“Over the last few months we've seen huge improvements with a lot of our burns victims … Now all [the #koalas] are in outside enclosures. Most of them, I think all except one, no longer have bandages.” - Sue Ashton, president of Port Macquarie @koala_hospital. #abc730#bushfires
This fire season and drought have pushed #koalas closer towards being officially listed as endangered, with estimates of up to 10,000 killed this summer alone. #abc730
“We set up a GoFundMe account at the suggestion of a member of the public, and we set as the target $25,000 and we reached $7.5 million.” - Sue Ashton, president of Port Macquarie @koala_hospital. #abc730#bushfires#koalas
For 25 years researchers have been fighting to bring a tiny flock of glossy black cockatoos, that only exist on Kangaroo Island, back from the brink of extinction. The December fires destroyed more than half their habitat. #abc730
“Kangaroo Island has always been this haven for so many species that are declining on the mainland. If half the refuge just disappears, this could have huge implications for a whole suite of species.” - Karleah Berris, Cockatoo Recovery Program. #abc730
Couple Rachael Neumann and Shalev Nessaiver, who were expecting their first child, were so concerned about the smoke haze in Canberra over summer that they decided to move to Melbourne. #abc730#bushfires
"It got to the point where we were barricading ourselves in our bedroom, sealing the vents and the tops and the bottoms of the doors. It's just not safe for anyone, regardless of being pregnant or not."– fmr Canberra resident Shalev Nessaiver on the smoke haze. #abc730#bushfires
“We've all been part of a big mass experiment on populations and I think time will tell how bad it is.” - atmospheric chemist Prof Clare Murphy, @UOW, on the smoke haze. #abc730
“It's not just the particles in the smoke that they need to worry about. There are a lot of toxic gases like formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide.” - atmospheric chemist Prof Clare Murphy, @UOW, on the smoke haze. #abc730
Exclusive figures provided to 7.30 by @TheAusInstitute show that if emissions don’t change, the annual number of hot days will rise substantially. For example by 2070, Sydney will experience up to 20 days over 35 degrees, Melbourne can expect 22, and Canberra 25. #abc730
In an @Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for 7.30, 65 per cent of people said yes, they believe the Federal Government needs to change its policy on carbon emissions in the wake of the recent #bushfires. #abc730
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More than three decades after terrorists brought down an American airliner over Lockerbie in Scotland, families who lost loved ones are finally hoping to see justice. #abc730
“The idea that they were coming home for Christmas and were blown out of the sky and took minutes to fall to earth … you couldn’t sleep when you thought about that.” – Bill Barr, former US Attorney-General #abc730
“It was very rewarding for me personally to be able to bring those additional charges. For me, it was finishing a job that I had started.” – Bill Barr, former US Attorney-General #abc730
Tech billionaire @billgates is one of the best-known figures on the planet, responsible for decades of philanthropy targeting poverty, disease, infant mortality and more recently COVID-19. He spoke to @FergusonNews. #abc730
"I think Australia will be able to export green hydrogen and other clean products. It is certainly a country where the opportunity in a green economy is greater than it has been in the past." – @billgates#abc730
"The cost to be ready for the next pandemic is a rounding error compared to what it takes to re-tool the modern economy to solve climate change." – @billgates#abc730
The days of being swamped with politicians talking about COVID already seem like a long time ago. But the virus continues to run rampant, making a lot of Australians sick and killing many, even if we don't seem to be talking about it publicly as much. #abc730
"The current approach to COVID in Australia is to let it run in a so-called healthy population — that means unfettered transmission largely in the wider population while trying to protect those who are deemed vulnerable ... It is clearly not working." – @CrabbBrendan#abc730
Nearly 18 months after unveiling the AUKUS agreement, the federal government is preparing to announce exactly how it plans on acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. North American correspondent @jademacmillan1 spoke to members of Congress about the path ahead. #abc730
“If AUKUS really works the way it should, there should be contribution into this program from the UK and Australia. And I think that shows that, you know, that’s a force multiplier that can really help take on the larger demand.” – Rep. Joe Courtney, Democrat #abc730
“I think you will definitely see Australians on board US submarines training, for example. Whether we get straight to the point of there’s a combined and integrated Australian and US crew on a US submarine, that will be interesting to see.” – Mark Watson, ASPI #abc730
A referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will be one of the biggest issues confronting the country next year. @latingle spoke to @mdavisqlder about what the Voice can be, and why she remains optimistic about its future. #abc730
"I think one of the reasons the Voice became the primary focus of Indigenous constitutional recognition is that we actually don't have much input at all into laws and policies that are made about our lives and our communities." – @mdavisqlder#abc730
"There's a lot of noise and it happens in a lot of policy areas in Australia. There's a lot of noise and a lot of advisory committees. There's a lot of talk. There's a lot of reports but there's no coordination. There's no coherency." – @mdavisqlder#abc730
Tasmanians have long wanted their own AFL team, and they’re closer than ever to getting one. But the AFL has made it clear a local team is contingent on the island state building a brand new stadium. #abc730
“Just about everyone I speak to shares my view that it would be unconscionable to spend that sort of money at a time that the state has so many other challenges.” – Andrew Wilkie, Independent MHR #abc730
“This is a huge opportunity for all Tasmanians and can I say, that these are the investments, this is the type of vision, this is the type of commitment that we all need to embrace.” – Jeremy Rockliff, Premier #abc730