Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Australian Capital Territory Policing

Chemist Care Now is expanding to treat even more health conditions – making it faster and easier to get the care you need.

From December 2025, three new treatments will be added to Chemist Care Now as part of the Government’s Community Pharmacy Program.

This includes treatment for impetigo (school sores) and resupply of two new hormonal contraceptives – the vaginal ring and the contraceptive injection (depot injection).

This expansion builds on the existing program offering treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections, resupply of the contraceptive pill, care for the skin condition psoriasis, shingles treatment, travel consultations and vaccines as well as other vaccines including hepatitis A and B.

Chemist Care Now has already delivered more than 62,000 services from over 800 chemists across metropolitan and regional Victoria.

The expanded program will give more options to women seeking contraceptive care with pharmacists able to resupply the vaginal ring and contraceptive injection, not just the oral pill currently in the program.

The expansion will also benefit families with treatment for school sores, which impact children. Additional options for treatment will help kids recover and get back to school or kindergarten sooner – and parents back to work.

Additional health conditions and wellbeing services will be added to Chemist Care Now over the next few years to reach a total of 22 services.

An evaluation of the pilot showed it delivered additional safe options for primary care and clear benefits for women and Victorians in regional areas where access to GPs can be more difficult.

Women represented 84 per cent of services delivered in the pilot phase including more than 24,000 consultations for uncomplicated UTIs and more than 13,000 consultations for the resupply of an oral contraceptive pill.

To facilitate the program expansion and provide Victorians with the care they need, pharmacists participating in Chemist Care Now will be able to undertake short form training to deliver each new health service.

Find your nearest participating chemist and available treatments atChemist Care Now.

Source: Australia Government Statements 2

Justin Smith, Host: Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced new plans to combat antisemitism, new laws around hate speech, task forces, changes to immigration. Let’s try and get some detail on it. Matt Thistlethwaite is the Member for Kingsford Smith in Sydney. He is also the Assistant Minister for Immigration. Mr. Thistlethwaite, thank you very much for your time.

Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: Good morning, Justin. Thanks for having me on.

Smith: It’s, I know that you are, as a Sydney MP, it’s been an incredibly tough week. What are people saying to you?

Assistant Minister: Yeah, it’s been a difficult week for our community, but our community is strong. We’re coming together to unite and to show our love and support for the Jewish community. I’ve had three members of the electorate that I represent that were unfortunately murdered on the weekend and they include young Matilda, who we farewelled yesterday at a very, very moving funeral. She was a student at one of the public schools in my electorate and that public school is hurting at the moment. I’ve been out there with the teachers and students and just trying to comfort as many people as possible.

Smith: Thank you. Onto these reforms and these changes. As part of these reforms, there are new powers to cancel or reject visas for people who, quote, unquote, spread hate and division. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said, Australians share my view on people who come here with hate. We don’t need them. How is that going to work? How does that work on the ground?

Assistant Minister: Well, we’re going to lower the threshold for the Ministerial power to be able to cancel a visa for someone who preaches hate or division. Section 501 of the Migration Act allows the Minister at the moment to cancel a visa. They relate to circumstances where someone’s been involved in criminal conduct or vilifying a segment of the community. We’ll make it so that the Minister has additional powers to cancel visas for people who are preaching or spreading hate and division, not only in our community, but if they’ve got a history of doing it from another country as well, it will mean we’ll be able to deny them a visa to come to Australia.

Smith: What’s going to constitute hate and division?

Assistant Minister: Well, that’s what we’ve got to work through. And that’s why will do some consultations with not only the Jewish community, but the wider Australian community to craft an appropriate threshold. We know that at the moment —

Smith: Matt, forgive me for jumping in there, but people are going to say that as a little bit of a half measure, we made this announcement yesterday to combat antisemitism, yet we haven’t worked out what the thresholds will be yet. We don’t know what they are.

