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NDIS providers permanently banned on fraud claims
Two National Disability Insurance Scheme providers and five people associated with them have been banned from providing services to people with a disability, following fraud claims.
Millennium Disability Care and A.C.N have been permanently prohibited from providing NDIS supports after a fraud taskforce found evidence of fake and inappropriate claims.
A.C.N 615 641 079 Pty Ltd is listed on Asic registers as operating businesses Australian Home And Community Care and SIL finder, which bills itself as a disability accommodation platform to help NDIS participants find homes.
The five people were also banned from providing services to people with a disability, with prohibitions ranging from five to 10 years.
NDIS minister Bill Shorten said the action sent “a strong message to any provider trying to take advantage of the NDIS and Australian taxpayers”.
Australians relying on the NDIS are some of our most vulnerable, and any organisation taking advantage of their safety net must be stopped.
For too long, rogue providers have been able to make use of a lack of communication and coordination between government agencies.
NDIS commissioner Tracy Mackey said the commission would take swift action against any provider failing to meet their obligations.
– AAP
Key events
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Prime minister Anthony Albanese is the latest to offer his lunar new year wishes.
Inflation tipped to peak in latest data release
Economists are optimistic Australia’s sky-high inflation will start to come back to earth after the release of fresh data on the cost-of-living crisis.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will unveil consumer price index (CPI) figures for the December quarter on Wednesday amid soaring costs for many household staples.
Commonwealth Bank analysts are forecasting inflation to jump 1.7% over the quarter, up from an increase of 1.3% for the same period a year earlier.
CommSec chief economist Craig James told the bank’s podcast he expected growth.
We’re knocking out a smaller number with a bigger number so, as a result, we’re going to see stronger annual growth.
In its November meeting minutes, the Reserve Bank of Australia said it expected headline inflation to peak around eight per cent and underlying inflation to top out at 6.5% at the end of 2022 before both begin to fall early this year.
No update was made to either forecast following its meeting in December.
On Thursday, ABS jobs data showed the national unemployment rate steadied at 3.5% in December, suggesting the economy is slowing.
The RBA will be keeping a close eye on the latest inflation figures ahead of its meeting early next month to decide on a possible ninth consecutive interest rate hike.
– AAP
Graham Readfearn
El Niño may be coming, here’s what it might mean for Australia
Australia’s weather – dominated for three years by La Niña conditions in the Pacific that soaked the east of the country – could be about to flip into a hotter and drier phase.
But what might the potential arrival of La Niña’s hotter and drier cousin, El Niño, mean for Australians still recovering from the floods of recent years, and our ecosystems?
Some scientists are fearing the worst, with an El Niño raising the chances of dangerous bushfire weather, longer and fiercer heatwaves and severe coral bleaching across the Great Barrier Reef.
However it is not clear yet whether an El Niño will develop with some uncertainty within the available models for at least the next few months.
For the latest on what’s coming and what it means, read the full report in the Guardian:
Chris Hipkins gives first address as New Zealand PM
New Zealand’s new prime minister Chris Hipkins is speaking now and has used his first address to thank his predecessor Jacinda Ardern as an “inspiration to women and girls everyone”.
New Zealand is in a much better position compared to most countries, economically and socially. Because of her leadership and the critical decisions that she made. Her leadership has been an inspiration to women and girls everywhere. But it is also a reminder that we have a way to go when it comes to ensuring that women in leadership receive the same respect as their male counterparts.
He has promised to focus on “bread and butter” issues that “people care about”.
You should not have to be on a six-figure salary to afford to buy a house, to support your children, and to have enough to retire on. Access to those basic needs, access to those basics need to be extended to all those striving for better.
NDIS providers permanently banned on fraud claims
Two National Disability Insurance Scheme providers and five people associated with them have been banned from providing services to people with a disability, following fraud claims.
Millennium Disability Care and A.C.N have been permanently prohibited from providing NDIS supports after a fraud taskforce found evidence of fake and inappropriate claims.
A.C.N 615 641 079 Pty Ltd is listed on Asic registers as operating businesses Australian Home And Community Care and SIL finder, which bills itself as a disability accommodation platform to help NDIS participants find homes.
