TRANSCRIPT
- Two Sydney nurses appear in court over a viral video
- A call for the federal government to fund dental care for older Australians
- Athletes launch legal action against the governing bodies in tennis
Two Sydney nurses have appeared in court over a viral video in which they allegedly threatened to kill and fail to treat Israeli patients.
Sarah Abu Lebdeh has been charged with one count each of threatening violence to a group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, and using a carriage service to menace, harass and offend.
Ahmad Rashad Nadir has been charged with using a carriage service to menace.
The magistrate at the Downing Centre Local Court has adjourned both cases until May.
The lawyer for Mr Nadir, Zemerai Khatiz, says the video be excluded from the court proceedings because Mr Nadir didn't agree to being recorded.
"We will be defending the matter on legal and technical grounds. The video, which was captured and recorded, was done without the consent of my client."
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Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has rejected as "absolutely baseless" allegations of corruption relating to the departure of two police chiefs.
The Herald-Sun newspaper is reporting Neil Paterson has made a formal complaint to the state's anti-corruption agency, the Independent Broad-Based Anti Corruption Commission, or IBAC.
In it, he says both he and former Commissioner Shane Patton were victims of an unlawful conspiracy by Ms Allan, Police Minister Anthony Carbines, current Acting Police Commissioner Rick Nugent, and senior public servant Jeremi Moule.
He says he and Mr Patton were removed from their jobs last month for providing frank and fearless advice to try and protect the community.
Ms Allan says she is disappointed these allegations are being made.
"These allegations, they're baseless. Absolutely baseless allegations. It is disappointing that IBAC - it is an independent integrity agency. That IBAC is being politicised in this way."
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The Australian Dental Association has called for the introduction of a government scheme giving eligible seniors free access to dental work.
Ahead of next week's federal budget, the group says an estimated 2.8 million Australians could benefit from the creation of a Seniors Dental Benefits Scheme, which they propose could provide a capped maximum of $1,132 of free dental treatment to eligible seniors every two years.
It says such a measure is needed to stop the increase in Australians aged over 65 who are being hospitalised with preventable dental issues.
In 2022-23, that figure was nearly 16,000 - with the association projecting that number will increase by 42 per cent over the next three years (by 2027-28).
Dr Angie Nilsson, the vice-president of the Australian Dental Association, says something must be done.
"It is not acceptable to say that once you're over the age of 60 that you should just have a full set of dentures. Because we're talking about quality of life. We're talking about speech. We're talking about psychosocial impacts as well as function."
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Australian children’s author Aaron Blabey has signed an eight-figure deal with Macmillan in the UK, US and Australia to produce two new series.
The publisher announced the deal includes a fantasy series expected to be released in 2026, called Game of Pets.
The second series is called The Awfuls, in the genre of psychological science-fiction.
The Bendigo-born writer’s career took off more than a decade ago when he launched his Pig the Pug children's picture book series about a bad-tempered dog.
His children's book series The Bad Guys has been adapted into a feature film adaptation produced by DreamWorks.
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In tennis, the players' union co-founded by Novak Djokovic, has launched legal action against the sport's governing bodies.
The Professional Tennis Players' Association has filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in New York against a number of bodies, including the Association of Tennis Professionals and the Women's Tennis Association, which organise the men's and women's tours.
Twelve current and former players are listed as plaintiffs alongside the players association, including Australia's Nick Kyrgios.
They are accusing tennis' governing bodies of suppressing competition between tournaments, a draconian ranking points system, an unsustainable schedule and financial exploitation of players.
They also say players' welfare has been disregarded by forcing athletes to compete late at night and in extreme heat.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency says it would not comment on the lawsuit.
The ATP Tour says it considers the case to "entirely without merit" and it will "vigorously defend" its position.
The WTA also says it will defend its position, saying the legal action is "regrettable and misguided".
