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Huge reward to help solve cold case of missing mum

Police are offering a $500,000 reward for information to help solve a cold case that suspect was a murder. Tammy Lisa Dyson, also known as Tamela Menzies, was 23 when went missing from the Currumbin area in 1995. The mother of two was picked up from a drug rehab clinic by a woman claiming to be her sister on July 20, 1995 and has not been seen since. Dyson was born and raised in Victoria before moving to Brisbane in 1988, where she worked in the adult entertainment industry under the nickname "Pebbles". Police believe she began mixing with criminals and using drugs while working in strip clubs on the Gold Coast. In early 1995 Dyson arranged for her young sons, Jyles and Rainey, to stay with their grandmother in Victoria temporarily. A few months later she made a distressed call to her sister Olivia, who said she had been assaulted. Olivia and her partner then dropped Dyson off to a drug rehabilitation centre at Currumbin on the Gold Coast, and on July 20, 1995 she was picked up by someone claiming to be her sister. The following day, Tammy completed a statutory declaration signed by a Justice of the Peace in Tweed Heads, giving custody of her children and her possessions to her mother. She also called her sister one last time, with Olivia recalling that Tammy "didn't sound like herself" and she had mentioned underworld figures. Police have received a number of reported sightings of Tammy since 1995 but all proof of life inquiries have been proven negative. In 2012, the Queensland coroner said that they believed Tammy was deceased and indicated that she may have been a victim of violence, although a certain date, time and cause of death have not been determined. Police are now offering the huge reward for new information and immunity from prosecution for any accomplice who comes forward. "Tammy associated with criminals that were known to police and vanished without a trace after giving custody of her children and possessions to her mother; we believe the circumstances of her disappearance is suspicious," Detective Senior Sergeant Tara Kentwell said. On Wednesday, her sons, who were only three and one when their mother disappeared, made an emotional appeal for public help to find her. "Growing up without mum and not knowing what happened to her has been very hard," Jyles Lebler said through tears during a media conference. "Whoever has picked her up, I'm not saying they have done something but they must know something bad has happened." "We hope we find out what to mum to give grandma some closure before it's too late," Rainey added. Images: Queensland Police

Legal

Eye infections might seem like a minor complaint – but in some cases they can cause blindness and even death

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-taylor-283950">Adam Taylor</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/lancaster-university-1176">Lancaster University</a> When you think of eye infections, what comes to mind? Puffy, swollen bruised feeling eyelids that get glued together with gunk overnight? That feeling of having grit in your eye that can’t be cleaned away? Eye infections may seem like a relatively minor – if unsightly and inconvenient – complaint, but they can also be far more serious. Take the deadly outbreak of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5022785/">antibiotic resistant</a> bacteria <a href="https://www.cff.org/managing-cf/burkholderia-cepacia-complex-b-cepacia">Burkholderia cepacia</a> in 2023-24, for example. Between January 2023 and February 2024, contaminated brands of lubricating eye gel were linked to the infection of at least 52 patients. <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/contaminated-eye-gel-outbreak-death-b2523446.html">One person died</a> and at least 25 others suffered serious infections. The outbreak has now subsided and products are <a href="https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/specific-brands-of-carbomer-eye-gel-recall-of-aacarb-eye-gel-aacomer-eye-gel-and-puroptics-eye-gel-potential-risk-of-infection-dsi-slash-2023-slash-11#update-2-april-2024">back on the shelves</a> but it isn’t the first time that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8335909/">medicinal products</a> have led to outbreaks of B cepacia. The bacterium is an opportunistic pathogen known to pose a significant risk to people with cystic fibrosis, chronic lung conditions and weakened immune systems. The infection likely progresses from the mucous membranes of the eyelids to the lungs where it leads to pneumonia and septicaemia causing <a href="https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/17/2/295">death in days</a>. But it’s not just B cepacia that can threaten our health. Something as simple as rubbing our eyes can introduce pathogens leading to infection, blindness and, in the worst case, death. Bacteria account for up to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16148850/">70% of eye infections</a> and globally <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9032492/">over 6 million people</a> have blindness or moderate visual impairment from ocular infection. Contact lens wearers are at <a href="https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/contact-lens-related-eye-infections">increased risk</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pWsx8i1kaxs?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> The eye is a unique structure. It converts light energy to chemical and then electrical energy, which is transmitted to the brain and converted to a picture. The eye uses about <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11556/">6 million cones and 120 million rods</a> which detect colour and light. Eye cells have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8775779/">no ability to regenerate</a> so, once damaged or injured, cannot be repaired or replaced. The body tries its best to preserve the eyes by encasing them in a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531490/">bony protective frame</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482428/">limiting exposure</a> having eyelids to defend against the environmental damage and ensure the eyes are kept lubricated. Despite our bodies’ best efforts to shield the eyes from harm, there are a number of common eye infections that can result from introducing potential pathogens into the eyes. <h2>Conjunctivitis</h2> The outer-most layer of the eye, the sclera, bears the brunt of exposure and to help protect it, it is lined by a thin moist membrane called the <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24329-conjunctiva">conjunctiva</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RZ4danuJwd0?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> The conjunctiva is <a href="https://innovations.bmj.com/content/9/4/253">highly vascularised</a>, which means it has lots of blood vessels. When microbes enter the eye, it is this layer that mounts an immune response causing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8328962/">blood vessels to dilate</a> in the conjunctiva. This results in <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/conjunctivitis/about/symptoms.html">“pink eye”</a>, a common form of conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis can be caused by bacteria, allergens or viruses and typically heals by itself. <h2>Blepharitis</h2> Blepharitis is an inflammation of the eyelid and usually affects both sides. It can cause itchy eyes and dandruff-like flakes. It’s most commonly caused by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3109/09273948.2013.870214">Staphylococcus bacteria</a>, or the <a href="https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blepharitis/background-information/causes/">dysfunction of the glands</a> of the eyelids. It can be treated by <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/blepharitis/">cleaning the eyes</a> regularly. <h2>Stye</h2> A stye (also called <a href="https://www.college-optometrists.org/clinical-guidance/clinical-management-guidelines/hordeolum">hordeolum</a>) is a painful infection of the upper or lower eyelid. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5370090/">Internal styes</a> are caused by infection of an oil-producing gland inside the eyelid, whereas <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28723014/">external styes</a> develop at the base of the eyelash because of an infection of the hair follicle. Both are caused by bacteria, typically <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/1874715">the S aureus form of the Staphylococcus species</a>. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/INKrGOdy824?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Styes can be treated by holding a clean flannel soaked in warm water against the affected eye for five to ten minutes, three or four times a day. Do not try to burst styes – this could spread the infection. <h2>Keratitis</h2> Keratitis is the inflammation of the cornea, the transparent part of the eye that light passes through. The cornea is part of the eye’s main barrier against dirt, germs, and disease. Severe keratitis can cause ulcers, damage to the eye and even blindness. The most common type is bacterial keratitis; however, it can also be caused by <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7998329/">amoeba</a>, which can migrate to other parts of the body – including the brain – and cause infection and <a href="https://theconversation.com/nasal-rinsing-why-flushing-the-nasal-passages-with-tap-water-to-tackle-hay-fever-could-be-fatal-225811">even death</a>. Noninfectious keratitis is most commonly caused by wearing contact lenses for too long, especially while sleeping. This can cause scratches, dryness and soreness of the cornea, which leads to inflammation. <h2>Uveitis</h2> <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/uveitis/">Uveitis</a> is inflammation of the middle layer of the eye. Although relatively rare, it is a serious condition and usually results from viral infections such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8501150/">herpes simplex</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29023181/">herpes zoster</a> or <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-09126-6_40">trauma</a>. Depending on where the inflammation is in the eye, the symptoms can be anything from redness, pain and floaters to blurred vision and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1772296/">partial blindness</a>. <h2>Exogenous endophthalmitis</h2> This is a rare but serious infection caused by eye surgery complications, penetrating ocular trauma (being stabbed in the eye with a sharp object) or foreign bodies in the eye. Foreign bodies can be anything from dirt and dust to small projectiles such as shards of metal from drilling, explosives or soil from farm machinery and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7286045/">many other sources</a>. <h2>Dacryocystitis</h2> Dacryocystitis is the inflammation of the nasolacrimal sac, which drains tears away from the eye into the nose. This condition can be <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8443113/">acute</a>, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/6700662">chronic</a> or <a href="https://www.jebmh.com/articles/a-study-of-congenital-dacryocystitis.pdf.pdf">acquired at birth</a>. Most cases are caused by <a href="https://bmcophthalmol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12886-020-01792-4">Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus</a> bacteria. The condition mainly affects newborns and those over 40. Seventy-five per cent of cases are women and it’s most commonly found in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6039673/">white adults</a>. It can lead to the stagnation of tears, creating a breeding ground for microbes. <h2>Careful with contacts</h2> Proper eye hygiene reduces the risk of all these conditions – and this is even more important for contact lens wearers. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uENHAntJOIA?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> Appropriate hygienic cleaning of lenses is paramount. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30789440/">Non-sterile water</a>, <a href="https://www.aao.org/eye-health/glasses-contacts/contact-lens-care">spit</a> and other fluids can transfer <a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/bacteria-living-your-contact-lens-solution">potentially dangerous</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3482476/">microbes</a> into the eye – a warm, moist environment that makes an ideal breeding ground for bacteria – leading to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9542356/">localised infection</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3972779/">blindness</a> or progress to a more serious <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9835757/">systemic infection or death</a>. Any persistent and painful redness or swelling of eyes should be checked by a registered health professional.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/227252/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adam-taylor-283950">Adam Taylor</a>, Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/lancaster-university-1176">Lancaster University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/eye-infections-might-seem-like-a-minor-complaint-but-in-some-cases-they-can-cause-blindness-and-even-death-227252">original article</a>. </div>