The five people were also banned from providing services to people with a disability, with prohibitions ranging from five to 10 years.
NDIS minister Bill Shorten said the action sent “a strong message to any provider trying to take advantage of the NDIS and Australian taxpayers”.
Australians relying on the NDIS are some of our most vulnerable, and any organisation taking advantage of their safety net must be stopped.
For too long, rogue providers have been able to make use of a lack of communication and coordination between government agencies.
NDIS commissioner Tracy Mackey said the commission would take swift action against any provider failing to meet their obligations.
– AAP
Police investigate Melbourne shooting believed to be targeted attack
Armed crime squad detectives are investigating after a man was shot several times in Melbourne overnight.
Victoria police say the victim was in a stationary car in Deer Park just after 9pm on Friday night when the shooting occurred.
They sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are being treated at hospital.
Victoria police say the shooting was believed to be a targeted attack.
Caitlin Cassidy
It’s lunar new year today, with events planned throughout the country through to the end of January.
Political leaders and bodies are continuing to post messages of well wishes for 2023.
Foreign minister Penny Wong is celebrating at Zhu-Lin Buddhist Temple in South Australia.
Wonderful to be back at Zhu-Lin Buddhist Temple for Lunar New Year celebrations.
My best wishes for the Lunar New Year. May 2023 bring prosperity and peace to all. pic.twitter.com/dA4C5Uf5yb
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) January 22, 2023
For the Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese Sunday marks the start of the Year of the Rabbit. To the Vietnamese, the day welcomes the Year of the Cat.
Thunderstorms forecast along eastern Australia
Severe thunderstorms are possible across regional Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria this afternoon while out west fire danger ratings have been forecast for Western Australia.
Severe thunderstorms possible this afternoon and evening in Northwest Slopes and Plains/Central West Slopes and Plains/Mid North Coast, incl #Dubbo # Narrabri # Moree # Kempsey. Localised heavy falls/flash flooding main risk. Warning https://t.co/ADa94IjLLk when issed. pic.twitter.com/pGaYkF9AK8
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) January 21, 2023
☀️ Fire Danger Ratings have been forecast for WA. You can find which Local Government Authorities are affected and relevant community safety messages on https://t.co/hYCrBsWsIr
— DFES (@dfes_wa) January 21, 2023
Governments warned grid-scale batteries should be pared with solar
Grid-linked batteries operating on the best settings for financial rewards might make commercial sense but could also power up greenhouse gas emissions.
Research by the battery storage and grid integration program at the Australian National University has warned of the emissions trade-off in the short-term.
The paper published in the journal Energy Policy recommends the federal government provide system-wide carbon incentives to encourage battery charging and discharge during particular time periods.
Researcher Louise Bardwell said battery storage was “really important long-term” but the source of its power had to be considered.
They’ve become this ‘solve anything’ solution – they sound really fancy, a cool piece of tech, so people want to throw them in everywhere.
A battery isn’t necessarily going to be charging off wind or solar, it can charge off anything in the grid – and at times that will probably be black coal.
Bardwell said Australian governments are jumping on the battery bandwagon without thinking carefully about their placement and use.
It may charge up when it’s cheaper and discharge when hydro or something else is operating at the margins – that’s technically what it’s displacing.
Energy storage could play a significant role in Australia’s emissions reduction targets of 43% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Changing to more generation of wind and solar requires a way to store energy when there’s more than the electricity grid needs in order to use it at another time when energy is scarce.
The Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia was the world’s first big battery.
Surpassing it, the Victorian Big Battery operated by Neoen can store enough energy to power more than one million homes for 30 minutes.
Queensland is the latest to emerge as a potential battery industry leader, putting up $500m to invest in commercial-scale and community batteries accompanied by a push for local manufacturing.
The Albanese government has also committed to the rollout of 400 community batteries in neighbourhoods across the country for more affordable and secure solar power.
– AAP
Murder investigation under way after man found dead in Queensland
A man has been found dead in Brisbane’s north overnight, sparking a murder probe.
The man’s body was discovered along Newmarket Road in Wilston about 1.50am on Sunday, with a crime scene set up and a homicide investigation launched.
