Prayers for the lives lost in Libya floods and Morocco earthquake; More work needed to ensure domestic violence payments reach diverse Australians; Carlton through to the preliminary final for the first time in 23 years.
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TRANSCRIPT
- Prayers for the lives lost in Libya floods and Morocco earthquake
- More work needed to ensure domestic violence payments reach diverse Australians
- Carlton through to the preliminary final for the first time in 23 years
The World Health Organization and other aid groups have called on authorities in Libya to stop burying flood victims in mass graves.
A UN report showed that more than 1,000 people had so far been buried in mass graves since the country was hit by floods.
The mayor in the city of Derna in north-east Libya says he fears the death toll of 11,300 could reach 20,000.
In a statement, the UN health agency and the International Committee of the Red Cross called for better managed burials in well marked individual graves, saying that hasty burials can lead to long-lasting mental distress for family members as well as social and legal problems.
A member of the search and rescue team, Omer Unal says efforts continue to recover more bodies.
"The Humanitarian Relief Foundation search and rescue teams arrived in the Libyan city of Derna on the second day following the flood disaster. We have so far recovered over 18 bodies. Along with Turkey’s government disaster and emergency management agency [[AFAD]], we have reached 104 people. This is our third day in the field, and our search continues intensively."
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The federal government has accelerated financial help for people leaving violent relationships, but more work is needed to improve the system's equity.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has released a report examining the escaping violence payment, which was introduced in October 2021.
The report found as of May, the payment had supported almost 19,000 people and provided over $89 million in support.
The average cash, goods and services provided was $4224, with 89 per cent of recipients being women.
While the average gap between confirming the eligibility of a victim-survivor and the receipt of the first cash payment was 12 business days earlier in 2023, changes to the system have reduced it to three calendar days.
However, the report found further work was needed to ensure people in remote areas, older people, the LGBTQI community and Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse communities could access the payment.
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Disability advocacy groups say more can be done to ensure no one is disadvantaged while voting in the upcoming Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.
It comes as the delivery of the referendum information booklet to all Australian households is being finalised.
The booklet is being made available in braille, large print and as an audio recording.
The Australian Electoral Commission say some official polling places will have accessibility for people who use wheelchairs, and for those who can't move from their car at the voting station, a polling official will bring the ballot paper to the car.
Bruce Maguire is the policy advisor at Vision Australia.
He says while the Commission does also offer a telephone voting service, more can still be done to improve access to voting for people living with low vision and blindness.
"Our preferred option is to have what they call technology-assisted voting, voting via the internet. And in fact we're just about to submit a response to a New South Wales electoral commission review of technology-assisted voting, because we think that providing people with a range of options, including internet voting, is the ideal solution. We haven't got to that point with the federal elections or the referendum yet. We're certainly hoping that, as time goes on, we're getting closer."
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Carlton is through to the preliminary final for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, after a win over Melbourne in their semifinal.
Blake Acres kicked a goal in the final 60 seconds to give the Blues the two-point win, in front of a huge crowd of over 96,000 at the MCG.
The loss means the Demons bow out of the finals in straight sets for the second successive year, while the Blues head to Brisbane to face the Lions in a preliminary final.
Blues coach Michael Voss says it hasn't been an easy season.
"I think there'll be a time when we sit back and reflect on all sorts of things. All I'll say is that without it, we wouldn't be here, things through that period of time where some harsh lessons, some needed lessons to work out what was important to us and we've tried to stay true to that. And we've tried to enjoy that little bit of of the journey along the way and we're pretty determined despite what was going on around the outside and the excitement that was generated on the outside - we kept our eyes in and firmly focused on Melbourne."