Body

Judge finds Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins and dismisses Network 10 defamation case. How did it play out?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-clift-715691">Brendan Clift</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Bruce Lehrmann has lost his defamation suit against Channel Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson after the media defendants proved, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped his colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019. After a trial lasting around a month, Federal Court Justice Michael Lee – an experienced defamation judge – concluded that both Lehrmann and Higgins had credibility issues, but ultimately <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2024/2024fca0369">he was persuaded</a> that Lehrmann raped Higgins, as she’d alleged and he’d denied. <h2>Criminal trials by proxy</h2> Ordinarily, charges like rape would be resolved through the criminal courts, but Lehrmann’s criminal trial was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-27/jury-discharged-in-trial-of-bruce-lehrmann-brittany-higgins/101583486">aborted</a> in October 2022 after juror misconduct. The charges against him were soon <a href="https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/bruce-lehrmann-sexual-assault-charge-dropped-dpp-confirms/news-story/3f82dd388d2cfa38680f7d4f4ceb1c5e">dropped</a>, nominally over concerns for Higgins’ mental health. Higgins, however, foresaw civil proceedings and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/05/brittany-higgins-volunteered-to-be-defamation-trial-witness-as-she-would-not-let-rapist-become-a-millionaire-ntwnfb">offered to testify</a> should they arise. That they did, as Lehrmann, free from the burden of any proven crime, sued several media outlets for defamation over their reporting into the allegations (<a href="https://www.fedcourt.gov.au/services/access-to-files-and-transcripts/online-files/lehrmann">the ABC</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/06/abc-agrees-to-pay-bruce-lehrmann-150000-to-settle-defamation-claim-court-documents-reveal">News Corp</a> both settled out of court). <iframe class="flourish-embed-iframe" style="width: 100%; height: 550px;" title="Interactive or visual content" src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/17195035/embed" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe> <div style="width: 100%!; margin-top: 4px!important; text-align: right!important;"><a class="flourish-credit" href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/17195035/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/17195035" target="_top"><img src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg" alt="Made with Flourish" /></a></div> Like Ben Roberts-Smith’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/dismissed-legal-experts-explain-the-judgment-in-the-ben-roberts-smith-defamation-case-191503">recent defamation suit</a> against the former Fairfax papers, this became another case of civil proceedings testing grave allegations in the absence of a criminal law outcome. The form of proceedings made for some key differences with the aborted criminal trial. In criminal cases, prosecutors are ethically bound to act with moderation in pursuing a conviction, which requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt, while defendants have the right to silence. By contrast, this trial featured detailed accounts from both sides as each sought to convince, in essence, that their contentions were likely to be correct. Also like the Roberts-Smith case, live streaming of the trial generated very high levels of public engagement. Today’s stream reached audiences of more than 45,000 people. It gave us the chance to assess who and what we believe, and to scrutinise the parties’ claims and the media’s reporting. The Federal Court doesn’t have juries, but we, the public, acted as a de facto panel of peers. We saw accusations and denials, revealing <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-23/bruce-lehrmann-defamation-trial-network-ten-lisa-wilkinson-ends/103260752">cross-examination</a> of the protagonists, witness testimony from colleagues, CCTV footage from nightclubs to Parliament House complete with lip-reading, expert testimony on alcohol consumption and consent, and lawyers constructing timelines which supported or poked holes in competing versions of events. The complexity of high-stakes legal proceedings was on display, with Justice Lee issuing many interim decisions on questions of procedure and evidence. Whenever transparency was at stake, it won. The preference for full disclosure led to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/2024/apr/02/bruce-lehrmann-defamation-trial-network-10-fresh-evidence-bid-lisa-wilkinson-brittany-higgins-delay-ntwnfb">case being re-opened</a> at the eleventh hour to call former Channel 7 producer Taylor Auerbach as a witness, providing a denouement that the judge called “sordid”, but which had little relevance to the final result. <h2>An argument over the truth</h2> Lehrmann had the burden of proving that the defendants published matter harmful to his reputation. That matter was Wilkinson’s interview with Higgins on Channel Ten’s The Project in which the allegations were made. A statement is only defamatory if it’s untrue, but in Australian law, the publisher bears the burden of proving truth, should they opt for that defence. And more serious allegations usually require more compelling proof, as the law views them as inherently more unlikely. This can be onerous for a defamation defendant, but it also involves risk for the plaintiff, should the defendant embark on an odyssey of truth-telling yet more damaging to the plaintiff’s image. That happened to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-65717684">Ben Roberts-Smith</a> and it happened to Lehrmann here. On the other hand, if the media hasn’t done their homework, as in <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2023/2023fca1223">Heston Russell’s case</a> against the ABC (also presided over by Justice Lee), the complainant can be vindicated. This case was a manifestation of Lehrmann’s professed desire to “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/oct/26/how-bruce-lehrmanns-media-interviews-cost-him-his-anonymity-in-toowoomba-case">light some fires</a>”. Few players in this extended saga have emerged without scars, and here he burned his own fingers, badly. As Justice Lee put it, Lehrmann, “having escaped the lion’s den [of criminal prosecution], made the mistake of coming back to get his hat”. <h2>How was the case decided?</h2> Lehrmann denied having sex with Higgins, whereas Higgins alleged there had been non-consensual sex. The defamatory nature of the publication centred on the claim of rape, so that was what the media defendants sought to prove. This left open the curious possibility that consensual sex might have taken place: if so, Lehrmann would have brought his case on a false premise (there had been no sex), but the media would have failed to defend it (by not proving a lack of consent), resulting in a Lehrmann win. That awkward scenario did not arise. The court found sex did in fact take place, Higgins in her heavily-inebriated and barely-conscious state did not give consent, and Lehrmann was so intent on his gratification that he ignored the requirement of consent. Justice Lee found Lehrmann to be a persistent, self-interested liar, whereas Higgin’s credibility issues were of lesser degree, some symptomatic of a person piecing together a part-remembered trauma. The judge drew strongly on the evidence of certain neutral parties who could testify to incidents or words spoken in close proximity to the events. <h2>Defamation laws favour the aggrieved</h2> Australian defamation law has historically favoured plaintiffs and, despite recent <a href="https://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/civil/defamation/2021-law-reform/">rebalancing attempts</a>, it remains a favoured legal weapon for those with the resources to use it. This includes our political class, who sue their critics for defamation with unhealthy frequency for a democracy. In the United States, public figures don’t have it so easy: to win they must prove their critics were lying. In Australia, the media sometimes succeeds in proving truth, but contesting defamation proceedings comes at great financial cost and takes an emotional toll on the journalists involved. Nor can a true claim always be proven to a court’s satisfaction, given the rules of evidence and the fact that sources may be reluctant to testify or protected by a reporter’s guarantee of confidentiality. But this case demonstrates that publishers with an appetite for the legal fight can come out on top.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225891/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/brendan-clift-715691">Brendan Clift</a>, Lecturer of law, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/judge-finds-bruce-lehrmann-raped-brittany-higgins-and-dismisses-network-10-defamation-case-how-did-it-play-out-225891">original article</a>.

Legal

Astonishing drug and prostitute claims surface as Lehrmann case reopened

The ongoing defamation case involving Bruce Lehrmann, a central figure in the Brittany Higgins saga, has been thrust back into the spotlight with shocking new allegations. The reopening of the case stems from claims made by former Seven Network producer Taylor Auerbach, which seek to shed light on a series of dealings surrounding Lehrmann's interactions with various media outlets. The allegations put forth by Auerbach paint an astonishing picture of Lehrmann's recruitment by Seven Network for an exclusive tell-all interview. It's alleged that Lehrmann, in a bid to secure his cooperation, was lavishly reimbursed for expenses that included not only extravagant meals and travel but also expenditures on illicit drugs and prostitutes. The details emerged through affidavits filed by Auerbach with the Federal Court, just days before a judgment was expected in Lehrmann's defamation case against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson. The case originated from a February 2021 report on The Project, where Brittany Higgins accused Lehrmann of rape within a Parliament House office in 2019. According to Auerbach's affidavits, Lehrmann breached a so-called Harman undertaking by leaking private and confidential texts from Higgins to Seven Network, violating an agreement that restricted the use of evidence from an abandoned criminal case against him. These texts allegedly facilitated Lehrmann's negotiations with Seven Network and formed a crucial part of his interview on the Spotlight program. The allegations take a darker turn with claims of financial reimbursement for illicit activities. Auerbach asserts that Seven Network reimbursed Lehrmann for expenses related to drug purchases and visits to brothels, implicating the network in what can only be described as deeply troubling conduct. "I recall that monies paid by (Lehrmann) for illicit drugs and prostitutes that evening at the Meriton and the following evening at a brothel in Surry Hills were reimbursed to (Lehrmann) by Seven," Auerbach states in his affidavit, according to <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/lehrmann-defamation-case-reopened-evidence-163000287.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo News</a>. The reopening of Lehrmann's defamation case underscores the gravity of these allegations and their potential implications. Justice Michael Lee's decision to admit fresh evidence indicates the seriousness with which the court regards these claims and the need for a thorough examination of the facts. In response to these allegations, both Lehrmann and Seven Network have vehemently denied any wrongdoing. Lehrmann maintains his innocence, asserting that he did not leak texts to Seven Network and denying any involvement in the misconduct alleged by Auerbach. Seven Network, for its part, denies authorising or condoning the alleged payments to Lehrmann and says that any unauthorised expenses were promptly rectified. Image: Getty

