12PM NEWS UPDATE
– A man’s been charged with murder after a woman was found dead in a backyard on the Central Coast. Police were called to a home at Budgewoi just after midnight after reports of a severely injured woman. A 55 year old man is in custody.
– Health authorities are dealing with the first confirmed case of the deadly Ebola virus in the United States. The patient became infected in Liberia, but had no presenting symptoms upon arrival in Texas.
– Treasurer Joe Hockey has strongly denied reports the Abbott Government has given up on some of its key budget cuts to welfare and education, which face a humiliating defeat in a hostile Senate.
– And after 13 years in office, Dame Marie Bashir is being farewelled with ceremonial flair on her last day as Governor of NSW. The state’s longest-serving governor retires just two months before she turns 84.