Tag Archives: oceania

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'Horrible scene': Woman hit by car outside Melbourne pre-polling booth

Two women have been taken to hospital after one reversed her car into the other outside at a pre-polling booth in Melbourne's east.

An elderly driver was trying to park a Ford Focus sedan near the polling booth at Maroondah Sports Club on Mt Dandenong Road in Ringwood East about 1pm when she hit a pedestrian.

Witnesses rushed to help the pedestrian, a 38-year-old Ringwood woman, who has been taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.

READ MORE: Voters facing long lines at Melbourne pre-polling booths

Her injuries are believed to be minor, according to Ambulance Victoria.

The driver, an 89-year-old Croydon woman, was taken to Maroondah Hospital in a stable condition.

Police have said she will undergo a licence review.

A man who was at the scene of the crash has told 3AW radio "it was a horrible scene".

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Craig McLachlan drops defamation case against media outlets, co-star

Actor Craig McLachlan has dropped his defamation case against Nine newspapers, the ABC and former co-star Christie Whelan Browne.

The trial had been underway for two weeks when McLachlan, 56, and his barrister today made an application for leave to discontinue proceedings.

McLachlan was suing the ABC and Nine newspapers for publishing sexual harassment allegations from his time acting in The Rocky Horror Show musical in 2014.

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Craig Mclachlan arrives at the Supreme Court on Thursday May 19.

McLachlan's legal team had spent the past two weeks calling multiple witnesses to the stand in support of his defamation claim.

Today, the first of 11 women was due to give evidence on behalf of the media outlets.

The court has ordered McLachlan to pay the legal fees of the media outlets he took to trial, estimated to be around $3 million.

The jury in the case has been discharged.

"Mr McLachlan decided not to proceed any further… It's been brought to an end. Finished. You are no longer required," Acting Justice Carolyn Simpson told the court.

McLachlan issued a statement where he said his decision to discontinue the case was due to the "utterly overwhelming" strain on him and his family.

"I cannot continue to place my family under that strain, and my own mental health will not withstand the continuing pressure," the statement read.

"Ending the case now will finally bring to an end the four years we have endured since the publications were first made, as well as avoid the need for other witnesses to have to ensure the cross-examination process.

"Along the way, I have been through a criminal trial, in which I was acquitted of all charges which were brought against me, and I look forward to restoring my health and spending more time with friends and family who have stood by me through this process."

READ MORE: Where to vote and your other election questions answered

https://twitter.com/LaurenTomasi/status/1527502704314306560

Whelan Browne's lawyer, Marina Olsen, read a statement on behalf of her client outside court.

"I am pleased this claim has been withdrawn and I look forward to moving on with my life," Olsen said.

"I hope this is a reminder that women will stand up for themselves and each other, even when threatened by those more powerful."

Tory Maguire, the executive editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, said the discontinuation of the defamation trial was "vindication of both McLachlan's victims and our public interest journalism".

"The Sydney Morning Herald and the ABC published their investigation on Craig McLachlan during the height of the #MeToo movement," Maguire wrote.

"McLachlan's claim against one of his victims, Christie Whelan Browne, and the media outlets, utilising Australia's defamation laws, has had a chilling effect on victims' willingness to tell their stories about other abusers, and the media's ability to report on these serious allegations.

"The victims, the media and the public's right to know has been damaged by this case, more than any costs order can ever repay."

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Monkeypox case found in Victoria, second case 'very likely' in NSW

Australia's first case of monkeypox has been discovered in Victoria and a "very likely" second case has been found in New South Wales.

The first confirmed case of the rare disease is in a Melbourne man in his 30s who recently visited the UK, where there is a small cluster of the virus.

The suspected case in Sydney is in a man in his 40s who developed a mild case of the illness several days after returning to Sydney from a trip to Europe.

EXPLAINED: What is monkeypox and what are its symptoms?

This electron microscopic (EM) image depicted a monkeypox virion, obtained from a clinical sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. It was a thin section image from of a human skin sample. On the left were mature, oval-shaped virus particles, and on the right were the crescents, and spherical particles of immature virions. High Resolution: Click here for hi-resolution image (5.21 MB) Content Providers(s): CDC/ Cynthia S. Goldsmith Creation Date: 2003 Photo Credit: Cynthia S. Goldsmi

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection that does not spread easily between people and symptoms include fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes.

Cases of monkeypox – which is endemic to Central or West Africa – have emerged in the UK, Spain, Portugal, the US, Italy, Sweden, France and Canada recently.

The Melbourne man developed mild symptoms before he returned to Melbourne on May 16, according to the Victorian Department of Health, and immediately sought medical attention.

Testing has confirmed he has the rare virus.

He is in isolation at The Alfred with mild symptoms.

Both he and the Sydney man sought help from GPs, who suspected they had monkeypox.

The Sydney man and a household contact are isolating at home.

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Testing to confirm the virus is currently underway, with NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard saying it is "very likely" it will be confirmed in the next day or so.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has reassured the virus is not easily spread between people and usually resolved on its own within two to three weeks.

He said transmission required "direct skin-to-skin contact through broken skin, fluid or pus in lesions, or prolonged face-to-face contact via respiratory transmission".

Sutton said symptoms were similar to a flu, before a rash with often itchy or painful lesions appeared on the skin.

Alfred Health infectious diseases physician Professor Allen Cheng has reassured the public "this is not COVID", saying monkeypox is far less infectious than COVID-19.

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This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a monkeypox virion, obtained from a sample associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. Monkeypox, a disease that rarely appears outside Africa, has been identified by European and American health authorities in recent days. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP)

He said its presence in Melbourne would not largely impact the wider community.

Sutton said he would not advise anyone to "put their travel plans on hold", following the discovery of the virus in the UK and several European countries.

Hazzard said residents should remain "on alert" for symptoms of the illness if they're travelling.

"It's not cause for major concern in the community."

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has asked men who are gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men to be vigilant for symptoms.

"A large proportion of the cases detected overseas are amongst gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men," she said.

"We are urging men who are gay, bisexual or men who have sex with men to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions.

"Be particularly vigilant if you have returned from overseas from large parties or sex on premises venues overseas."

READ MORE: Where to vote and your other election questions answered

Victoria's Department of Health has begun tracing who the infected Melbourne man may have exposed.

Some close contacts will be offered a vaccine, which has proven to be effective up to four days after the potential exposure.

Passengers who were seated near the man on the EY10 flight from London to Abu Dhabi on May 14, and the EY462 flight from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne, which landed on Monday, are being contacted to be warned to monitor for symptoms.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said monkeypox symptoms are "very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe".

It is transmitted to humans through close contact with an infected person or animal, the WHO said.

The WHO said vaccines used to eradicate smallpox also provide protection against monkeypox.

"Cases are occasionally reported in non-endemic countries in returning travellers or their close contacts, or in owners of imported pets," Chant said.

"People can contract monkeypox through very close contact with people who are infected with the virus.

"The infection is usually a mild illness and most people recover within a few weeks."

Health authorities are working to monitor for any more cases in Australia.

Cases have been identified in non-endemic countries like the US, UK, Spain and Portugal.

There are at least seven cases in Spain, 14 in Portugal, nine in the UK, and one case in the US.