Legal

Major development in Madeleine McCann case

In the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, German police have descended upon a property in Braunschweig, Germany, in search of a key associate of Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in the case. The urgency of the search stems from the belief that this individual may possess crucial information regarding the fate of the missing girl. The focus of this operation was a residence linked to a 56-year-old man identified only as Ralph H. According to reports from <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/26665050/hunt-madeleine-mccann-christian-b-pal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a>, Ralph H. is a long-time friend of Brueckner, suspected of being involved in criminal activities alongside him, including home robberies. The property, located just outside Braunschweig, was surrounded by armed officers – however, the operation hit a roadblock as police were unable to enter the premises due to the absence of a search warrant. The urgency surrounding Ralph H. is palpable, with authorities stressing the need to speak with him promptly. “We must find him to ask him about missing Madeleine McCann,” said a detective from Germany’s federal investigative agency, the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA). “He’s not at home, he doesn’t answer the phone, he’s apparently disappeared.” Neighbours of Ralph H. corroborated reports of his absence: “They surrounded his home and shouted out his name but with no luck,” one said. “The officers later asked me if I had any idea where Ralph could be. It was about midday and I thought he was out working. But it turns out he hasn’t been seen for nearly a week now.” Meanwhile, Christian Brueckner, the main suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance, is embroiled in a separate legal battle. Currently facing trial for unrelated sexual offences, Brueckner's defence has maintained his silence, refusing to respond to the charges against him. Despite his denial of involvement in Madeleine's case, suspicions loom large, given his proximity to the scene of her disappearance and his criminal history. As the investigation unfolds, the spotlight remains on individuals like Ralph H. and Brueckner, whose connections and actions may hold the key to unraveling the mystery that has gripped the world for nearly two decades. Images: Getty

Legal

Experts shed new light on Samantha Murphy case

A panel of experts have shed new light on the case of missing mum Samantha Murphy. The mother-of-three went missing on February 4 after going for her usual morning run in a local park in Ballarat. Despite major search efforts from the missing persons squad, specialists and the local Ballarat community, she has still not been found, and now a panel of experts have gathered to discuss the possibilities of what could've happened to Murphy. Former Victorian detective Damian Marrett, criminal psychologist Dr Peter Ashkar, missing persons specialist Valentine Smith and cyber expert Nigel Phair discussed a number of different scenarios in Channel Nine's show Under Investigation on Wednesday night. “The idea that Samantha has actually wilfully left the family is just unfathomable and just implausible to me,” Dr Ashkar said. Presenter Liz Hayes, who spoke to mine shaft explorer Raymond Shaw said that there's a possibility Murphy's body has been buried in one of the abandoned mine shafts around Ballarat. “I think there could be anywhere between 4000 and 5000 gold mines just underneath the town," Shaw told Hayes. The panel agreed that the most likely scenario was that Murphy’s body had been dumped in a mineshaft after meeting with foul play, as they believe that there was "no way" Murphy fell down a mineshaft by accident, as the locals all know how to navigate the terrain. “They could be a great place to conceal a body or a crime after the fact … and you’d probably never find it,” Marrett said. Dr Ashkar added that the absence of any trace of Murphy could point to her having been attacked by a “psychopathic predator … who would know that area, like the back of their hand”. The panel also considered a potential new clue, the possible sighting of a damaged vehicle, which was alluded to in a <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/major-development-in-search-for-samantha-murphy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">police statement </a>requesting for new information about the case. The experts said that if there was a damaged car in the area, it could mean that Murphy was kidnapped at the 7km point of her run and could still be alive. “I would still like to believe the very real possibility that it’s a kidnapping and she’s still alive,” Dr Ashkar said. “That’s my hope. But I absolutely feel that whoever has taken her and abducted, they are very systematic and organised and knew very well what they were doing.” Marrett added that the police’s interest in the damaged car was significant. “They didn’t just say a car, they said a damaged car, it’s so specific,” he said. “So was that damage caused with this incident or was that damage because someone saw a damaged car leave?” Image: Nine / Facebook

Legal

The secret witness who could be the key to the Madeleine McCann case

A secret witness to a disturbing comment made by the main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case could be the key to seeing him charged. Madeleine McCann was three years old when she went missing on a family trip to Portugal in 2007, and has not been seen since. Christian Brueckner, a convicted rapist and paedophile, has long been named the prime suspect in Maddie's abduction, and is set to stand trial on Friday for a series of charges, none of while relate to the McCann case. Now, almost seventeen years since her disappearance, a secret witness has come forward about a disturbing comment Brueckner a year after Maddie's abduction. Helge Busching, a former friend of Brueckner, has revealed a chilling conversation he had with his former friend after they ran into each other at a music festival. Busching, who is currently in police protection, claims Brueckner told him Madeleine was taken without anyone noticing because she didn't make a sound. "He said she didn't scream. 'She didn't scream', that is what Brueckner said and then I looked at Mr Brueckner and thought 'what are you telling me now?'" said Busching on <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/60-minutes/the-secret-witness-who-could-break-open-the-madeleine-mccann-case/3a383ca7-758a-4b46-a288-8f911ee942e5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">60 Minutes</a>. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3NDFgEPudr/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3NDFgEPudr/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by 60 Minutes Australia (@60minutes9)</a> </div> </blockquote> In the wake of Busching's comments, the police prosecutor in Brueckner's case remains adamant he is behind the high-profile disappearance of Maddie. "We have evidence and we come to the conclusion that Madeleine McCann is dead and Christian B murdered her," says Hans Christian Wolters. With the 46-year-old currently in jail and facing convictions for several counts of rape and sexual assault, Wolters has the luxury of time to pursue all leads, no matter how small, to build a watertight case against the suspect. He said, "We have only one chance and we want to go to court with the best result we could get. So we decided to investigate as much as we can and if it takes much more time than normal investigations, it's the price for the best result." Image credits: Getty Images / 60 Minutes

Legal

It’s 4 years since the first COVID case in Australia. Here’s how our pandemic experiences have changed over time

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/deborah-lupton-9359">Deborah Lupton</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a> It might be hard to believe, but four years have now passed since the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/topics/covid-19/about">first COVID case</a> was confirmed in Australia on January 25 2020. Five days later, the <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern-(pheic)-global-research-and-innovation-forum">World Health Organization</a> (WHO) declared a “public health emergency of international concern”, as the novel coronavirus (later named SARS-CoV-2) began to spread worldwide. On March 11 the WHO would declare COVID a pandemic, while around the same time Australian federal and state governments hastily <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp2021/Chronologies/COVID-19StateTerritoryGovernmentAnnouncements">introduced measures</a> to “stop the spread” of the virus. These included shutting Australia’s international borders, closing non-essential businesses, schools and universities, and limiting people’s movements outside their homes. I began my project, <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1092322/full">Australians’ Experiences of COVID-19</a>, in May 2020. This research has continued each year to date, allowing me to track how Australians’ attitudes around COVID have changed over the course of the pandemic. <h2>Evolving pandemic experiences</h2> We recruited participants from across Australia, including people living in regional cities and towns. Participants range in age from early adulthood to people in their 80s. The first three stages of the project each involved 40 interviews with separate groups of participants (so 120 people in total). These interviews were done in May to July 2020 (stage 1), September to October 2021 (stage 2), and September 2022 (stage 3). Stage 4 was an online survey with 1,000 respondents, conducted in September 2023. Limitations of this project include the small sample sizes for the first three stages (as is common with qualitative interview-based research). This means the findings from those phases are not generalisable, but they do provide rich insights into the experiences of the interviewees. The quantitative stage 4 survey, however, is representative of the Australian population. The findings show that as the conditions of the pandemic and government management have changed across these years, so have Australians’ experiences. In the <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10743-7">early months of the pandemic</a>, some people reported becoming confused, distressed and overwhelmed by the plethora of information sources and the fast-changing news environment. On the other hand, seeking out information provided reassurance and comfort in response to their anxiety and uncertainty about this new disease. Australians <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003280644-28/covid-19-crisis-communication-deborah-lupton">continued to rely heavily</a> on news reports and government announcements in the first two years of the pandemic. Regular briefings from premiers and <a href="https://theconversation.com/chief-health-officers-are-in-the-spotlight-like-never-before-heres-what-goes-on-behind-the-scenes-166828?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=bylinetwitterbutton">chief health officers in particular</a> were highly important for how they learned what was happening, as were updates in the media on case numbers, hospitalisations, deaths and progress towards vaccination targets. <h2>Trust has eroded</h2> Australians appear to have lost a lot of trust in COVID information sources such as news media reports, health agencies and government leaders. Early strong support of federal, state and territory governments’ pandemic management in <a href="https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10743-7">2020</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14649365.2023.2240290">2021</a> has given way to much lower support more recently. My <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4626720">2023 survey</a> (this is published as a report, not peer-reviewed) found doctors were considered the most trustworthy sources of COVID information, but even they were trusted by only 60% of respondents. After doctors, participants trusted other experts in the field (53%), Australian government health agencies (52%), global health agencies (49%), scientists (45%) and community health organisations (35%). Australian government leaders were towards the lower end of the spectrum (31%). In <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/38/1/daac192/7026242?login=false">2021</a>, Australians responded positively to the vaccine targets and “<a href="https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victorias-roadmap-delivering-national-plan">road maps</a>” set by governments. These clear guidelines, and especially the promise that the initial doses would remove the need for lockdowns and border closures, were strong incentives to get vaccinated in 2021. Unfortunately, the prospect that vaccines would control COVID was shown to be largely unfounded. While COVID vaccines were and continue to be very effective at protecting against severe disease and death, they’re less effective at <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/vaccines/vaccines-faq">stopping people becoming infected</a>. Once very high numbers of eligible Australians became vaccinated against the delta variant, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37068078/">omicron reached Australia</a>, resulting in Australia’s first big wave of infection. This led to disillusionment about vaccines’ value for many participants. In the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4626720">2023 survey</a>, respondents reported a high uptake of the first three COVID shots. But when asked whether they planned to get another vaccine in the next 12 months, almost two-thirds said they did not, or they were unsure. <h2>Enter complacency</h2> Complacency now seems to have set in for many Australians. This can be linked to the progressive withdrawal of strong public health measures such as quarantine, mandatory isolation when infected, and testing and tracing regimens. Meanwhile, the media, government leaders and health agencies have played less of an active public role in conveying COVID information. This has led to uncertainty about the extent to which COVID is still a risk and lack of incentive to take protective actions such as mask wearing. In <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4626720">2023</a>, after mandates had ended, only 9% of respondents said they always wore a mask in indoor public places. Only a narrow majority of respondents even supported compulsory masking for workers in health-care facilities. The <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4626720">2023 survey</a> confirmed many Australians no longer feel at risk from COVID. Some 17% of respondents said COVID was definitely still posing a risk to Australians, while a further 42% saw COVID as somewhat of a risk. This left 28% who did not view COVID as much of a continuing risk, and 13% who thought it was not a risk at all. <h2>COVID is still a risk</h2> Whether or not people feel at continuing risk from COVID, the pandemic is still significantly affecting Australians. The <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4626720">2023 survey</a> found more than two-thirds of respondents (68%) reported having had at least one COVID infection to their knowledge, including 13% who had experienced three or more. Of those who’d had COVID, 40% said they experienced ongoing symptoms, or long COVID. If the pandemic loses visibility in public forums, people have no way of knowing the risk of infection continues, and are therefore unlikely to take steps to protect themselves and others. Updated case, hospitalisation, death and vaccination numbers should be communicated regularly, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-is-surging-in-australia-and-only-1-in-5-older-adults-are-up-to-date-with-their-boosters-220839">used to be the case</a>. To combat confusion, complacency and misinformation, all health advice should be based on the latest robust science. Australians are operating in a vacuum of information from trusted sources. They need much better and more frequent public health campaigns and risk communication from their leaders.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220336/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/deborah-lupton-9359">Deborah Lupton</a>, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-4-years-since-the-first-covid-case-in-australia-heres-how-our-pandemic-experiences-have-changed-over-time-220336">original article</a>.

