![\"Angus](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/6810.jpg\")
Angus Taylor. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\nUpdated at\u00a020.38 EDT<\/p>\n
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Aboriginal woman dies in custody in Perth prison![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Sarah_Collard.png\")
Sarah Collard<\/p>\n
The WA Department of Justice has confirmed that a 35-year-old Aboriginal woman has died in custody at the Bandyup women\u2019s prison in Perth\u2019s outer north.<\/p>\n
Staff found her unresponsive in her cell early Monday morning and provided first aid before emergency services arrived.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice says the woman was declared deceased on site and early investigations indicate no suspicious circumstances in the woman\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
WA police are preparing a report for the state coroner.<\/p>\n
In response to the woman\u2019s death, the National Network of Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls said they were devastated by her passing.<\/p>\n
The advocacy group said overcrowding, punitive policies, and a lack of support for vulnerable women are contributing to the growing incarceration of First Nations women.<\/p>\n
Lorraine Pryor, National Network member and the founder of WA-based organisation Voice of Hope, said many are survivors of violence and abuse.<\/p>\n
double quotation markThese conditions are not incidental, they are the predictable outcome of policies that continue to expand policing and imprisonment, including increasingly punitive bail laws that are driving the imprisonment of more women, many of whom are themselves survivors of violence and poverty.<\/p>\n
Aboriginal women are particularly impacted by these policies. They are the fastest growing prison population in Australia, and their deaths in custody continue to expose the ongoing violence of a system that was never designed to care for them.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.30 EDT<\/p>\n Nearly two-thirds of Australians not getting enough calcium in their diets, ABS data shows<\/p>\n Dairy, tofu and leafy greens need to up their game as Australians aren\u2019t getting enough calcium from the food and drinks in their diet, new data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics suggests.<\/p>\n The first analysis on nutritional requirements for vitamins and minerals in a decade found more than 60% of Australians fell short of meeting their calcium needs in 2023, which hadn\u2019t changed since 2011-2012.<\/p>\n Linda Fardell, ABS head of health statistics, said diets that are low in calcium are linked to an increased risk of developing osteoporosis.<\/p>\n Over three-quarters of females and over half of males didn\u2019t meet their calcium requirements, increasing to about 90% for females aged 12\u201317 years and 50 years and over.<\/p>\n Fardell:<\/p>\n double quotation markIron and folate are other nutrients where females have higher requirements and lower intakes in some age groups.<\/p>\n For example, 48 per cent of females aged 18\u201329 years did not meet their iron requirements compared to 8 per cent of males in the same age group.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.20 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018Iranian women\u2019s footballers shouldn\u2019t have to choose between their sport and their safety\u2019<\/p>\n Nos Hosseini is a spokesperson for the Iranian Women\u2019s Association. In an opinion piece for Guardian Australia, she writes:<\/p>\n double quotation markWhen seven members of Iran\u2019s women\u2019s national football team sought protection in Australia, it appeared they had finally found safety. Within days, some made the difficult decision to return to Iran<\/a> despite the risks.<\/p>\n For many Iranian athletes, the most powerful opponent they face is not across the field. It is the regime that controls their lives.<\/p>\n To compete internationally, they must submit to a system that demands obedience, restricts their movement and punishes dissent.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.05 EDT<\/p>\n Body found in Hobart after man falls overboard on research ship<\/p>\n Divers have recovered the body of a man who is believed to have fallen from a French Antarctic research vessel docked in Hobart, AAP reports.<\/p>\n The man, aged in his 20s, was reported missing by crewmates of the Perseverance at 3.55am on Tuesday. Police searches were conducted at the Sullivans Cove waterfront, with his body discovered shortly before 7.45am.<\/p>\n The Perseverance is a 42m French ocean-going sailing vessel designed for scientific research and supply missions in polar waters.<\/p>\n The ship set sail from New Zealand on 20 January on a mission to study breeding patterns of species in Antarctic waters. Tasmania Police are expected to provide more information later on Tuesday.<\/p>\n French Antarctic research vessel Perseverance docked at Sullivans Cove in Hobart on Tuesday. Police divers have located the body of a man, believed to be in his 20s, who is believed to have fallen from the vessel. Photograph: Ethan James\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.53 EDT<\/p>\n Far north Queensland on cyclone watch<\/p>\n Communities in far north Queensland have been asked to be on alert with the latest Bureau of Meteorology forecast<\/a> suggesting a tropical low in the Coral Sea could become a cyclone as early as tomorrow evening.<\/p>\n The timing of a likely declaration has shifted with tropical low 34U now being given a high chance of becoming a cyclone \u2013 which will be called Narelle if it eventuates \u2013 earlier than was forecast yesterday.<\/p>\n Current weather models suggest a landfall somewhere north of Cooktown late on Thursday or on Friday morning when the system is expected to track west over the Gulf of Carpentaria.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.41 EDT<\/p>\n Angus Taylor says we need to \u2018drill more, 100%\u2019<\/p>\n The opposition leader, Angus Taylor, is speaking in New South Wales about the ongoing fuel issues linked to the war in the Middle East. He said he thinks we need to \u201cdrill more, 100%\u201d.