• Swim team reaches out to Groves
• Budget boost for elective surgery
• Zero local cases for NSW after virus scare
• No new Vic cases as Melbourne lockdown ends
• AG considering landmark inquiry into accused magistrate
• Motorcyclist killed in Warradale crash
• Brewer takes out top 40 Under 40 award
• Australia and Singapore agree on travel bubble plan
• Brisbane closes in on 2032 Olympics
• Stan Grant to headline rebooted Festival of Ideas
• Cats pounce late to down Power

Swim team reaches out to Groves

Australian swim team leaders will reach out to Maddie Groves to seek the substance of her claims of misogynistic perverts in the sport as they prepare for the Tokyo Olympic trials, which start in Adelaide tomorrow.

Groves has withdrawn from the trials while slamming “misogynistic perverts in sport and their boot lickers” in a swipe that shocked her teammates.

Australian swim team leader Mitch Larkin says Groves’ claims “broke my heart a little bit”.

“I certainly want to find out and get to the bottom of it if she does have some issues,” Larkin told reporters this morning.

“We have got an athlete integrity officer and a wellbeing officer and she can certainly talk to them as well as sports psychs and really try and dig to the bottom of those issues.

“And if there is a culture issue, we would absolutely love to change it.”

Swimming Australia president Kieren Perkins said the governing body was also trying to contact Groves.

“Unfortunately at this point, we have not been able to have a direct conversation with Maddie to understand exactly what her concerns are, who the people involved are, so that we can investigate it and deal with it,” Perkins told ABC television.

Groves’ comments on social media have caused controversy ahead of the Adelaide trials for the Tokyo Olympics which start in Adelaide on Saturday.

Groves, who won silver medals in the 200m butterfly and 4x100m medley relay at the 2016 Olympics, posted on Twitter on Friday she was now taking a holiday and refusing to speak to media to elaborate on her claims.

The target of the comments from the four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist was not clear.

“You can no longer exploit young women and girls, body shame or medically gaslight them and then expect them to represent you so you can earn your annual bonus,” Groves posted on Thursday.

Budget boost for elective surgery

An extra $20 million will be allocated in the upcoming South Australian budget to help reduce wait times for elective surgery.

The funding will be specifically targeted towards surgeries where the greatest impact on wait times will be achieved.

Operations will be conducted in both public and private hospitals with estimates the cash will pay for 3000 procedures.

Health Minister Stephen Wade said that while good progress was being made on reducing waitlists for elective surgery and colonoscopies, the COVID-19 pandemic had interrupted those efforts with two complete shutdowns of elective surgery last year.

“We have been focused on driving down the number of people waiting for elective surgeries longer than clinically recommended, and we continue to make progress in this area,” he said.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly slowed these efforts, in recent months we have begun to make real progress in reducing the backlog.

“This $20 million injection of additional funding will fast-track these efforts.”

“Reducing the waiting time for patients who require elective surgery is a major priority for the government and we are determined to help South Australians get off the overdue list and receive the health care they need.”

Zero local cases for NSW after virus scare

NSW has again recorded no new COVID-19 cases in the community, after an infected Melbourne couple’s trip through the state put regional communities on edge.

The couple made stops in Gillenbah, Dubbo, Forbes, Coonabarabran and Moree on their way to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, where the wife tested positive.

Her husband tested positive as well after initially testing negative, and Queensland health authorities believe both were at the end of their illness.

Some 20 venues in the five towns have been identified by NSW Health as potential exposure sites.

Exposure at the sites occurred at various times on June 3, 4 and 5.

More than 350 contacts have been uncovered to date and four pop-up testing clinics have been established.

But the state is yet to record a positive case resulting from the scare, with no new local cases diagnosed from 18,525 tests on Thursday.

No community transmission was detected from almost 20,000 tests on Wednesday as well.

However NSW Health is still urging anyone who has visited the areas of concern since June 1 to be especially vigilant and come forward for testing with even the mildest of cold-like symptoms.

