Latest news with #StJohn
Herald Sun
2 days ago
- Health
- Herald Sun
St John Ambulance urge Victorian government not to fall behind other states on defibrillator rollout
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News. The state government has been urged to follow South Australia and mandate defibrillators in public buildings. St John Ambulance Victoria, which launched its Defib In Your Street program in Werribee on Friday, said the move could save thousands of lives. 'More than 7500 Victorians suffer a sudden cardiac arrest every year and survival relies on quick access to a defibrillator and training the community in its use,' chief executive Gordon Botwright said. St John has placed more than 90 Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) in Victoria across Reservoir, St Albans and Sunshine, plus trained 12,500 community members in CPR in the past three years. The Defib In Your Street program aims to reduce time to access a defibrillator in a bid to increase survival rates of people suffering Sudden Cardiac Arrest by providing free training and greater access to more public defibrillators. The area of Werribee located in Wyndham City Council is home to more than 28,000 people across a 12.7 sq km area, but St John Ambulance data shows it the only has three publicly-accessible defibrillators available 24-hours a day. 'It's literally a case where every second counts … with every extra minute that a person is in cardiac arrest, their chances of surviving fall by 10 per cent,' Mr Botwright said. 'Since initiating Defib In Your Street in 2022, we have installed more than 90 defibrillators in Melbourne suburbs with a high incidence of sudden cardiac arrest, and we have substantially reduced the time needed to access a defibrillator. 'The state government needs to follow the lead of SA where more than 1000 defibrillators have been installed, so we can work together and improve access to these lifesaving devices for all Victorians. Latrobe University data of the Defib In Your Street pilot program found that in Reservoir the program reduced travel time for residents to their nearest defibrillator by 2.32 minutes (68 per cent), and doubled AED coverage for cardiac arrests. Werribee resident and retired firefighter George Andrews praised the St John program and encouraged local community members to get involved. 'Having had first-hand experience in conducting CPR on a neighbour … I know how vital timing is in improving survival rates, so I didn't think twice about becoming the first person to host a public access defibrillator,' Mr Andrews said. 'The AED units are very easy to operate so if we can improve access to them by increasing the numbers in the suburb, we will have a far greater chance of saving precious lives,' he said. St John plans to make 30 publicly-available defibrillators (PADs) accessible in Werribee to ensure there is one every 400m.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Unemployment: Job data show construction down more than 12,000 in year, more youth out of work
In 2022, many employers were desperate to find staff. But borders reopened, migrants arrived and the economy's post-Covid rebound slowed down. Gordon said young people were also often in the firing line for layoffs. He said recent data also indicated more people were staying unemployed for longer. 'Once you're out, it is hard to get back in ... What we've been seeing in recent surveys is the six- to 12-month group has risen quite substantially.' Job numbers for people aged 20 to 34 dropped by thousands compared with a year ago. But the cohort aged 35 to 39 filled 2% more jobs than a year earlier, according to Stats NZ. Economist and former Child Poverty Action Group spokeswoman Susan St John said support and benefits for some unemployed people were still miserly. St John said that wasn't always a problem if unemployment lasted a few weeks, but in a prolonged recession, it could be disastrous. 'It's why we continue wallowing around in this ugly recession. Our fiscal cushions are not well-designed.' GDP grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of this year but since 2022, Stats NZ has recorded four quarters of GDP decline, one flat and eight of growth, not adjusted for population. Last year, annual real gross national disposable income fell 0.3% and annual real gross national disposable income per capita fell 2.0%. St John, an associate professor at the University of Auckland Business School, said the country had major gaps in the safety net for some people in relationships. An unemployed central Auckland man aged 25 with cash assets of $1000, paying $300 a week in rent, with a partner working fulltime at the minimum wage, would qualify for only $74 a week before tax on Jobseeker Support. If single, the same man would qualify for Jobseeker Support of between $356 and $361 a week before tax, and a weekly accommodation supplement of between $70 and $147. St John said lack of demand in the economy, which she blamed on restrictive Government fiscal policy, was behind the decline in young adults filling jobs. Compared to June 2024, filled jobs in construction were down 6%, or 12,169 jobs. Manufacturing was down 2.5% or 5850 jobs year-on-year in the latest Stats NZ data. But across all industries, there was a 0.1% increase in filled jobs last month compared with the previous month. 