Tag Archives: oceania

Professor Richard Scolyer’s wife shares sad update on his brain cancer battle

Professor Richard Scolyer's wife Dr Katie Nicholl has shared an update on his health as he continues to battle brain cancer.

The acclaimed melanoma expert and former Australian of the Year was diagnosed with a grade four glioblastoma in 2023 and was given months to live.

He has defied the odds for years now but wife Nicholl today confessed that his journey is growing more difficult.

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Professor Richard Scolyer's wife Dr Katie Nicholl shared this photo alongside an update as he continues to battle brain cancer.

"Things are steadily getting harder for Rich, and time with family and friends continues to be so important for us all," she wrote on Scolyer's Instagram account.

"I know we're not alone in this journey and we appreciate everyone's continued love and support."

Nicholl signed off "Love Katie" and shared some recent photos of Scolyer smiling with friends and family.

The last picture showed him sharing a moment with his wife as they sat with their arms around one another.

Their daughter Emily Scolyer commented on the post, writing: "You and Dad are so strong! Love you Mum."

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Professor Richard Scolyer's wife Dr Katie Nicholl shared this photo alongside an update as he continues to battle brain cancer.

Nicholl's comments today echo an update Scolyer shared in late April, when he revealed his cancer journey was "getting a bit tougher".

"Particularly with my energy levels and some memory problems," he wrote on Instagram at the time.

"But I'm still enjoying good times with family and friends.

"I've asked my family to continue to share my journey, even when I'm not able to do it well myself at times.

"Thanks for all the ongoing love and support."

The last two posts shared to Scolyer's Instagram page prior to Nicholl's message today were signed off by her and Richard both.

Today marks one of the first authored by Nicholl alone.

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Professor Richard Scolyer wasn't expecting to be alive last Christmas, let alone this one.

In September 2025, the federal government committed $5.9 million to establish the Richard Scolyer Chair in Brain Cancer Research at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse.

The program was named in Scolyer's honour due to his contribution to brain cancer research and advocacy.

The funding will be used to support the salaries of the professorial chair as well as postdoctoral fellows, research assistants and PhD scholarships, along with research costs.

Thieves ram ute into shopping centre, steal ATM in wild CCTV footage

Cameras have caught the moment thieves rammed a ute through the doors of a shopping centre and stole an ATM in the dead of night.

The incident occurred at a shopping centre in Baldivis, south of Perth, on March 19.

CCTV footage shows a blue Nissan ute backing through the centre's glass doors and into an empty hallway at around 2am.

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Cameras caught the moment thieves rammed a ute through the doors of a shopping centre and stole an ATM in the dead of night.

The vehicle then continues to reverse, hitting an ATM which topples to the ground.

Two masked offenders can be seen entering the building through the broken doors and moving to the back of the ute.

Another offender is visible in the ute's drivers' seat.

The vehicle is then seen driving out of the shopping centre with a chain attached to the ATM, dragging it along behind the ute.

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Cameras caught the moment thieves rammed a ute through the doors of a shopping centre and stole an ATM in the dead of night.

Police found the vehicle burnt out three days later, on March 21.

It was located in East Rockingham, about a 15 minute drive from the shopping centre on Amazon Drive where the incident took place.

Detectives are now calling on anyone with any further CCTV, dash-cam, or mobile phone vision of the vehicle or other information relating to the incident to come forward.

Anyone with footage can upload it to them directly online.

Members of the public can also contact Crime Stoppers via the website or by calling 1800 333 000.

Trump’s doctor recommends he lose weight exercise more

The White House released the results of President Donald Trump's May physical late on Friday evening (local time), sharing a memo from his physician recommending he lose weight and exercise more while noting he is in excellent health.

"President Trump remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and overall physical function," White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella wrote in a letter addressed to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

"Cognitive and physical performance are excellent. He is fully fit to carry out all duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State."

READ MORE: Vivid Sydney show scrapped for good after drone chaos

Barbabella wrote, "Preventive counselling was provided," during the Tuesday exam, "including guidance on diet, recommendation to take a low-dose aspirin, increased physical activity, and continued weight loss."

