s site is outside the National Fire Ant Eradication Program’s containment boundary.
The program has destroyed the nest and is urging residents and businesses in Binna Burra in the Scenic Rim region to stay alert for the insects, which are native to South America and can kill people and livestock, and damage infrastructure and ecosystems.
Invasive Species Council advocacy director, Reece Pianta, said fire ants were one of the worst invasive threats to Australia’s wildlife and a failure to eradicate them in south-east Queensland could lead to them spreading across most of the country.
He continued:
double quotation mark To find a nest inside one of the world’s most ancient and beautiful rainforests is alarming. These places should be beyond the reach of invasive species.Rainforest is an unusual habitat for fire ants, which shows just how adaptable and dangerous they are and why every part of Australia is at risk of fire ant infestation.
Callum Jones
How Flightradar24 became the go-to platform for the world to watch global aviation crises unfold
Mikael Robertsson and Olov Lindberg did not set out to build one of the pre-eminent monitors of global airspace. In a bid to draw more eyes to their Swedish flight price comparison portal, the entrepreneurs added a page charting air traffic.
That page became Flightradar24, the portal that people around the world now turn to when there is chaos – and drama – in the skies.
In recent days, as the US-Israel war on Iran rapidly cleared the airspace over the Middle East, prompting widespread travel chaos that disrupted hundreds of thousands of travellers, viewers from around the world gravitated to the platform.
On Flightradar24 the impact on aviation was clear. With large swaths of the Middle East closed to air traffic, two narrow flight corridors emerged, crammed with little yellow plane symbols – the first to the north of Iran, through the Caucasus, but below Ukraine’s closed airspace, and the second to the south, through Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Read more here:
Benita Kolovos
RACGP opposes Victoria’s change to contraceptive pill access
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has opposed the change in Victoria over access to the contraceptive bill, as we reported earlier. It says it goes against the advice of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which has ruled the pill should only be prescribed by doctors who can manage the risk of serious complications.
The RACGP chair, Dr Anita Muñoz, said:
double quotation mark We are deeply disappointed that the Victorian government appears to be listening to lobbyists for pharmacy owners rather than the medicines experts, the TGA, whose guidance exists to protect patient safety. At a time when the government faces a challenging political environment in an election year, it has chosen a shortcut on women’s healthcare instead of investing in the evidence‑based solutions that actually improve access.
The premier, Jacinta Allan, pre-empted the criticism at her press conference, saying pharmacists were highly skilled and trained healthcare professionals:
double quotation mark This is about opening up access, and what it means for GPs is it frees up time for them. Because we know there’s huge pressure on the primary care system that it is hard to get in and find a bulk-billing appointment. This makes those spots available for other people while women are getting the access to the care that they need … It’ll be safe, it’s being done in a professional way, but it’s also going to really mean a big difference, particularly for younger women will be able to get access to the oral contraceptive pill, and it could be life changing for them.
Krishani Dhanji
Coalition responds to confirmation Australians on board US submarine
The Coalition has responded to the government’s confirmation three Australians were on board the US submarine that downed the Iranian warship.
More than 50 Australian sailors and officers are serving across the US attack submarine fleet, a training regimen that is part of preparations for Australia to command its own nuclear-powered submarines under the Aukus deal.
Shadow defence minister, James Paterson, wouldn’t say anything specific about Australian personnel being involved in the attack but said that the Aukus pact continues to have the Coalition’s “unqualified support”.
double quotation mark The US alliance is the cornerstone of Australia’s national security and Aukus is our most important defence project.A critical part of delivering Aukus is that Australian Navy personnel get first-hand experience serving on US nuclear-powered submarines. It has the Coalition’s unqualified support.
Krishani Dhanji
Shoebridge says US submarine contravened Geneva conventions by ‘abandoning’ Iranian survivors on the high seas
Greens senator David Shoebridge says the US submarine that sank the Iranian warship with three Australians involved contravened the second Geneva conventions by “abandoning” the Iranian survivors.
Shoebridge said the Iranian warship, which was struck down near Sri Lanka, had been in the area for a “friendship visit” and was carrying low munitions.
