The #AgedCare Royal Commission has delivered a scathing assessment of the sector claiming that even after almost 200 deaths it is still not prepared to deal with the #COVID19Vic pandemic. @anneconnollyabc#abc730
"I want to know, when it got in there? How it got in there?": Cheryle Whittle says she’s still waiting for answers after her mother contracted #COVID19 in @mecwacare’s John Atchison Centre. #abc730#AgedCare#COVID19Vic
Nursing homes have been given hundreds of millions of dollars extra to prepare for the pandemic – but tax expert @JasonWardCICTAR says there is no obligation to spend that on more staff or protective equipment. #abc730#AgedCare#COVID19Vic
‘Going from room to room with the same pair of gloves on’: Rhonda O’Brien contracted COVID after working in an aged care home and says there’s no mandatory training in infection control. #abc730#AgedCare#COVID19Vic
The government has refused to publicly name the 125 nursing homes in Victoria with COVID outbreaks, citing “reputational issues” for the owners. #abc730#AgedCare#COVID19Vic
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