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This morning, convicted mushroom murderer Erin Patterson will learn her sentence for the murders of her parents-in-law, Don and Gail Patterson, and aunt-in-law Heather Wilkinson, as well as the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, in July 2023.
Patterson could become the first woman in Victorian history to be sentenced to life without parole.
The judge delivering the sentence, Justice Christopher Beale, has allowed for the moment to be livestreamed due to “the intense public interest in the case”. You can watch the livestream here from 9:30am AEST.
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
“He was trying to corral everyone in [to shore], he was the last surfer, the furthest out, and unfortunately, that was his undoing. A testament to the man, to the dying part of his life, to protect others”
Toby Martin, a friend of 57-year-old Mercury Psillakis, who was killed by a shark at Long Reef in Dee Why, Sydney. Martin told Nine News that Psillakis was a "water man, a surfer, a great husband, a father, a great community leader”.
Stat of the day
$3.8m
The final bonus former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce received two years after he left the airline. Joyce stood down after it was revealed that Qantas illegally sacked nearly 2000 workers, and allegedly sold tens of thousands of tickets for flights that had already been cancelled in its system.
Today in history
2006
Australian wildlife conservationist and television personality Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray whilst filming.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has resigned, less than a year after taking office. According to Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, Ishiba resigned to prevent a split within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The LDP has lost its majority in both houses of Japan’s parliament in recent elections amid voter anger over the rising cost of living in the country. Ishiba resigned shortly before a party vote over whether it should call an early leadership election. Announcing his resignation, Ishiba said: “I would like to pass the baton to the next generation.”
Victoria Police are investigating the stabbings of two boys, aged 12 and 15, in Melbourne’s western suburbs on Saturday night. Detective Inspector Graham Banks said up to eight male attackers were being pursued, with the possibility that the stabbings were a case of mistaken identity. He said the two boys were “not gang members” but the crime “has the hallmarks of a youth gang crime”. Banks added police would “throw every resource” at the investigation.
Recommendation of the day
Transparency: This is a sponsored section of the newsletter. It's the best way we can keep this newsletter free for you
If you fall victim to buying matcha every day, you’re going to want to hear this:
Morning Made’s viral matcha is now at Woolies. Original, Vanilla, or Strawberry – just $8 a pouch this week.
That’s 10 café-quality lattes for less than the price of one!
I’ve got 1 minute
The death toll from earthquakes in Afghanistan has surpassed 2,200 people.
Three major earthquakes have now hit Afghanistan in the past seven days, after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit the area late last week.
The death toll has now risen to at least 2,200 people, with thousands more injured.
Rescue and aid operations are facing major ongoing challenges, with landslides blocking access to sites.
Last week
Last Sunday, around midnight (local time), a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the country’s east.
Aftershocks were felt throughout the area, reaching 150km away in the country’s capital, Kabul.
On Tuesday, a second 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit the same area that had been impacted by the first earthquake. Then, on Thursday, the country was hit by a third, 6.2-magnitude earthquake.
According to numbers cited by the UN, 2,205 people have been killed and 3,640 people injured this week.
More than 6,000 homes have been destroyed, with at least 84,000 people impacted by the concurrent earthquakes.
Below is the epicentre of the quakes and their impact radius on a map.
Aid
The Taliban-run Government has called on the international community to provide aid.
International funding to Afghanistan has fallen since the Taliban took control in 2021.
The Australian Government announced this week that it will provide $1 million in humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the earthquake has “exacerbated the dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, with almost half the population already in desperate need.”
Support from the Federal Government will be directed through the UN’s Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, to ensure aid reaches those in need, “and not the Taliban regime,” Wong said.
The EU, UK, India and Iran have also pledged assistance.
Reporting by Rosa Bowden.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Robodebt victims will receive a share of $475 million in further compensation
Thousands of welfare recipients impacted by the unlawful Robodebt scheme are due to receive a share of $475 million in additional compensation.
The settlement, agreed to by the Government last week, is the second round of Robodebt compensation payments.
A previous $1.8 billion package was distributed to victims between 2020 and 2022.