Trump's visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on Tuesday marked the third time he's visited the facility for a medical exam since becoming the oldest president ever inaugurated last year.

Meanwhile Senior Pentagon leaders are putting together lists of uniformed US service members who will be offered the chance to attend the UFC fight at the White House next month hosted by President Donald Trump

But tickets will only be given to those who meet military body composition standards, according to guidance memos reviewed by CNN and sources familiar with the process.

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"Ticket recipients are required to meet the DOW waist-to-height ratio standard of less than 0.55, as well as all service specific physical fitness test requirements," one of the memos sent to service members says, using the Pentagon's preferred acronym for the agency.

That figure is roughly in line with standards for service members that the Defence Department put in place earlier this year when it made waist-to-height ratio the new body composition standard for measuring a service member's "warfighting readiness."

READ MORE: Aussies lose more than $400 a year to these pesky fees

Vivid Sydney show scrapped for good after drone chaos

Vivid Sydney has scrapped the rest of its drone shows after "technical difficulties" sent drones plummeting into the harbour and forced multiple shows to be called off this week.

"Following Monday night's unforeseen technical issue at the Vivid Sydney 'Star-Bound' drone performance, Vivid Sydney can confirm the remaining drone shows scheduled for this year's festival will not proceed," it said in a statement.

"Fireworks displays will now complement the Laser Lightfall experience in Darling Harbour at the times previously scheduled for drone shows."

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Vivid Sydney also confirmed a retrieval process is underway following Monday night's incident, which saw dozens of drones fall from the sky.

There was chaos on Monday night when nearly 90 drones fell into the harbour during the 7.30pm Star-Bound show, which was subsequently called off.

The 9.30pm event was cancelled, as were several other performances this week to allow for a "full technical and safety review".

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SKYMAGIC, the operator leading the drone show, previously said the incident was caused by "an unforeseen change in the radio frequency (RF) environment occurring after take-off".

It has now confirmed it is working closely with the relevant authorities to identify the external interference that caused the failsafe response at Monday evening's drone show.

"This process requires further technical, operational data and local assessment," it said in a statement.

Vivid Sydney 2026 Star-Bound drone show (Nine)

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Vivid Sydney understands the news will be disappointing for some visitors but said providing certainty for attendees and ensuring public safety remain its highest priorities.

The annual festival kicked off last weekend with an array of light installations, music performances, food and other experiences around the city.

It also saw the return of the drone show, which was such a hit in 2024 that it was cancelled in 2025 due to safety concerns.

There were snags from the start though, with the first performance on Sunday night having to be cancelled due to rain.

The 9.30pm show went smoothly, only for the Monday night shows to be plagued with technical issues.

Vivid Sydney is slated to run until June 13.

Experts sound the alarm over scary trend ‘exploding’ in Aussie schools

Experts are sounding the alarm over sexism in the classroom due to an "explosion of misogyny" in Australian schools.

Associate professor Samantha Schulz, who is a sociologist of education, said it's putting female teachers and students at risk and that influences like the online 'manosphere' are to blame.

"Post-COVID, principally when students returned to school, teachers across many sites described what has been called at times an explosion of misogyny," she told Weekend Today this morning.

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Associate professor Samantha Schulz, who is a sociologist of education, appears on Weekend Today.

"We're talking about a rise in vulgar, sexualised, aggressive language, mostly being played out by boys and young men, mostly targeting female teachers and peers.

"Boys and young men [are] echoing, often verbatim, talking points and problematic beliefs that are promulgated by male influencers."

Sexism and misogyny have long existed in Australian schools, allowed to fester due to policy neglect in regards to gender literacy and gender equity in schooling.

It has created an environment where sexism is often normalised, allowing more extreme rhetoric to rise to the surface.

Meanwhile, schools and teachers often lack the capacity to name and address these kinds of gender-based issues.

And it's not just burnt out teachers that are being harmed by the spike in schoolyard sexism.

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More than 40,000 Victorian teachers march off the job

"Far too often what's missing in these discussions is how this is being experienced by girls and young women, and what this means for them, not simply during their schooling, but also the longer term impacts," Schulz said.

