• 12 more COVID-related deaths in SA
• Govt launches independent review of Crows Brompton snub
• Govt plans Public Health Act amendments for COVID management
• ‘Egregious breach’: US Supreme Court confirms authenticity of leaked ruling
• Retail spending expected to slow as banks move on rate hike
• Pandemic fuels regional mental health crisis: study

12 more COVID-related deaths in SA

Authorities have today reported 12 more deaths of South Australians with COVID-19, with 3591 new daily infections.

SA Health said the deaths occurred between April 19 and May 3 and had been notified as part of “data reconciliation”.

The 12 deaths were of people aged from in their 70s to 90s, and bring the total number of deaths in SA since the pandemic began to 366.

SA Health said there were currently 221 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including 11 people in intensive care, with one person requiring a ventilator.

Govt launches independent review of Crows Brompton snub

The Malinauskas Government has announced it will appoint an independent firm to conduct a review of the “consistency and appropriateness” of the former government’s decision to choose an interstate developer over the Adelaide Crows for the redevelopment of the vacant Brompton Gasworks site.

The former Marshall Government and Renewal SA chose Melbourne-based developers MAB Corporation in January to remediate and develop the vacant 5.8ha Brompton site into a 120-room hotel with associated piazza, cafes, restaurants and bars.

The Crows have since shifted their sights to other locations to find their long-awaited new home, with Thebarton Oval looming as their most likely landing place.

But the club’s Brompton proposal has been thrown a lifeline by the Malinauskas Government, who took to the election a promise to conduct a review into the contract awarded to MAB and release details of how the criteria for the Brompton proposal was weighted.

The criteria weighting was disclosed in a media release from the Malinauskas Government this morning:

• Commercial Offer (27.5 per cent)
• Remediation and Environmental Strategy (27.5 per cent)
• Draft Master Plan, Vision and Guiding Principles (25 per cent)
• Development Delivery Team (10 per cent)
• Development Program and Timing (10 per cent).

Insiders told InDaily last month that the points-based judging criteria that awarded exclusive negotiation rights to MAB “wasn’t even close”, both as an aggregate score and “in each of the individual categories”.

But Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nick Champion said there was “widespread community concern” about the development and the “manner in which it was handled” by the former government.

“This is a significant opportunity to develop the inner-western suburbs on the fringe of the CBD and we want to ensure we get this right,” he said in a statement.

“We have notified all relevant parties of our course of action.”

The review of the site, which will be undertaken by an independent firm, will examine the “consistency and appropriateness” of the former government’s decision and how it aligns with the objectives of the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, the Planning and Design Code and the 20-year State Infrastructure Strategy.

The Malinauskas Government says no deed will be executed between Renewal SA and MAB until the review is complete.

Govt plans Public Health Act amendments for COVID management

The Malinauskas Government is set to table amendments to the Public Health Act in parliament to give it powers to manage the pandemic after the state’s longstanding major emergency declaration is revoked.

In his first week as leader, Premier Peter Malinauskas set a deadline to revoke the state’s major emergency declaration by June 30, although it has been unclear what specific legislative mechanisms the State Government would use to manage the pandemic after the declaration is removed.

The emergency declaration was last week extended for another month – its 28^th extension since it came into force in March 2020.

The declaration gives broad powers to state co-ordinator Grant Stevens to introduce public health orders such as vaccination mandates, lockdowns and restrictions.

But Labor says the amendments to the Public Health Act – which will be “not as broad in power” as the declaration and “limited to specific settings” – have been drafted in consultation with Stevens, chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier and the rest of the Emergency Management Council.

The Public Health Act amendments will not allow for the imposition of restrictions such as lockdowns, “broad” mask mandates or hospitality restrictions, Labor said.

It will, however, include “protections” for hospital, aged and disability care residents, as well as “the ability for rules to be set for COVID positive people and close contacts”.

Malinauskas said the amendments would help ensure “ensure that we keep our most vulnerable as safe as possible from COVID”.

“South Australians have been subject to the declaration for more than two years, and now it is time for it to end and for a baseline of key protections to transition to the Public Health Act,” he said in a statement this morning.

“When the declaration ends, it is important that we still have some protections in place for our most vulnerable South Australians.