Assistant Minister: We’re going to work through that with parliamentary drafters. But what we need to do. look, it will work in this way. People who preach hate and division, that promotes violence and that promotes discord within the community. That will be a measure which a Minister could use to cancel a visa. So, that is the way that it will work. If someone’s involved in saying things that promote violence and promote discord in the wider community, that will become a ground for the Minister to cancel someone’s visa.

Smith: So, for example, if somebody is supporting a Palestinian state, for example, would that be classed as hate and division?

Assistant Minister: Look, I’m not going to get into details —

Smith: If Mr. Thistlethwaite, forgive me, but people will be looking for detail today, won’t they? The announcement was made yesterday. People will be looking, searching for detail. In fact, I know they’re searching for detail today.

Assistant Minister: Yeah. That statement of support for a Palestinian state alone, no, would not reach that threshold. But if someone was preaching that a particular comment could be used to incite someone to violence or to threaten a particular community, then that will reach the threshold and the Minister would then have the power to cancel a visa.

Smith: Okay. All right. The UK overnight has arrested people for saying ‘globalise intifada’. Is that the sort of comment that will be included in this hate speech?

Assistant Minister: Well, again, if it’s used in the context of inciting people to vilify particular communities to be involved in violence, then it would. Statements such as that, ‘river to the sea’, they are antisemitic, there’s no doubt about that. They are antisemitic statements and they disrespect the Jewish community. So, we don’t want people —

Smith: So, ‘from the river to the sea’ will be included in that, in hate speech?

Assistant Minister: If it’s involved in inciting violence in the Australian community, then it would reach the threshold.

Smith: It’s Justin Smith filling in for Raf, it’s sixteen to nine at 774 ABC Melbourne. We’re talking to Matt Thistlethwaite, who’s the Assistant Minister for Immigration, about the announcement from the Prime Minister yesterday to combat antisemitism. Are you adopting all of Jillian Segal’s recommendations?

Assistant Minister: Yes, we are. We’re adopting the Segal report in full. A lot of the recommendations we’ve already adopted. Some of the law reforms that she proposed, some of the security measures have already been adopted. There’s further measures that we’ll adopt in the form of these changes to migration settings, to antisemitism, combating antisemitism laws. There’s educational reforms that will be undertaken. David Gonski will conduct a 12 month task force to review educational systems and ensure that it prevents and responds to antisemitism. The eSafety Commissioner will be looking at online safety to address antisemitism and hate speech and programs such as Together for Humanity, which has been a wonderful program in the education system that promotes not only the Jewish and Islamic communities, coming together with other communities as well, looking at training and resources for teachers to ensure that they can teach what antisemitism looks like and how we can combat that. Those are the sort of reforms that we’ll be adopting.

Smith: And this is before the courts, so we have to be mindful of what we’re saying. But the massacre at Bondi on Sunday, how will what we were told, what we’re talking about yesterday and what changes were announced by the government yesterday, how will it prevent something like Sunday?

Assistant Minister: Well, we’re ensuring that we’ve got the toughest antisemitism, combating antisemitism laws, that the country has ever had. We’re providing our police and security and intelligence organisations with the resources they need to ensure that they can identify people who may be radicalised and may undertake despicable actions such as this and ensure that they’re intercepted and that they’re arrested, hopefully before anything like this happens. So, our government is acting to make sure that we have the toughest set of measures to combat antisemitism, but at the same time providing our police and security and intelligence organisations with the resources that they need to try and stop this before it ever occurs again.

Smith: Into your portfolio, the man who’s in hospital charged with these murders, he has, he was born in Australia. How can the immigration policy address that? How’s that going to work?

Assistant Minister: Well, that person is an Australian citizen and that is the difficulty that the system has. What we’re aiming at looking at is people who seek to come to Australia on a visa, identifying if they’ve been involved in any hate speech and preaching division before coming here, they’ll be denied a visa if they are. But importantly, once they are granted a visa to Australia, if they’re involved in any of those activities and they could be deported. And that’s the new threshold that we’re implementing with these reforms.

