What we know today, Friday February 18
Australia has launched a new brand and logo in a bid to help attract investment and sell the nation’s products to the world.
- Australia launches new national brand
- Sydney beaches reopen as shark attack victim identified
- Builder named for new Women’s and Children’s Hospital
- More staff, beds and funding top election wish list
- New exposure sites listed in city, Glenelg
- Origin accused of ‘folly’ amid coal exit
- Russia plans to invade Ukraine within days: US
- Queen still UK’s favourite, Andrew least
Australia launches new national brand
A new national brand featuring a kangaroo logo and the tagline “Only in Australia” has been launched in a $10 million bid to jump-start trade and investment.
More than 300 marketing resources will be made available for free to Australian businesses using the logo and slogan.
“A strong nation brand and tagline will reinforce Australia’s reputation as an internationally competitive investment destination, a great place to visit, a quality provider of education, and a trusted exporter of premium goods and services,” Trade Minister Dan Tehan said on Friday.
Modelling by Deloitte Access Economics found a one-place improvement in Australia’s global brand ranking would increase merchandise exports by about $3.1 billion a year.
It would also improve foreign direct investment by $704 million a year, boost tourism by $174 million a year and increase international education by $137 million a year.
The logo and tagline were developed through the Brand Advisory Council, with design agencies Clemenger BBDO Sydney, Balarinji and Houston Group Sydney.
Yanyuwa man, Balarinji chair and cultural director, John Moriarty, described the logo as a “kangaroo … bounding forward, reflecting Australia’s optimism”.
“It is formed by a contemporary expression of three boomerangs,” he said.
“The head is the hooked ‘7’ boomerang used in ceremonies as a percussive instrument for song and dance.
“The body and tail are boomerangs used for hunting or foraging for food, or to connect with softwood to spark fire. This kangaroo tells the story of country, of belonging and of living sustainably.”
Brand Advisory Council chair Andrew Forrest said the brand would help attract investment, add value to exports and bring in tourists and highly skilled migrants.
“Now is the time for Australian businesses, industry and government to come together and collaboratively promote Australia for all it has to offer,” Dr Forrest said.
Qantas boss Alan Joyce said marketing Australia would be vital as it emerged from the COVID-19 crisis.
“At Qantas, we know the power of an iconic, instantly recognisable brand – the Flying Kangaroo is one of the best-known brands in the world,” he said.
“So it’s great to see Australia’s new nation brand that will reflect the country’s culture, dynamism and innovation to the world.”
Sydney beaches reopen as shark attack victim identified
Simon Nellist is believed to have been attacked by a great white shark.
Beaches in Sydney’s east have re-opened today after local British man and “keen diver” Simon Nellist was killed by a shark late on Wednesday afternoon.
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The 35-year-old Wolli Creek man died from catastrophic injuries after being attacked by what witnesses say was a four-and-a-half metre great white shark at Little Bay on Wednesday.
Randwick City Council said the area’s beaches would open after a 24-hour closure that took in Little Bay, Malabar, Maroubra, Coogee, Clovelly and La Perouse.
The fatal shark attack was the first in Sydney in nearly 60 years.
British newspaper The Sun said Mr Nellist was an ex-RAF serviceman who was preparing to marry his girlfriend Jessie Ho.
“Him and Jessie were due to get married last year but that got put off because of COVID,” The Sun cited a close friend as saying.
“It’s just horrendous. We spent most of yesterday just hoping and praying it wasn’t him. It’s still incredibly raw.”
Nellist reportedly arrived in Australia about six years ago after his RAF service ended.
The Queens Hotel in Penzance, Cornwell, where Nellist once worked said staff were shocked and saddened by the news and sent their prayers to his family and girlfriend.
“Simon was a wonderful man who worked here for several years before moving to Australia — he was a valued member of staff and was always popular with guests and fellow team members,” it said in a Facebook post.
Beaches between Bondi and Cronulla were immediately shut in the wake of his death as authorities watched for sharks in the area, using drones and jetski patrols.
On Thursday night, NSW Police, Randwick City Council lifeguards and the Department of Primary Industries cleared all 13 beaches to re-open on Friday after no more sharks were seen.
“Our entire community is thinking of the family and friends of the victim today,” Randwick mayor Dylan Parker said in a council statement.
“This is a shocking tragedy that our area will feel for a long time.”
Lifeguards surveyed beaches on jet skis and used drones to check for shark sightings along the coast.
Department of Primary Industries have installed six SMART drumlines between Little Bay and Malabar as part of a shark incident response plan, council said.
SMART drumlines are new technology that allow target sharks to be intercepted beyond the surf break.
Builder chosen for new Women’s and Children’s Hospital
Lendlease has been given the job of building the new $1.95 billion Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
The State Government says construction of the new hospital, being built on the railyard site next to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, will start later this year.
The government says the hospital will be bigger than the existing North Adelaide site. Plans include 59 extra treatment spaces, allowing for 3400 more inpatient admissions and 18,000 emergency department attendees.
The new Women’s and Children’s Hospital project director Brendan Hewitt said Lendlease had extensive experience in healthcare infrastructure.
Lendlease built the Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Queensland Children’s Hospital and the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
“Lendlease has developed a strong reputation for its expertise in delivering successful major health infrastructure projects,” Hewitt said.
“The building contract involves a two-stage approach. Stage one will see us working with Lendlease to progress and finalise the design of the nWCH with clinicians, consumers and the community, and provide construction planning services and building advice.”
Women’s and Children’s Hospital chief executive Lindsay Gough said this was an “exciting new step”.