<\/p>\n Taylor said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe\u2019ve got great resources. Bass Strait is an old source of oil and gas, but an important one, and we need to get the most out of it, and we\u2019ve got new emerging sources in the north in the Beetaloo basin.<\/p>\n So we need to see that drilling happen at pace. This is a government that\u2019s made it very hard for resources companies to get the approvals they need \u2026 to get resources, oil and gas, out of the ground.<\/p>\n Angus Taylor. Photograph: Mick Tsikas\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.38 EDT<\/p>\n NSW becomes first state to launch digital birth certificates<\/p>\n People aged 16-21 in New South Wales are the first Australians to be able to set up digital birth certificates.<\/p>\n The state government said the digital documents, launched today, were designed to international security standards and could be set up via the Service NSW app.<\/p>\n Sixteen to 21-year-olds born in NSW and who hold a NSW photo card or driver licence are eligible to apply.<\/p>\n The government said digital birth certificates can be used to verify identity and apply for licences and certifications needed to start a job \u2013 and that, over time, the move will give people greater control over what information they share.<\/p>\n Jihad Dib, the minister for customer services and digital government, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019m proud that NSW is the first place in Australia where young people across the state can carry their birth certificate securely on their phone \u2013 instead of having to rummage through drawers or call mum and dad!<\/p>\n He said the technology was \u201cthe same as having a birth certificate in your pocket \u2013 but much more secure\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Households struggle with confidence as cash rate rise looms A parade of bad news overseas, soaring petrol prices and expectations of higher interest rates have left households the gloomiest they have been since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.<\/p>\n ANZ\u2019s weekly consumer sentiment survey revealed a severe confidence hit to Australians still struggling to cope with the high prices left by the pandemic inflation outbreak.<\/p>\n Sophia Angala, an ANZ economist, said \u201chouseholds are increasingly pessimistic about the one-year and five-year outlooks for the economy, likely driven by geopolitical uncertainty and the shifting outlook for inflation and rates\u201d.<\/p>\n The Reserve Bank is expected to lift its cash rate target to 4.1% at 2.30pm today, in a double blow to households facing a 30-40% jump in fuel prices since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cWith inflation above target and the labour market viewed as tight by the RBA, there is likely to be less tolerance than usual to an external inflation shock, in this case from higher oil prices,\u201d Angala said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.07 EDT<\/p>\n More on police operation at Lidcombe<\/p>\n We have more details from Lidcombe, where a major police operation ended<\/a> a short time ago.<\/p>\n Police say an investigation is now under way after a woman was threatened by a man armed with a gun at a multi-level car park on Uhrig Road at about 7.20am.<\/p>\n The man, who was not known to the woman, left the scene in a white Subaru SUV with cloned number plates, police said. The woman was shaken but not physically injured.<\/p>\n A perimeter was established and specialist officers were called to assist. An extensive search of the area was conducted, police said. No shots were fired, they said.<\/p>\n Police are appealing for any information or dashcam vision related to incident.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.02 EDT<\/p>\n Confidentiality clauses \u2018silence\u2019 students\u2019 complaints, ombudsman says<\/p>\n Students may be choosing not to seek support from their universities over sexual harassment and assault complaints because of confidentiality clauses preventing them from speaking with anyone about their experience, a new report has found.<\/p>\n The National Student Ombudsman\u2019s first report, published on Tuesday, found 21 universities used confidentiality clauses in their complaints \u2013 applying to around 770,000 students. The clause often automatically apply to students when they lodge a complaint, preventing them from speaking with anyone outside of the university about their experience or the complaint\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n In some instances, student wellbeing and recovery were put at risk, including a university beginning misconduct proceedings against a student when it alleged they breached confidentiality after reporting sexual harassment to their university.<\/p>\n The ombudsman, Iain Anderson, said students \u201cshould have the right to talk to others for support and seek external advice after they have made a complaint to their higher education provider\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markExcessive confidentiality can cause a complainant to feel silenced or disempowered \u2026 I am concerned that students \u2026 could be left unable to discuss the situation with a support person, seek legal advice, contact a health professional for support, or take ownership of how they talk about a traumatic experience including gender-based violence.<\/p>\n The ombudsman was established last year to tackle gender-based violence<\/a> on university campuses.<\/p>\n![\"Graham](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Graham_Redfearn.png\")
Graham Readfearn<\/p>\n![\"Daisy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Daisy_Dumas.png\")
Daisy Dumas<\/p>\n![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Patrick_Commins.png\")
Patrick Commins<\/p>\n![\"Caitlin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Caitlin_Cassidy,_L.png\")
Caitlin Cassidy<\/p>\n