No new Vic cases as Melbourne lockdown ends

Victoria has recorded no new local cases of coronavirus for the first time since late May as Melbourne emerges from a two-week lockdown.

The Health Department this morning confirmed there were no new local cases in the state and just one new case in hotel quarantine.

It marks the first day without a local case of COVID-19 since late May, when a family tested positive for the virus and ended the state’s 86-day streak without a case of community transmission.

The outbreak spread through the local government area of Whittlesea and the seaside suburb of Port Melbourne and forced Melbourne into a two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown, which ended today.

Some 17,604 Victorians were tested in the 24 hours to Friday morning, while 20,752 received a coronavirus vaccine dose.

There are 75 active cases of COVID-19 in the state, including those in hotel quarantine, down from 78 on Thursday.

AG considering landmark inquiry into accused magistrate

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman is considering a recommendation that she establish the state’s first judicial conduct panel, after complaints were made by five women about the behaviour of a sitting magistrate.

Ann Vanstone, the state’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, acting as the Judicial Conduct Commissioner, announced late yesterday that she had finished an investigation into a series of complaints about the magistrate, who was stood down last month pending the inquiries.

“I have today made a recommendation to the Attorney-General that she appoint a judicial conduct panel to inquire into and report on those complaints,” Vanstone said in a statement.

“The complaints relate to incidents involving five women who worked in various capacities at the courts. The complaints span a period of about seven years. The magistrate denies impropriety.”

It comes after InDaily revealed last month that Vanstone had launched a preliminary investigation into allegations the Magistrate sexually harassed a District Court judge’s associate in 2018.

In an interview with InDaily, Alice Bitmead, who is now a federal prosecutor, claimed she was made to feel like a “sexual object” after the Magistrate allegedly made repeated “inherently sexual” and “deeply uncomfortable” remarks to her at a work dinner and during office hours.

Chapman said he was considering the recommendation.

“I note the Commissioner’s public statement and recommendation,” she said. “I will now consider her recommendation. No further comment will be made at this stage.”

Motorcyclist killed in Warradale crash

A man has died following a crash at Warradale last night.

Emergency services were called to Morphett Road, near Sturm Court after a car and a motorcycle collided about 7.40pm.

The rider of the motorbike, a 19-year-old Elizabeth Downs man, died at the scene.

The driver of the car, a 54-year-old Warradale man, was not seriously injured but was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Morphett Road was closed in both directions for several hours while Major Crash Investigators attended the scene, but has since been reopened.

Checks revealed the motorbike was stolen from Gepps Cross in April.

Brewer takes out top 40 Under 40 award

The co-founder and head of marketing at Pirate Life Brewing, Jack Cameron, has taken out the top prize at the fourth annual InDaily 40 Under 40 Awards presented last night.

The First Among Equals award, sponsored by InDaily’s publisher Solstice Media, recognises a young leader who has not only created a successful business but has also given back to the community.

Cameron, who helped start the craft beer company with partners Michael ‘MC’ Cameron and Jared ‘Red’ Proudfoot in 2014, was recognised for his work as the marketing head, especially once the craft brewery was bought by Anheuser-Busch in 2017.

Chair of the judging panel David Rohrsheim welcomed the 2021 40 Under 40, including seven other individual winners of specific awards, while entrepreneur Michael Waite challenged the young leader to “keep evolving” in his keynote speech.

Guests of honour included South Australia Governor Hieu Van Le AC and the Leader of the Opposition Peter Malinauskas MP.

The full list of winners can be found here.

Australia and Singapore agree on travel bubble plan

Australia and Singapore have agreed to start work on a plan for a travel bubble that would initially allow students to return.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison made a brief visit to Singapore on Thursday for talks with his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.

It was the first stop for the prime minister on his way to Cornwall for the G7 leaders’ summit, as well as trade and security talks in London and Paris.

Morrison said Singapore had done a “tremendous” job in tackling COVID-19 and it was time to put systems in place to enable the two countries to open up in a similar way to the Australia-New Zealand bubble “when we are both in a position to do so”.