Another man and a woman were located nearby and are being spoken to by police.
– AAP
Australia refuses to budge over protected products in EU free trade negotiations
Federal assistant minister for trade Tim Ayres says negotiation for an Australian-EU free trade deal have been “very constructive” despite some “hard issues”.
Speaking from Rome on Sunday, Ayres said the EU was a “very significant market” which would give Australian producers access to 400 million people but negotiations have not been without tensions.
One of those tensions has been efforts by the EU to stop Australian producers from using the name of protected products like feta, parmesan and prosecco.
Australian trade minister, Don Farrell, who has been leading negotiations has previously made it clear this was one area where Australia would not give ground.
Ayres said the issue is being worked through by the negotiating teams.
It’s not as if Australians have gone to Europe and taken these varieties and brought them back. These are Italian-Australian families who’ve come from Italy with wine varieties, grown them in Australia, brought their food culture and their food production methods to Australia with them and made that part of Australian food culture and the Australian agricultural production system.
So, we feel very strongly about these issues. Australians feel very strongly about them. It’s also important to appreciate how important these issues are to European cultural identity as well. So, this is one of the issues we’re going to have to find our way through. This is an important deal. It’s of enormous economic benefit and we’re going to have to make sure that we work through these issues in a calm and methodical way in the interest of our constituencies.
For more background on this issue, read this previous report by Guardian Australia foreign affairs and defence reporter Daniel Hurst.
NSW Labor taking nothing for granted: Minns
New South Wales Labor leader Chris Minns says he isn’t paying attention to polling suggesting the state government is set for a defeat at the upcoming election in March.
I don’t want anyone in NSW to think we’re taking anything for granted.
We’ve got a huge task ahead of us. We’re hungry but we’re humble as well about our prospects.
A YouGov poll, published in The Sunday Telegraph on Sunday, has suggested the popularity of premier Dominic Perrottet is falling with the Coalition well behind in both first preference and two-party standings.
– with AAP
Opposition leader continues demands for more detail on Voice
Daniel Hurst
Let’s bring you some more quotes from those duelling Sky News interviews, when the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, hit back at the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, over the voice to parliament.
To recap: in the first interview, Chalmers said Dutton was really seeking to sow division rather than genuinely seeking detail. Chalmers focused on the principle behind the referendum that will be conducted later this year:
This is Australia’s big chance to move forward together in a spirit of unity and respect and to give First Nations people a say in the issues that affect their communities.
Chalmers went on to say that Dutton had “reached for the Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison playbook, which says that the best chances for him to be successful politically is if the nation fails to grab this terrific opportunity do the right thing”.
Dutton, interviewed shortly after Chalmers, hit back. The opposition leader said:
Honestly, let’s be serious about it. Bob Hawke or John Howard would never have conducted themselves this way. You can’t just say that we’re going to change the constitution. There are legitimate concerns that people have about the interventions from the High Court, the way in which that could be interpreted and expanded. There are legitimate questions that people have about the detail, the operation. All of us share in common a desire to help Indigenous Australians, but if the prime minister of the day can’t stand up and explain the detail of what it is he’s asking people to vote for, how can people be expected to vote for it?
Lunar new year celebrations begin around Australia
Australia’s political leaders and some government bodies have sent their best wishes for those celebrating lunar new year.
The holiday marks the largest human migration as hundreds of millions of people travel to visit families.
Here are some of what they have said:
Best wishes to everyone celebrating Lunar New Year.
2023 is the Year of the Rabbit and also the Year of the Cat in the Vietnamese community.
I hope it’s filled with prosperity, peace and good health for you and your family. pic.twitter.com/o1WQXnB9Xd
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 21, 2023
To mark the day, events are planned throughout the country. In Melbourne there will be lion dancing, dragon parade and market stalls on Little Bourke Street. In Sydney, there were market stalls in Haymarket and fireworks displays over Darling Harbour with the displays to continue until 29 January. Down in Adelaide a street party will be held in Chinatown on the weekend of the 28th.
For the Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese Sunday marks the start of the Year of the Rabbit. To the Vietnamese, the day welcomes the Year of the Cat – and they sure know how to celebrate.