This settlement was appealed after the Robodebt Royal Commission discovered senior public servants had breached conduct standards multiple times.
Robodebt
Robodebt was a welfare debt collection system used by the Government from 2015 to 2019.
The system checked welfare recipients’ reported fortnightly income against the annual income they declared on their tax returns.
If this comparison suggested they had been overpaid, a debt notice was issued without human oversight.
Multiple errors within the system resulted in over $1.7 billion in debt notices being issued incorrectly. The scheme was later determined to be unlawful.
Royal Commission
A Royal Commission into Robodebt was launched in 2022. This is the highest form of inquiry a Government can pursue.
A final report handed down in 2023 linked the scheme to at least three deaths by suicide.
The Commission also found some senior public servants were aware Robodebt was likely unlawful, but covered up suggestions that it was illegal.
The final report criticised officials for giving “little thought” to the impact of the scheme on welfare recipients.
Compensation
A previous $1.8 billion compensation package was distributed to victims between 2020 and 2022.
However, this settlement was appealed after the Robodebt Royal Commission uncovered shortcomings by public service officials.
The Federal Government has now agreed to provide an additional $475 million in compensation to settle the Robodebt class action appeal.
It will require final approval in the Federal Court.
Govt remarks
Labor has called Robodebt “illegal and immoral”.
It was not in power when the scheme was rolled out, and has regularly criticised the Coalition for overseeing its implementation.
Australia’s top legal officer, Attorney General Michelle Rowland, cited the Royal Commission’s findings that Robodebt was a ‘crude and cruel’ mechanism.
“Settling this claim is the just and fair thing to do,” Rowland said.
Reaction
Gordon Legal represented Robodebt victims in the class action appeal. It called the result “the largest class action settlement in Australia’s legal history.”
“If this settlement is approved, the class actions will have resulted in more than $2.4 billion [compensation].”
Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne welcomed the settlement, but said “no amount of compensation can undo the pain and the harm” caused by Robodebt.
TDA contacted the Coalition for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publishing.
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Reporting by Harry Sekulich.
A message from carsales
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You can now pay through carsales for hassle-free transactions. With ID-verified buyers and sellers², funds are only released at handover – it’s safer, faster, simpler.
Oh, and it’s not just cars. Think bikes, boats, caravans and more.
Ready to love every move?
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Give me some good news
An Australian company has received over $2 million in funding for its breakthrough cancer treatment research.
OxyLo, a company co-founded by UNSW researchers Dr Tom Molley and Professor Kristopher Kilian, has developed a technology called HypoxyCaps - microscopic implants that look like tiny beads.
According to UNSW, they act like “mini black holes” when injected into inoperable tumours – starving them of the “oxygen and glucose that fuels a cancer”. This makes the tumour “an easier target for treatments like chemotherapy.” The technology is still in its early research phase, but Professor Kilian said a grant from the United States’ National Institutes of Health could prove “critical for translating the technology from the lab to patients.”
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Emma Gillespie.
TDA titbit
The Catholic church has canonised (officially recognised) the first millennial saint in front of thousands of worshippers in the Vatican.
In Catholicism, a saint is a holy person recognised by the church for living a life of “heroic virtues” such as charity, faith and hope.
Carlo Acutis was born to Italian parents in London in 1991. As a child and teenager, he reportedly taught himself how to code and built a website cataloguing miracles around the world.
Carlo sadly died from Leukaemia at the age of 15 in 2006.
But nearly two decades on, he’s become a saint.
Acutis’ mother, Antonia Salzano, described her son as an “ordinary child,” with an “extraordinary” heart. Salzano recently told Reuters that Carlo “wanted to help people to have more faith”.
Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
Australian men and women are retiring, on average, with substantially different superannuation balances. Now, there’s a push in Canberra to tackle what’s known as the "gender super gap". Last week, Liberal Senator Jane Hume introduced a bill that would allow couples to split their super without facing additional taxes, with the goal of improving financial outcomes for women and gender equity among ageing Australians.
In today’s deep dive, we’ll give you a snapshot of where Australia’s super gap is and explain everything you need to know about this proposed legislation.
TDA asks
