1. Billionaire and recently appointed MP Clive Palmer has announced that he plans to launch a Senate Recount in Western Australia. Palmer, the current member for Fairfax, has said that he will take the matter to the High Court if necessary. The news comes after the Australian Electoral Commission declared that the Australian Sports Party’s Wayne Dropulich and the Greens’ Scott Ludlum had won the final Senate positions, despite there being 1375 votes still missing.
2. Baby slings are being investigated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission after a Queensland coroner linked the devices to the deaths of two infants. A new safety awareness campaign will notify parents of the risks slings can present, with the ACCC hoping to take the plan to an international level, working with sling manufacturers to increase safety. In March this year, a Brisbane infant was injured in a sling and died 5 days later. Similarly, in 2010, a two-day-old infant suffocated to death in a baby sling.
3. The Dalai Lama’s voice risks being silenced in his home country of Tibet, as Chinese officials have revealed they plan on tightening media and internet controls in the region. According Fairfax, the Communist Party of China aims to “ensure that the voices of hostile forces and the Dalai group are not seen or heard.” The Dalai Lama, who has been in exile since 1959, has not yet commented on the situation.