TRANSCRIPT:
- An Australian first arrest after the discovery of a vaping liquid laced with opiods;
- The Liberals reappointed as a minority government in Tasmania;
- Australia's Alex de Minaur out of the Canadian Open.
Police have found the body of a woman swept away by floodwaters in the New South Wales Hunter Valley at the weekend.
New South Wales Police say that while the body has not yet been identified, they are confident it is the 26 year old who had been caught up in a current after the car she was a passenger in attempted to drive over a flooded causeway in Rothbury on Saturday.
The 27 year old driver managed to get to safety.
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A man has been arrested over allegations he's been selling a dangerous and highly addictive synthetic opioid in Australia as a vaping liquid.
Police have confirmed the 20 year old was taken into custody on Friday last week after a raid that resulted in the seizure of 2.1kg of nitazene - a substance more potent than fentanyl - from a home in the Sydney suburb of Revesby.
NSW Police Drug Squad Commander John Watson says it's the first time in Australia a person has been charged with supplying vape liquid laced with nitazenes.
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Tasmania's governor has reappointed the Liberal government of Jeremy Rockliff, ending weeks of political limbo after an election with no clear winner.
The governor has released a statement saying she did so after Mr Rockliff told her he expected to gain the confidence of the lower house.
Mr Rockliff has not secured formal agreements of support from crossbenchers, and remains vulnerable to a future no-confidence motion.
But he says when Parliament resumes in mid August things will be different to before.
"We established rules and procedures in the last parliament to ensure greater transparency and accountability, and the ability for crossbenchers to have more say in terms of policies and legislation. And we want to enhance that. And the work that I'm engaging now with the crossbench is exactly about that."
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The Commonwealth Ombudsman says hundreds of welfare recipients have had their payments unlawfully cancelled, despite new laws introduced in the aftermath of the Robodebt Royal Commission.
The report has found that 964 people had their payments automatically terminated between April 2022 and July 2024, under the government's Targeted Compliance Framework.
The Ombudsman says the Department of Employment and Services Australia both failed to take every step required to safeguard job seekers - despite being well aware of the risks involved in automating decision-making.
Australian Council of Social Services chief Cassandra Goldie has called the report a step towards justice, saying it confirms there are serious and systematic holes in Australia's safety net.
"The Commonwealth Ombudsman have highlighted that Jobseeker is a poverty payment, it needs to be fixed. But if you are both living in poverty, and then, you are subjected to ongoing brutal harassment, often automated, will be leading to in far too many cases, your payment being suspended, sometimes for weeks at a time, and then potentially be cut off from your income support, all together as the Ombudsman says, consequences can be catastrophic."
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Australia's race discrimination commissioner has declared prejudice is having a significant impact on the economy.
Giridharan Sivaraman says job hunters with Anglo-friendly names are more likely to get a call back for a gig.
He says people with qualifications from non-English speaking countries are also more likely to be employed in jobs below their levels of experience, or in roles in entirely different fields.
Mr Sivaraman has told the National Press Club in Canberra that a whole-of-government approach is needed to tackle these issues - so that one day, Australia won't need his role at all.
"To get there though, we must face some hard truths, and acknowledge our problems, including past and present failures. Then, we must work together, to implement solutions that give us all a fair go."
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Funding is being cut in the US for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr says he intends to cancel contracts and funding for 22 projects worth around $500 million US dollars because they use mRNA technology.
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New Zealand's air force has evacuated three people from a United States research base in Antarctica.
The RNZ-AF says one person requiring urgent medical care and two others needing medical attention were brought to the city of Christchurch in New Zealand's south island, after a 20 hour rescue mission from McMurdo Station.
Temperatures at the Station were reportedly as low as -24C, hampering the recovery that took place in the complete darkness of the Antarctic winter.
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Australia's Alex de Minaur has been defeated in the quarter final of the Canadian Open by Ben Shelton.
The fourth-seeded American left-hander rocketed down 11 aces to just one from the Australian, and was also more effective with his return game, converting three of the five break points he set up during the 92-minute match.
Shelton's victory sets up a clash with second-seeded compatriot Taylor Fritz.
