Good morning central Victoria!
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We’re in for a mostly sunny day - Bendigo 33, Maryborough 32, Castlemaine 31, Kyneton 30, Redesdale 34, Echuca 34.
Catch up on news here:
IBAC releases report into Bendigo Health
A report stemming from an investigation into Bendigo Health by the state’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has been tabled in parliament. Read more here.
Hospital ‘big boss’ expected ‘token’ bills: report
An investigation by the state’s anti-corruption watchdog has identified “organisational and systemic corruption vulnerabilities” at Bendigo Health, which “facilitated” the misappropriation of up to $10,000 in goods and services for the private use of hospital chief executive John Mulder. Read more here.
Bendigo man jailed for child sexual assault
A Bendigo man has been jailed for three years with a two-year non-parole period for child sexual assault offences stemming from the late-1990s. Peter Pryse, 40, was sentenced in the Bendigo County Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16. Read more here.
Doing laps for love in Colbinabbin
Colbinabbin Recreation Reserve will on Saturday be the scene of a community’s effort to support one of its own. Family and friends of Lucinda Ryan have organised a Lap-A-Thon in support of the Melanoma Institute Australia. Read more here.
Track stars unfazed by favourites tag
Cameron Meyer and Callum Scotson are adamant they are feeling no extra pressure as a result of being favourites for the McCaig Dalkin Bendigo International Madison. Read more here.
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
► KANGAROO VALLEY: A bus company manager and a mechanic have been charged with manslaughter, nearly seven years after a tour bus plunged into a ravine near Kangaroo Valley on the NSW South Coast.
The bus driver, Graham Lees, 58, died and 28 of his passengers were injured after the bus careered out of control and crossed to the wrong side of Moss Vale Road on Barrengarry Mountain on May 14, 2010. More here.
► METFORD: Police have uncovered an alleged illegal clothing scam operating out of a Metford home. Police allege a woman shoplifted kids clothes, toys, pajamas and other items from several major retail chains. More here.
► YACKANDANDAH: The story of a 10-year-old who was accidentally run over by a 4WD near Yackandandah is one at the heart of a campaign to keep triple-0 for emergencies.
On October 17, paramedics Tegwyn McManamny and Paul Bellman were called to a farm to find the boy’s motorcycle had become unstable in slippery conditions and slid into the path of the car. More here.
► BALLARAT: A 28-year-old Ballarat man who was caught selling stolen goods on a Ballarat, Buy, Swap and Sell Facebook page has been jailed.
Bobby Slater pleaded guilty to possessing the goods, but told police he did not know they were stolen when a friend asked him to post them online, a court has heard. More here.
► MOUNT ISA: Can you help solve the mystery of this photo?
A Mount Isa woman named Joy says she was out walking by the side of the cemetery when she noticed a torn black and white photo of a young boy on a tractor.
The photo was wedged up by a fence at the cemetery, mostly likely blown there by the wind. More here.
► YOUNG: Magistrate Peter Dare has come down hard on a Young man who faced his court for impersonating an AFP police officer.
Frank Abbas was sentenced in the Local Court this week to 12 months in prison with a three month non-parole period.
The 47-year-old faced eight charges, four of which were for impersonating a police officer. More here.
National news
► One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has apologised and admitted she was wrong for suggesting parents subject their children to a non-existent test for vaccine allergies.
Four days after linking vaccines with autism and likening the government's child vaccination programs to a "dictatorship", Senator Hanson ceded to expert advice and said sorry. More here.
► Australia and other nations must be held to account for obligations they have made to protect World Heritage sites such as the Great Barrier Reef, legal groups say.
US-based Earthjustice and Environmental Justice Australia on Thursday unveiled legal analysis in Paris that they said demonstrates Australia was failing to fulfil responsibilities to protect and conserve the reef. More here.
► A deal to block foreign donations in Australian politics has broken down over the inclusion of activist groups, with no agreement between the Coalition and Labor expected in a parliamentary report to be issued on Friday.
The cross-party committee considering the 2016 election was given a week-long extension for talks on the future of foreign donations to political parties and candidates, as senators worked to find a deal on which organisations would be impacted. More here.
► Passengers on the Manly Ferry were stranded for hours after the ferry broke down near Manly on Thursday evening. The ferry was around 30 metres from Manly Wharf, witnesses said, when it suddenly stopped and started drifting. More here.
National weather radar
International news
► JAKARTA: Trade Minister Steven Ciobo has stressed there are no trade barriers to the export of palm oil from Indonesia to Australia and said the Anti-Dumping Commission was reviewing a decision that Indonesia had dumped A4 copy paper in Australia.
During a trip to Australia last month, Indonesian President Joko Widodo conveyed to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull some of the key issues in a free trade deal being hammered out between the two countries. More here.
► LONDON: Sometimes it's what politicians don't say that speaks volumes.
In his entire hour-long first Budget speech, UK chancellor Philip Hammond avoided saying 'Brexit'.
And the reason is clear. Thin on substance, literally thin on page count, the budget papers showed an economy in fair health, albeit with public services groaning under the cumulative effects of 7 years of austerity (aka, traditional Conservative small-government policy).
But there was a huge question mark over its future. More here.
► DENPASAR: Former war correspondent David Fox expressed his relief and gratitude to a Balinese court for recognising the "circumstances of my peculiar case" after he was sentenced to just seven months' jail for possessing hashish.
The sentence, which is minus time already served, means Mr Fox will be released from Kerobokan jail in just two months. It is considerably less than the 12 months requested by the prosecutor.
Mr Fox, a former bureau chief of Reuters news agency in Jakarta, was arrested in the seaside precinct of Sanur last October for possessing 9.83 grams of hashish.
The Denpasar District Court heard he had used hashish to treat post traumatic stress disorder acquired after years of covering wars and conflicts for Reuters, an international news agency. More here.
On this day
The faces of Australia: Jamie Chan
Physiotherapist Jamie Chan is getting on his bike to pedal an important message: bikes can be empowering.
Mr Chan has seen first-hand how bicycle ownership could improve the life of Cambodians. He is now riding to raise awareness for not-for-profit organisation Bicycles for Humanity and its work to alleviate poverty through sustainable transport.
Cycle for Humanity is a challenge to ride 110 kilometres this month, cumulatively or in one big ride, and raise one dollar for each kilometre. Mr Chan aims to ride an extra kilometres for each additional dollar he can raise. Read more here.