“There is still some time before we reach that milestone but there is nothing impeding us – as we discussed today – from getting on with the job of putting systems in place that will enable such a bubble to emerge between Singapore and Australia,” he said.

“We discussed giving a priority to students from Singapore to be able to return to Australia to complete their studies … and for that to occur sooner rather than later.”

Lee said at the joint media conference the world was now moving into the “next phase of the fight”, in relation to the pandemic.

The “safe and calibrated” air travel bubble would start with mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, he said.

“When ready then we can start small with an air travel bubble to build confidence on both sides,” he said.

Brisbane closes in on 2032 Olympics

Brisbane has moved one step closer to securing the 2032 summer Olympics with the executive board of the International Olympic Committee formally recommending the Queensland city ahead of a vote due on July 21.

Brisbane was chosen as the preferred host in February, and the board’s proposal now goes to the IOC session, which will take place before the Tokyo Olympics next month.

If successful in next month’s vote, it will become the third Australian city to host an Olympic Games behind Melbourne (1956) and Sydney (2000).

IOC President Thomas Bach said the decision now lies in the hands of the IOC members, who will vote on July 21.

“We have seen many months of hard work and co-operation between three levels of government to get Brisbane 2032 before the IOC Members who make the ultimate decision next month,” Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates said in a statement.

“It is the members we have to convince of the merits of our ambition to host the Summer Olympic Games for the third time.

“We have our date with destiny.”

Stan Grant to headline rebooted Festival of Ideas

Journalist Stan Grant, ABC medical correspondent Norman Swan and a panel of Australia’s “significant elders” talking about their hopes for the future will feature in a rebooted Festival of Ideas in Adelaide next month.

The festival, last run in Adelaide in 2018, has been resurrected as part of the Illuminate Adelaide winter festival in July, with the University of Adelaide hosting the line-up of 27 events.

The roster of speakers, announced today, is headlined by journalist Stan Grant, writer Clementine Ford, body image advocate Taryn Brumfitt, ABC gardening guru Costa Georgiadis, artist and retired footballer Gavin Wanganeen and chef Ben Shewry.

Running from July 15 to July 18, the festival is themed “Bright Future”, and has a special focus on Indigenous issues.

Grant will deliver the Gladys Elphick Memorial Oration on the Importance of the Aboriginal Flag, 50 years after the flag was first flown in Victoria Square and amid controversy over copyright control.

The festival has a mix of ticketed and free events.

Read the full story here.

Cats pounce late to down Power

Cat Jeremy Cameron booted five goals as a fast-finishing Geelong put another dent in Port Adelaide’s AFL premiership credentials with a 21-point win at Adelaide Oval last night.

Cameron was the game-breaker with three last-quarter goals in Geelong’s stirring 17.10 (112) to 14.7 (91) triumph on Thursday night.

The Cats twice rose from the canvas: they rallied from 21 points down midway through the second term to create a 10-point lead at three quarter-time.

That lead rapidly disappeared early in the last quarter when Port kicked three quick goals to steal momentum and a nine-point break.

But a gallant Geelong surged again and scored the next five goals, with Cameron slotting three of them.

“Jeremy is capable of doing some pretty special things … (he) did some things that very few players in the competition can do tonight,” Cats coach Chris Scott said.

The Cats solidify their grip on third spot with their ninth win of the season.

But the fifth-placed Power slide to a fourth loss – and all defeats have been against finals fancies: West Coast, Brisbane, the Western Bulldogs and now Geelong.

“We are good but we’re not good enough against the best teams in the competition, we’re not going to hide from that,” Power coach Ken Hinkley said.

The output of Geelong’s Cameron was supported by Tom Hawkins, who kicked 4.4, while Gary Rohan kicked three goals and Brandon Parfitt scored two.

Port forward Connor Rozee kicked five goals – four of them in the opening quarter – while teammate Charlie Dixon booted four for the match.

– with AAP and Reuters