Tag: Australia

Mice plague spreading across new Australian states as summer sparks surge in pest numbers

Anton Nilsson – September 23, 2021

Despite a lull over the winter, Australia’s mouse plague never ended – and now it’s threatening new areas of the country.

Large numbers of mice continue to plague rural Australian communities as farmers fear yet another crop will be ruined.

After dwindling in the winter cold, mouse populations have begun growing rapidly again, CSIRO mouse expert Steve Henry said.

“We’re quite concerned, given them the numbers that have been reported at the moment,” Mr Henry said.

NSW Farmers vice president Xavier Martin, who operates a farm in Gunnedah, said the new wave of mice would be a hard blow for farmers still reeling from the plague earlier in the year.

“A lot of farmers are on edge because they’re still trying to deal with contaminated hay and crops,” he said.

“Some contaminated produce had to be buried or burnt. So they’re very wary about this upcoming harvest and hay making.”

The mice are multiplying fast across a wide area that stretches from northern NSW to southern Queensland.

The worst-hit areas in recent weeks appear to be around Walgett and Moree in NSW, and in the Darling Downs in Queensland.

But there is also an area in Western Australia where mice are breeding fast, according to Mr Henry.

https://www.news.com.au

Another Australian State Legalizes Voluntary Euthanasia

Newsmax – September 16, 2021

Voluntary euthanasia became legal in a fifth Australian state on Thursday, more than 20 years after the country repealed the world’s first mercy killing law for the terminally ill.

Queensland’s Parliament passed the law with 61 of the state’s 93 lawmakers voting in favor.

New South Wales, the nation’s most populous state, is now the only state that doesn’t allow assisted suicide.

The Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory do not have the same rights as states and the Federal Parliament has barred them from making such laws.

Queensland’s law, which takes effect in January 2023, allows people suffering from a disease or medical condition that is advanced, progressive, and terminal to have access to so-called voluntary assisted dying.

Their condition must be expected to cause death within a year, they must have decision-making capacity, and proceed without coercion.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the law would ease pain and suffering.

“It has been a very considered debate and … it’s been a very difficult debate,” Miles told Parliament.

Opponents argued that due to a funding shortfall for palliative care, the law would put pressure on some patients to end their lives.

https://www.newsmax.com

Police Surround Synagogue & Fine Jewish Worshippers For Holding ‘Illegal Gathering’

Milne News – September 7 , 2021

AUSTRALIA – Police surrounded a Melbourne synagogue to break up a Jewish New Year celebration and issue $5,452 fines for holding an “illegal gathering” to all adults who attended the celebrations.

An estimated 100 people attended the all-day Jewish New Year celebrations at the orthodox Adass Israel Synagogue in Glen Eira Avenue, Ripponlea, with Victoria Police dispersing the group around 9 pm on Tuesday night.

A second, smaller prayer group who assembled for Jewish New Year was also broken up by police from an apartment above the Ripponlea IGA supermarket, also on Glen Eira Avenue.

Police said they were alerted to the gatherings on Tuesday morning and they waited for people to exit the celebrations during the day.

But tensions grew as worshipers and their supporters confronted police in the early evening.

Two worshippers climbed onto a nearby roof around 6 pm as the confrontations ignited with some supporters heard abusing police and accusing media and health authorities of anti-Semitism.

‘Victoria Police has spoken to a number of people who attended an address on Glen Eira Road, Elsternwick on Tuesday 7 September,’ a Victorian Police statement said.

Under Melbourne’s latest lockdown, which began on August 5 and is still in place, no private or public gatherings are allowed.

‘All adults who attended will be issued with a $5452 fine. A number of children who were present will not be fined. Investigators believe a number of other people were present and are yet to be spoken to by police. Investigators are working to identify them.’

Earlier, police blocked roads around the synagogue where an estimated 100 worshippers celebrated Jewish New Year.

It is understood the worshippers stood their ground and refused to leave the two buildings on Tuesday despite Police attempts to make them get out.

Jewish New Year celebrations, known as Rosh Hashanah, commenced on Monday, September 6, and last until the evening of Wednesday, September 8.

https://milnenews.com

Apocalyptic mice plague ravages Australia: First came the drought. Then, the floods. Now, the mouse…

Strange Sounds – June 23, 2021

First came the drought. Then, the floods. Now, the mice. Farmers in Australia are burning their own crops. They’re desperate to escape an epic plague infesting their hay. The mice are invading homes. They’re destroying crops. They even force the evacuation of prisons. They’re chewing through appliances, sofas, cars — and livelihoods.

