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The annual parade of Melbourne Cup-winning horses and jockeys through the city has been cancelled for this year.

The City of Melbourne is not funding the parade, which traditionally takes place on the eve of the Cup after the Victorian Racing Club did not apply for funding.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp and Victoria Racing Club chairman Neil Wilson with the Melbourne Cup parade crowd at Federation Square last year.Credit: Eddie Jim

The Melbourne Cup parade is a tradition that has run every year since 1983, except in 2020 and 2021 when halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Queensland’s health minister Shannon Fentiman will urgently investigate allegations from whistleblowers that sexual assault victims have been turned away at hospitals.

Fentiman has contacted Queensland Liberal National leader David Crisafulli for more information following opposition claims that sexual assault victims couldn’t be examined when they arrived at hospitals due to a lack of rape testing kits or trained staff.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman. Credit: AAP

Currumbin MP Laura Gerber told parliament one woman had been told by hospital staff to “go home, don’t wash and come back tomorrow”.

Opposition health spokeswoman Ros Bates said another rape victim in August had been told she couldn’t be examined due to a lack of trained staff and was transferred to another hospital.

Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm said a woman was told by a hospital the same month they had no rape testing kits and to take a photo of her injuries and come back the next day.

Fentiman said she was unaware of the allegations, describing them as “incredibly distressing” during Question Time.

“It is absolutely my expectation that any woman that has experienced a sexual assault…is seen quickly, is seen in time and is dealt with in a trauma-informed way,” she later told reporters.

“And if it is not happening, it is not good enough.”

Fentiman said new rape testing kits were available at every hospital and health service, with more than 180 clinicians trained since July to use them under Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce reforms.

A 24-hour hotline to assist clinicians about the rape kit tests has also been set up.

The establishment of the first statewide forensic examination service was also recommended under taskforce reforms and Fentiman said consultants EY had been contracted in April to conduct a review to assist.

Fentiman said their report arrived on Monday, and she would be briefed in the coming weeks.

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Australia’s only Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff will face a no-confidence motion when he returns to parliament for the first time since his long-serving colleague and attorney-general quit.

Tasmania’s minority government copped another blow earlier this month when Elise Archer resigned after being sacked from cabinet over workplace bullying allegations and leaked texts.

The state’s Labor opposition on Tuesday confirmed it would move a no-confidence motion in Mr Rockliff when parliament resumes on October 17.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The Liberals have faced a knife-edge situation in parliament since May when Lara Alexander and John Tucker moved to the crossbench and plunged the government into a minority.

A spokeswoman for the pair said they planned to honour a signed commitment to provide votes of supply and confidence to the government, meaning Mr Rockliff has the numbers to defeat a no-confidence motion.

However, both criticised Mr Rockliff’s leadership last week, with Mr Tucker labelling him a “lame duck”. The Liberals wreturn to parliament with just 10 of 25 lower house seats.

A recount to find a replacement for Ms Archer, likely to be won by a Liberal, won’t begin until October 23.

Labor have given the government a “pair” in the meantime, meaning one of their eight members – not including half-Labor-half-independent David O’Byrne – will abstain from votes. There are two Greens MPs as well as one other independent.

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One of the country’s leading industry groups has blasted the government’s fresh round of workplace laws, describing the proposed changes as an “incoherent mess”.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox told a Senate inquiry the legislation was inconsistent and would hold back investment.

“The bill will not lead to the creation of a single job, it will stifle innovation. It will discourage employment and investment,” he told the committee on Tuesday.

“When viewed in its totality, it remains a bad bill and an incoherent mess. Indeed, it would implement various measures that are simply unworkable.”

The changes would prevent companies undercutting employees with labour hire and increase protections for gig workers. But Mr Willox said the workplace laws would do nothing to address productivity or lift wages.

“It focuses entirely on imposing new complexities, inflexibilities and compliance burdens on employers,” he said.

“It would override carefully considered approaches settled by the Fair Work Commission and High Court relating to fundamental concepts underpinning our system.”

Earlier, the inquiry heard from care workers who warned online service platforms fuelled a race to the bottom, worsening employment conditions.

An anonymous carer who appeared before the inquiry said workers using online care platforms such as Mable were under pressure to constantly lower prices.

“Workers on Mable don’t have much control over their work because they join the platform to start earning,” the witness told the inquiry.

Disability service provider Hireup has thrown its support behind the proposed changes.

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Hundreds of high-end electric sports cars have been recalled in Australia due to a problem with battery protection that could lead to a high-voltage fire.

More than 230 Porsche Taycan electric vehicles are subject to the warning, issued on Tuesday, that affects all variants of the model.

A 2022 Porsche Taycan.