Caring

"Very poor journalism": Lisa Wilkinson called out in defamation case

Lisa Wilkinson has been forced to defend the journalistic decisions of The Project, as she took to the stand as part of Bruce Lehrmann's defamation case against Wilkinson and Channel Ten. During court proceedings on Friday, Wilkinson admitted that during her bombshell report on Brittany Higgins' rape allegations, the program left out key information. The Project allegedly edited out important details about what happened in Parliament House the morning after Brittany Higgins was allegedly raped. <div data-body-element-id="zjCMXjhzxa"> In an uncut version of the episode which aired in February 2021, Wilkinson asked Ms Higgins if any security guards had asked if she was "okay" after the alleged incident. </div> <div data-body-element-id="R0B2D1Ni6K"> Ms Higgins replied, "No, no. I mean, besides one who called into the office in the morning, and said ‘Is everyone okay?’ and that was it." </div> <div data-body-element-id="2D5V5jCZaQ"> In the final cut, the words "...besides the one who called into the office in the morning" were not included. </div> <div data-body-element-id="9FH5ZgE5Ew"> Bruce Lehrmann's barrister Matthew Richardson SC quizzed Wilkinson about the edit, saying, "That's very poor journalism, isn't it?" </div> <div data-body-element-id="q0X6OvsQtG"> Wilkinson replied, "I'm disappointed to see that. It is a detail which escaped my attention." Elsewhere during the court proceedings, Wilkinson bit back at Lehrmann's lawyer for challenging her journalistic abilities. On Thursday, Wilkinson was asked why she didn't ask to see the metadata on a photo of a bruise on Brittany Higgins' thigh, which she claimed was from the alleged rape. Wilkinson told the Federal Court that she was not "tech-savvy" and did not know what metadata was, saying, "I didn't know photos had metadata." <div data-body-element-id="A9GzCf-Iqm"> Lehrmann's lawyer Mr Richardson was quick to ask in response: "You describe yourself as a serious investigative journalist?" </div> <div data-body-element-id="3eDMnH9cY0"> She bit back, stating she only refers to herself as a "journalist". </div> <div data-body-element-id="tMBlnKPjTn"> Mr Richardson said, "You were emphatic yesterday when you said you were not a tabloid journalist.' </div> <div data-body-element-id="9WzAcuceor"> She repeated: "I describe myself as a journalist, Mr Richardson." </div> <div data-body-element-id="bUfGxqx44_"> He said given she had been a journalist for 40 years, "it was most improbable that you did not know what metadata was." </div> <div data-body-element-id="QIHT-BVE1b"> She replied, "I disagree." Image credits: Getty Images </div> </div>

Legal

Try these 12 clever pillowcase hacks you’ll wish you knew sooner

Use a pillowcase as a laundry bag while travelling When you travel, you always want to keep your dirty laundry separate from your clean clothes. Stick a pillowcase in your suitcase and toss in the dirty laundry as it accumulates. When you get home, just empty the pillowcase into the washer and throw in the pillowcase as well. Use a pillowcase to dust ceiling fan blades Have you ever seen dust bunnies careening off your ceiling fan when you turn it on for the first time in weeks? Grab an old pillowcase and place it over one of the ceiling fan blades. Slowly pull off the pillowcase. The blades get dusted and the dust bunnies stay in the pillowcase, instead of parachuting to the floor. Turn a pillowcase into napkins Who needs formal linen napkins that need to be pressed every time you use them? Pillowcases are available in a wide array of colours and designs. Pick a colour or design you like, and start cutting. Prevent fraying by sewing a hem on each side, or simply finish with iron-on hemming tape. You’ll have a new set of colourful napkins for a fraction of the cost of regular cloth napkins. Use a pillowcase to keep matching bedding together Your recently arrived overnight guests want to go to bed, but it’s not made. You run to the linen closet, but you can’t find a matched set of sheets. Next time, file away your linens. Place newly laundered and folded sheets in their matching pillowcase before putting them in the closet. Prepare travel pillows Family road trips can be a lot of fun, but they can also get a little grimy too. Your youngsters may want to bring their own pillows along for the ride, but after several days in the car, they’re likely to get dirty with candy, food and markers. Take their favourite pillows and layer several pillowcases on each. When the outside one gets dirty, remove it for a fresh start! Use a pillowcase to wrap a present Trying to wrap a basketball or an odd-shaped piece of art? Is your wrapping paper not doing the trick? Place the gift in a pillowcase and tie closed with a ribbon. Use a pillowcase to store your jumpers Stored in plastic, winter jumpers can get musty. But stored in a wardrobe, they’re prey to moths. The solution can be found among your linens. Put the sweaters in a pillowcase for seasonal storage. They will stay free from dust but the pillowcase fabric will allow them to breathe. Use old pillowcases as garment bags You’ve just laundered a favourite dress shirt or skirt and you know you won’t be wearing it again for a while. To protect the garment, cut a hole in the top of an old pillowcase and slip it over the hanger and clothing. Psst – you can also use this trick when you’re packing for a holiday. Use pillowcases as dust bags You reach up to pull a leather purse or suede shoes down from a shelf. Of course, the item is dusty and now you have to clean it. Save yourself the time and hassle next time by storing infrequently used items in a pillowcase. They’ll be clean and ready to use when the occasion arises. Wash your delicates in a pillowcase Jumpers and pantyhose can get pulled out of shape when they twist around in the washer. To protect these garments during washing, toss them into a pillowcase and close with string or rubber band. Set the machine on the delicate setting, add the soap, and worry not about knots. Machine-wash stuffed animals in pillowcases Your child’s favourite stuffed animal is cute, but mighty dusty. Time for a bath! Place it in a pillowcase and put it in the washer. The pillowcase will ensure it gets a gentle but thorough wash. If any parts fall off the stuffed animal, it’ll be caught in the pillowcase so you can reattach them after the washing machine bath. Use a pillowcase to clear out cobwebs There’s a cobweb way up high in the corner of your dining room. Before you take a broom to it, cover the broom with an old pillowcase. Now you can wipe away the cobweb without scratching the wall paint. It’s also easier to remove the cobweb from the pillow than to pull it out of the broom bristles. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/food-home-garden/home-tips/12-clever-uses-for-pillowcases-youll-wish-you-knew-sooner?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.

Home & Garden

Australian researchers confirm world’s first case of dementia linked to repetitive brain trauma in a female athlete

