Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

At the heart of Bendigo Writers Festival is a commitment to share thoughtful and informed stories, provide a platform for diverse voices and opinions to be heard, and to reflect on current events.

This weekend, the Festival and City of Greater Bendigo were determined to provide an opportunity for our community and visitors to get together and talk about books.

The City and La Trobe University, as the Festival’s Presenting Partner, introduced a Code of Conduct like other festivals have done. This step was intended to support a safe environment among what could have been some challenging conversations.

The City and the Festival wanted every conversation to take place. Not silence them.

Although not every conversation occurred, the Festival still delivered more than half the program thanks to a dedicated team that prioritised our community and the arts.

The Festival understands and respects the decision of those who felt they could no longer participate, however is also grateful to those authors, moderators and audience members who chose to attend. No doubt, some participants and attendees would have felt conflicted by showing their support.

The City of Greater Bendigo has owned and operated the Bendigo Writers Festival throughout its 15-year history, supported for 13 years by a Founding Director and more recently by a Curatorial Team that have both helped grow this annual event into one of the most-loved regional writers festivals on the Australian circuit.

For more than a decade we have been proud to welcome authors, academics, creatives and thought leaders to our city for conversation and to engage on varied topics that seek to appeal to a wide audience.

Local Government contributes significantly to the arts because it is good for the community, placing accessible and engaging opportunities on our doorstep. More broadly, the arts make an invaluable contribution to social cohesion, encouraging us to consider the world from someone else’s point of view, and drive economic development.

However, writers festivals are inherently risky and exist to push the boundaries. Such festivals are under increasing pressure to walk a fine line between staging thoughtful, engaging discussions while challenging and confronting local and global issues.

All levels of government, academia and the wider community are continuing to figure out how we collectively contend with the world as we know it today.

The events of the past few days do not mean we do not want to have difficult conversations in our community. The Bendigo Writers Festival will not be the last arts festival to face this challenge, but the Festival and the City stand by wanting to create a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.

Despite the initial challenges, the Festival was able to proceed this weekend and intends to honour the financial commitments it made to local businesses, recognising they have also missed out on what is usually a bumper weekend of trade.

The City and the Festival have received strong feedback about the decisions and events of the past few days, including some encouraging messages of support. We look forward to working with creative industries regarding how festivals like this find a balance while continuing to navigate challenging issues.

So, thank you to those who showed up, who supported the legacy of the Festival, who shopped locally, and acknowledged the great efforts of our staff and volunteers.

Your support is very much appreciated.

Source:

18 August 2025

Wastewater from aircraft toilets could provide a critical warning system for the global spread of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) superbugs, a silent pandemic that threatens to kill more people than cancer by 2050.

A new study led by scientists from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, in partnership with Xiamen University, the University of South Australia and Michigan Technological University, analysed lavatory wastewater from 44 international flights arriving in Australia from nine countries.

The team detected nine high-priority pathogens and superbugs, including some that are acquired in hospitals and resistant to multiple drugs. The researchers used advanced molecular techniques to analyse the superbugs’ genetic signatures and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG) profiles.

Five of the nine superbugs were found in all 44 flight samples, while a gene conferring resistance to last-resort antibiotics was detected on 17 flights. Notably, this gene was absent in Australia’s urban wastewater during the same period, suggesting its likely introduction through international travel.

The findings, published in Microbiology Spectrum, confirms that aircraft wastewater is a viable tool for global AMR surveillance, according to senior author Dr Warish Ahmed, a principal research scientist from CSIRO.

“Aircraft wastewater captures microbial signatures from passengers across different continents, offering a non-invasive, cost-effective way to monitor threats like AMR,” Dr Ahmed says.

The wastewater samples revealed significant geographic variations, according to co-author UniSA microbiologist Professor Nicholas Ashbolt, from the Future Industries Institute.

“Flights from Asia, particularly India, showed higher concentrations of antibiotic resistance genes, compared to flights from Europe and the UK,” Prof Ashbolt says.

Of the 44 international flights, 18 originated from India, 14 from the United Kingdom, six flights from Germany and the remainder were single flights from France, UAE, Türkiye, South Africa, Japan and Indonesia.

