Latest news with #AustralianCommunityMedia
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Hero dog honored after legendary career catching criminals: 'He's responsible for putting a lot of people in jail'
A heroic dog in Australia has been rewarded for his work in helping fire investigation teams and boosting the safety of his human co-workers. Gandalf the detection dog is a more seasoned pup passing on his wisdom to the next generation of service animals — and now he has an award to prove he is indeed "a very good boy," as Australian Community Media (@australiancommunitymedia) highlighted on TikTok. Australia's Fire and Rescue New South Wales announced in April that Gandalf, who has been with the department since 2018, was honored as the 2025 Canine Hero of the Year in the Service Dog category at the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Sydney Royal Easter Show. The team credits Gandalf with fearlessly going into hazardous areas and quickly pinpointing how the fires started. His work means investigators spend less time in those fire-ravaged areas, which can contain toxic chemicals that threaten human health. Gandalf is able to quickly identify fire accelerants, helping him find evidence in arson and homicide investigations. "This award is a fitting tribute to the work Gandalf has done for our team and the community," Tim Garrett, FRNSW canine team leader, said. "Gandalf has an incredible ability to work through chaotic, post-fire environments and identify the smallest traces of ignitable liquids." The veteran pup's work is all the more essential as Australia grapples with the effects of rising global temperatures. In 2020, as bushfires devastated southeastern Australia during "Black Summer," World Weather Attribution found that human activities associated with a warming climate — such as the burning of dirty fuels — had raised the country's bushfire risk by at least 30%. While upgrading to energy-efficient appliances and unplugging wallet-draining "energy vampires" are among the ways to reduce the heat-trapping pollution you generate at home, Gandalf's nose remains a powerful deterrent for potential fire-starting perpetrators, as he has worked a number of high-profile arson and homicide cases. "He's actually responsible for putting a lot of people in jail," an announcer honoring the canine noted during the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Sydney Royal Easter Show. At the end of the year, Gandalf is retiring from the Fire Investigation and Research Unit. However, Siren, one of the veteran's mentees, is in the newest class of detection dogs. What type of food do you feed your pets? Conventional kibble Canned Fresh Insect-based Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "He's been incredibly tolerant and patient with his new excitable sidekick, Siren," Garrett said. "He's passing the baton in the best possible way." Gandalf's prize money from his Canine Hero of the Year award will go toward Fire and Rescue NSW's Beat the Burn — an event focused on raising funds for the burns unit at the Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation, per the department's Facebook. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
The Guardian
04-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Barnaby Joyce to undergo surgery after being diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer
A day after being re-elected to his seat of New England, the Nationals deputy leader, Barnaby Joyce, announced he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo surgery on Monday. The former deputy prime minister, 58, told the ABC he had not experienced any symptoms, but that his doctor had recommended he take a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test. After the test returned 'elevated' results, he had an MRI and biopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with one in eight diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime. Joyce told the ABC he felt 'very blessed and lucky' to have discovered the cancer early, and that he expected to make a full recovery. 'Prostate cancer, if you get it early, is very, very treatable; in fact, about 97 per cent successful', he said, urging all men to watch for symptoms and take the PSA test to detect early signs of the disease. 'After a short period in hospital, I'll take a break to recover before getting back to work,' he told Australian Community Media. He said he kept his diagnosis private during the election campaign as he 'didn't want it to be a distraction.' Joyce said he will have surgery on Monday, after which he was under strict instructions from family to rest after the surgery. 'My wife has told me I'm not allowed to go into the paddock, no fencing, no ducking out to the paddock to do a bit of cattle work,' he told ACM. Joyce was comfortably returned for a fifth term as the member for New England in Saturday's poll, receiving 67.5% of the two-party-preferred vote – a 2% swing. Nationals MPs broadly did not see as fierce swings as their Liberal counterparts, though the party looked likely to lose its deputy leader, Perin Davey, from the Senate, and failed to regain Calare in NSW from National turned independent MP Andrew Gee.
News.com.au
23-04-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
St Kilda: Real estate guru Catalano selling his $36m Saint Moritz penthouse
Media and real estate guru Antony Catalano is selling his $36m penthouse in a St Kilda tower of power where other homes have been linked to Shane Warne and Sam Newman. Mr Catalano bought the penthouse off the plan from high-profile developer Tim Gurner for $30m in what had been a record apartment purchase for Melbourne in 2019. But after about two years living in the home at the top of the Saint Moritz development, he and wife Stefanie are selling it for $33m-$36m — enough to set the suburb's home price record, again. Tim Gurner lists $15m Saint Moritz pad inspired by Shane Warne home in same building Mr Catalano is the former boss of the Domain real estate group and currently executive chairman at View Media Group as well as Australian Community Media. He is also the owner of the popular venue Raes on Wategos in Byron Bay, where he bought a $9m home in 2023 and is reportedly seeking to build a $55m mansion. Marshall White's Marcus Chiminello and John Bongiorno are handling the penthouse sale at Saint Moritz, developed on the site of the former Novotel hotel and Saint Moritz ice skating rink on The Esplanade in St Kilda. The sprawling 700sq m property is set over two levels with views that take in the bay and Melbourne's CBD. There are soaring voids above some of the home's living areas, a 175sq m outdoor terrace, a private pool looking towards the city skyline, and basement carparking for eight to 14 vehicles. There are six bedrooms, all with ensuites, including a main with a gas log fireplace and marble ensuite. Mr Chiminello said the unparalleled apartment would appeal to a mix of more established buyers looking for a Melbourne base, or a young and newly wealthy entrepreneur coming out of the tech world. It's also possible it will be someone flying in from overseas, or who owns offshore businesses. The agent noted that with the Australian dollar down against most major currencies in the aftermath of Donald Trump's tariff moves in the US, there was a building international interest in Melbourne which had long had global appeal and now had global value. 'Compared to a couple of weeks ago they are getting a discount, based on the exchange rate,' Mr Chiminello said. 'Those buyers are driven by product, not by location, and this will be hard to find in any other building. 'This is the first time something like this has been sold as a finished product.' However, while the next owner could be new money, the agent said it was good to see that even the luxury future of Saint Moritz was still paying homage to the suburb's past by retaining the name of the ice skating rink that used to stand at the site. Saint Moritz apartments also have access to the building's amenities, including a 25m lap pool, valet parking and a concierge, as well as an in-house anti-ageing and wellness retreat with a mix of cryotherapy, salt rooms, saunas and plunge pools available. The building's residents and guests are also welcomed via either a luxury hotel-style valet carpark, or via a glass cube modelled on tech company Apple's famous New York flagship store. When the complex's apartments were being sold off the plan, famous faces that committed to purchases included AFL great Sam Newman and Test cricket legend the late Shane Warne — though Warne's family had his acquisition on-sold privately after his passing in 2022. Mr Catalano also sold a nearby house in St Kilda West house for $15.5m in 2022. Expressions of interest for the property are being sought.
