Injured firefighters demand help from EPA

Firefighters are now demanding to know the details of toxic chemicals they were exposed to while battling a week-long industrial fire in West Footscray last year, as several-dozen firefighters have reported falling ill since the blaze.

Affected firefighters now suffer a number of different conditions, including lasting headaches, memory loss, respiratory illnesses and nose bleeds.

Surveillance to be installed in SA aged care homes

Surveillance and monitoring systems will be trialled in five South Australian aged care facilities from early next year in an attempt to reduce “adverse events”.

SA Health Minister Stephen Wade said the “CCTV pilot aims to… determine whether the technology can cost-effectively be used to provide higher levels of resident safety, improve care and reduce adverse events.”

Within the chosen sites, cameras will be placed in each bedroom, but only after individual residents give their personal consent.

Former mayor serving jail time

The former mayor of the Fraser Coast, Chris Loft, has been sentenced to 12 months’ jail, suspended after 6 months, for misconduct in public office.

The Crime and Corruption Commission found that he used his position to push for the appointment of his former campaign manager to the newly-created chief-of-staff role.

Mr Loft was arrested while still mayor in 2017, with the charge relating to his time as mayor from March 2016 to February 2018.

101-year-old ship dislodged above Niagara Falls

The ship that has been stagnant on the rocks above Niagara Falls has been around for more than a century and has not been plagued by strong winds and heavy rain.

According to the Niagara Parks Committee, the bad weather on Thursday kept the ship away from the rocky habitat and closer to the waterfall on the Canadian side.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), a subsidiary of CNN, this is the first time in a century.

Lead levels in Canadian water exceeds the safety level

A major survey found that the lead in the water supply in major Canadian cities exceeds the safety level of hundreds of thousands of households.

Some areas showed lead levels higher than those in the US city of Flint, Michigan, during its 2015 water crisis.

One-third of the 12,000 samples collected between 2014 and 2018 exceeded national safety guidelines. 

Canada has the third-largest per capita freshwater reserve in the world.

Lead pollution is associated with low IQ in children and high blood pressure and heart disease.

 

Flooding class action waiting on court decision

Queensland flood victims are waiting on the Supreme Court Justice to make a decision on their almost nine-year class action against Seqwater and the Queensland Government.

The class action alleges that the Wivenhoe and Somerset dams were mismanaged before and during the 2011 floods to a degree that worsened the damage caused by the flood.

Scout group gets funding for conservation management plan

The Kurilpa Scout Group in Yeronga has just received $5,000 from the Queensland Government to create a conservation management plan for the community hall they host their meetings in. 

The Baden Powell Memorial Hall is located in the Yeronga Memorial Park, one of Brisbane’s oldest parks and a state heritage landscape since 2005.

The conservation management plan involves creating a planning and expenditure guide to lessen delays and study all undertakings when proposing changes to the heritage site.

Documents reveal abuse against children with disabilities in Aus schools

A disability advocate group has uncovered serious complaints about the abuse and mistreatment of children with a disability by teaching staff, after filing Freedom of Information requests in every Australian state.

Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA) CEO Mary Sayers described the instances documented as “terrible”.

“There was a case where a child had their hair pulled, and was dragged across a classroom, and was told that they were a ‘stupid boy,’” she said.