Reports of gender inequality in the workforce
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is claiming lack of action on gender inequality in the workforce.
According to reports 90,000 women had lost their jobs between May and August, compared to 25,000 men, while in New South Wales alone, nearly two-thirds of all jobs lost since the lockdown began in June, had been held by women.
Federal environment department to ditch the need for the recovery plans
The federal environment department says the proposal to ditch the need for the recovery plans from the 185 at risk species and ecological communities is just the first tranche with more to follow.
The proposed changes are drawing criticism with University of Queensland’s Professor of Conservation Science James Watson saying the plans are a quote “quick fix”.
Taliban increases restrictions placed on women
Female municipal employees in Kabul are told to stay home unless their jobs cannot be filled by a man.
The new Taliban mayor of Afghanistan, Hamdullah Nomany, says the Taliban “found it necessary to stop women from working for a while”.
Monday 20/09/21 9am Zedlines
Your 9am Zedlines with Shreya, Imogen and Sophia.
Image credit: Getty Images / Alex Aleshin Photography.
Questions arise over whether QLD needs heavier border restrictions for essential workers
There are questions arising over whether Queensland should enforce heavier restrictions on essential workers entering the state to prevent COVID-19 cases.
Since August 24 there have been 11 cases where essential workers, particularly truck drivers, have entered QLD when infectious.
New research hub looking to help drug and alcohol addiction sufferers
New research hub led by University of Queensland researchers has received $2.5 million to investigate better ways to help people suffering with drug and alcohol addiction.
The funding, provided by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), will be used to turn the existing partnership between UQ researchers and addiction support provider Lives Lived Well into a national Centre of Research Excellence (CRE).
Brawl in Runcorn over religious tensions
Fifteen men have been arrested following a brawl in Runcorn.
New technology helping to find more platypuses in the wild
Forensic crime scene technology is being used to trawl streams in eastern Australia in a bid to find more of the elusive platypus.
The species, which is endangered, were pushed further towards extinction by the devastating 2019/20 bushfires that scorched their habitat and pushed ash into streams.
Call for schools to join program to find and catalogue insects
A new “Insect Investigators” program led by the South Australian museum is now calling for 50 schools across Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia to join an official program to help scientists find and catalogue insects.
University of the Sunshine Coast ecologist Andy Howe says, “There are an estimated 200,000 insect species with 62,000 identified and described”.
Haitian migrants camp in Del Rio, Texas
Thousands of Haitian migrants are camping in the remote Texas city of Del Rio.
The US government has plans to swiftly send them back.
According to an official, three flights have already left San Antonio for Port-au-Prince.