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headline

Major change for paid parental leave for NSW public sector workers

Both parents working in the NSW public sector will be eligible to receive at least 14 weeks of paid parental leave as part of the state government's overhaul of its paid parental leave scheme.

Currently if both parents are working in the public sector then paid parental leave is only available to one spouse at a time.

But from October there will be no distinction between a 'primary' or 'secondary' carer, which will mean that every mother and father working in the public sector, including teachers, nurses, and firefighters, will be entitled to the 14 weeks.

READ MORE: Chinese-British dual national extradited from Thailand to Australia over alleged drug trafficking

Parents will also be offered an additional two weeks of bonus leave if paid parental leave entitlements are more equally shared between partners.

This means that parents working in the public sector may be eligible for up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave.

The length of time in which public servants can take paid parental leave will also be expanded from one year to two years after birth.

READ MORE: Plea for help after mysterious figure captured on camera at US zoo

The first steps of the baby. Parents are teaching their child to walk. A happy family.

And paid parental leave will also be extended to long-term or permanent foster carers. Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor says she hopes the changes to paid parental leave entitlements will help support growing economic opportunities for women.

"These changes to our parental leave offerings will encourage more equal sharing of caring responsibilities right from the start of a child's life," Mrs Taylor said.

Under the scheme single parents will be entitled to the total 16 weeks of fully paid leave.

headline

Aussie farmers struggling amid vegetable price spike

Australian farmers have been feeling the pain of high prices of grocery items, mainly vegetables, along with consumers, with one farming group saying no one is a winner.

When it comes to the vegetable crisis, most of the blame lies on the weather because at this time of the year, much of the vegetables on Australian supermarket shelves are coming from Queensland – specifically the Lockyer Valley as well as Scenic Rim and Stanthorpe.

But three months of rain have all but wiped out an entire crop of common vegetables resulting in low produce and high prices.

READ MORE: Chinese-British dual national extradited from Thailand to Australia over alleged drug trafficking

Lettuce

Catherine Velisha, the managing director of Velisha Farms, a farming group in South Victoria, says it's been a tough time for everyone on the supply chain.

"No-one is winning including retailers. Farmers, retailers, we have all the same issues as what consumers are having at the moment," Velisha told Today.

"The reason why the prices are so dear is because there is not much stock around. Farmers who should be harvesting 100 to 200 pallets a day are maybe down to 10 pallets."

READ MORE: Plea for help after mysterious figure captured on camera at US zoo

Iceberg lettuce has been one of the vegetables that has become extremely costly, with one IGA supermarket in south-east Queensland selling it for $12 a bundle.

Velisha says iceberg lettuce is normally considered a declining product.

She hopes if there's one positive to come out of the price spike, it's that when prices do eventually go down consumers will be more enthusiastic to buy iceberg lettuce.

"Everyone is talking about fresh produce and maybe noticing how important it is to their daily lives. We can take one positive out of that."

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Plea for help after mysterious figure captured on zoo camera

A zoo in Texas is calling on locals to help identify a bizarre animal figure caught on camera.

The black-and-white image depicts a figure that is standing up on what appears to be two legs and has what looks like two arms and a head that resembles a dog.

The photo was taken from a camera stationed just outside the Amarillo Zoo in north Texas at about 1.25am on May 21, and was eventually shared by the city of Amarillo.

READ MORE: Chinese-British dual national extradited from Thailand to Australia over alleged drug trafficking

Texas zoo asking people to help identify mysterious figure captured on camera.

The city is describing the figure as an "Unidentified Amarillo Object" and is asking locals if they know what it could be.

"Is it a person with a strange hat who likes to walk at night? A chupacabra? Do you have any ideas of what this UAO- Unidentified Amarillo Object could be?" the social media post said.

Thousands of people have replied to the post with guesses, with some saying it's simply a man dressed in a costume, while others have taken a more obscure path saying its the mythical chupacabra or the skin-walker, which is described by Navajo legend as a harmful witch that can disguise itself as an animal.

headline

Alleged crime syndicate member extradited to Australia

A Chinese-British dual national has been extradited from Thailand to Australia to face court over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

The Australian Federal Police says the 66-year-old man is suspected of being the senior criminal associate of a leader of a major crime syndicate.

He was allegedly in charge of a plan to transport large amounts of methamphetamine, up to 40kgs, over a 12-month period in 2012.

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Chinese-British dual national extradited from Bangkok to Melbourne over alleged drug trafficking.

The man was arrested in his Bangkok apartment on October 1, 2020 by the Royal Thai Police and was extradited to Melbourne on Saturday.

He appeared before Melbourne's Magistrates' Court yesterday to face a charge of conspiracy to traffic a commercial quantity of a controlled drug, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

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