Smith: Thank you very much for your time.

Assistant Minister: Appreciate your time, Justin.

Source: Tasmania Police

Six people safe after vessel capsizes at Cape Direction

Friday, 19 December 2025 – 11:26 am.

Six people are safe after their vessel capsized near Cape Direction, South Arm, earlier this morning.
Inspector Nikala Parsons said the group – four adults and two children – activated a distress beacon shortly before 8.30am.
“Marine police aboard the Police Vessel Dauntless responded, along with uniform officers on land,” Inspector Parsons said.
“Thankfully, the group managed to reach the shore at Fort Direction after their 6m Edencraft vessel capsized. They are now safe and warm.”
“At this stage, we believe the incident was caused by a mechanical failure.”
The vessel cannot be retrieved today, and Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) has been notified.
As the summer season kicks off across Tasmania, police are urging boaties and their passengers to get on board with staying safe.

Plan before you launch

Check the weather forecast and tides.
Ensure your vessel is seaworthy and not overloaded.
Carry all required safety equipment (anchor, flares, EPIRB, VHF radio, first aid kit).
If boating solo, tell someone your plan and when you expect to be back

Wear a life jacket

Mandatory for all on board; check it’s AS4758 compliant and in good condition.
Inflatable life jackets must be serviced regularly.

Stay alert and sober

Alcohol and boating don’t mix. Stay under 0.05
Keep a proper lookout and maintain safe speed.

Be ready to act in an emergency

Know how to use your VHF radio and EPIRB.
In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000) or raise the alarm, without putting yourself at risk.

Source: South Australia County Fire Service

Homes that have been built to withstand a bushfire, and are prepared to the highest level, may provide safety.

You may lose power, water, phone and data connections.

Fire crews are responding but you should not expect a firefighter at your door.

What you should do

• Check and follow your Bushfire Survival Plan.
• Protect yourself from the fire’s heat – put on protective clothing.
• Tell family or friends of your plans.

If you are leaving

• Leave now, don’t delay.
• Roads may become blocked or access may change. Smoke will reduce visibility.
• Secure your pets for travel.
• If you become stuck in your car, park away from bushes, cover yourself, get onto the floor as the windows may break from the intense heat.

If you are not leaving – prepare to defend

• Identify a safe place inside, with more than one exit, before the fire arrives. Keep moving away from the heat of the fire.
• Bring pets inside and restrain them.
• Move flammable materials such as doormats, wheelie bins and outdoor furniture away from your house.
• Close doors and windows to keep smoke out.
• If you have sprinklers, turn them on to wet the areas.
• If the building catches fire, go to an area already burnt. Check around you for anything burning.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force has arrested a 48-year-old man and seized multiple prohibited items following an extensive investigation into firearms, explosives, and drug offences.

On 17 December 2025, police officers executed a search warrant at a property on Redcliffe Road, Noonamah, resulting in the seizure of:

• Gel blasters
• Large quantities of fireworks and ammunition
• A revolver with no serial number
• Unregistered firearms
• Explosive-related items including nitric acid, gunpowder, potassium nitrate, and safety fuse cord
• Two grenades (contents removed)
• Methamphetamine glass pipe

Specialist units, including TRG’s Bomb Response Unit, were deployed due to explosive materials. The offender was not at the residence during the search.

On 18 December 2025, despite attempts to avoid police, the man was apprehended at 2pm at an address in Muirhead. A subsequent search warrant of this residence resulted in the seizure of:

• Two batons
• Gel blaster
• A prohibited firearm with barrel sawn off
• A commercial quantity of cannabis
• A traffickable quantity of LSD
• A small quantity of methamphetamine
• Four methamphetamine glass pipes
• One taser

The offender was charged with 47 offences, including serious firearms offences, drug offences, and offences relating to explosives. He was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear before Darwin Local Court today.

