Headlines: 17 schools close over asbestos sand warning

Today's headlines include:

• At least 17 schools in the ACT and Qld have closed as a precaution, after testing showed a children’s sand product may contain asbestos. 
• The driver jailed over the fatal 2023 Hunter Valley bus crash has lost an appeal against his 32-year prison term. 
• The BBC has apologised to U.S. President Donald Trump over an allegedly misleading edit of a speech he gave on 6 January  2021 – the day of the deadly Washington insurrection. 
• And today’s good news: An ancient fossil discovered in NSW has prompted researchers to reconsider what they thought they knew about insect evolution.

Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Lucy Tassell
Producer: Emma Gillespie

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
From The Daily Os. I'm Emma Gillespie, I'm Lucy Tassel.
It's Friday, the fourteenth of November. Here's what's making headlines
this evening.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
At least seventeen schools in the ACT and Queensland have
closed as a precaution after testing showed a children's sand
product may contain asbestos. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
or a Triple C, issued a recall notice for decorative
sand products from Kadink Education Colours and Creatistics. The sand,

(00:35):
which is designed for sensory play and educational purposes, is
sold in several colors at more than eighty retailers, including
Officeworks and Woolworth's. Authorities have identified quote a low level
of tremolite that's a naturally occurring asbestos and or chrysotile,
the most common type of asbestos in the products. However,

(00:56):
the most dangerous type, blue asbestos, has not been detect
in the sand. Work Safe ACT and Queensland said the
risk of exposure to traces of asbestos is low, but
they've urged quote a precautionary approach should be adopted until
further test results become available. Sixteen schools in the Act
were closed today, while several others were partially closed. One

(01:19):
school in Queensland also decided to close on Friday. Brisbane's
Mansell College said it was quote acting with an abundance
of caution after the sand was found at its campuses.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
The driver jailed over the fatal twenty twenty three Hunter
Valley bus crash has lost an appeal against his thirty
two year prison term. Brett Button was driving guests home
from a wedding when he lost control and crashed, killing
ten passengers and injuring twenty five on the June Long
weekend in twenty twenty three. Button pleaded guilty to dozens

(01:52):
of charges, including dangerous driving causing death. Last year, he
was sentenced to a maximum of thirty two years in
jail with a non parole period of twenty four years.
Button launched an appeal in July after his lawyer's disputed
findings that he knowingly drove under the influence of painkillers
and claimed his sentence was too harsh. The appeal was

(02:14):
dismissed by a panel of three Supreme Court justices in
Sydney today. Button will remain behind bars until at least
twenty forty eight, when he'll be eligible for parole.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
The BBC has apologized to US President Donald Trump over
an allegedly misleading edit of a speech he gave on
the sixth of January twenty twenty one, the day of
the deadly Washington insurrection. However, the British broadcaster has rejected
compensation claims from Trump's lawyers. Two senior staff resigned after
the BBC was accused of deliberately cutting parts of a

(02:50):
Trump addressed together, making him appear to encourage the Capitol
Hill riot. The cutdown was part of an October twenty
twenty four episode of Panorama, the BBC's flagship current affairs program.
The President is now threatening to sue the public broadcaster
for a billion dollars in damages. The BBC issued a
formal apology on Thursday night local time, hours after a

(03:14):
second clip was called into question over similar editing concerns.
It said it accepts the Panorama edit quote unintentionally created
the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct
call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologize
to President Trump for that error of judgment. A spokesperson
said that while the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in

(03:35):
which the video clip was edited. We strongly disagree there
is a basis for a defamation claim.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
And today's good news. An ancient fossil discovered in New
South Wales has researchers reconsidering what they thought they knew
about insect evolution. Robert Beatty, a now retired school teacher,
first presented the fossil to experts in twenty sixteen. After
extensive research, watch the Australian Museum now estimates it to
be a one hundred and fifty one million year old

(04:05):
fossil of a non biting midge, a type of small fly,
making it the oldest artifact of its kind in the
Southern Hemisphere, according to the Museum. Until now, their oldest
known fossils came from China and Siberia, leading scientists to
assume they originated in the northern super continent of Laurasia,
but this new Australian discovery suggests otherwise. The Australian midge

(04:29):
proves that the Southern Hemisphere holds what experts called quote
crucial pieces of the evolutionary puzzle that can fundamentally reshape
our understanding of life's history on Earth.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
That's the latest from the Daily Oz newsroom. If you're
looking for something else to listen to on your Friday commute,
check out today's deep dive on the newly published emails
between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
We will be back on Sunday with a special bonus
weekend deep dive, but until then, enjoy the start to
your weekend.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda
Bunjelung Calcoton woman from Gadighl Country. The Daily Oz acknowledges
that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the
Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and torrest
Rate island and nations. We pay our respects to the
first peoples of these countries, both past and present.