What we learned today, Wednesday 7 April
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for this evening. Thanks for reading our coverage. I’ll be back with you tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, here were today’s major developments:
The Greens refused to concede the seat of Melbourne, despite the ABC and other election analysts projecting the party’s leader, Adam Bandt, had been defeated by Labor’s Sarah Witty.
Peter Dutton said he would maintain a “graceful silence” on his exit from politics, after shepherding the Coalition through an election campaign that resulted in such a resounding election defeat it cost him his own seat. Meanwhile, tensions bubbled over who should take over the Liberal leadership.
Joseph Gaerlan, a security guard in charge of emergency response the day Joel Cauchi fatally stabbed six people inside a Bondi shopping centre, has told an inquest that communication difficulties caused a delay in warning customers about the incident.
A doctor who treated Erin Patterson told her triple murder trial that he was surprised she discharged herself from hospital five minutes after being told she may have been exposed to potentially fatal mushroom poisoning.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, urged against “escalatory actions” after Indian missile strikes in Pakistan and Kashmir and said Australia was engaging with both countries.
The NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, announced plans to resign after three years in the five-year role and 38 years in the police force.
And mystery swirled over how miniature dachshund Valerie braved more than 500 days in Kangaroo Island’s rugged wilderness only to emerge healthy, happy – and larger than before.
Updated
Under examination from Asmof’s barrister, Thomas Dixon, Buchanan told the court his and NSW Health’s expert witness reports provided “very similar” modelling costs looking at two scenarios – current cost of provision of psychiatry services with diminished staff specialists (SS) as well as the assumption there were no VMOs and no locums, and hospitals instead staffed by SS with a 25% pay rise.
However, he said they differ in how they use that information.
NSW Health’s report in response to Buchanan’s was prepared by Rian Thompson, the department’s director of workforce insights and transformation.
Buchanan said the “character of the growth is dramatic” with staff specialist vacancies dropping from 70% to 60% in six years and “all things considered the staff specialist proportion could drop further”.
Buchanan said considering the likelihood of further staff specialist resignations and the growing incidence of mental health disorders, the reliance on visiting medical officers and locums will become “far more expensive”.
Under-cross examination, Thompson in his evidence was reticent to accept Dixon’s question that his costing simulations did not differ from those of Buchanan. Thompson said “arguably 10% is substantial”.
Thompson also confirmed psychiatrists have been pushing back their resignations due to delays in these proceedings, which were originally scheduled for one week in March.
Updated