“Our hospital has a proud heritage of delivering world-class treatment to the South Australian community and we are now moving closer to creating a hospital that matches the care offered by our dedicated doctors and nurses,” Gough said.
“We will continue to work with our doctors, nurses, staff and consumers during all phases of the project to ensure we build a new hospital that is tailored to our unique needs.”
Health Minister Stephen Wade said up to 3500 jobs would be created during the build.
More staff, beds and funding top election wish list
More mental health beds and Women’s and Children’s Hospital staff have topped the SA Salaried Medical Officers Association’s election wish list.
SASMOA has also called on the next State Government to rectify a $426 million funding shortfall in public and community health service spending.
The demands are part of the association’s state election platform, released today, in which they will call for additional staff, hospital beds and government funding.
SASMOA president Laura Willington said public hospitals were faced with ramping and increasing emergency department admissions on a daily basis.
Wilington said the state’s mental health network was short about 200 beds. At the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the paediatric unit was short about 50 medical staff.
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She said these were staff providing “a basic, safe service, comparable with other similar services interstate, while maintaining staff wellbeing”.
“Put simply, there are not enough beds and not enough staff funded under the ‘business as usual’ model,” Willington said.
“This leads to harm for patients and the wider community, and in turn leads to fatigue and burnout in the medical workforce.
“Closing the recurrent funding gap will also help close the credibility gap between ‘world-class rhetoric’ and ‘world-class reality’ in relation to our state’s health system.”
SASMOA also want frontline doctors in the public health system to have 10-hour breaks between shifts.
They pointed to a Productivity Commission report released this month showing SA was behind the national average in terms of public health spending.
New exposure sites listed in city, Glenelg
SA Health has identified a city venue and a Glenelg bar as new COVID-19 exposure locations.
In an update issued late Thursday, SA Health identified Roxie’s Beer Garden on Grenfell St and the Marina Sunset Bar at Glenelg as new Covid-19 exposure sites.
Anyone at Roxie’s Beer Garden on Friday, February 11, between 6.45pm and 11.15pm, is urged to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they develop.
The warning for the Marina Sunset Bar is over two nights.
People who visited the venue between 10.30pm on Friday, February 11, and 1am Saturday, February 12, as well as 7.45pm on Saturday and 12.45am on Sunday, February 13, are urged to monitor for symptoms.
Origin accused of ‘folly’ amid coal exit
Origin Energy is speeding up the closure of Australia’s largest coal-fired power station, drawing criticism from the federal government for its haste and from activists for not doing enough.
The Eraring power station at Lake Macquarie in the coal-rich Hunter region will be closed in August 2025, up to seven years earlier than previously planned and will be replaced with a large-scale battery.
“We’ve been clear on our strategy and ambition to lead the energy transition,” chief executive Frank Calabria said on Thursday.
Calabria told reporters on a conference call there was “more than enough” supply coming into the electricity market to compensate for the exit of Eraring.
“This is a market in rapid transition.”
He said the influx of renewable sources of energy has changed the market and the traditional baseload coal plant brought online in the early 1980s will no longer be suitable.
Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor says the decision is bitterly disappointing for all energy users – from households to small businesses to heavy industry – who rely on affordable, reliable energy to prosper.
Russia plans to invade Ukraine within days: US
US President Joe Biden says there is now every indication Russia is planning to invade Ukraine in the next few days and is preparing a pretext to justify it, after Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow rebels traded fire in eastern Ukraine.
The Kremlin accused Biden of stoking tension and released a strongly worded letter which accused Washington of ignoring its security demands and threatened unspecified “military-technical measures”.
Moscow also ejected the number two official from the US embassy on Thursday.
Early morning exchanges of fire between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists stoked alarm, with Western officials who have long warned that Moscow could try to create a pretext for an invasion saying they believed such a scenario was now unfolding.
“We have reason to believe they are engaged in a false flag operation to have an excuse to go in. Every indication we have is they’re prepared to go into Ukraine and attack Ukraine,” Biden told reporters as he departed the White House.
“My sense is this will happen in the next several days.”
Biden ordered Secretary of State Antony Blinken to change his travel plans at the last minute to speak at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Ukraine.
Blinken told the council that Russia planned to manufacture a pretext for an invasion in coming days.
“This could be a violent event that Russia will bring on Ukraine, or an outrageous accusation that Russia will level against the Ukrainian government,” Blinken said.
“It could be a fabricated so-called terrorist bombing inside Russia, the invented discovery of a mass grave, a staged drone strike against civilians, or a fake – even a real – attack using chemical weapons. Russia may describe this event as ethnic cleansing, or a genocide.”
Russia denies planning to invade its neighbour and has accused Western leaders of hysteria.
Queen still UK’s favourite, Andrew least
The Queen has grown in popularity and remains Britain’s favourite royal, while her second son Prince Andrew languishes at the bottom of the list.
Polling shows the 95-year-old monarch is followed in the popularity stakes by her grandson Prince William and his wife Kate – a couple who will one day reign as king and queen consort.
It is the first time Kate has jumped above William to be the second most popular royal, polling organisation Ipsos said.
The survey was conducted ahead of a turbulent week for the royal family, which has seen Andrew settle a civil sex case with his accuser, and heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles facing the possibility of being interviewed by police over an alleged cash-for-honours scandal.
Andrew, whose out-of-court settlement commentators said leaves him tarnished but protects the royal family from any potential damage of a public trial, has an unchanged position in polling since last year.
He is named as being one of the most liked by two per cent of people, while Prince Harry and Meghan, who stepped down as senior royals in March 2020, have both tumbled in popularity since last year.
– with AAP, The New Daily and Reuters
