Police accompanied South Australia's Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier to her car after she was harassed by anti-vaccine mandate protesters while leaving the Supreme Court earlier today.

She had attended court to learn whether or not she would be required to testify in the case challenging state-imposed vaccine mandates, spearheaded by former AFLW player and nurse Deni Varnhagen.

Professor Spurrier was spared from giving evidence in the case that centres on whether Police Commissioner and Emergency Coordinator Grant Stevens had the power to declare the mandates.
READ MORE: Baffling 'lawn prawns' show up in Sydney pool

https://twitter.com/katelambe_/status/1511869786497581059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Health workers, police officers and teachers involved in the case have been arguing the mandates were beyond Mr Stevens' emergency powers.

As the state's chief health officer left court today, a small group of people supporting those challenging the mandates screamed at and booed her.

Some held a sign that read: "Vaccination: where there is a risk, there must be a choice". At least half a dozen police officers formed a path for Professor Spurrier to walk through.

"Here comes the criminal" and "shame" were yelled in her direction as she was ushered into a waiting car which quickly drove down the street.

READ MORE: A month's worth of rain in Sydney in just 24 hours

https://twitter.com/PictonChris/status/1511888212712914946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The case is moving forward regardless of a move last week which allows unvaccinated teachers and police officers to return to work.

SA Health Minister Chris Picton praised the works of Professor Spurrier in a tweet, and said today's protester's actions were an "absolute disgrace".

"The vast majority of South Australians thank [Professor] Spurrier, a public servant who has devoted herself to the safety of the public."

The court heard that Ms Varnhagen continues to receive a small income as a footballer, but otherwise has been working part-time as a labourer since losing her job as a nurse under the mandates.

The trial is ongoing.

Napier MP Stuart Nash has gone into voluntary isolation for seven days after a positive coronavirus test on Thursday.He told Hawke’s Bay Today he was in Wellington on Wednesday and realised he was feeling overly tired.Restless…

Big four bank Westpac has been ordered to pay a $1.5 million penalty by the Federal Court for selling credit insurance to almost 150 customers who had not requested it.

The court found from April to July 2015, Westpac issued consumer credit insurance policies to 141 customers who did not request the product.

Each of these customers were sent a letter that asserted the insurance premiums needed to be paid and debited payment of these amounts from the customer's credit card.

READ MORE: Thousands facing evacuation as major rain event sweeps NSW

The court found Westpac did not have the right to these payments and customers were not liable to pay them.

Sarah Court, Deputy Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), said the sale of the insurance only benefited Westpac.

"ASIC has identified consumer credit insurance to be a poor value product that leads to poor outcomes for consumers," Ms Court said.

"In this case, customers were charged for insurance policies they had not agreed to buy and therefore were unlikely to use.

"The sale of these products benefitted the bank and not the consumer."

READ MORE: PM confronted, mocked in harrowing visit to Newcastle pub

Ms Court said today's action was just one part of an industry-wide crackdown on consumer harms in insurance.

"ASIC has secured $270 million in remediation across the sector for consumers harmed by the sale of consumer credit insurance," she said.

"The industry is now clearly on notice as to the consumer harm associated with the mis-selling of these products, and under the new penalty regime ASIC will be seeking significantly increased penalties for misconduct of this kind."

READ MORE: Biden targets Putin's daughters in 'war crimes' sanctions

In her judgement, Justice Anna Katzmann said Westpac's contraventions were not "deliberate, reckless or systemic" but rather showed a "lack of care".

In a statement to 9News.com.au, Westpac apologised and said all affected customers have already been remediated.

"In December 2021, Westpac agreed with ASIC to resolve legal proceedings, filed by ASIC in April 2021 in the Federal Court, which relate to the sale of consumer credit insurance (CCI) products. This settlement was one of a number of longstanding regulatory issues previously disclosed," the bank said.

"Westpac has not sold CCI products since 2019 and we have remediated the affected customers.

"We apologise to the affected customers and remain focused on putting things right and simplifying our business.

"Westpac and ASIC agreed a Statement of Agreed Facts and penalty amount of $1.5 million which the court has today approved."

For the few minutes it took for a man to sustain critical injuries, there were witnesses enough on the Waikato Expressway to put his attackers behind bars.But for detectives investigating the case, getting a successful prosecution…

National is calling for Trade Minister Damien O’Connor to fly to India to restart trade negotiations with India, following the news Australia has inked an “early harvest” agreement with India, a deal close to a full fair trade agreement…

MP Louisa Wall is set to become an ambassador for Pacific gender equality, and will also promote LGBTQI equality when she leaves Parliament on May 1.She will work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in the new role, which…

A Gisborne woman suffered serious injuries as a result of police making multiple mistakes while investigating a series of family harm incidents, the organisation’s watchdog has found.Between January 1 and 5, 2020, police received…

Scientists have uncovered what they believe is the first fossil linked to the catastrophic asteroid event that wiped out the dinosaurs.