'Construction is a quite cyclical and quite interest-rate-sensitive part of the economy,' Gordon said. He said the country recorded a surge in building consents for a couple of years after Covid. 'There tends to be quite a long pipeline from consent to completion. 'We have seen housing consents stabilise over the past year.' For that reason, the medium-term outlook for construction was not abysmal but recovery in construction jobs was still likely a few months away, Gordon said. He said employment was down in the North Island, but steadier in the South Island. 'The strong performance of the agri-sector is a big part of that.' Gordon said feedback from customers and colleagues often illustrated stark regional contrasts. 'In the North Island, there'll be a litany of woes. In the South Island, it's '$10 milk price, everything's all right'.' Seek's June employment report was also released today. It showed job ads were down 3% on May and 3% down on a year earlier. But Gisborne, Marlborough and Southland bucked the trend, with job ads in those regions up from the month before. Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said job ad levels had been broadly flat for the past year. 'While the volume remains below pre-Covid levels, there are pockets of growth, which should be cause for some optimism.' John Weekes is a business journalist mostly covering aviation and court. He has previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and court.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Woman hospitalised after alleged stabbing in Auckland's Māngere Bridge
Police at the scene on Whanui Place. Photo: RNZ/Nicky Park A woman has been hospitalised after an alleged stabbing in the Auckland suburb of Māngere Bridge. Emergency services were called to the scene on Whanui Place just after 8am on Monday morning. A police spokesperson said officers were called to reports of a person being injured and on arrival a woman was found with stab wounds. She was taken to hospital in a serious condition, the spokesperson said. St John confirmed an ambulance and one rapid response vehicle went to Whanui Place. "One patient was assessed at the scene and transported to Middlemore Hospital in a serious condition," it said. A reporter at the scene said Whanui Place had been cordoned off on Monday morning and there were ten police cars present on the street. The reporter could see a number of police officers and dogs at the scene. A man had been arrested at the scene, police said and an investigation into what happened was ongoing. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Emergency services responding to helicopter crash in Bay of Plenty
Photo: 123RF Emergency services are at the scene of a helicopter incident in Bay of Plenty. St John said it was notified of an aviation incident in Matatā at about 3.15pm Sunday. Two ambulances, two rapid response units, two helicopters and one manager attended the scene, although St John was yet to confirm the status of the patients. St John crews remain on scene, with one fire service appliance assisting. Fire and Emergency said nobody was trapped during the incident. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
One injured, shot fired in armed robbery at Whangārei bar
Photo: 123RF The owner of a Whangārei pub says a customer is injured and staff are traumatised after an armed robbery last night. Craig Woods who owns the Kensington Tavern said a man with a gun burst into the premises about 9.30pm, went behind the bar and ordered staff to give him the till's cash drawer. He said two staff and three customers were still at the pub as it was closing. "The staff did the correct thing by giving them the till, and it all happened pretty quickly. But one of the patrons intervened. The offender sort of broke free, and so the patron backed off." St John said it took one person to hospital with moderate injuries. Detective Sergeant Ryan Cooper who is the head of the Tactical Crime Unit said officers were called to the bar at 10pm, after a man entered the bar holding a firearm and demanded money. He then fired a shot towards the roof of the bar and assaulted one of the patrons, before taking cash from one of the bar's tills. He then fled the scene in a white Toyota Aqua or a similar model, driven by a second person. The car had stolen licence plates attached, registration KHA69. The injured person was transported to hospital, but has been discharged. Police said they are urgently working to locate the two offenders, and anyone with information is urged to contact 105 online or via phone, quoting file number 250726/2971. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
