Australia news live: SA and WA expand vaccine eligibility as Victoria finds source of Delta Covid outbreak
Victoria reports two new coronavirus cases, both linked to current outbreaks, as Delta variant traced to returned traveller; child held with Biloela family in immigration detention is medically evacuated to Perth
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The Morrison government has announced the first $50m in grants from its new carbon capture, use and storage fund (CCS), including giving up to $15m to gas company Santos and $4m to an existing coal-fired power plant.
The funding is drawn from a promised $263.7m for the controversial technology announced in this year’s federal budget.
Kids Helpline announced today that duty-of-care interventions to protect children and young people were 99% higher nationally between 1 December 2020 and 31 May compared with the same period a year ago.
The escalation over the past six months across Australia is largely related to suicide attempts (38%) and child abuse (35%).
Kids Helpline is a service run by the youth charity yourtown. Its CEO, Tracy Adams, said the organisation had feared an increase in child vulnerability as a result of the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns.
“However, the current spike in emergency interventions on behalf of children and young people in New South Wales and Victoria is very disturbing,” she said.
New South Wales has had an increase of 40% in duty of care interventions enacted by Kids Helpline on behalf of children and young people for the period 1 December 2020 – 31 May 2021 vs the same period a year ago.
For those children and young people aged between 5 and 25 years of age, 44% of emergency interventions over the past six months in New South Wales have been in response to child abuse and 35% have been in response to an immediate intent to enact suicide.
