Pressure mounts on Victorian government's emergency plan
The Victorian Government is set to face pressure from opposition and crossbenchers to extend its current state of emergency powers. Legislation that will allow for the 12-month extension of Victoria’s state of emergency has been proposed, with four non-Labor votes required to pass the bill. Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien says the Liberals and Nationals would be opposing the bill with everything they’ve got.
Kebab shop fined after impromptu rave
A popular Brisbane kebab shop has been fined almost seven thousand dollars after footage emerged of an impromptu dance party in the shop on Sunday morning. Footage of the incident was shared on the social media platform, Tik Tok, and appeared to show staff dancing with a large number of patrons in the confined space. The Queensland Police Service has since reminded business operators and patrons to adhere to all social distancing measures.
Health alert list grows to 77 sites
15 new sites have been added to the list of locations visited by COVID-positive patients linked to the Brisbane Youth Detention centre cluster. The list now includes butcher shops and supermarkets in Forest Lake and Greenslopes, as well as the University of Southern Queensland’s campus cafe in Springfield. The news comes off the back of Queensland Health’s decision to make personal protective equipment mandatory for staff, patients and visitors in hospitals in the Greater Brisbane area.
Gordon Koang: Unity
<p><span><span>- Have you heard Gordon Koang? The hip new name of Australian indie music has just dropped <em>Unity</em> - his eleventh album, but first as an Australian resident.</span></span></p>
No Joy: Motherhood
<p><span><span>- With a full five years since their last studio album, one would be quite justified in pondering what Canadian shoegaze outfit No Joy have up their sleeves in 2020. A slight clue comes in the 2018 EP they worked on with former <strong>Spacemen 3 </strong>member <strong>Sonic Boom</strong>, which redirected their dreamy melodies towards a thick blend of electronica and experimental noise.
Gordon Koang - Unity
Music in Exile is proud to present Kone Ke Ran, the third single from Gordon Koang’s forthcoming album, Unity. Kone Ke Ran is Gordon’s musical offering to thank an aid worker and counsellor who was working with a UN organisation in a refugee camp. “I love him, he’s a very good man. When he talks to the people, I hear his voice and he talks to the people in a good way.” Singing in Nuer, Gordon thanks this man for his wisdom, kindness and help. In true Gordon style, positivity shines throughout this track! He reminds us that we are all connected by our humanness and we can make the world a more caring place by helping each other. The underlying connection throughout all of us is love!
“I compose a song for this man because I love this guy! This man is doing the good work in South Sudan after the war. He is working with the UN. He is talking to people about their stress because he wants them to be happy." Gordon Koang
Gordon Koang is a Nuer musician, hailing from the banks of the River Nile in what is now South Sudan. Born blind, he began playing music on the streets of Juba as a young man though has now become a grassroots hero, the voice of the Nuer people, a prominent figure in the fight for cultural independence in South Sudan, affectionately known as the ‘King of Music.’
Unity is, remarkably, Gordon’s eleventh full-length album, and his first since coming to Australia. It is his only recorded output in the painstakingly long six years of living as an asylum seeker, and the album was completed just weeks before Gordon was awarded his permanent residency. In late 2019, Gordon began a series of collaborations with musicians from around Australia, in search of a new sound that would be suited to his adopted home. He now proudly calls himself an ‘Australian’, a term which so many from around the world have come to know as their own. Through his recordings, Gordon hopes to reach as many new listeners as he can around the world. He wants everyone to hear his message - on the radio, in clubs, at festivals, on the street.
And what is this message? Unity. Peace between all people of the world, regardless of religion or cultural differences. A painfully first-hand experience of what these rifts can create between people has led Gordon to devote his life, and his music, to a simple message of peace, love and unity. Love each other, and love yourself. It’s not so hard!
“This album is about uniting people together. If the world unites itself, no one will say “I am alone.”
- Gordon Koang
12PM ZEDLINES - AUGUST 24
[Image: Flickr/Pat Charles]
Queensland's new COVID-19 restrictions
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced there has been one new case of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the total of active cases in the state to 18.
The government introduced new restrictions over the weekend, including limiting home and outdoor gatherings to 10 people and locking down hospitals, disability and aged care facilities in the Greater Brisbane area.
North Queensland food quality investigations
A hearing launched in June this year exposed North-west Queensland’s food quality, food prices and food security in Indigenous and country communities compared to the city.
Produce that is mouldy, old and not fresh is one of the many issues the hearing is contesting against.
Further investigation is proving areas such as Doomadgee, Burketown and Mornington Island are experiencing inflated prices for staple items such as milk, vegetables and rice, which are double the amount that is sold in the city.
Canberra Parliament resumes
Parliament has resumed in Canberra for the first time in 10 weeks, with JobKeeper and JobSeeker at the top of the agenda.
A Parliament sitting scheduled for the beginning of August was canceled due to the COVID outbreak in Victoria. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the sitting would be as COVID safe as possible, allowing MP’s and Senators to attend remotely through video call.