Canberra Now: News in 90 seconds for Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Good morning, Canberra.
Happy hump day! It's going to be a mostly sunny day for your Wednesday, with a top of 27 degrees. There will be some morning cloud but that will clear for a sunny afternoon.
Here's your quick news fix.
APS bosses' pay safe as inquiry rejects cap
Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson fears inquiries could be junked.
Photo: Alex EllinghausenThe salaries of public service bosses appear safe after an inquiry told the Senate to reject changes capping executive pay and possibly halving the wages of the top paid agency leaders.
As Doug Dingwall reports, the inquiry found a push from Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson to limit pay for senior executives in the Australian Public Service would have capped their salaries at about $420,000 per annum, a significant reduction for many of the highest-ranking public servants.
Read the story here.
Father seeks inquiry into son's prison death
father of Jonathon Hogan holds a photograph of his son prior to his death at Junee prison. Photo: Jamila Toderas
Photo: Jamila ToderasThe father of Jonathon Hogan, who died in prison, is urging the ACT government to open an inquiry into his son's death.
Jonathon, 23, died by hanging inside Junee prison in February this year. He had a history of substance abuse and mental health issues, and had absconded from the mental health unit at Canberra Hospital before his incarceration at Junee.
His father, Matt, is desperate to know whether Jonathon was being treated for substance abuse inside Junee, and why someone with a history of self-harm was locked in a cell with hanging points.
Read Steven Trask, Katie Burgess and Kirsten Lawson's story here.
Supermarket plans for Northbourne abandoned
An artist's impression of the Soho development, planned for block 4, section 1 and block 1, section 12 Dickson. Developer Johnny Roso's Art Group has applied for permission to build 409 apartments replacing public housing on Northbourne Avenue, in the $92 million first stage of his development. The apartments are to be across six buildings fronting Northbourne in front and Dooring Street behind, three of them nine storeys and the others seven and eight stories. The buildings fronting Dooring Street are about 19 metres tall and the Northbourne frontage 25 metres tall, plus rooftop planting and services.
Kirsten Lawson and I teamed up again to do a follow on the story - this time about how Johnny Roso's Art Group were forced to abandon plans for a supermarket on the site after it met strong resistance from government agencies.
You can read our story here.
Just 24 and already notched up 111 plasma donations
The newly opened Canberra plasma centre on Mort street is only the second of its kind in Australia. One of Australia?s youngest donors to reach 100 donations, Canberra's Daniel Willcox (24) has notched up 102 plasma donations since he started donating at the age of 18. Photo by Karleen Minney.
Photo: karleen minneyHow's this for a feel-good story.
Meet Daniel Willcox, who on Tuesday made his 111th donation of plasma. What's more incredible...he's just 24.
He helped open the new blood plasma centre in Canberra, one of only two plasma-only donation centres in Australia.
The 24 year old has been donating every fortnight since he was 18, inspired by his parents.
Find Rebecca Jellie's story here.
'Cutting edge' P-plate law proposal sparks backlash
David Gooch of Griffith and his 17-year-old son Brody, who is on his L-plates. David believes increasing restrictions on young drivers is misguided and instead wants driver education to begin earlier.
Photo: karleen minneyACT Road Safety Minister Shane Rattenbury is facing a backlash from within the government over plans to enforce a curfew for P-plate drivers.
On Tuesday, he announced a shake-up of the ACT's graduated licensing scheme, including banning provisional drivers from driving between midnight and 5am, restricting them to one peer-based passenger at all times and forcing learner drivers to log at least 100 hours behind the wheel.
What were your thoughts on that proposal?
