Daily News Roundup

THURSDAY, September 20

A Tasmanian tourist bitten by a shark in the Whitsunday Islands region of north Queensland has been saved by the actions of an emergency department doctor, according to an Australian Associated Press report in News.com.

Dr John Hadok from Mackay Base Hospital just happened to be on a nearby boat when the 46-year-old woman was attacked while swimming at Cid Harbour about 5pm on Wednesday.

The incident left the woman with a significant wound to her upper left thigh.

By the time she was pulled from the water and onto a boat, the woman was already bleeding heavily.

Dr Hadok’s actions on board the boat helped stop the bleeding in time for a rescue helicopter to arrive, local paramedics say.

“Fortunately he was able to assist in immediate treatment of the patient and to stabilise the serious haemorrhage that she had,” Mackay local ambulance service network operations manager, Tracey Eastwick, said.

The RACQ CQ Rescue Helicopter, which was nearby undertaking a routine patrol, took the woman to Proserpine where it refuelled.

During the refuelling, blood was delivered from a local hospital to be transfused into the woman. She was also provided with pain relief and other medical treatment

Just after 8pm the helicopter arrived at Mackay Base Hospital where the woman was in an altered state of consciousness and complaining of “significant levels of pain”, Ms Eastwick said.

The woman remains in a critical condition on Thursday after undergoing overnight surgery, a hospital spokeswoman told AAP.

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When the clock strikes midnight tonight, longer and higher hay loads on trucks will be allowed on state roads to take animal feed to farmers, thanks to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The ABC reports that under current regulations some larger heavy vehicles require a permit to travel on state-controlled roads.

The maximum size of vehicle now exempt from having to apply for a permit will be 4.6 metres high and 2.83 metres wide.

Previously, access was limited for Class 3 vehicles up to 4.3 metres high and 2.6 metres wide.

Shortages of hay, grain and other animal feed has meant trucks have been carting fodder across the country from Western Australia and Tasmania bound mainly for regional and rural New South Wales.

Prime Minister Morrison and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack made the announcement this morning, ABC Rural reports..

A number of trucks have been stopped by authorities at state borders for carting large loads of hay without the appropriate permits.

Mr Morrison said it was common sense to cut through the red tape.

“One common-sense thing that we need to do is make sure when you’re driving a truck full of hay, they don’t stop it at the border because it doesn’t comply with some rule that frankly doesn’t need to be there, particularly in circumstances like this,” he said.

“And so, one of the things we’ve identified early is the need for these trucks, large trucks, carrying the hay, to move past state borders and not be pulled up, not be fined, not have to face 6,000 permits a year.

“All of this red tape when we just need to get the feed to the farm.”

In other rural news reported by the ABC:

The famous Ekka strawberry sundae is about to be made outside of showtime for the first time in a bid to help farmers rocked by the needle contamination scare.

More than 100,000 of the sundaes are made every year at the Ekka by the Prince Charles Hospital Foundation, with all monies raised going to medical research.

Foundation chief executive Michael Hornby told ABC Radio Brisbane Breakfast that his team would use surplus strawberries and sell the desserts at pop-up stalls in Brisbane’s CBD.

“The farmers and the strawberry industry absolutely deserve the chance,” he said.

“We will have to turn to our partners and the Ekka for help and promotion, and we would need a lot of volunteers to help out.”

During the Ekka more than 3,000 volunteers are needed to make the sundaes.

Woolworths has responded to calls from the dairy industry by announcing it will increase the price of its milk by 10 cents a litre as part of a new special drought relief milk range.

The major supermarket plans to launch the range mid-October with the extra 10 cents going to dairy farmers in drought-affected areas.

The drought relief milk will sell at $1.10 a litre with the range also offering additional two litre and three litre varieties at $2.20 and $3.30 respectively.

The idea of a 10-cent levy was floated two weeks ago by dairy farmer Shane Hickey from Kyogle in northern New South Wales and the Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation (QDO).

Mr Hickey said the news from the supermarket was “awesome” and “absolutely excellent”.

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A woman has died after a caravan was blown off a cliff in Ireland, as parts of the British Isles have been battered by Storm Ali.

A Press Association report said the first named storm of the season brought high winds to the west of Ireland where the caravan was blown onto a beach at Claddaghduff, near Clifden in County Galway.

Irish police said the body of a woman in her 50s was found after a search on the beach.

Ireland’s RTE broadcaster said the victim was sleeping at the time when strong winds lifted the caravan from the ground.

As Ali rolled in on Wednesday morning the Met Office updated its amber weather warning of wind. Forecasters have warned of gusts of up to 130 km/h inland across Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland, northeast England and northwest England.

In Northern Ireland, there were around 32,000 homes without electricity with majority of faults located in the Omagh, Dungannon and Enniskillen areas.

NI Electricity said it expected that number to rise throughout Wednesday as Ali sweeps across the country.

Travel disruption, power cuts and flying debris are possible with severe gales and heavy rain forecast for a large part of the UK, the Met Office said.

This daily news roundup has been curated with stories from ABC News and News.com.