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-townsend-501829">Stephen Townsend</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alan-pearce-734804">Alan Pearce</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-olive-944640">Rebecca Olive</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> Researchers at the <a href="https://www.brainbank.org.au/">Australian Sports Brain Bank</a> have today reported the world’s first diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in a <a href="https://rdcu.be/dfQiz">female athlete</a>. With the consent of her family, the diagnosis was made on the brain of Heather Anderson, a 28-year-old AFLW athlete <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-14/adelaide-aflw-premiership-player-heather-anderson-dies-aged-28/101653188">who died</a> last November. Heather’s family donated her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank hoping to better understand why she died. The findings, which Professor Alan Pearce co-authored with the Australian Sports Brain Bank, raise questions about how a lifetime of contact sport may have contributed to her death. They come as Australia’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Headtraumainsport">Senate inquiry</a> works on its report into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sport, due in August. Given how hard women have fought to participate in football codes and contact sports in recent years, this diagnosis has major implications for women’s sport in Australia. It also highlights the significant lack of research about women athletes in sport science and medicine. <h2>What is chronic traumatic encephalopathy?</h2> <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370921">CTE</a> is a devastating form of dementia which causes a decline in brain functioning and increased risk of mental illness. It is increasingly associated with athletes who play contact sports, such as football, boxing and martial arts. It is incurable and can only be <a href="https://www.brainbank.org.au/cte-diagnosis/">diagnosed post-mortem</a>. Recently, a number of high-profile former Australian footballers were found to have been suffering from CTE when they died, including former AFL stars <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-26/danny-frawley-family-urges-afl-to-act-on-cte-concussion/102269648">Danny Frawley</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-25/brain-disease-killed-shane-tuck-not-mental-health-says-sister/101362740">Shane Tuck</a>, and former NRL player and coach <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-22/qld-paul-green-brain-scans-reveal-brain-disease-cte-diagnosis/101566032">Paul Green</a>. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Adelaide AFLW premiership player Heather Anderson dies aged 28 <a href="https://t.co/ihy2i9UcRl">https://t.co/ihy2i9UcRl</a> — ABC News (@abcnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1592079585201381377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2022</a></blockquote> Concussions in contact sports have long been associated with long-term neurodegeneration in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2021.676463/full">Australia</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3987576/">internationally</a>. While the public and researchers are rightly concerned about serious concussions, a study published last month in <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39183-0__;!!PDiH4ENfjr2_Jw!FvAmUDcX-ESwwl8nG_BNNkRyB2J4TBq1oXkBTE1bBcdRGEQTl4u7qmgGsLguHpGNlFpWkz-SjKg3HGwdNYxIfEWW9U6ifytx%24">Nature Communications</a> confirmed that repetitive brain trauma over time – even seemingly mild head knocks or whiplash – is the strongest predictor for an athlete developing CTE. Athletes with long careers in contact sport are at particular risk, especially if they play from an early age. <h2>A sporting life</h2> Heather Anderson began playing rugby league at age five before transferring to Australian rules football in her early teens. She played representative football in the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory before being drafted into the inaugural season of the AFLW in 2017. Anderson played a single season with the <a href="https://crowshistory.afc.com.au/aflw-players/heather-anderson#:%7E:text=Biography&text=An%20army%20medic%2C%20Heather%20Anderson,year%20and%20starred%20for%20Waratah.">Adelaide Crows</a>, during which she won a premiership and suffered a career-ending shoulder injury. She then returned to her role as a medic with the Australian Army, a physical career which also carries a <a href="https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/health-well-being/programs-initiatives/military-health-outcomes-program">heightened risk of brain injury</a>. Anderson’s family donated her brain in the hope of knowing whether a lifetime of exposure to repetitive head trauma contributed to her death. <h2>Was this diagnosis expected?</h2> Concussion researcher Anne McKee predicted earlier this year it was a <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/02/20/its-coming-experts-worried-about-female-athlete-brain-injuries/">matter of time</a> before CTE was found in the brain of a woman athlete. The Australian Sports Brain Bank team believe Anderson is a “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK564388/">sentinel case</a>” we can learn from. She is the first female athlete diagnosed with CTE, but she will not be the last. Although Australian women have historically been excluded from the sports most associated with repeated head injuries, this is changing. In 2022, there were almost one million women and girls playing some form of <a href="https://www.clearinghouseforsport.gov.au/kb/women-in-sport">contact sport</a> in Australia. As women’s participation in contact sport continues to grow, so too does their risk of repetitive brain trauma. <h2>Are women more prone to CTE than men?</h2> There is emerging evidence that women are at significantly higher risk of mild traumatic brain injury (concussion) and may suffer more severe symptoms. Concussion alone does not cause CTE, but an athlete’s number of concussions is a reliable indicator of their cumulative exposure to brain trauma, which is the biggest predictor of CTE. While knowledge on the topic is still developing, researchers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02089-2">propose a mix of physiological and social explanations</a> for women’s increased concussion risk. These include "[…] differences in the microstructure of the brain to the influence of hormones, coaching regimes, players’ level of experience and the management of injuries." More research is needed to understand sporting brain injuries specifically in women and girls. Given their growth in participation and the enhanced risks they face in sport, it is concerning that women and girls are <a href="https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/17/981">underrepresented</a> in concussion research. This is representative of a <a href="https://journals-humankinetics-com.ap1.proxy.openathens.net/view/journals/wspaj/29/2/article-p146.xml">broader trend</a> in sport and exercise science research to exclude women from studies because their bodies are perceived as <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-021-01435-8">more complex</a> than men’s and thus more difficult to accommodate in testing. <h2>A disease that does not discriminate</h2> This world-first report of CTE in a female athlete is proof the disease does not discriminate and lends urgency to calls for <a href="https://theconversation.com/sports-concussions-affect-men-and-women-differently-female-athletes-need-more-attention-in-brain-research-160097">greater representation</a> of women in brain injury studies. Efforts to reduce concussion in women’s sport must first address resource inequalities between men’s and women’s sport. This includes giving women access to quality training and coaching support, as well as <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-much-of-what-were-told-about-gym-exercises-and-resistance-training-is-from-studies-of-males-by-men-205753">greater attention</a> from sport science and medical research. The health of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14443058.2019.1575262">women athletes and women’s sport</a> will only progress if researchers, policymakers and sport governance bodies ensure the attention and resources required to address concussion and brain disease are not focused solely on men. <hr /> If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call <a href="https://www.lifeline.org.au/">Lifeline</a> on 13 11 14.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208929/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-townsend-501829">Stephen Townsend</a>, Lecturer, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alan-pearce-734804">Alan Pearce</a>, Professor, College of Science, Health, Engineering, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/la-trobe-university-842">La Trobe University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rebecca-olive-944640">Rebecca Olive</a>, Vice Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-researchers-confirm-worlds-first-case-of-dementia-linked-to-repetitive-brain-trauma-in-a-female-athlete-208929">original article</a>.

Caring

What should the Australian War Memorial do with its heroic portraits of Ben Roberts-Smith?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kit-messham-muir-129956">Kit Messham-Muir</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a> On Friday, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dismissed-legal-experts-explain-the-judgment-in-the-ben-roberts-smith-defamation-case-191503">Federal Court dismissed</a> Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times. Justice Anthony Besanko ruled the newspapers had established, by the “balance of probabilities” (the standard of evidence in a civil lawsuit), that Roberts-Smith had committed war crimes. Following the ruling, much public debate has focused on what the Australian War Memorial should do with Robert-Smith’s uniform, helmet and other artefacts of his on display. Greens senator David Shoebridge <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidShoebridge/status/1664140665666826240">called for</a> the removal of these objects from public display to correct the official record and “to begin telling the entire truth of Australia’s involvement in that brutal war.” The topic of what to do with Roberts-Smith’s uniform and helmet was debated on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH1oVNVJP1k">ABC’s Insiders yesterday</a>: should the display be removed, effectively cancelled, or changed to tell the full story? <h2>The case of the oil paintings</h2> It is not just these artefacts on display. The memorial also has two heroic oil painting portraits of Roberts-Smith by one of Australia’s leading artists, <a href="http://www.michaelzavros.com/">Michael Zavros</a>. These paintings were commissioned by the memorial in 2014. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529980/original/file-20230605-16883-qhpzvv.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>Michael Zavros, Pistol grip (Ben Roberts-Smith VC), 2014, oil on canvas, 162 cm x 222 cm. <a class="source" href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092390">© Australian War Memorial</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></figcaption></figure> <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092390">Pistol Grip (Ben Roberts-Smith VC)</a> is a larger-than-life-sized depiction of Roberts-Smith, camouflage arms outstretched, mimicking the action of holding a pistol. The smaller <a href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092391">Ben Roberts-Smith VC</a> depicts him in ceremonial military uniform. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529982/original/file-20230605-23-pgn7xe.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>Michael Zavros, Ben Roberts-Smith VC, 2014, oil on canvas, 30 x 42 cm. <a class="source" href="https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2092391">© Australian War Memorial</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></figcaption></figure> In an <a href="https://memoreview.net/reviews/the-anti-art-of-war-by-rex-butler-and-paris-lettau">article in arts criticism website Memo</a> yesterday, respected Monash University art historian Rex Butler and arts journalist Paris Lettau weighed into the debate. Butler and Lettau say Pistol Grip is: <blockquote> threatening, over-bearing, macho, hyper-masculine, celebratory, and enormous, like the man himself – some 220 centimetres wide and 160 centimetres high. </blockquote> When Zavros created his large portrait it was a depiction of a soldier doing what he was trained – and venerated – for doing. It is an aggressive pose that, given current developments, can be read in a much more sinister way. It touches on a far bigger question of how national institutions for the public memory of war address difficult and morally ambiguous moments in a national story. <h2>Moral and ethical ambiguity</h2> When the Canadian War Museum opened at its new site in Ottawa in 2005, its new displays included two paintings in their collection by Canadian artist <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-in-her-powerful-portraiture-military-artist-gertrude-kearns-pays/">Gertrude Kearns</a>. The paintings, Somalia without Conscience, 1996, and The Dilemma of Kyle Brown: Paradox in the Beyond, 1995, dealt with one of the most shameful episodes in Canada’s military history, known as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalia_affair">Somalia Affair</a>. In 1992, the Canadian Airborne Regiment was deployed as peacekeepers to Somalia. In 1993, 16-year-old Shidane Arone was found hiding in the Canadian base, believed to have been stealing supplies. He was tortured, and soldiers photographed themselves with the semi-conscious boy. Master Corporal Clayton Matchee and his subordinate Private Kyle Brown <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7x75xg/remembering-the-somalia-affair-canadas-forgotten-abu-ghraib-moment">were charged</a> with his murder and torture. Somalia without Conscience depicts Matchee posing with the beaten Arone, while The Dilemma of Kyle Brown depicts Brown symbolically holding two potential fates in his hands: a lightly coloured cube in his right hand, and a darkened cube in his left. It addresses an ethical grey area many soldiers face during active service when the hierarchy of command comes into direct conflict with conscience. Following the opening of the new Canadian War Museum, the presence of Kearns’s paintings sparked <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=nltxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT519&lpg=PT519&dq=%E2%80%9Cwas+not+only+telling+the+stories+of+heroism+and+courage+that+most+of+them+expected+to+be+told+but+also+stories+about+failures,+disappointments,+and+human+frailty%E2%80%9D&source=bl&ots=sfQZw_2qXL&sig=ACfU3U18i4X0ERdbg0wfOKXbnOIe1-5-pA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXw6Sdk6v_AhXGVmwGHbRwDh0Q6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9Cwas%20not%20only%20telling%20the%20stories%20of%20heroism%20and%20courage%20that%20most%20of%20them%20expected%20to%20be%20told%20but%20also%20stories%20about%20failures%2C%20disappointments%2C%20and%20human%20frailty%E2%80%9D&f=false">intense debate</a>. Curator Laura Brandon received abusive emails from members of the public. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529986/original/file-20230605-23-vgma1q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption>The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. Shutterstock</figcaption></figure> The museum copped criticism from figures such as the head of the National Council of Veterans Associations, who <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/war-museum-s-paintings-anger-veterans-group-1.546113">called</a> the paintings a “trashy, insulting tribute” and urged a boycott of the opening of the new museum. Discussing this controversy in 2007, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1354856507072860?journalCode=cona">Brandon said</a> what upset veteran communities was that “their” museum: <blockquote> was not only telling the stories of heroism and courage that most of them expected to be told but also stories about failures, disappointments, and human frailty. </blockquote> Brandon remained steadfast the museum needed to address the messy ambiguities of war and, despite pressure, kept Kearns’s paintings on display for the duration of the exhibition. <h2>The complexity of contemporary art</h2> Brandon’s curatorial decision to display Kearns’s Somalia paintings strike at the heart of what is special and important about contemporary war art in a national museum. Contemporary art presents ethical and moral complexity, grey zones and a range of perspectives. This is vital in a healthy liberal democracy. While Brandon’s choice to show Kearns’s Somalia paintings attracted criticism, the museum remained committed to telling a story that is difficult, ethically and morally complex, and uncomfortable for Canadians. To remove Zavros’ portraits from display would remove the now-untenable hero narrative that once surrounded Roberts-Smith. But doing so would also rewrite public memory by effectively erasing an important part of why and how Roberts-Smith was revered. These portraits now represent a morally complex story that needs to be addressed by our national war museum. To remove the portraits would miss a valuable opportunity to debate important questions about how we construct hero stories. So, how could these portraits still be shown in future? Zavros’ portraits were already complex works. Following Friday’s announcement, it is more important they are seen in all their additional multi-layered and problematic complexity. The portraits show us how we create the nation through the stories we tell ourselves, and how dynamic that narrative can be. The portraits present a valuable opportunity to show narratives of war – like the stories of our own lives – are never simple, consistent and coherent. The portraits should be displayed in ways that address this complexity, capturing the evolving story of Roberts-Smith in explanatory wall text. There is an opportunity here to not simply “correct” the official record, as Shoebridge suggests, but to have a deeper conversation about the role of hero narratives in diverting attention away from more important public debates about Australia’s involvements in conflicts. Maybe this could be addressed in the art the memorial commissions in future. The most compelling contemporary art works – and the most valuable museum displays in our national institutions – are those that consider our complex stories, raise important and self-reflective questions, and challenge simplistic narratives. <img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206934/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> Image credit: Getty <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kit-messham-muir-129956">Kit Messham-Muir</a>, Professor in Art, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/curtin-university-873">Curtin University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-should-the-australian-war-memorial-do-with-its-heroic-portraits-of-ben-roberts-smith-206934">original article</a>.