Two police officers charged with assault
Two Victorian police officers have been charged with assault after they allegedly injured a man during an arrest.
The 58-year-old man was treated in hospital after the incident in Narre Warren South, in Melbourne’s south-east, on 4 February last year.
The two male senior constables, aged 35 and 45, were immediately suspended from duty after the incident.
Police and the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission have been investigating, with the two men charged on Sunday with unlawful assault and unlawful assault with a weapon.
They are due to face the Melbourne magistrates court in March.
– AAP
Researcher find parental support linked to teen internet addition
Research from the University of Sydney Business School has found teenagers who feel well-supported by their parents are more likely to report increased internet addiction over time.
A study of nearly 3,000 teenagers aged 14 to 17 as they moved between year 8 to year 11 sought to investigate links between social support and compulsive internet use.
Researchers found teenagers who reported high levels of social support form parents were more likely to report compulsive internet use. The teenagers who reported compulsive use were likely to afterwards report a decline in social support from teenagers.
Compulsive internet use, also referred to as problematic internet use, refers to difficulty regulating internet use, and often involves withdrawal symptoms, rumination about being online when not online, and disengagement from daily activities.
The study, published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found on average that:
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Adolescents engage with the internet more intensively as they progress through high school;
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Support from friends was consistently higher than support from parents and teachers across the four years of the study; and
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Parental support marginally declined over the course of grades 8 to 11.
Dr James Donald, lead investigator and senior lecturer in Work and Organisational Studies, said the biggest surprise was that parental social support led adolescents to experience greater compulsive internet use over time – which in turn led to less support from teachers.
He speculated that the reason for this comes down to teen’s perception of what constitutes parental support.
There are several ways parents can manage the threat of internet addiction. They can take no action, co-use or joint access the internet, discuss usage in a positive way, monitor, and/or set rules and limits, which may involve punishment.
We speculate that refraining from mediation may be popular with youth and even lead them to perceive their parents as being more supportive. However, previous studies have found parental refraining is associated with increased compulsive internet use. This ‘popular parents, compulsive youth’ explanation appears consistent with our results.
And it’s important to note this methodology is only useful for predicting change in behaviour. On average, supportive parenting is still associated with less compulsive internet use.
Tough new quarantine laws to bring pets into the country
Tougher quarantine rules designed to protect against the risk of a rabies outbreak could lead to a blowout in wait times for people looking to bring pets into the country.
Currently it takes about six months to apply to bring in a cat or dog from almost 70 countries, including the UK, Italy, Canada and US, and each animal must do at least 10 days of quarantine at a facility in Melbourne.
From 1 March, animals from those countries must have their identity confirmed by a government-approved vet and then have a rabies blood test.
If their identity can’t be confirmed by an approved professional, they must do 30 days in quarantine.
Brisbane-based breeder Paul Hewitt described it as a “crazy scheme”.
He said he understood concerns about rabies but feared new rules would lead to long wait times for animals to book into quarantine.
There is a problem, but they’ve come up with the wrong solution.
Australia is free of rabies, a normally fatal viral infection that is usually transmitted through the bite or scratch of an infected animal.
Dogs Victoria’s Linda Beer said her organisation supported measures to reduce biosecurity risks but some members had raised concerns about an apparent lack of transition period.
She said some breeders feared US authorities did not have processes or staff in place to facilitate government-approved veterinary ID checks by the cut-off date.
This meant people who had already started the expensive importation process would need to either start again or have their pets serve the longer 30-day quarantine period.
The Australian Veterinary Association said extended quarantine was regrettable but a rabies outbreak would be devastating for all animals.
We do urge the government, however, to work towards solutions to minimise waiting times and improve capacity in the [quarantine] facility, so that the impact on pet owners can be minimised.
Ten days of quarantine costs about $2,000 but that will rise to $2,600 for 30 days, excluding the cost of transporting animals or boarding fees at kennels in other countries.
The changes do not apply to animals returning to Australia or coming from rabies-free countries.
The changes were prompted by an increased risk of rabies in imported animals and an uptick in fraudulent documents being used.
– AAP
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