Colin Tink, 63, has been farming all his life and has never experienced a mouse plague like the one ravaging Australia’s eastern grain belt. Nor a drought like the one that preceded it, which turned fertile crop areas into dust bowls.

When the rains finally came last year, Tink thought his fortunes were changing.

The rain led to bumper crops through the spring and summer months (September to March in the Southern Hemisphere). Silos are overflowing with grain. And barns are piled high with hay. Tink grew enough hay to feed his cattle for two years.

Then the mice arrived. Millions of them. There are so many that even a prison had to be evacuated!

The vermin burrow deep into his hay. What they don’t eat is ruined anyway as their urine trickles down through the bales. The smell is acrid. It sticks in your nose and lingers on your clothes.

“It breaks your heart a bit,” Tink said. “We’re back to square one.”

https://strangesounds.org

Conflict with China a ‘high likelihood’, says top Australian general

Nick McKenzie and Anthony Galloway – May 4, 2021

One of the nation’s top military commanders told his troops that Beijing is already engaged in “grey zone” warfare against Australia and they must plan for the high likelihood this may spill over into actual conflict in the future.

The candid and confidential briefing by Major-General Adam Findlay to Australia’s special forces soldiers last year gives the most detailed insight yet made public into how the nation’s top military planners view the threat of China.

The then-special forces commander, who has since stepped down but who still advises the Australian Defence Force, highlighted the steps Australia’s military was taking to prevent war but also described a “high likelihood” that actual conflict could break out due to the unpredictable nature of foreign affairs.

“Who do you reckon the main [regional] threat is?” General Findlay asked his troops and officers before answering: “China”.

“OK, so if China is a threat, how many special forces brigades in China? You should know there are 26,000 Chinese SOF [Special Operations Forces] personnel.”

Details of the April 2020 briefing have been obtained by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald from multiple sources who have requested to remain anonymous because they are not authorised to speak publicly. They say General Findlay told his troops that, if the threat of conflict was realised, the ADF needed to rely not only on traditional air, land and sea capabilities but also on Australia’s ability to use cyber and space warfare.

https://www.smh.com.au

Australian Christians In Shock: Ten Year Jail Sentence For Preaching Repentance

Evangelical Focus – February 08, 2021

The parliament of Victoria (Australia) is about to conclude the process of the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill.

The law has been approved by both the Lower House and the Legislative Council of the Victorian parliament and could be soon ready to be implemented.

Any practice that aims to “change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity” will now be illegal.

According to Australian evangelical magazine Eternity News, this ban includes “prayer conversations suggesting change, and counselling when targeted at an individual”.

Melbourne, the State’s capital, is known for being Australia’s region with a strongest support for LGBT movements – as seen in the Pride Marches and other demonstrations in the last years.

The law becomes a real challenge to churches that hold to a traditional and biblical view of sexuality. Jail sentences up to ten years and large fines can be imposed by courts if there is a perception that a ‘conversion’ practice has caused injuries to a LGBT person.

According to the analysis of Eternity News, the law distinguishes between general teaching and personal counselling. “Sermons and general discussion of same-sex and gender issues which might take a conservative line” would not be prosecuted but “activities which are directed at an individual, on the basis of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and have the aim to change or suppress that person’s identity” would.

The law will not come into effect right away, but there will be one-year period in which the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission will lead consultations to clarify the details of how the law would be applied in different scenarios.

Several church denominations in Victoria have expressed their concern about the law.

https://www.prophecynewswatch.com

Australian authorities seize child, rule parents ABUSIVE for resisting hormone therapy to help daughter become son – report

RT – November 29, 2020

An Australian couple whose child was reportedly seized by state authorities is appealing a magistrate’s ruling finding them abusive and “dangerous” for resisting testosterone therapy for their daughter, who identifies as male.

Lawyers for the unidentified parents filed papers last week seeking to appeal a magistrate’s October decision, setting up what appears to be the country’s first test case on parental rights regarding gender dysphoria medicine, the Australian newspaper reported on Saturday. Their child, then 15, was taken away from the family last year, after discussing suicide online.

“The authorities say we will not allow her to change gender, so it’s dangerous for told her to come back to our house because we will mentally abuse her,” the father told the Australian. “They want us to consent to testosterone treatment.”