“The most appropriate way we can do this is to amend the Public Health Act to include protections for patients and residents in aged care, hospitals and disability care, and the ability for rules to be set for COVID positive people and close contacts.”

‘Egregious breach’: US Supreme Court confirms authenticity of leaked ruling

Pro-choice protesters rally outside of the Supreme Court on Tuesday in Washington, DC after a draft ruling overturning Roe V Wade was leaked. Photo: Michael Reynolds/EPA

The US Supreme Court has confirmed that a leaked draft ruling indicating the court may overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade decision that legalised abortion across the country is authentic, as President Joe Biden vows to protect abortion rights amid a political uproar.

The court in a news release said that it will launch an investigation of how the draft was leaked to the news outlet Politico.

It added that the document – authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito – does not represent “the final position of any member” of the high court.

“I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak,” Chief Justice John Roberts said, calling it an “egregious breach of trust”.

“To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed. The work of the Court will not be affected in any way,” he said in a statement.

Democrats at the state and federal level and abortion rights activists looked for some way to head off the sweeping social change long sought by Republicans and religious conservatives.

Biden said voters will need to elect more members of Congress who support abortion rights so that they can pass legislation making Roe v Wade the law of the land. Democrats already hold slim majorities in the House and Senate.

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The Roe decision recognised that the right to personal privacy under the US constitution protects a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy.

“At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law,” Biden said.

Democratic-backed legislation to protect abortion access across the US died in Congress this year as the razor-thin majority held by Biden’s party was insufficient to overcome Senate rules requiring a supermajority to move forward on most legislation.

Retail spending expected to slow as banks move on rate hike

New data is expected to show growth in retail spending slowing even before Australians feel the impact of the first official interest rate rise in more than a decade, as three of the four major banks pass on yesterday’s cash rate hike to borrowers.

The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted the cash rate to 0.35 per cent from a record low 0.1 per cent following Tuesday’s monthly board meeting.

It was a larger increase than expected by economists after last week’s spike in inflation to the highest level in some two decades.

CBA was the first of the big four banks to hike its variable home loan rates, saying it would pass on the full 0.25 percentage point increase.

ANZ and Westpac quickly followed suit.

RBA governor Philip Lowe has warned further interest rate rises should be expected in coming months, because without them inflation would grow substantially.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release retail trade figures for March on Wednesday.

Economists’ forecasts point to a more modest 0.5 per cent increase in the month after two solid months of growth.

However, predictions for March range quite widely, from a one per cent fall to rise of two per cent.

Retail spending has shown solid momentum since the turn of the year despite the outbreak of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and floods along the east coast of Australia.

However, there are concerns that the spike in petrol prices to above $2 a litre at one stage during March will have strained household budgets.

The ABS will also release home lending figures for March, which economists expect will show a further two per cent decline as the housing market loses steam.

Pandemic fuels regional mental health crisis: study

The demand for regional mental health services has spiked since the pandemic with nearly a quarter of rural and regional Australians regularly experiencing depression and anxiety, a new study says.

According to the National Regional Check In, a report commissioned by the Australian Counselling Association, more than two thirds (68 per cent) of those living in rural and regional Australia experienced depression and anxiety over the past two years.

For close to one in four (23 per cent), it was a regular occurrence.

Fuelling the issue, many have suffered in silence because they could not access the help they needed.

Philip Armstrong, CEO of the Australian Counselling Association and Adjunct Senior Industry Fellow at the University of South Australia, said more than a quarter of those living in rural and regional areas had to wait four to six weeks to see a psychologist or psychiatrist.

One in seven was waiting more than seven weeks or more to access support, he said.

“Almost a third of Australians live in rural and remote areas, however 87 per cent of psychiatrists and 82 per cent of psychologists are employed in major cities,” Armstrong said.

“And sadly, the further from the cities you go, the higher suicide and self-harm rates are.”

He said registered counsellors and psychotherapists are a qualified and under-utilised part of the mental health workforce who could provide immediate support to those in need and play a key role in helping to address the current crisis.

But those services are not covered under the Medicare Benefits Schedule, limiting access to everyday Australians.

-With AAP and Reuters