Acting Senior Sergeant Aaron Chapman of the Firearms Policy and Recording Unit said “This incident began because a licence firearm holder failed to comply with their obligations during a random firearms compliance check. NT Police take these obligations seriously and any breaches of the Firearms Act will be investigated, and enforcement action will follow.

“While this matter escalated to the discovery of illegal firearms, explosives, and drugs, it serves as a clear reminder that compliance is critical to community safety.”

“Police remind all firearms licence holders that they are legally obligated to comply with inspections and safe storage requirements under the Firearms Act. Failure to comply is a serious offence and will result in enforcement action.

“This operation was led by the Firearms Policy and Recording Unit, supported by Drug and Organised Crime Squad, Territory Response Group and the Fugitive Task Force. The NT Police Force will continue to disrupt those in the possession of prohibited firearms, explosives, and drugs to ensure the safety of our community.”

Police urge anyone with information about illegal firearms or explosives to contact police on 131 444 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source: Australia Government Statements – Agriculture

19 December 2025

Who does this notice affect?

​​Biosecurity Industry Participants (BIPs) operating under approved arrangement class 19​

Background

​Approved arrangements reflect the shared responsibility of biosecurity. As part of the requirements to hold an approved arrangement, the Director of Biosecurity determines whether someone is a fit and proper person to carry out biosecurity activities. Outstanding debt to the Commonwealth of Australia is considered in…

Source: Victoria Country Fire Authority

It is hard to believe this December marks 10 years since the devastating bushfires which destroyed 116 houses in the coastal towns of Wye River and Separation Creek.

Walking through the town now you would not suspect such damage had occurred. A strong bond between the community and the brigade remains, and the memory is not lost to most. 

The destructive fire was ignited on 19 December 2015 by a lightning strike at Jamieson Creek, 6km away from the township, before escalating significantly on Christmas Day, and ultimately burning more than 2,500 hectares of steep terrain.

Although it wiped out a substantial part of the town, including four brigade members homes, Wye River Fire Brigade Captain at the time Roy Moriarty said they still marvel at the orderly evacuation and no loss of life.

The evacuation process has been highly praised and was a result of the proactive community engagement and preparedness activities the brigade held in the lead-up.

Current Captain Andrew Hack said there had not been a major fire since 1962 and every year they thought it was only a matter of time before it was their turn.

“Ironically just six weeks before that fire we went through a Phoenix computer modelling of what it would look like if one came through and took out the township,” Andrew said.

“Although the yearly events often attract the same crowd, everyone who came to the scenario changed their fire plan based on what they saw – and that was to leave early.

On 23 December 2015, although there was a fire at their doorstep, there was no current threat and the advice to residents and travellers was to stay informed. Most residents continued to take part in carols at the Wye River pub on Christmas Eve.

“I came back to the station at midnight on Christmas Eve and I thought there was no way the fire was getting out, but I was shocked the next day when it jumped the lines,” Roy said.

“There had been a lot of communication from CFA, and we were forewarned that Christmas Day could be a significant day,” Andrew said.

“You didn’t really want to dampen the vibe at the pub, but there was a sense that it could all turn upside down the following day – and ultimately it did. But there was quick action by all.”

Roy set the town evacuation siren off at 11.30am on Christmas Day and traffic was guided out. With one road in, and one road out, access is difficult on a normal summer day, not to mention during an emergency. For this reason, the brigade planned to tackle the challenge on their own.

Forest Fire Management Victoria crews helped hold the fire on the upper roads and protect the caravan parks, while Wye River brigade members focused on the town’s greatest assets to ensure facilities with water and power were available for recovery after the fire eased.

Roy recalled the firefighters remaining calm across the day. There was no panic, everyone just did their job. Eighteen aircraft were used on this fire and fire breaks were strengthened into January. The fire was not fully contained until 16 January 2016.

“We felt so fortunate that there wasn’t any loss of life. However, it’s physically devasting to see the loss of the infrastructure, people’s homes and all the memories,” Andrew said.

