Health Ministers urge support to ease mounting pressure on aged care sector, Bird flu reaches Sydney, Alex de Minaur has been defeated in the second round at the US Open in New York.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Health Ministers urge support to ease mounting pressure on aged care sector
- Bird flu reaches Sydney...
- Alex de Minaur has been defeated in the second round at the US Open in New York.
Health Minister Mark Butler says mounting pressure on the aged care sector is high on the agenda during today's Health Ministers meeting.
New figures released by State and Territory Health departments show over 3,600 patients are stranded in state hospitals across Australia waiting for Commonwealth Government aged care placements.
The national number increased from over 2,700 in mid 2025 to over 3,600 in mid 2026.
Minister Butler says State and Territory Health Ministers are urging the commonwealth to provide more support to address the growing issue of bed block across the country's hospitals.
"With the ageing of the baby boomers, there are more older Australians in Australia. There are more in aged care. There are more waiting for aged care. And it stands to reason there unfortunately are more in our hospital system as well. I mean, we're putting money into more support at home packages, doing what we can to support providers to build new facilities, but we're experiencing unprecedented demand for those services."
The H5 bird flu has reached Sydney, with a case confirmed in a bird on Sydney's northern beaches.
The New South Wales government says the deadly strain has been detected in a greater crested tern found in Warriewood.
The Department of Agriculture says there's now been a total of 468 detections of bird flu in Australian wildlife.
Mayor of the Northern Beaches Sue Heins says she expects it may be the firts of many, and is bracing for potentially devastating impacts.
US Vice President JD Vance says there will be no talks with Iran unless Tehran halts commercial shipping attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
His comments come as Washington and Tehran exchanged renewed back-and-forth attacks this week, with Iran saying it has hit US military bases in Kuwait and the UAE in its latest strikes.
Iran says its latest strikes are a response to a strike it blames on the US earlier in the week which hit a wedding in the Iranian coastal town of Kuhestak, killing four people and wounding more than 50.
The Vice President says the fighting between Iran and the US is not a war, but says Iran is responsible for any prolonged tensions.
"I don't, I wouldn't call it a war. Right now, there is no active shooting. I recognise there have been places where this has flared up. But when you ask, when will this end? You're asking me a question like, when will the Iranians stop shooting at ships? I think the reality is, I don't know the answer to that question. You would have to ask the Iranian. When will the Iranian shooting at ships stop having an effect on world energy markets? And the answer is, it has less effect day by day."
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he plans to meet with members of the Nepali-Australian community today.
The number of Australians unaccounted for after devastating floods along the Nepal-Tibet border has been revised down to 36 from 38, after two more Australian citizens were confirmed safe.
The Nepali government says more than 1200 people have died and more than 5,000 people are missing in Nepal, while the Chinese government says 21 people have died and more than 500 are are missing in China.
Mr Bowen has told ABC radio the government's focus remains on establishing the whereabouts and welfare of those still missing, and supporting impacted families.
Eleven Eureka Prizes have been awarded to individual women or teams made up entirely or predominantly of women, in a ceremony at Sydney on Thursday night for the nation's top science awards.
The awards recognise outstanding achievement in 19 categories across scientific research, innovation, leadership, science engagement and school science.
Associate Professor Helen Paterson was awarded the Forensic Science prize for advancing how courts and police understand victim-survivor testimony in domestic and family violence cases.
"I would like to dedicate this award to victim-survivors of domestic and family violence whose experiences and courage drive this work."
Her research uses memory science to transform how we support victim-survivors, by developing and evaluating new interviewing techniques backed by scientific research.
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has entered a treatment program after accepting a one month suspension for testing positive to cocaine.
Kyrgios had been provisionally suspended since August 4, and was facing a ban ranging from 3-months to up to four years, after failing a drugs test at a tournament in Spain in June.
During an interview with International Tennis Integrity Agency investigators Kyrgios explained his use of cocaine had occurred socially during a night out, days before he was due to play in Mallorca.
The ITIA has accepted his drug use was outside of the competition, and says his suspension ends next week, subject to completion of the treatment program.
Australia's hope for the U-S Open title, Alex de Minaur, has crashed out in the second round in New York.
The world Number seven has lost to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp who he'd beaten in all four of their previous meetings.
De Minaur dropped serve five times and only broke his 70th-ranked opponent once, in the 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 defeat.
A three-times US Open quarter-finalist, de Minaur had been the fourth-highest-ranked player left in the draw.