The recall comes weeks after two significant electric vehicle battery fires in Australia, and following a recall issued for an Alfa Romeo hybrid SUV that also raised battery safety questions.

The latest recall affects Porsche Taycan vehicles from 2022 and 2023, with the federal transport department warning a fault could see water enter its battery.

“Due to a manufacturing issue, there is a possibility of insufficient sealing between the high-voltage battery casing and battery cover,” the recall said.

“If a sufficient amount of moisture enters the high voltage battery, arcing can occur which increases the risk of fire causing injury or death to vehicle occupants, other road users or bystanders.”

Vehicle owners are urged to contact Porsche to organise an inspection and potential repair of their car.

The Porsche Taycan is the manufacturer’s first electric vehicle and one of the most expensive on the Australian market, with the price of affected models starting at $132,550 and reaching $363,800.

The fire warning follows a significant fire in Sydney in September, in which a damaged lithium-ion battery removed from an electric car caught fire in an airport holding yard and destroyed four nearby vehicles.

Firefighters were also called to extinguish a blaze in the NSW Southern Highlights in September after the battery in a Tesla Model 3 electric car was damaged by debris that fell from a truck.

The number of Victorians diagnosed with a flesh-eating bacterial skin infection has increased as health authorities warn cases have spread beyond previously known hotspots.

Chief Health Officer Clare Looker on Tuesday warned cases of Buruli ulcer in the state were increasing with 238 identified as of October 2 this year compared with 207 at the same time last year.

There were even fewer cases reported in the years prior, with 197 in 2021 and 135 in 2020. Dr Looker, in a health alert, warned the infection was spreading across Victoria and was no longer restricted to specific areas on the state’s coast.

Instead, there was a recent increase in cases linked to multiple suburbs in Geelong including Belmont, Highton, Newtown, Wandana Heights, Grovedale and Marshall.

There was also a recent increase in cases linked to Melbourne’s inner north and west, including in the suburbs of Essendon, Moonee Ponds, Brunswick West, Pascoe Vale South and Strathmore, Dr Looker said.

Buruli ulcer was not transmitted from person to person, but there was increasing evidence mosquitoes and possums played a role in people becoming infected in Victoria, Dr Looker said.

Bacteria causing the ulcer was found in possum excrement, she said.

People with Buruli ulcer normally initially develop a painless lump or wound, which could be mistaken for an insect bite.

The lumps or wounds could slowly develop into a destructive skin ulcer, and it usually took between four and five months for an ulcer to develop after someone was infected, Dr Looker said.

The chief health officer warned early diagnosis was key, and said people could prevent becoming infected by avoiding mosquito bites, mosquito-proofing their homes and reducing mosquito breeding sites.

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Drug users caught with small amounts of illicit substances will have the option to get counselling or pay a fine rather than go to court under a major overhaul of NSW laws.

From early next year, police can choose non-criminal measures when catching people with personal-use quantities of MDMA, cocaine and ice.

The announcement brings NSW into line with all other states and territories and comes amid pressure on the government to introduce a drug-checking regime for music festivals.

Health Minister Ryan Park said he was pleased the new approach would take an estimated 6000 drug users out of the courts.

“More importantly, people with very low amounts will be able to be treated through a health pathway, which is very, very important going forward,” he said on Tuesday.

The change was welcomed as a step in the right direction by the Greens, Legalise Cannabis and the social justice arm of the Uniting Church.

“It’s a clear signal to the community that the moral panic and law-and-order option when it comes to drug law reform is over in NSW,” Legalise Cannabis MP Jeremy Buckingham said.

However, the groups criticised the $400 fines for those who were diverted to rehabilitation but did not complete the program.

Under the proposed changes, the diversion scheme can apply to those caught with up to 250mg of MDMA or up to one gram of cocaine or ice.

It already applies to people with less than 30g of cannabis. Those diverted would have the choice to either pay a $400 fine, dispute it in court or attend a mandatory counselling program run by NSW Health.

If they complete the program satisfactorily, the fine will be waived.

The scheme, which has been endorsed by the police commissioner and the chief health officer and was planned by the former coalition government, won’t apply to people caught a third time or those with drug-dealing convictions. Legislation to effect the change will be introduced to parliament this week.

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Cricket will make an Olympic comeback, 128 years after it was first played at the event.

The sport has been proposed for inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, which if accepted, would make it part of the program for Brisbane 2032.

Other sports on the list are flag football – a smaller, non-violent version of American football – lacrosse, squash, baseball and softball — the latter two have featured at several Olympics but will not be played next year in Paris.

Out is breakdancing, which will be a one-and-done after its debut in Paris next year. Others not making the cut include motorsports, kickboxing and karate.

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With AAP