Lead author Dr Yawen Liu, a visiting scientist at CSIRO from Xiamen University in China, says these disparities could reflect differences in antibiotic use, water sanitation, population density and public health policies across regions.

The study also tested whether disinfectants used in aircraft toilets degrade genetic material. The results showed that nucleic acids remained stable for up to 24 hours, even in the presence of strong disinfectants, confirming the reliability of aircraft wastewater for surveillance purposes.

“International travel is one of the major drivers of AMR spread,” says Dr Liu. “By monitoring aircraft wastewater, we can potentially detect and track antibiotic resistance genes before they become established in local environments.”

Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 are all known to have been spread by air travel. Multi-layered control strategies have been trialled to reduce their transmission, including travel restrictions, individual passenger screening, and quarantine.

The samples used in the study were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic repatriation flights, which may have influenced passenger demographics. However, the authors say that the approach can be adapted to routine international travel.

“With AMR projected to cause more than 39 million deaths globally by 2050, the need for innovative surveillance tools is urgent,” Prof Ashbolt says.

“Aircraft wastewater monitoring could complement existing public health systems, providing early warnings of emerging superbug threats.”

“This is a proof-of-concept with real-world potential,” says Dr Ahmed. “We now have the tools to turn aircraft toilets into an early-warning disease system to better manage public health.”

The research presented in this study builds on CSIRO’s previous work in collaboration with Dr Ian Hosegood (Qantas) and Dr Jochen Muller (University of Queensland), which identified SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater samples from long-haul flights carrying returning Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic. This work demonstrated that wastewater surveillance can provide valuable data for public health agencies.

‘Aircraft lavatory wastewater surveillance for movement of antimicrobial resistance genes: a proof-of-concept study’ is published in Microbiology Spectrum. DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00569-25

Notes for editors

A video describing the research is available for media use here.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

UniSA Media contact: Candy Gibson M: +61 434 605 142 E: candy.gibson@unisa.edu.au
CSIRO Media contact: Emily Brown M: +61 434 714 846 E: emily.brown@csiro.au

Source: Mental Health Australia

As part of Road Rules Awareness Week, starting today (18 August), Transport for NSW has launched a new online tool designed to challenge what Australians think they know about road safety.

Source: New South Wales – News

Just before 4pm on Sunday 17 August, police and emergency crews were called to St Kilda Road, St Kilda by reports of a single vehicle crash involving a Holden hatch.

The driver, a 29-year-old Salisbury North man, was conveyed to hospital with life-threatening injuries.  His condition is now considered stable.

His vehicle was towed from the scene.

St Kilda road was closed for several hours but has since reopened.

Investigations into the crash are ongoing.

Anyone who witnessed the crash who has not yet spoken with police is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source: New South Wales – News

Just before 4.30am Monday 18 August, police and fire crews were called to Port Road following reports of a fire. Fire fighters arrived to find the front of the business premises alight which they quickly extinguished, preventing significant damage.

Western District Detectives and Crime Scene investigators attended the scene, with the fire being treated as suspicious.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone who was a witness or with information is asked to come forward. You can anonymously provide information to Crime Stoppers online at https://crimestopperssa.com.au or free call 1800 333 000. Reference #00248.

Source: New South Wales – News

The young man was driving west along Williamson Road, Para Hills about 12.15am on Monday 18 August when a large tree fell on the bonnet of his Mitsubishi Lancer.

The 23-year-old Para Hills man was not injured but was checked over by paramedics as a precaution.

The tree completely blocked the road.

MFS and SES crews worked to cut up and remove the tree from the road and the car was towed from the scene.

Source: Mental Health Australia

Designs are being finalised for the upgrade of historic Wallerawang railway station to allow it to reopen to passenger trains for the first time in more than 30 years.

The station dates back to the 1870s but it closed in 1989 and since then trains have passed through without stopping.

The $7 million dollar project funded by the NSW Government will involve upgrading the main platform, adjacent to Main Street, so trains in both directions can use the platform.

The design for the station has been developed to meet operational, accessibility and safety requirements to support improved community connectivity for Wallerawang and surrounds.

Construction works and platform modifications include new fencing, a boarding assistance zone and platform seating.

There will also be improvements to footpaths and walkways, new bike parking, a new forecourt, an Opal reader, improved lighting and CCTV.