The parents are seeking an independent psychological review of all possible causes of their child’s depression, as well as consideration of non-invasive treatment options. The teen struggled after losing friends at 13, when the family relocated, and those difficulties were compounded by a difficult start to puberty and anxiety about eating and body image, the mother said.

The family migrated to Australia a decade ago, the newspaper said, without identifying their native country. The magistrate found that the teen likely suffered verbal abuse over “his feelings and expression of gender identity,” which the parents denied.

https://www.rt.com

Australian Teen Taken From ‘Dangerous’ Parents Who Disagree With Daughter Pursuing Sex Change

– December 3, 2020

An Australian teen who was born female but identifies as male has been removed from her parents’ care after a judge ruled that it is unsafe for her to remain at home considering her risk of self-harm and the parents’ disagreement with pursuing a sex change.

“[The authorities] say we will not allow her to change gender, so it’s dangerous for her to come back to our house because we will mentally abuse her,” the unidentified father told The Australian. “They want us to consent to testosterone treatment.”

Attorneys for the parents have filed paperwork appealing a protective order from October, in which a Children’s Court magistrate cited the risk of self-harm the teen as she had posted about suicide online last year. He also found it probable that the child was enduring verbal abuse over her “feelings and expression of gender identity,” which the parents deny.

According to reports, the family moved to Australia 10 years ago and have been aware that their now 15-year-old daughter suffers from depression. They state that she also struggles with social skills, her eating and body image, and puberty was a difficult transition for her.

However, instead of pursuing a “sex change,” they prefer for the teen to be seen by an independent psychologist to find the root cause of her feelings and to provide help that is less invasive, considering the permanency of the alternative option.

On Nov. 7, attorneys for the teen filed paperwork seeking for the child to be allowed to begin “hormone therapy,” but the parents have requested a second opinion first. Child protective officials have reportedly consented to obtaining a second opinion.

“Especially Australians, they just can’t believe that it happens in Australia,” the mother stated.

“The end of parenting as we knew it. We have no rights. Our children can be seriously harmed by the government and medical profession and we are powerless to stop it,”

https://christiannews.net

There Is Currently A Mysterious Outbreak Of Flesh-Eating Bacteria Buruli Ulcer In Australia

Strange Sounds – August 7, 2020

There is currently an outbreak of a tropical disease called Buruli ulcer, which has been centered along a portion of Australia’s southern coast, more precisely in the serene beachside suburbs of Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.

Australia has seen occasional cases of the disease since the 1930s. However, since 2017, more than 100 people have been infected with this type of flesh-eating bacteria that is rarely seen in this part of the world.

And Victoria’s recent outbreak has mystified researchers over the past few years, particularly regarding its source and how the disease is being spread.

What is Buruli Ulcer?

The little-known illness is caused by a pathogen known as a mycobacterium (Mycobacterium ulcerans).

It’s named for Buruli county in Uganda, which is where scientists first identified the collection of symptoms as a specific condition.

Once the bacterium enters the skin, it releases a unique toxin known as mycolactone and begins breaking down and consuming flesh, leaving painful and debilitating wounds that can be disfiguring if left untreated.

The bacterium not only damages the tissues it inhabits, but also is able to prevent the immune system from mounting a defense.

That’s the same genus of microorganisms that cause tuberculosis and leprosy, among other illnesses.

https://strangesounds.org

Death toll rises as Australian bushfires rage out of control, produce dangerous air quality

Eric Leister – January 2, 2020

Thousands of residents and vacationers in Australia were forced to quickly take refuge on a beach in Mallacoota, Victoria, on Tuesday as a large fire threatened the seaside town located about 500 km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.

Fire crews flanked the beach as the flames grew closer, and some people were able to flee the beach using local boats. Others hunkered down on their boats away from land, with little choice but to wait out the disastrous flames until additional help arrived.

Some of that help arrived on Wednesday, when the Australian Defense Force was mobilized to rescue those still stranded on the beach, according to the Herald News. The country’s military sent naval ships and aircraft to the area to supply water, food and fuel to towns that have been cut off by the fires, the Associated Press reported.

From the more than 200 fires that have continued to burn out of the control across New South Wales and Victoria, at least 17 people have died, more than 175 homes have been destroyed and around 4,000 people were forced from the coastal town of Mallacoota were forced to flee to the beach shore when the blazes cornered their town.

https://www.accuweather.com