What we learned: Friday 2 December
That’s a wrap for the blog. Here are the day’s major developments:
Prosecutors dropped charges against Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unnacceptable risk” to her health. Two independent medical experts said ongoing trauma of prosecution presented an unacceptable risk to Higgins, with her friend confirming Higgins is in hospital receiving treatment.
Justice Ian Harrison has declared that Chris Dawson, convicted of murdering his wife, Lynette, will be sentenced to 24 years’ jail, with a non-parole period of 18 years.
Gas giant Santos lost its bid to restart drilling at a multimillion-dollar gas project off the Tiwi Islands.
Accused Islamic State jihadist Neil Prakash landed in Australia to face charges that could see him behind bars for life. He will be extradited to Victoria.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, released a joint statement with the Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, emphasising the need to strengthen ties.
New South Wales recorded 32 Covid deaths and have 1,481 people in hospital this week, while Victoria saw 54 deaths with 550 people in hospital. Western Australia recorded 14 Covid deaths with 185 people in hospital. South Australia recorded 12 Covid deaths, with 128 people in hospital.
The Victorian Greens urged the state government to ramp up pandemic health messaging to help stem the fourth Covid wave prior to an expected Christmas peak.
The government’s industrial relations package passed its last hurdle and passed the parliament, largely intact.
Firefighters at 27 airports across Australia have called off a strike that threatened to ground all domestic and international passenger flights for several hours next week.
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What to do if you are affected by the Medibank hack
And if you are a Medibank customer, and have some questions about the cyber-attack, or how you can protect yourself, look no further than Josh Taylor’s explainer, linked below:
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