Another feature will be windbreaks on the western and eastern ends of the station. It is proposed that these will feature historic images related to railways and the local region.

Transport for NSW Acting Executive Director Partnerships and Integration West Holly Davies said it is an exciting next step.

“I am sure that many in the Wallerawang community will be keen to see the designs of the station upgrades as they have advocated for its reopening for some time,” Ms Davies said.

“As well as the functional aspects of this work, the design of the windbreaks will be visually appealing. The idea is to bookend the platform with place appropriate images of significant aspects of Wallerawang as a working town.

“When trains can stop at Wallerawang there will be more convenient connections to Sydney and other major centres, improving residents’ access to health, education and social connection and potentially boosting local tourism.”

Earlier this year contractors for Transport commenced early enabling works including establishing a temporary work site, cleaning of platform surfaces, refreshing paintwork and condition assessment of buildings.

Now that the station design has been finalised, the next step will be construction of the upgrades which is due to start in late 2025 and finish around the end of 2026.

Details of the train services that will stop at Wallerawang and the associated timetables will be confirmed closer to the station’s re-opening date.

Wallerawang will be an unattended station. There are several unattended stations across the region and are all visited regularly by staff from larger stations to ensure they are kept clean and tidy, customer information is up-to-date and all facilities are in working order.

The designs for the Wallerawang station reopening project are now on public display online at transport.nsw.gov.au/wallerawang.

Members of the community can also attend a drop-in session to view the designs and speak to Transport staff about the project. The session will be on from 11am to 1pm on Wednesday 27 August 2025 at Wallerawang Library.

Source: Mental Health Australia

The NSW Government is moving forward with a New Approach to Road Recategorisation, demonstrating its commitment to delivering a road network that is fit for purpose with appropriate authorities funding and managing assets.

Transport for NSW is collaborating with councils and other key stakeholders as it introduces a refreshed way of identifying, submitting, assessing and implementing requests for roads to change categories.

It is designed to make processes more straightforward and transparent and provide a framework for road managers such as councils to understand how their roads are being used and which categories of State, Regional or Local roads they best fit into.

Historically there has been an ad-hoc approach to road recategorisation requests in NSW with road managers sometimes waiting several years for one-off periodic reviews that relied on subjective decisions.

The new Approach to Road Recategorisation will replace previous periodic reviews and will have an ‘always open’ approach for applications, meaning road managers such as councils will be able to submit proposals for road category changes at any time.

Click here for the complete media release (PDF, 141.99 KB).

Source: New South Wales – News

Today we celebrate the flying Swiss Army knives of the sky – helicopters.
Whether they’re swooping in to rescue someone off a cliff, circling overhead during a pursuit or playing the world’s worst game of hide and seek, helicopters prove they’re crime fighting sidekicks with rotor blades.
Without them, life-saving rescues would take a lot longer, and law enforcement would be stuck in traffic like the rest of us.
So, here’s to the choppers, keeping us safe, one dramatic entrance at a time!

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Six adult males and two male youths have been arrested following a stolen motor vehicle and pursuit in the Greater Darwin area on Saturday night.

Around 10:45pm, Strike Force Trident members were notified that a vehicle reported stolen on 15 August was observed in East Arm, parked at the East Arm boat ramp.

Trident members, supported by Darwin Traffic Operations (DTO), responded and located the vehicle parked at the East Arm boat ramp with eight males nearby. As police arrived, one alleged offender entered the vehicle and fled the scene.

Six adult males and one 16-year-old male youth were arrested at the boat ramp. Trident and DTO members then initiated a pursuit of the stolen vehicle.

A tyre deflation device was successfully deployed on Berrimah Road, however the vehicle failed to stop.

The offender travelled through Palmerston at reduced speeds before entering the shopping complex carpark at Maluka Drive.

Police blocked exits to prevent the vehicle from re-entering main roads; however, it attempted to evade police by mounting a kerb. It then came to a stop after colliding at low speed with a police vehicle.

There were no injuries as a result of the collision.

The 17-year-old male driver was arrested at the scene.

All eight males remain in police custody with charges expected to follow.

Police urge anyone with information on property crime to contact 131 444 and quote reference number NTP2500082199. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.