Legal

Australian War Memorial urged to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from display

The Australian War Memorial is being urged to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from its display after the federal court dismissed the defamation case initiated by Australia’s most decorated living soldier. However, the Australian Special Air Association has argued it was “a very disappointing day” for veterans who had served in Afghanistan, noting the majority who had done the right thing were being “re-traumatised after having gone through a difficult war”. In the defamation case ruling on June 1, Justice Anthony Besanko found that, on the balance of probabilities, Roberts-smith kicked a handcuffed prisoner off a cliff in Darwin in 2012 before ordering a subordinate Australian soldier to shoot the injured man dead. Besanko also found that in 2009, Roberts-Smith had ordered the execution of an elderly man found hiding in a tunnel in a bombed-out compound codenamed “Whiskey 108”, including murdering a disabled man with a prosthetic leg during that same mission, with a machine gun. The majority of politicians in Canberra were hesitant to weigh in on the implications of the ruling, but the Greens described the judgement as “an important win for fearless journalism in the public interest”. David Shoebridge, the Greens’ defence and justice spokesperson said, “If this judgment stands, the first step in correcting the official record is for the Australian War Memorial to immediately remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from public display and to begin telling the entire truth of Australia’s involvement in that brutal war. “This is not justice for the families who lost loved ones or for the communities that have been brutalised by war crimes, but it takes us a step closer.” Shoebridge is also calling on the Albanese government to “urgently progress compensation for families of victims of alleged Afghanistan war crimes, one of the key outstanding recommendations of the Brereton report”. He has urged the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, to “step in and end the unjust prosecution of Afghanistan war crimes whistleblower David McBride”. A spokesperson for the defence minister, Richard Marles, said, “This is a civil defamation matter to which the commonwealth is not a party and it would be inappropriate to provide comment.” Speaking to ABC TV, the national chairman of the Australian Special Air Service Association, Martin Hamilton-Smith downplayed the broader significance of the ruling, saying it was not a criminal proceeding. When speaking generally about investigations overseen by the Office of Special Investigator (OSI), he said one person had been charged to date over allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan — and raised concerns that “justice delayed is justice denied”. Hamilton-Smith called on OSI to “get these matters into a criminal court where they can be dealt with properly and the truth can be established”. In 2020, the Brereton report found “credible” information to implicate 25 current or former special forces personnel in the alleged unlawful killing of 39 individuals and the cruel treatment of two others. When asked whether Roberts-Smith should hand over his Victoria Cross, Hamilton-Smith said, “I think the only way you will get the real truth of this is to get it into the criminal court where both sides of the story can be told and beyond reasonable doubt the facts established.” A spokesperson for OSI said defamation proceedings were a “a civil matter between the parties”, adding, “It would not be appropriate to comment on specific allegations or whether they are the subject of investigation.” The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, described the defamation ruling as “certainly significant”, and stated it was a legal process “that deserves to be respected”. However, he said it would be “a difficult day for many” of Australia’s current and former defence force personnel. “Australia is a country that applies a standard, in terms of expectations of our serving personnel and the transparency and accountability, that few other nations in the world apply,” Birmingham told ABC TV. “We should be proud of those standards but we should also be proud overwhelmingly of our personnel, of all who have served.” Birmingham was reluctant to make broader comments about the judgement’s implication for press freedom, adding the outcome would “obviously weigh heavily in terms of what proceedings may be initiated by others in future”. The shadow defence minister and former SAS captain Andrew Hastie was subpoenaed by the newspapers to give evidence during the defamation case but declined to comment. Image credit: Getty

News

Parents sue son for not giving them grandkids

In arguably one of the most bizarre lawsuits, a couple sued their son and daughter-in-law for not giving them a grandchild after six years of marriage. Parents of the husband, Sanjeev and Sadhana Prasad had asked their son and daughter-in-law to give them a grandchild within a year. After they failed to do so, they asked their son and daughter-in-law to pay them as compensation. The amount includes any money spent on their son’s education, wedding, honeymoon and luxury car. The case was filed under mental harassment that the couple is allegedly experiencing as a result of their son and daughter-in-law refusing to have a child. The father of the son said, “I have only one son. I spent all my savings on his upbringing and education. I sent him to the US in 2006 for a pilot training course.” “I spent over Rs 50 lakh for the same. He returned to India in 2007 due to the economic recession abroad. He had lost his job and could not find another for over two years. I supported him financially during this period as well. “Almost six years have passed and there is no child. We are facing immense mental harassment.” Image credit: Twitter

Legal

Melissa Caddick mystery officially laid to rest

A corner has revealed missing fraudster Melissa Caddick is dead but it’s difficult to determine when and how she died. Deputy State Coroner Elizabeth Ryan released her findings after a lengthy coronial inquest examined the circumstances surrounding the 49-year-old’s mysterious disappearance. “I believe it’s appropriate at the outset to say I have concluded Melissa Caddick is deceased,” Ryan said as she handed down her findings at the NSW Coroner’s Court in Lidcombe. However, Ryan said it was tricky to make an accurate finding as to how, when and where she died. Caddick disappeared from Sydney’s eastern suburbs in November 2020, hours after her Dovers Heights mansion, which doubled as her place of business, was raided by the AFP and ASIC. The corporate watchdog had accused Caddick of operating a Ponzi scheme and misappropriating $24 million, including from her friends and family, to fund a lavish lifestyle including holidays, designer jewellery, clothing and shoes. The case has sparked a number of conspiracy theories and even inspired a television series. The inquest examined Caddick’s final hours, the actions of her husband Anthony Koletti, and the police investigation. The court heard that Caddick had taken her own life by jumping off the cliff at Rodney Reserve, approximately 500 metres from her home, on the morning of November 12, 2020. Caddick was heard walking out her front door at about 5:30am before disappearing and failing to turn up to a court appearance the following day. However, Koletti did not report his wife missing to the Rose Bay Police Station until 11:45am on November 13 - 30 hours since she was last seen. Amid his evidence, Koletti told the court he was under the mistaken belief he had to wait 24 hours to report someone missing. “Did you delay reporting her missing until that point in order to give her time to try to go somewhere?” Counsel assisting the coroner Jason Downing asked. “No,” Mr Koletti said. NSW Police Sergeant Trent Riley told the court during the inquest that he found it “extremely strange and unusual behaviour” that Koletti had initially told police he did not want them to come to his house or go to the station to make a statement. “I thought it was strange that a husband would ring the police station, report his wife missing from two days ago and wasn’t prepared to come to the police station and didn’t want police to go around and speak with him because he had too much work on that day,” Sergeant Riley told the court. Sergeant Riley also told the court that Koletti provided conflicting versions of when he had last seen his wife alive. He described Koletti as, “evasive, vague and inconsistent”. Colette has been consistently critical of the ASIC investigation. In an affidavit tendered to the court, he claimed he and Caddick were denied food, water and medical attention during the 12 hours when ASIC and AFP were present at their home. However, the court heard that during the raid, Caddick drank a protein shake, Koletti made her several coffees and they occasionally smoked cigarettes in their backyard. In a statement, he said, “I believe (Caddick) died as a direct result of ASIC’s negligence, cruelty and inhumanity.” Despite conceding Caddick was responsible for defrauding millions of investors and that they were allowed to be in their home on the day of the raid, he still maintained ASIC was responsible for her death. In February 2021, a foot washed up on Bourdna Beacon on the NSW south coast which was later identified as Caddick’s. The court had previously heard that Caddick’s shoe was covered in 250g of goose barnacles when it washed ashore. An expert's report stated the barnacle growth suggested the shoe would have been free floating on the surface of the water for three-seven days before washing up. The court heard that it’s possible the shoe drifted on the ocean floor for several months before floating to the surface and onto the beach. Oceanographer Dr David Griffin said that according to calculations using ocean currents, it’s plausible the show went into the water at Dover Heights and was found 400km south three months later. Pathologist Jennifer Pokorny told the inquest in a statement that it was not possible to determine the full extent of Caddick’’s injuries as there were no other remains aside from the decomposed foot. She added it was also not possible to determine a cause of death. Forensic psychiatrist Dr Kerri Eagle told the inquest that after reviewing Caddick’s medical record, along with witness statement, it appeared she had narcissistic personality disorder. She said that for people suffering from the disorder, their self-esteem and sense of well-worth latches onto external admiration and impressing others. Dr Eagle revealed to the court that as a result of being charged, Caddick would have also been in danger of losing her work and the “respect and admiration” of others. She told Ryan that when ASIC raided her home, it was possible it had a “very huge” impact on her self-esteem. “Ms Caddick appeared to experience problems with low mood, depression and anxiety and problems coping with extraordinary stress … the low mood symptoms persisted as long as the stress persisted,” Eagle said. She also noted that people with similar disorders have been known to take their own lives after a “major insult to their self-esteem”. Image credit: Instagram

