Wednesday afternoon's news in under 5 minutes.

Too busy to read the news? No problem, we’ve rounded up the top stories of the afternoon to keep you updated.

1. Kelly Thompson inquest: Man who murdered former partner breached intervention orders.

Trigger warning: This post deals with domestic violence and may be triggering for some readers.

By ABC News

A man who murdered his former partner before committing suicide in her home told people in the days before that he had considered killing her or himself, an inquest into the woman’s death has heard.

Wayne Wood killed 43-year-old Kelly Thompson at her Point Cook home in February last year after months of threats and violence against her.

There was an intervention order in place against Wood, but he had breached it at least twice in the weeks before the murder.

At a directions hearing in Melbourne this morning, counsel assisting the coroner, Rachel Ellyard, revealed that Wood had openly discussed with people his intention to harm Ms Thompson and himself.

Ms Ellyard said one threat was made to friends at a function at which Wood “unusually” was not drinking alcohol. He also spoke of being depressed.

State coroner Ian Gray will consider a number of issues as part of the inquest, including the way in which police handled the case in the lead-up to Ms Thompson’s murder, and the adequacy of the investigation after the deaths.

A version of this post originally appeared on ABC News and has been republished with permission.

2. Broome residents on lookout for crocodile in town after sightings on social media.

By ABC News

Broome residents are being asked to keep their eyes peeled for a crocodile that reportedly came ashore at a beach in the town and clambered up two flights of stairs.

Several residents reported seeing an animal walk up Cable Beach during the evening of Australia Day.

But authorities have not been able to confirm the sightings, and some have dismissed it as a hoax.

Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW) officer Pete Carstairs said the initial reports came through on Tuesday morning.

“The first report was of a crocodile on the beach, a two-to-three-metre animal,” he said.

“And we’ve also had a report of a one-metre animal walking up the stairs, towards the Zanders cafe.

The two flights of concrete stairs are the main thoroughfare leading people from the grassy picnic area down to the vast sands of Cable Beach.

Crocodiles are known as excellent climbers, more than capable of handing an incline.

A version of this post originally appeared on ABC News and has been republished with permission.

3. Nurses warn against closing mental health beds at Royal Hobart Hospital.

By ABC

Mental health advocates have criticised plans to close acute psychiatric beds at the Royal Hobart Hospital, warning it could expose other patients to violence.

The Tasmanian Mental Health Key Stakeholders Consortium, which includes nurses and doctors, said five out of 30 beds were set to close at the hospital.

The Nursing Federation’s Neroli Ellis, who is part of the consortium, said the move was illogical.

“To take away five beds seems illogical at the moment when we know that we need more than that, it really is depleting our clients of acute services,” she said.

“We will see more mental health patients nursed on the acute general medical wards.

“We are seeing now, one of the reasons for the escalating violence on the general wards is that once someone is admitted under an order, but needing medical care, we have got some concerns about staffing levels and the ability to de-escalate in the general ward.

“With the closure of acute mental health beds we will be exposing many more people to that level of concern.”

A version of this post originally appeared on ABC News and has been republished with permission.

5. WA woman’s blood clot death sparks GP contraceptive pill warning.

By ABC

The death of a 28-year-old Perth woman has prompted a warning to GPs to remind patients to report contraceptive pill use as part of their medical history.

Petra Zele died from complications arising from a blood clot in her lungs in 2010.

Three weeks prior she had presented to the emergency department at Fremantle Hospital complaining of chest pains.

Ms Zele was told by Dr Susan Hinsley that the pain was from muscle soreness and was sent home with painkillers.

Coroner Helen Linton’s report revealed Ms Zele was taking the oral contraceptive pill Yasmin, known to increase the risk of blood clots, and also had a genetic mutation that further increased her risk.

The report showed Ms Zele was asked about her medication history but did not tell Dr Hinsley she was taking the pill.

A version of this post originally appeared on ABC News and has been republished with permission.

6. Sri Lankan asylum seekers legally detained at sea, High Court rules.

A group of 157 Sri Lankan asylum seekers were legally detained at sea by Australian authorities last year, the High Court finds.

The asylum seekers were picked up and held on a Customs boat for nearly a month last June after leaving a port at Pondicherry in southern India.

They were eventually taken to Nauru after efforts to return them to India failed.

Lawyers for the group argued the detention outside Australia was illegal and at odds with international obligations, and their treatment on the Customs boat was inhumane and cruel.

Asylum seeker advocates were concerned over changes to legislation made late last year that could make it difficult to challenge boat turn-backs and detention at sea in the future.

The changes meant detention powers can not be ruled invalid on the basis of international obligations.

A version of this post originally appeared on ABC News and has been republished with permission.

7. Now for some good news: Abbott promises national domestic violence scheme.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared his intention to stamp out domestic violence in Australia, promising a scheme that would see domestic violence orders applying across state borders.

Mr Abbott’s comes after meeting today with Australian of Year recipient, Rosie Batty, whose enormous effort and campaigning against family violence won her the prestigious award.

Abbott said he aims to enact his ambitious initiative by the end of the year.

“We all know that so many families do flee from city to city, from state to state to avoid violence, and if they’re fleeing violence, the violence should not be allowed to follow them,” Mr Abbott said at a press conference today.

“If you are a repeat drink driver you really have the book thrown at you. But if you breach domestic violence orders often there are hardly any consequences and this is just wrong,” he said. “Breaching a domestic violence order is a very serious matter and it really does have to be treated very seriously by the police, by the courts, by the system.”

Abbott’s come under serious criticism this week after he made Prince Phillip a knight of the Order Of Australia. Perhaps this will be the initiative to secure back some of Abbott’s dwindling public popularity.

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