“Soon after the event, when it was safe, we organised buses to bring property owners back through the hills to see what was going on. We hoped it would help the process of healing.”

Like many within the town, Roy said he has become more emotional since the fires took place and believes the anniversary will bring a mix of emotions for people.

Wye River Fire Brigade will hold events on Friday 19 December and Saturday 20 December at the fire station to mark the anniversary with community members and their families.

Submitted by	CFA media

Source: Government of Australia Capital Territory

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Source: Australia Government Statements 2

Melissa Clarke, Host: The Federal Government has announced a suite of reforms to clamp down on antisemitism in the wake of the deadly Bondi terror attack. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government also adopts and fully supports recommendations in the report by the envoy for combating antisemitism, Jillian Segal, which is handed down to government earlier this year. Matt Thistlethwaite is the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Foreign Affairs and Trade and he joins me now. Matt Thistlethwaite, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.

Matt Thistlethwaite, Assistant Minister for Immigration: Good morning, Mel.

Clarke: Matt, you’ve been taking part in the paddle out at Bondi Beach this morning with many others on the shore there. Can you give me your sense of how the community is feeling at the end of this week?

Assistant Minister: Well, the community’s pretty bruised and grieving and there’s been a lot of emotions in the local community. I’ve spent most of the last few days at Bondi or around there trying to support the local Jewish community as much as I can. Yesterday I attended the funeral of young Matilda, who was a student at one of the public schools in my electorate. I’ve been at the public school to console the staff and students. We had Peter Meagher, a very well-respected member of the Randwick Rugby Club that lost his life. They had a vigil at Coogee Oval on Monday that I attended. And today I’ll attend the funeral of Boris and Sofia Gurman, who showed great bravery and courage on the day. So, our community is coming together. We’re wrapping our arms around the Jewish community and we’re providing them with as much support as we possibly can.

Clarke: You’re offering that kind of support. You’re also the Assistant Minister for Immigration, so involved in the efforts the government is putting forward as a response to these attacks to look at what initiatives can be taken to try to kerb antisemitism. Part of what’s been flagged has been greater powers to cancel or reject visas for people who spread hate and division. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has referred to this as making it much easier to cancel visas. Can you explain how this would change the way things currently work? Because we’ve heard Tony Burke talk about his high level of rejecting and cancelling visas under the current regime. So, what would be different under what’s been flagged here?

Assistant Minister: Well, we’ll strengthen the power for the Minister to cancel a visa for a person who’s been involved in preaching hate and division. We’ve already used that power on several occasions. I’ve personally denied people a visa to come to Australia where they’ve publicly espoused antisemitic views. I’ve been involved in cancelling the visas of people who are already in Australia because they’ve been involved in antisemitic activities.

Clarke: So, when you say, when you say this is to make it easier, can you explain what a change to a threshold that will be used? Can you just set that out for me?

Assistant Minister: Yeah, yeah. Section 501 of the Migration Act allows the Minister to cancel a person’s visa in certain circumstances, and that involves being involved in criminal conduct in Australia, harassing, intimidating, stalking another person in Australia or vilifying a segment of the Australian community. So, we’ll look to how we can increase that power and provide other categories that will allow the Minister to cancel a visa, specifically where someone’s been involved in preaching hate and division. So, that will allow a lower threshold, if you like, for the Minister to cancel a visa if someone espouses antisemitic views whilst they’re in Australia.

Clarke: So, that would have to be something that’s a lower threshold than, I guess vilify is probably the lowest in that existing list, but it’s not clear exactly what terminology you would draught at this point?

Assistant Minister: Yeah, that’s correct. We’ll work with the parliamentary draftspeople to ensure that we strike the right balance. And obviously we need to consult with not only members of the Jewish community, but other communities throughout the country to make sure that we’re reflecting community sentiment and that we get the balance right. But it will mean that we’ve got additional powers to cancel visas in circumstances where people are preaching hate.