While international law expert Don Rothwell has said the downing of the ship was legal, now that the US and Iran have begun engaging in armed conflict, Shoebridge said the US submarine should have helped the survivors:
double quotation mark The abandoning of the survivors to leave them to be picked up hours later by a Sri Lankan asset when there was no credible threat to the US nuclear submarine, that is clearly a contravention of the second Geneva convention.If you sink a military asset. If it’s no longer a threat to you at the high seas, you have an obligation to rescue the survivors. And the United States, and with Australian personnel on board, grossly breach that obligation.
Greens senator David Shoebridge says Australia is ‘unambiguously part of an illegal war’
Krishani Dhanji
The Greens senator David Shoebridge has issued a scathing rebuke of the prime minister’s claim that “no Australian personnel have participated in any offensive action against Iran” when three Australians were on board the US submarine that sank an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka.
Shoebridge, the Greens justice and foreign affairs spokesperson, said it was an “extraordinary” claim.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament House, Shoebridge said it was “inevitable” that Australians would end up involved in the conflict alongside the US, due to the Aukus partnership that has seen dozens of Australian defence personnel stationed on US submarines.
double quotation mark It is extraordinary that the prime minister, literally in the same sentence, said that Australian personnel were on a US nuclear attack class submarine that struck and sunk an Iranian frigate, but Australia is not directly involved in the war in Iran. These two facts cannot sit together in the same sentence.It is as sure as day follows night that Australians throughout the US military are actively involved part of the United States and Israel’s illegal war in Iran.”
Shoebridge added that the involvement of the Australian personnel makes Australia “obviously, clearly, unambiguously, part of an illegal war, part of a war that is breaking down the norms of international law”.
Victorian pharmacists to provide the pill without doctor’s script
Benita Kolovos
Victorian women will soon be able to get the contraceptive pill from the chemist without a prescription, the premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced.
At a press conference this morning, she announced from July, Victoria’s Chemist Care Now program will be expanded to allow access to the oral contraceptive pill without a prescription at 850 pharmacies across the state.
The program currently allows pharmacists to provide only a month’s supply of oral contraceptives if the patient presents an old prescription or the medication box they used previously.
Allan said pharmacists involved in the program will need to complete a postgraduate training module. They will also be required to undertake a thorough consultation with patients, outline any risks and provide advice about other options, including long-acting reversible contraception.
She said the expansion of the program would make it easier for women – particularly those in the outer suburbs and regions – to access contraceptives, as well as save them time and money. The premier told reporters:
double quotation mark When women have run out of the pill – and many women would know what this feels like – having the hassle of having to shop around, get a bulk billing GP appointment … reorganising your whole day around that appointment that takes time out of women’s days.
Penry Buckley
NSW government won’t legalise e-scooters ‘until we’ve got the ebike situation under control’
The NSW transport minister, John Graham, has told budget estimates the government won’t legalise private e-scooters until it has addressed safety concerns about the use of ebikes.
The Minns government signalled in May last year that it would legalise e-scooters for over-16s on shared paths and bike lanes on roads – but not footpaths – at speeds of up to 20km/h, following a parliamentary inquiry into the use of e-micromobility devices.
It has yet to do so, but since then has been compelled to turn to ebike reform, amid safety concerns including a surge in injuries and an incident in which 40 or so ebikes swarmed the Sydney Harbour Bridge last month. It will introduce a minimum age to ride an ebike, and give police powers to crush overpowered bikes, changes which Graham says he expects by legislated by August.
The opposition has called for an ebike licence plate scheme, which the government is yet to support. Under questioning from the opposition transport spokesperson, Natalie Ward, Graham says the government will not make private e-scooters legal “until we’ve got the ebike situation under control”.
double quotation mark I think other cities have made [e-scooters] work. I just think it’s the wrong moment today to introduce them on to our streets. I think the public mood is … we should get the ebike share schemes under control. That decision has been made, those regulations are coming into force, and we should deal with some of the private e-bike issues that we’ve seen.
