What we learned; Friday 21 February
With that, we will wrap the blog for the day. Enjoy your evenings and take care.
Here were the biggest developments of the day:
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has raised the issue of captive Australian Oscar Jenkins with Russia at a G20 meeting in South Africa, expressing that he be treated appropriately and that Russia complies with its international obligations.
Chinese warships have undertaken an apparent live-fire drill in the seas between Australia and New Zealand, diverting commercial flights in the skies above.
Telstra downgraded the upload speeds for thousands of Belong NBN customers without informing them at the time or lowering prices, a federal court has found.
Poker machine losses in NSW hit a record high of $8.64bn in 2024, surpassing the record losses of the previous two years and reinforcing concerns that government harm-minimisation measures haven’t gone far enough.
The NSW health minister has admitted “we’ve catastrophically let down” the family of Joe Massa the toddler who waited hours in a Northern Beaches emergency department and died of cardiac arrest.
And south-eastern Australia is in for some hot, windy weather this weekend, prompting an extreme fire danger in parts of Victoria and South Australia.
Updated
E-scooter rider dies after crash in Gold Coast park
A person has died on the Gold Coast after a fatal e-scooter crash, Queensland Police have confirmed.
Police are investigating after the crash occurred at Highland Park today.
Initial information indicates a member of the public walking through a park on Gloucester Court discovered the rider unresponsive near the crashed e-scooter.
Paramedics performed CPR on the rider; however, they were declared deceased at the scene.
Investigations will be conducted by the Forensic Crash Unit to try and determine the cause of the crash.
In 2024, eight people were killed on e-scooters in Queensland, and more than 1,000 presented to emergency departments after e-scooter rides.
Updated
