TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to SBS News in Easy English. I'm Greg Dyett.
A man has been arrested over the disappearance of Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy.
Victoria Police say the 22-year-old Ballarat man was arrested at his home and remains in custody, although charges have not yet been laid.
Police say he is not linked to the Murphy family.
Ms Murphy was last seen leaving her home in Ballarat East on the 4th of February to go jogging, and has not been seen since.
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A major tracing operation in New South Wales has revealed 75 sites contaminated with asbestos-laden mulch in Sydney.
The eight-week supply-chain investigation returned positive tests for the hazardous material at parks, schools, hospitals and churches.
Around 6,500 tonnes of mulch have been traced, assessed and tested by the Environment Protection Authority, which has been working to determine how the mulch entered the supply chain.
All sites that returned positive results had small levels of asbestos contamination and New South Wales Health advises the health risk is low.
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Ramadan will begin in Australia on the 12th of March.
The beginning of the Muslim holy month depends on the first sighting of the new moon.
After extensive consultation with the imams of the Australian Fatwa Council, the Grand Mufti of Australia Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamad has announced the first day of fasting will be the March 12.
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Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says the addition of superannuation to paid parental leave payments will help reduce the gap between men and women's retirement savings.
An additional 12 per cent payment of superannuation will be added to the government's parental leave payment from July next year.
The announcement is part of Labor's Working for Women strategy, Australia's first national strategy to achieve gender equality.
Ms Rishworth has told Sky News it will add thousands to women's retirement savings.
"Women's retirement savings are 25 per cent less than men at the time of retirement, and that's because women often take some time out of the workforce. So, this is a really important announcement. It will lead to thousands of extra dollars at the time of retirement for women."
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Federal Labor has defended its investment in renewable energy projects, following news a major offshore wind farm will be a fifth of its original size.
The Southern Ocean zone, located 15 to 20 kilometres off Victoria's coast near industrial Portland, will span 1,030 square kilometres rather than the initial plan of more than 5,000.
The revised plan followed environmental and marine consultation which received concerns over habitat loss.
Climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen told ABC Melbourne he continues to pursue solar and wind energy over alternatives sources.
“Solar is now the cheapest form of energy that has ever been available to humankind, so that’s a massive opportunity. Onshore wind… the move price does move around but again the cost curb is positive, the only thing where the cost continues to up and things continue to get harder, is nuclear.”
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An Australian Defence Force soldier has been injured in a parachute accident during a training exercise.
In a statement the Defence force said the incident occurred during a routine training activity at the Richmond base near Sydney.
The soldier was taken to hospital but no further comment about their condition was provided.
I'm Greg Dyett and that's SBS News in Easy English.
