Tag Archives: oceania

headline

Victoria to overhaul sexual assault laws on consent, 'stealthing'

The Victorian Government will overhaul the state's sexual assault laws following recommendations from the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC).

The state will adopt a model of affirmative consent under the proposed changes to the Crimes Act 1958, shifting scrutiny from the actions of the victim to the accused, who must confirm they obtained consent.

The reforms will also make the act of 'stealthing' illegal.

Stealthing is the removal of a condom or other protection during sex without the other person's knowledge or consent.

READ MORE: Bert Newton laid to rest in state funeral today

"This landmark report highlights just how much work there is to do to deliver a justice system that works for victim-survivors," Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes said.

"It's an enormous job — and we'll work closely with those who know this issue best to get it done.

"To victim-survivors, we hear you. The system must change. This is too important not to act."

A $5.2 million funding boost to specialist sexual assault services will form part of the initial response to help respond to increasing reporting and demand.

The funding will allow services to hire extra staff and provide more specialist support sessions to hundreds more women and children.

READ MORE: Floods, heavy rain across NSW, Victoria and Queensland

"Sexual assault violates trust, autonomy and respect in some of our most vulnerable moments – too often perpetrated by those who are supposed to love us the most," Prevention of Family Violence Minister Gabrielle Williams said.

"Victim-survivors have lived silently with the trauma of sexual violence for too long.

"Today, we honour their strength, resilience and courage – delivering reform that will assist in getting the justice they deserve."

The VLRC's review was commissioned in recognition that more needed to be done to effectively deliver justice to victim-survivors.

The report highlighted the need for wide-ranging reform, finding that sexual violence is widespread, causes serious harm and is significantly under-reported.

The government said all of the VLRC's recommendations would be considered in detail, including how criminal investigations and trials can be improved to minimise trauma, how victims can be better supported and how education can shift community attitudes about sexual offending and consent.

Legislation will be introduced next year to give effect to the reforms.

headline

New dinosaur species discovered decades after bones found

A species of dinosaur has been discovered decades after its bones were unearthed, according to a new study.

Scientists have named the ancient reptile Brighstoneus simmondsi, believed to be from the Lower Cretaceous period about 125 million years ago.

The genus Brighstoneous was named after Brighstone, an English town close to the excavation site.

Simmondsi is a nod to amateur collector Keith Simmonds, who found the specimens.

READ MORE: Floods, heavy rain across NSW, Victoria and Queensland

The Brighstoneus bones were found at an excavation site in England in 1978.

Mr Simmonds originally found the bones in 1978 on the Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England.

The specimens were stored in the Dinosaur Isle Museum in Sandown on the Isle of Wight until they were examined over 40 years later for a different study.

"It's quite common, if not more common, these days to discover new dinosaurs in museum basements rather than out in the field," said study author Jeremy Lockwood, a doctoral student at London's Natural History Museum and University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom.

READ MORE: Bert Newton laid to rest in state funeral

At the time, Mr Lockwood was conducting research on the diversity of large plant-eating iguanodontian dinosaurs, which included the Iguanodon and Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis, the most common dinosaur fossil specimens found so far on the island.

An accidental discovery

After closely examining the bones, Mr Lockwood realised he had a new species of dinosaur on his hands.

READ MORE: The 'sabre-toothed' animals that ruled before dinosaurs

Both the Iguanodon and Mantellisaurus had a straight, flat nose while the Brighstoneus had a rounded one, he said.

Brighstoneus also had more teeth, which were designed for chewing, Mr Lockwood added.

The new dinosaur has an elongated, round nose, compared to other similar species that have a flat nose.

In the Lower Cretaceous period, grass and flowering plants were not widely available, so the dinosaur likely had to eat tough plants like pine needles and ferns, he said.

Using the thigh and femur bones, scientists estimated the dinosaur was about 8 metres long and weighed around 1000kg.

READ MORE: Meet Hong Kong's 'ghost net hunter'

Prior to this discovery, scientists designated all delicate bones found on the island as Mantellisaurus while larger bones were categorised as Iguanodon.

"Brighstoneus shows that there was greater diversity in the Lower Cretaceous iguanodontians than we realised," Mr Lockwood said.

Built differently

The Brighstoneus specimens were also four million years older than the Mantellisaurus bones, so one could argue that they are unlikely the same species due to the long length of time between the two, he noted.

Some of the features of the bones, such as the jawline, are unique to Brighstoneus, said Matthew McCurry, curator of paleontology at Sydney's Australian Museum and senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales, who was not involved in the study.