They have described the dinosaur leg as "stunningly preserved" and it even has skin still attached to it.

The leg is among a group of remains that were found at the Tanis fossil site in North Dakota, in the US, and offers more insight into what happened when the dinosaur's reign ended 66 million years ago.

READ MORE: Thousands facing evacuation as major rain event sweeps NSW

The BBC reports very few dinosaur remains have been found in rocks that record even the final few thousand years before they were wiped out so these Tanis finds are something very special.

The BBC has spent the past three years filming at the Tanis site for a project with documentarian Sir David Attenborough.

Many of the specimens will be shown for the first time and among the other examples of well-preserved creatures from the moment the asteroid struck include a fish that breathed in impact debris, a turtle that was skewered by a wooden stake, skin from a horned triceratops and the embryo of a flying pterosaur still inside its egg.

While the main impact site of the 12km-wide asteroid is believed to located in the Gulf of Mexico, the Tanis site in North Dakota is roughly 3000 kilometres away – but why the remains are so well-preserved is a mystery.

The BBC believes the remains of animals and plants at Tanis seem to have been rolled together into a sediment dump from waves of river water set off by intense earth tremors – with ocean organisms mixed in with the land-based creatures.

READ MORE: PM confronted, mocked in harrowing visit to Newcastle pub

READ MORE: Biden targets Putin's daughters in 'war crimes' sanctions

The scientists also believe they have sourced a fragment of the asteroid itself.

This is because sturgeon found at the Tanis site had breathed in spherules of molten rock emitted in the impact.

When scientists examined these spherules in the sturgeon gills, they found they were linked to the Mexico impact site and two examples that were encased in tree resin had tiny inclusions of extra-terrestrial origin.

LIVE UPDATES: More heavy rain, flooding for Sydney

"We were able to pull apart the chemistry and identify the composition of that material," the University of Manchester's Professor Phil Manning told the BBC.

"All the evidence, all of the chemical data, from that study suggests strongly that we're looking at a piece of the impactor; of the asteroid that ended it for the dinosaurs."

Australia's infamous 'creepy crawlies' are out in full force, seeking refuge from the relentless rain battering NSW – but experts are urging residents to have to no fear and remain calm as sightings are expected to increase.

Sam Herrmann, reptile keeper at The Australian Reptile Park said there is a definite increase in sightings of snakes and spiders across Sydney and that weather is to blame.

"Humidity is a huge player in a lot of those creepy crawlies or reptiles in general, coming out. They love humidity," said Mr Herrmann.

LIVE COVERAGE: MORE HEAVY RAIN, FLOODING FOR SYDNEY

"After rain, on those warmer days, they're going to be moving around a hell of a lot more."

One Sydney woman has handed in around six Funnel Web spiders to the Australian Reptile Park's anti-venom program over the past two months – a marker pointing to the massive increase in sightings according to Mr Herrmann.

"That is probably the biggest standout that I've seen," he said.

"We have had quite a few snakes brought into the park in the last couple of weeks.

"The flooding has definitely impacted where they're moving or where they're trying to escape," said Mr Herrmann.

While this news may come as alarming to some, experts say the best thing to do is remain cautious and calm.

READ MORE: Furious punter confronts Prime Minister at NSW pub

"Obviously, the animals aren't coming into your home to hurt you. There's no reason for them to do that," stressed Mr Herrmann.

Snakes and spiders would much prefer to be a fair distance away from people, according to the reptile maestro.

The Australian Reptile Park encourages and educates residents on how to safely catch and respectfully move, or donate the animal for venom milking.

EXPLAINED: When is it going to stop raining?

"We have 14 drop off points around the Greater Sydney region so that they can become a part of the milking program," Mr Herrmann said.

He maintains that one thing is paramount: "The main thing is safety."

"If you're unaware of what it is, maybe seek out for any information or Call someone that might know exactly what it is and then you can go from there and make a judgment call."

According to Mr Herrmann, the best thing you can be is prepared – and own a compression bandage.

"A compression bandage has a lot of rectangles all over it."

"All those rectangles tell you basically when you're tight, those rectangles turn into squares and that's the exact amount of tension that you'd want," he said.

If you don't have a compression bandage handy at the time – a nice firm grip will do while you call 000."

READ MORE: Sydneysiders share stories of leech deluge amid downpours

Remnants of a tropical cyclone in the Pacific is set to hit the country next week, including the already flood-stricken East Coast.Tropical cyclone Fili is currently swirling to the south of New Caledonia and MetService believes…