Sacha Payne

Aug 6, 2024 | abc.net.au | Sacha Payne

Education researchers say some Australian teachers still feel climate change is a "controversial" and difficult topic to teach. The researchers urge an emphasis on practical ways to address climate change issues, to avoid triggering "eco-anxiety" in students. In some schools, peer-to-peer teaching is being used to help students hold conversations about climate change and the environment.

Jul 24, 2024 | abc.net.au | Sacha Payne

In total, there were 289,100 births in Australia last year, a decrease of around 20,000 babies from the year prior. Inner city birth rates in capital cities such as Melbourne were lower than in outer suburban and regional areas. A KPMG urban economist says it may take time for birth rates to increase across the board, citing the need for economic certainty and more support for families.

Apr 29, 2024 | abc.net.au | Sacha Payne |Joseph Dunstan

In short: The coronial inquest into the death in custody of Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman Heather Calgarett has begun in Melbourne. She died in hospital in November 2021 while serving a prison sentence at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne's west. What's next? The four-week inquest will hear from witnesses and health experts. Heather Calgaret was a beloved mother, sister, daughter and friend. Her family says nothing will be the same without her.

Apr 22, 2024 | abc.net.au | Sacha Payne

The Victorian woman accused of murdering three of her relatives with a lunch featuring allegedly poisonous mushrooms has appeared in court today by video-link. 49 year old Erin Patterson is charged with several counts of murder and attempted murder. She denies all the allegations against her.

Apr 19, 2024 | abc.net.au | Sacha Payne

When Chief Justice Will Alstergren speaks at events focusing on family violence, all he sees in the audience are women. “You go to so many functions where people are talking about domestic and family violence,” he said. “When you do look, how many men are actually in the audience?”The Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court has called family violence “a national disgrace” and said it shouldn’t be seen as a women’s problem to fix. “This is not a women's issue.