The longer jaw was able to hold 28 teeth, a few more than any other closely related species, Mr McCurry said.

Mr Lockwood is interested in researching if dinosaur diversity fluctuated over time or if it stayed the same over the course of a million years.

Dinosaur bones can also reveal what Earth was like millions of years ago, Mr McCurry said.

"Describing new species of dinosaurs is the first step in piecing together what these past ecosystems looked like and in learning about how they changed over time," he said.

The study naming Brighstoneus simmondsi was published on Wednesday in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

headline

Wild weather continues to lash half of Australia

Wild weather has pummelled half the country, with thunderstorms bringing strong winds, heavy rain and flooding to Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Emergency crews have been kept busy assisting with flood rescues and cleaning up damage to homes.

The weather system is hovering over south-east New South Wales, and is likely to bring rain until late tomorrow.

READ MORE: Extreme rain brings joy and destruction

NSW flooding

Flood warnings remain in several states after a downpour left a trail of destruction.

This includes South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

New South Wales is bearing the brunt of the weather system, with parts of the state copping almost 100 millimetres of rain in the last 24-hours

Singleton in the state's Hunter region is among the areas affected by flooding.

NSW flooding

There are several road closures across the Upper Hunter in order to divert drivers away from floodwaters.

However, some motorists did not heed the warnings from the emergency services.

NBN News journalist Lauren Kempe said State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers rescued two motorists who were stuck in floodwaters.

Two cars are still emerged in floodwaters, with only their roof racks visible.

READ MORE: The Queensland brolga so excited for rain it dances

"They're warning drivers to be careful about situations just like this," Kempe said.

"But they're also wanting farmers to prepare their livestock and secure any loose equipment they have lying around.

"Any more rain over the coming days could see the water levels here rise by as much as two to three meters above normal flows."

In the NSW Central West city of Bathurst, some roads are looking more like rivers.

https://twitter.com/OLathouris_WIN/status/1458978989662359552

WIN News reporter Olivana Lathouris said SES volunteers believe water levels are unlikely to drop to a safe level for at least 24 hours.

"There have already been several rescues due to people driving through floodwaters," she said.

Crops and farmland have been inundated with water, as warnings for flooding and road closures remain for the wider region.

In the NSW central west city of Bathurst, some roads are looking more like rivers.

Water is also rising in the Queensland town of Dalby, two-and-a-half hours west of Brisbane.

9News reporter Jordan Fabris said several streets are underwater, with water covering roads and bridges.

"It's quite concerning just how quickly the water is rising," he said.

Dalby flooding

One woman told 9News she has never seen rain this heavy in the town.

"It's good for the farmers, but it's not good for the businesses that need to come into town to work and for the school kids," she said.

One man is choosing to see the lighter side of the flooding.

READ MORE: 'Pioneer, icon, legend': Bert Newton farewelled in state funeral

Dalby rainDalby flooding

"It's pretty good because now I've got a $50,000 property increase with water views from my loungeroom, cheering," one man said.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Assistant Commissioner John Cawcutt told Today this morning his team has already fielded more than 100 calls for help.

"Last night it was quite busy," Mr Cawcutt said.

QFES has more than 100 calls for help as wild weather bore down on Queensland.

"We had over 100 calls for assistance that our State Emergency Service volunteers were out, mainly to do with damage to walls, roofs and ceilings and water inundation.

"Plus we had a number of swift water rescues where people were trapped in cars.

"People are starting to heed the message to avoid floodwater but we're still getting these situations."

A road on the outskirt of Stanthorpe washed away in a downpour.

The weather system has so far left a trail of destruction in its wake, with Weatherzone yesterday detecting 1.37 million lightning pulses across central and eastern Australia.

A long line of thunderstorms also formed stretching 2500 kilometres across the Northern Territory's Top End and southeast Queensland, according to Weatherzone.

With more rain expected, Mr Cawcutt urged residents in Queensland's south to take care.

"Into the weekend (rain) will start to ease but it's really important for everybody to remember that even though the rain may stop, the floods and creeks and estuaries will continue to rise.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1458989821746159619

"The risk and hazards of flooding and swiftwater hazard will continue for a number of days."

In the outback Queensland town of Roma, residents were hit with torrential rain, hail and even cyclonic winds, forcing families to hide inside their homes.

One home had its roof torn off.

A road on the outskirts of Stanthorpe in Queensland completely washed away in one torrent, reminding motorists of the dangers of driving in floodwaters.

South Australia was also caught in the eye of the storm, with gale force winds of up to 70km/h lashing Adelaide.

The cyclonic winds blacked out Adelaide's city causing major peak hour delays.