Clarke: The Government’s also proposing new Commonwealth offences of aggravated hate speech and serious vilification based on race or racial supremacy. Would the government extend that protection against hate speech and vilification to other minority groups as well?

Assistant Minister: Yes, this will apply across the board to all Australians and people that are living here. The aggravated factor will be a sentencing issue. So, there’ll be aggravated factors taken into consideration in sentencing for crimes, particularly online threats and harassment. We’ve seen, unfortunately, in Australia, and indeed throughout the world, a number of people using online platforms and other tools to harass and threaten others, and indeed to incite violence. So, that will become an aggravated factor and we’ll also increase the penalties for aggravated hate speech offences. And that will include for preachers and leaders who promote violence as well.

Clarke: Against racial minorities or, more broadly than that, other minority groups?

Assistant Minister: Racial minorities will be one of the factors, and we’ll look to consult with different groups about whether or not there should be other factors included. But obviously this is in response to the preaching of antisemitic views that we’ve had in the community. And of course, the actions that occurred at Bondi Beach on the weekend and the consultations that we’ve had with the Jewish community. But obviously it will apply to other forms of hate speech as well.

Clarke: You’re listening to Radio National Breakfast and my guest is the Assistant Minister for Immigration, Matt Thistlethwaite. On the program yesterday, we spoke to former ASIO Director-General Dennis Richardson, who said the issue when it comes to clamping down on hate speech may not necessarily be the strength of the law, but an unwillingness to prosecute cases. Has the Office of Public Prosecutions been too cautious in pursuing people who may have contravened this law?

Assistant Minister: Well, I think there’s two factors. Firstly, we need to know. You need to have the information and the intelligence to know that someone’s been involved in those activities. So, ensuring that our police, our security intelligence agencies, have the resources they need to discover people who have been undertaking these views is a factor. And obviously ASIO has the largest budget that it’s ever had to ensure that it can undertake these activities. But then ensuring that people can be prosecuted is really, really important and this will lower the threshold. These actions that we are taking will ensure that we have the strongest laws that the country has ever had to combat antisemitism and the preaching of hate speech in our community. So, there’ll be no excuses in the future and we’re providing our police, security and intelligence organisations with the tools to prosecute people if they undertake these activities.

Clarke: And just briefly, the Opposition’s put forward their own proposals to combat antisemitism, including giving the Minister for Immigration a stronger and broader pathways to strip citizenship from dual citizens who’ve been engaged in any kind of conduct related to military style training or committing hate crimes. Is that something the Government would consider?

Assistant Minister: Look, stripping people of citizenship is a very difficult issue and involves a constitutional issue as well. And leaving a person stateless is very difficult. What we have done is consulted with the Jewish community, with the leadership of that community, and responded to their requests. And in doing so, we’re fully supporting and adopting the recommendations of the Segal report. We’re going further and strengthening some of our laws, particularly those around migration. And importantly, there’s a number of educational reforms that we’re undertaking as well as so that we’re educating the wider community about how to identify antisemitism and how to say no, it’s not acceptable and to call it out and to report it where it occurs in any form.

Clarke: Matt Thistlethwaite, thank you very much for joining me on Radio National Breakfast this morning.

Assistant Minister: Thanks for having me, Mel.

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

The Northern Territory Police Force is calling for information in relation to an aggravated robbery that occurred in Darwin yesterday.

Around 3:40pm, the Joint Emergency Services Communication Centre received a report that a male offender had entered a grocery store on Sabine Road in Milner, threatened staff with an edged weapon, before stealing the cash register. The offender fled the scene on foot and was pursued by staff, causing him to drop the register a short distance away.

No persons were injured during the incident.

General duties officers responded, and CCTV footage has been reviewed. The offender remains outstanding at this time.

Police investigations are ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact police on 131 444. Please quote reference P25352443. Anonymous reports can be made through Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/.