"Girls describing feeling unsafe, unheard, taking up less space, learning or being enculturated by default to accept that misogynistic language and behaviours by boys and young men must be tolerated, because nothing necessarily or comprehensively is being done to address it."

It's sending a devastating message to female students that violence against women and girls, which is already extreme in Australia, is the norm.

On the flipside, boys who engage in sexist and misogynistic behaviour often get off scot-free.

"We often hear from parents, 'not my boy, my boy wouldn't do that,'" Schulz said.

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High School students walk to classes.

She warned that the problem will only worsen – both in schools and in wider Australian society – until it is addressed head-on.

That means educating teachers on who to understand, navigate and teach about gender in a way that encourages consent and respectful relationships in the classroom.

And that needs to be supported by strong policy frameworks.

"We need to name misogyny, register what is happening, so that we can gain a really clear picture of the scale of this issue, which is not going away," Schulz said.

"Schooling has to be viewed as a primary prevention space for gender-based violence, but this requires political will so we need brave politicians who accept that this is a significant crisis, and it is going to have long-term implications."

It was supposed to keep kids safe. Nine.com.au readers say it’s not working

Exclusive: It's been nearly six months since Australia's teen social media ban came into effect but more than half of nine.com.au readers say it's just not working.

The under-16 social media delay (eSafety insists it's not a ban) kicked off on December 10, 2025, and saw millions of teen accounts wiped from newly age-restricted platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and Reddit for their own safety.

But an exclusive nine.com.au survey of nearly 1300 readers revealed that more than 60 per cent feel the ban has been ineffective in the months since.

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"Kids are smarter than we give them credit for, they find ways to get around the restrictions," one reader told nine.com.au.

Nearly 70 per cent of under-16s who had social media accounts before the ban started are still on age-restricted platforms, according to an eSafety report.

One nine.com.au reader insisted the ban "needs to be tightened and properly policed".

About 20 per cent of nine.com.au readers said they feel the ban is working and 17 per cent were on the fence.

Many of the latter group said it's too soon to say how successful the ban has been.

"Feedback is necessary from teens, parents, and schools, before being able to assess its efficacy," one said.

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The social media ban requires age-restricted platforms to remove the accounts of under-16s.

Another suspected it will take years to see the full effects of the ban.

"It will be the younger kids who never had [social media] that may see the benefits," they said.

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Skipper at nine.com.au poll, which runs once a fortnight, canvases the views of the Nine audience on 9Nation, which is an online community of our readers and viewers.

Aussies lose more than $400 a year to these pesky fees

Australians are spending a fortune on bank fees, forking out more than $4.1 billion on them in the last financial year alone according to RBA data.

That figure was up by $268 million compared to the previous year.

The pesky fees are costing Aussie households around $412 each year (excluding business banking fees) and credit cards are the biggest culprits. 

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Credit card from the big four banks: ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac.

Aussies were slugged with $1.7 billion in credit card fees last financial year, up by 10 per cent compared to the 2023-24 financial year.

The average credit card annual fee is $204, which can be a big deal for cash-strapped Aussies.

A spike in overseas transaction fees and annual fees also played a role in soaring costs, according to the RBA.

Fees on home loans recorded the largest jump, surging by $167 million or 17 per cent between July 2024 and June 2025.

That spike is linked to an increase in Aussie homeowners refinancing, which can incur a slew of fees.

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A graph showing how much Aussies paid on bank fees in the 24-25 financial year.

There is a silver lining: exception fees like late fees and overdraft charges fell by nearly $13 million last year.

Canstar analysis suggests Aussies could save big on banking fees by shopping around and prioritising low- or no-fee options like:

  • Credit cards with no annual fees and no currency conversion fees
  • Low-fee home loan options that don't charge an annual fee
  • Bank transaction accounts with no currency conversion fees

Aussies can also try to negotiate with their current bank or lender for lower fees.

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The amount of physical cash circulating in Australia is at a near-record high.

"While fees are growing like a beanstalk — up $268 million in just 12 months — people have more power to cut these down than they realise," Canstar.com.au data insights director Sally Tindall said.

"Whether it's negotiating a mortgage application fee or switching to one of the 12 credit card lenders that have no-fee cards, there are ways and means to slash your fees back to their roots."