Private e-scooters are legal on roads and footpaths, subject to speed limits, in most Australian states and territories, excluding NSW and the Northern Territory. A shared e-scooter scheme is under way in NSW in Wollongong and Foster-Toncurry.
Empty seats on flights bringing stranded Australians home from the Middle East
There have been empty seats on the commercial flights commissioned to bring stranded travellers home to Australia from the Middle East, AAP reports.
Thousands of passengers have been stuck in limbo in Gulf transit hubs since the airspace was closed when the escalating US and Israeli air war against Iran began on the weekend.
The Australian government says it is working with the United Arab Emirates government to arrange a few commercial flights to get people home, and the first two left last night.
However, despite many people being stuck, the flights landing in Australia have not always been full as people are only getting a couple of hours’ notice from the airlines and some are hesitant to fly because of safety concerns.
The first two flights left last night: an Emirates plane touched down just before 11pm in Sydney, with another arriving in Melbourne about 6.20am this morning.
A third plane, from Abu Dhabi to Sydney, was due to arrive just after 9.30am.
Emirates is expected to operate another four flights from Dubai in the next 24 hours, while Etihad and Qatar Airways have tentatively scheduled a small number of flights that might not go ahead due to the closure of airspace.
Patrick Commins
Jim Chalmers consults with economists before May budget
About 30 of the country’s leading private sector economists have descended on the Treasury building in Canberra this morning, where behind closed doors they will hold forth on what they would do to fix the economy if they were in charge.
Jim Chalmers gave a brief opening address to the herd of dismal scientists (as the profession is often dubbed), telling them he wanted to hear their ideas for unleashing the economy’s productive capacity, a couple of months out from what the treasurer has said will be an “ambitious” budget.
Lifting productivity is a tricky, long-term endeavour, but it’s seen as a cure-all for what ails the economy, especially its ability to grow without adding to inflation.
Treasury officials, including the Treasury secretary, Jenny Wilkinson, are on hand for a talkfest spread across four sessions, during which time officials will also be keen to hear the economists’ view on the impact on inflation and growth from the US-Israel war on Iran.
Albanese said there’s ‘no question’ Iran war will have economic impact
The prime minister said Australia was not “immune” from the effects of the Iranian war, but said the country was well positioned to handle economic issues linked to the conflict.
He told Sky:
double quotation mark Our task is to be really clear about what Australia’s interest are, and what the interests of the world are in promoting a global peace, security and prosperity. …There is no question that when you have a global event like this, it will have an economic impact.
Albanese added his priority in the short-term is getting Australians home safely.
Albanese confirms three Australians on board US submarine that sank Iranian warship
Prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed three Australian submariners were on board a US submarine that torpedoed and sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean.
Albanese spoke to Sky News this morning, saying:
double quotation mark We wouldn’t normally confirm such an issue … I can confirm that there were three Australian personnel on board that vessel.I can confirm also though that no Australian personnel have participated in any offensive action against Iran.
The attack by the US submarine killed at least 87 people.
Patrick Commins
Aussie shares tank as oil prices jump again
The share market had heavy early losses, with the benchmark ASX 200 index opening 1.1% lower, after the overseas sell-off.
At 8,840 points, Aussie stocks are down a hefty 3.9% so far this week as investors digest the potential impact of soaring oil prices following the US-Israel attacks on Iran.
The global Brent crude price jumped nearly 5% overnight to trade at $US85.41 a barrel, about $US15 higher over the week.
Oil is on track for its biggest weekly gain since the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to Bloomberg.
The only segment of the local share market in the green is energy stocks, which are up more than 7% in early trade as investors factor in a boost to profits from the energy market ructions.
Paul Dalton, an investment director at fund manager Federated Hermes, said a “sell-first-ask-questions-later mentality” had taken hold.
“Clearly this is a fast-moving situation with a wide range of possible outcomes and hard-to-predict implications for the global economy and financial markets,” Dalton said.
“The key uncertainties remain the future of the Iranian regime, the duration of the conflict and the degree to which it may escalate.”
The Aussie dollar is hanging in there, fetching just over US70 cents, reflecting in part the increasing chance the Reserve Bank will need to hike interest rates over coming months.