Legal

Fresh location being searched in Maddy McCann case

Portuguese police have revealed they will resume the search for missing toddler Madeleine McCann who disappeared in the country’s Algarve region in 2007. Portugal’s Judicial police released a statement confirming local media reports that they would conduct the search at the request of the German authorities and in the presence of British officials. A spokesperson from the fire brigade said police were preparing to start searches at a dam in the southern region of Algarve about 50km inland from a beach resort where Madeleine disappeared from a rented apartment while on a family holiday. On May 22, Reuters TV footage showed police erecting tents and cordons in the area by the Arade dam, roughly 50km from Praia da Luza, where the three-year-old was last seen alive. Portugal’s investigative Judicial Police overseeing the operation declined to comment. Another source familiar with the investigation was not confident there would be a breakthrough, saying, “It will come to nothing”. In mid-2020, German police jailed German citizen Christian Brueckner, a 45-year-old convicted child abuser and drug dealer who was in the Algarve in 2007, for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve where Madeleine went missing. He was identified as a suspect in Madeline’s disappearance but has denied any involvement. Brueckner remains under investigation on suspicion of murder in the McCann case but hasn’t been charged. German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead and that Brueckner was likely responsible for it. In April, a German court dismissed additional charges against him related to other Portuguese child rape and sexual assault cases that led to German prosecutors no longer having jurisdiction to investigate the McCann case. Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann were questioned by Portuguese police as formal suspects in 2007 but ruled them out the following year due to lack of evidence that cleared them of any involvement. The parents continue to campaign to attract attention to their daughter’s disappearance, and British public figures from business tycoons to authors and soccer stars have made appeals for information. Rewards for finding Madeleine have reached several million dollars. Image credit: Getty

News

Major update in the murder case of Charlise Mutten

The stepfather of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten will fight the charges of Charlise's murder after pleading not guilty in court. Justin Stein, 32, appeared at Penrith Local Court via audiovisual link on Friday morning, facing a range of charges including murder, interfering with a corpse, and possession of child abuse material. Stein is accused of <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/devastated-more-details-released-on-charlise-mutten-as-community-mourns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">murdering</a> nine-year-old Charlise, the daughter of his fiancé, in January 2022 and dumping her body in a plastic barrel. Charlise's body was found with gunshot wounds in bushland near the Colo River in NSW’s Central Tablelands, after she was staying in Blue Mountains on a family holiday. Mr Stein’s lawyer Peter Katsoolis entered not guilty pleas to the <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/charlise-mutten-s-alleged-killer-facing-fresh-charges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">charges</a> of murder, interfering with a corpse and possession of child abuse material. When asked by Magistrate Fiona Toose whether he was pleading not guilty, Mr Stein said, “Yes, that’s correct”. He will be arraigned in the Supreme Court in July. Outside the courtroom, Mr Katsoolis told reporters Mr Stein will be defending the charges. “He’s maintained his innocence from the outset in relation to these charges, and they’ll be vigorously defended,” Mr Katsoolis said. Charlise had been visiting her mother and Mr Stein at a Blue Mountains property, where police allege she was killed. There is no suggestion that Charlise’s mother was involved in her death, and she has never been accused of any wrongdoing in regards to her death. Prior to her death, Charlise had been living in Coolangatta, QLD, with her grandparents. Mr Stein was arrested in January 2022 and has remained behind bars on remand ever since. Image credits: Facebook

Legal

Queen Camilla's damning "proof" in Simon Dorante-Day's case

A seemingly innocent comment made by Queen Camilla to the Archbishop of Canterbury about her relationship with King Charles has become new "proof" in Simon Dorante-Day's claims against the monarch. For several years, 57-year-old Simon from Queensland has claimed that he is the love child of King Charles and Queen Camilla. However, there have been several holes in his fact checking that have seen his claims been slammed. One major blindside in his story is the fact that he was born in 1966, and Charles and Camilla have famously dated their relationship back to when they were introduced by a friend in 1970. When Charles and Camilla first met, they were aged 21 and 22 respectively, and were not photographed publicly together until 1972. However, in a new documentary titled The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, Dr George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said their relationship could go back further than initially believed. Dr Carey was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991 to 2002, and gave his blessing for Charles and Camilla to marry. In the explosive documentary, Dr Carey says Camilla confirmed that her relationship with Charles went “back to when they were teenagers”. The former Archbishop said he met Camilla at his son’s flat in Peckham, London, to discuss the possibility of marrying Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales. He explained they had met at the obscure location to avoid attracting public attention. “She walked through the front door and we had coffee together… we had an animated conversation and we talked about her relationship with Charles, going way back to when they were teenagers,” Dr Carey said in the TV interview. “And after that I decided there was no way I could treat her as anything other than a really nice human being who is deeply in love with Charles.” Dr Carey later gave his blessing for the pair to marry. Dorante-Day has long claimed that his own personal research has shown that Charles and Camilla first became close in 1965. He believes that months later, in the lead-up to when he was born, Camilla disappeared from Britain’s social scene for at least nine months, while Charles was sent to Australia. “I have been unable to find any photos of Camilla from the last months of 1965 or the beginning of 1966, when she would’ve been heavily pregnant with me,” Dorante-Day said. Speaking to <a href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/queen-camilla-comment-to-archbishop-becomes-explosive-new-proof-in-aussie-simon-dorante-day-royal-love-child-case--c-10543212" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News</a>, Dorante-Day said the new interview with Dr Carey casts doubt over the public history of Charles and Camilla's early relationships days. “My adoptive grandmother said to me, she said to me quite clearly, that Charles and Camilla were your parents,” he said. “So when I looked back in the history of when they got together and if this was even possible, I didn’t just believe it. But I went off and I researched it." “When you go back and you look at the newspapers from the time and read the royal biographies, it was always stated that they first met in 1972 at a polo match in Windsor." “You know, sometimes the media got it wrong and said 1974 or things like that. But that story was always 1972 until I started doing this." “Then royal commentator Robert Jobson changed it to 1970 in a TV interview with me, pushed it back a few years." “People just keep changing the date. It’s interesting to me." “And now the Archbishop’s story, that Camilla said that they went back to when they were teenagers as well. Yeah. Come on." “It’s the first time someone has given a concrete account of when they met, where it wasn’t just reports and changing dates.” Image credits: Getty Images / Facebook

Family & Pets

Inspiration, influence and theft: what the Ed Sheeran case can tell us about 70 years of pop music

