The News – 11 March 2015

Overview

• On the eve of a Darwin hearing into the impact of domestic violence in Australia, police have reported a woman has been hospitalised after allegedly being kicked and stabbed by her partner.

• The Armidale and Inverell Hospitals will both be upgraded, if the Coalition Government is returned to power at the March 28 State Election.

• Fifteen new genetic markers that indicate an increased risk of breast cancer have been identified by an international team, including Australian scientists.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 11th March 2015. Read by Rebecca Foster.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-10/penny-wong-family-violence-summit-nt/6293402

On the eve of a Darwin hearing into the impact of domestic violence in Australia, police have reported a woman has been hospitalised after allegedly being kicked and stabbed by her partner.

The 36-year-old woman was found by police on Monday afternoon at the Rapid Creek shops after a report of an assault.
Duty Superintendent Louise Jorgensen said the woman “had been kicked and stabbed a number of times”.
She said a 47-year-old man “believed to have been involved in a domestic relationship” with the woman had been arrested over the alleged assault.
The woman was in a stable condition in Royal Darwin Hospital, police said.
The incident comes as Labor Senator Penny Wong and others meet in Darwin for a Senate hearing into the prevalence and impact of domestic violence in Australia.
The one-day hearing will hear submissions from law groups, shelters and counselling groups, police and politicians.
… Senator Wong criticised the cuts to legal aid and community legal centres around Australia under last year’s federal budget, which had led to all states and territories signing a letter to Attorney-General George Brandis that the move would “set us back decades in tackling this important issue”.
The cuts mean $15 million is taken from legal aid commissions and $6 million from community legal centres as well as $43 million from legal advocacy services.
…
Acting NT Chief Commissioner Reece Kershaw said domestic violence was in “the top three” categories of incidents Northern Territory police were called to.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-10/two-northern-tablelands-to-be-upgraded-under-coalition-governme/6294406

The Armidale and Inverell Hospitals will both be upgraded, if the Coalition Government is returned to power at the March 28 State Election.

Deputy Premier Troy Grant and Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall have announced $60 million for Armidale Hospital and $30 million for Inverell District Hospital.
The funding is not contingent on the lease of the poles and wires, and Adam Marshall said it’s also not dependent on his success at the election.
…
The Armidale Hospital upgrade will include a new emergency department, critical care unit, in-patient ward, operating theatres and sterilising unit.
The Inverell Hospital Upgrade will include a new emergency department, operating theatres, acute care facilities, maternity Unit, paediatrics facilities and a new renal dialysis unit.
The Hospital upgrades will go ahead without a Federal contribution.

…
Deputy Premier Troy Grant said the funding is not contingent on the proposed lease of part of the state’s ‘poles and wires’ network.
…
“The reason this will only happen if the Baird/Grant Government is re-elected is Labor has no plans to build these hospitals for you, they’ve released their infrastructure strategy and there is no money for these projects.”
The Deputy Premier has dismissed criticism for not acting sooner.
…

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-10/new-markers-help-identify-women-at-risk-of-breast-cancer/6293740

Fifteen new genetic markers that indicate an increased risk of breast cancer have been identified by an international team, including Australian scientists.

The findings, which have been published in the journal Nature Genetics, are part of a 10-year international study involving 200,000 individuals.
There are already 70 known markers, which are differences in genetic code between individuals.
But the discovery of the new genetic markers meant researchers could identify the 5 per cent of women who have a two-fold increase in breast cancer.
“They are not specifically any genes that we understand the function of, but they are markers which indicate an increased risk of breast cancer,” said Professor Melissa Southey, from the University of Melbourne’s pathology department.
“They’re inherited like any other genetic factor.”
Professor Southey called the identification of the new markers a “substantial step forward”.
“This can move into improving genetic tests for women and identify women who are at substantial risk of breast cancer development,” she said.
“In fact most people would have a fair number of them.
“It’s just the women who had a very large number of them who are at substantial risk.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Australian women, with about 14,000 women diagnosed each year.

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