a US court <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/04/ed-sheeran-verdict-not-liable-copyright-lawsuit-marvin-gaye">ruled in favour of singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran</a>, agreeing his song Thinking Out Loud did not breach musical copyright. The high-profile court case, brought by the estate of soul singer Marvin Gaye, claimed Sheeran’s song was too similar to Gaye’s song Let’s Get It On. On the stand, Sheeran <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/apr/28/ed-sheeran-sings-in-court-as-part-of-marvin-gaye-copyright-case">defended his songwriting process</a>, stating: “I draw inspiration from a lot from things in my life and family.” Sheeran’s case brought up some difficult questions around what we understand as inspiration and influence, and what we may hear as theft. Musical copyright cases are part of songwriting history. Radiohead’s Creep was found to be <a href="https://entertainment.time.com/2013/08/22/11-suspiciously-sound-alike-songs/slide/the-hollies-the-air-that-i-breathe-1974-vs-radiohead-creep-1992/">too similar</a> to the Hollies’ The Air That I Breathe, and in 2018, Lana Del Rey’s Get Free <a href="https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/lana-del-rey-claims-lawsuit-with-radiohead-is-over-watch-1202736177/">was found to plagiarise Creep</a>. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars altered the credits to Uptown Funk to <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lawsuit-bmg-uptown-funk-royalties-gap-band-heirs-1234660379/">acknowledge the similarity</a> to The Gap Band’s Oops Upside Your Head. Here in Australia, the flute solo in Men at Work’s Down Under, which quoted the melody of folk song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jul/06/men-at-work-down-under">ruled as plagiarism</a>. In this case against Sheeran, the song’s chord progression was at the heart of the claim. The prosecution argued Sheeran’s chord progression was too similar to the chord progression of Gaye’s. But can we copyright a chord progression if it is used extensively in other pop songs? Gaye’s song uses four chords that gradually move upward (I-iii-IV-V). These same chords can be heard in the Beach Boys’ I Can Hear Music, the Seekers’ Georgy Girl, the Beatles’ I Feel Fine, in the Motown tune This Old Heart of Mine by the Isley Brothers, Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds, Cher’s Believe and ABBA’s Knowing Me Knowing You, among many others. This chord progression and many others are part of the songwriting toolkit of rock and pop and have been heard continuously over the past 70 years. <h2>The 12 bar blues</h2> A chord progression is the main instrumental part you hear in most pop music, usually played by a guitar, piano or synth. One of the oldest chord progressions in pop is the 12-bar blues – a looping pattern of three chords that is very identifiable. As the name suggests, this set of chords stems from early blues and was a way for musicians to easily play together and improvise. A version of this progression can be heard in Muddy Waters’ I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man or John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom. You can also hear this progression in a number of other pop songs – listen to verses of Queen’s I Want to Break Free and Kiss by Prince – both use the same chord progression, but sound very different to each other. More recently, Lizzo’s Better in Colour uses the 12-bar blues in a way that makes an old formula fresh. <h2>The ‘doo-wop’ progression</h2> The “doo-wop” progression has appeared in pop music for close to 80 years, and is named because most doo-wop songs feature this chord progression – it was an essential part of its sound. You can hear it in 1950s hits such as the Penguins’ Earth Angel and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers’ Why Do Fools Fall in Love?. The strength of these chords means they are used in pop music of all kinds, including ELO’s Telephone Line, Don’t Dream it’s Over by Crowded House, Destiny’s Child’s Say My Name, Blank Space by Taylor Swift, and Flowers by Miley Cyrus. Despite its consistent use, these chords still cross genres and eras, and still catch our ears. Comedy act Axis of Awesome use a similar progression in their video for 4 Chords, where they cleverly play almost 50 different songs with a variation on these four simple chords. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oOlDewpCfZQ" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h2>The I-IV-V (the ‘one, four, five’)</h2> Perhaps the most common chord progressions in rock and pop are those that use the I, IV and V chords in various combinations. They’re usually the first three chords you learn on an instrument and open up thousands of songs to play – from the rock and roll of Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran, the garage rock of Wild Thing by the Troggs, the bubblegum of Hanson’s Mmmbop and the indie rock of Coldplay’s Yellow, to the modern pop of bad guy by Billie Eilish and good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo. <h2>Going forward</h2> Rock, pop, blues, doo wop and other musical genres can often be defined by their use of repeated chord progressions. These chord progressions are part of a songwriter’s toolkit in a similar way to how an artist may use different paint brushes. As Sheeran’s lawyer Ilene Farkas <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/04/ed-sheeran-verdict-not-liable-copyright-lawsuit-marvin-gaye">noted</a>, chord progressions are, "the letters of the alphabet of music […] these are basic musical building blocks that songwriters now and forever must be free to use." It is how these “building blocks” are used, and in what combinations, that gives us a great variety of pop songs over many decades. The true craft of great pop music is to take these formulas and turn them into something unique (while simultaneously making it sound easy). The ruling in Sheeran’s case supports the rights of musical artists to continue to use these progressions as part of a songwriter’s toolkit, and to build from the artists who came before them. It also acknowledges that influence and inspiration from previous works are part of the construction of the pop music we love. Image credits: Getty Images This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/inspiration-influence-and-theft-what-the-ed-sheeran-case-can-tell-us-about-70-years-of-pop-music-204747" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Music

Are flu cases already 100 times higher than last year? Here’s what we really know about the 2023 flu season

Alarming <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/flu-cases-australia-update-warning-vulnerable-numbers-rise-100-fold-last-year/55ccbb1d-9613-4e45-85aa-43c905efc8e6">headlines</a> and media coverage <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/the-flu-nearly-disappeared-during-the-pandemic-now-cases-are-soaring-in-australia/a98cybrj8">have said</a> we’ve had 100 times as many influenza cases in the first two months of 2023 compared with the same time the previous year. The coverage suggested we’re in for a bumper flu season, starting early and your best protection was to get a flu vaccine, when available. But that scary sounding 100 figure is misleading. Here’s what’s behind the figures and what we can really expect from the 2023 flu season. <h2>Comparing apples with oranges</h2> In the first two months of 2023, there were 8,474 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza. In 2022, over the same period, there were 79 cases. So it might seem this year’s figures are indeed more than 100 times higher than last year’s. But we shouldn’t be alarmed. That’s because in early 2022, influenza cases were artificially low. Strict COVID measures <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj.o2998">almost eliminated</a> influenza outbreaks in 2020 and 2021. Shutting international borders, quarantining, social distancing and mask-wearing stopped influenza coming into the country and spreading. Many COVID restrictions weren’t relaxed until late February/March 2022. So, in January and February of that year there were fewer opportunities for us to mingle and spread the influenza virus. It’s hardly surprising there were few cases then. In fact, the rate of flu in 2023 is actually very similar to pre-COVID years (that is before 2020). As always, the reported cases represent just a fraction of the actual influenza cases. That’s because many people do not seek medical care when infected with influenza or their GP doesn’t always test them for it. <h2>How about an earlier flu season?</h2> Every year, it seems, influenza throws a new curve ball making predictions tricky. Flu rates in the northern hemisphere <a href="https://www.cnet.com/health/medical/early-signs-point-to-this-years-flu-season-being-the-worst-one-in-years/">largely peaked</a> in December 2022, two months earlier than usual. But there has been some late-season influenza B activity in the northern hemisphere this year. This is one type of influenza that causes seasonal flu. So travellers arriving/returning from the northern hemisphere have been bringing influenza to Australia for several months. So we expect more cases of influenza. Australia may even have an autumn surge. This occurred <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/379/bmj.o2998">last year</a>, where influenza cases rose sharply in May, and peaked by June. That’s two months earlier than the five-year average pre-COVID. Before COVID, influenza cases usually began to rise in April/May. This progressed to a full epidemic from June to August, often extending into September, before waning in October. <h2>So what can we expect in 2023?</h2> The start, length and severity of influenza seasons vary and are often unpredictable. Community immunity will be less than in pre-COVID times. That’s because of fewer influenza infections during COVID restrictions plus <a href="https://ncirs.org.au/influenza-vaccination-coverage-data/national-influenza-vaccination-coverage-all-people">lower influenza vaccine uptake</a> in recent years. So the 2023 flu season may be at least moderately severe. This remains speculation. Flu routinely surprises us. The severity of the coming Australian influenza season will be influenced by the types of influenza that circulate, when the surge starts and when the season peaks. The effectiveness, uptake and timing of vaccinations and the degree of remaining herd immunity will all be important. <h2>Plan to get vaccinated</h2> Only about 40% of those eligible were vaccinated against influenza in 2022, according to the <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/australian-immunisation-register">Australian Immunisation Register</a> database. Rates <a href="https://ncirs.org.au/influenza-vaccination-coverage-data/national-influenza-vaccination-coverage-all-people">were highest</a> in people aged 65 or older. However, as we saw an early influenza season in 2022 (peaking in May/June) this meant many Australians were not vaccinated during the early stages of the epidemic. With this knowledge, it’s important to be vaccinated in April/May before influenza becomes common. Now is a good time to start preparing to get your flu vaccine. Ask your GP or pharmacist when you can book yourself in. Vaccination is our best defence against influenza and is recommended from the age of <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/2023-national-immunisation-program-influenza-vaccination-early-advice-for-vaccination-providers">6 months</a>. Younger infants <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/influenza-vaccination-in-pregnancy">receive protection</a> if their mum was vaccinated during pregnancy. The 2023 vaccine has been updated to protect against more recently circulating strains. There are also <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/atagi-advice-on-seasonal-influenza-vaccines-in-2023.pdf">different types</a> of influenza vaccine, some more effective in elderly people, some free under the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-immunisation-program-schedule?language=en">National Immunisation Program</a>, some not. Other vaccines are available for people with egg allergies and for small children. It’s best to discuss the vaccine options with your GP or pharmacist. Image credit: Shutterstock This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-flu-cases-already-100-times-higher-than-last-year-heres-what-we-really-know-about-the-2023-flu-season-201559" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>

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Huge reward to help solve cold case of missing mum

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Parents sue son for not giving them grandkids

Melissa Caddick mystery officially laid to rest

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Queen Camilla's damning "proof" in Simon Dorante-Day's case

Inspiration, influence and theft: what the Ed Sheeran case can tell us about 70 years of pop music

Are flu cases already 100 times higher than last year? Here’s what we really know about the 2023 flu season

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Newspaper

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Entertainment

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

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Keep up to date

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Huge reward to help solve cold case of missing mum

Eye infections might seem like a minor complaint – but in some cases they can cause blindness and even death

Judge finds Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins and dismisses Network 10 defamation case. How did it play out?

Astonishing drug and prostitute claims surface as Lehrmann case reopened

Major development in Madeleine McCann case

Experts shed new light on Samantha Murphy case

The secret witness who could be the key to the Madeleine McCann case

It’s 4 years since the first COVID case in Australia. Here’s how our pandemic experiences have changed over time

"Very poor journalism": Lisa Wilkinson called out in defamation case

Try these 12 clever pillowcase hacks you’ll wish you knew sooner

Australian researchers confirm world’s first case of dementia linked to repetitive brain trauma in a female athlete

What should the Australian War Memorial do with its heroic portraits of Ben Roberts-Smith?

Australian War Memorial urged to remove Ben Roberts-Smith’s uniform from display

Parents sue son for not giving them grandkids

Melissa Caddick mystery officially laid to rest

Fresh location being searched in Maddy McCann case

Major update in the murder case of Charlise Mutten

Queen Camilla's damning "proof" in Simon Dorante-Day's case

Inspiration, influence and theft: what the Ed Sheeran case can tell us about 70 years of pop music

Are flu cases already 100 times higher than last year? Here’s what we really know about the 2023 flu season

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