Good afternoon. Communities are being warned of a “tough summer” ahead and to prepare early, with bushfires burning along the east coast during the spring heatwave.
Crews battled bushfires in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania today, with campers and residents forced to evacuate at Friendly Beaches on Tasmania’s east coast.
“It’s September and we’re already experiencing four days in a row of temperatures above 30C with high winds,” the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said.
Top news
Gunman shot dead by Victorian police | Police said Stanley Turvey was armed with a weapon when he confronted officers at a house in Ardmona near Shepparton on Wednesday morning. The shooting ends a dramatic three-day manhunt for Turvey across Victoria.
Qantas CEO ordered into mediation with union | A federal court judge has ordered the new Qantas chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, to attend mediation proceedings with a union chief to settle compensation and penalty claims, with the bill for illegally outsourcing 1,700 workers potentially running into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Victoria proceeds with 7.5% levy on Airbnbs | Australia’s first widespread levy on short-stay accommodation and the redevelopment of 44 monolithic public housing towers have been announced as part of an overhaul of policy. The levy is expected to raise about $70m annually to fund social and affordable housing.
Boy allegedly involved in killing teen walks free | Declan Cutler’s supporters screamed and cried from the public gallery after Victorian supreme court justice Rita Incerti found the 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was too young to be held criminally responsible for 16-year-old Declan’s murder. The boy was identified as one of eight boys who attacked and killed Declan as he left a birthday party last year.
Two men arrested over Sydney drug kingpin’s death | The alleged “mastermind” behind the execution of Alen Moradian, a major Sydney crime figure, has been arrested along with an alleged accomplice, NSW police say. Moradian, 48, was shot dead in June while sitting in his car near the Bondi Junction shopping precinct.
Rex Patrick launches fund to defend whistleblower | The former senator has launched a public advocacy fund in the hope of shining a spotlight on the federal government’s case against defence whistleblower David McBride. McBride, a former army lawyer, will face a criminal trial in November for his alleged role in leaking defence documents to the media revealing alleged war crimes.
Rupert Murdoch thought US$787.5m Dominion suit would cost Fox US$50m | Michael Wolff’s tell-all book about Donald Trump claims the media mogul directed “sudden fury” at Trump in 2022. Murdoch thought Trump would lose the 2024 Republican presidential primary to Ron DeSantis and that he was likely to cost him “fifty million dollars”, through a lawsuit regarding Trump’s lies about the 2020 election.
Azerbaijan attack kills dozens | Dozens of people are reported to have been killed and more than 200 wounded in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan launched what it described as an “anti-terrorist operation” after months of rising tensions in the disputed South Caucasus region.
Iran accuses US of stoking Ukraine war | Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a lengthy set-piece speech to the UN general assembly, accused America of fanning the flames of violence in Ukraine. Raisi’s triumphalist speech claimed he had overcome US intelligence efforts to topple his regime, asserted the future belonged to countries in his sphere and the days of the west were over.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink approved to recruit humans | The brain-implant startup said it has received approval from an independent review board to begin recruiting patients for its first human trial. The company is seeking people with paralysis to test its experimental device in a six-year study.
In video
Where did it all go wrong for Qantas?
It’s been a spectacular fall for Qantas – from revered national icon to the most complained about company in the country. I look at how it all went wrong, and what the government can do about it, in this five-minute video.
What they said …
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“The senator’s denial of history and its ongoing impacts is disgraceful. Her remarks are hurting the families of the stolen generation, those who lost their land, their wages and their opportunities.” – Central Land Council executive
The influential Indigenous body has condemned the Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s National Press Club remarks where she said colonisation had a “positive impact” on First Nations people.
In numbers
And almost one in 11 of women in the younger group, aged between 26 and 31, were estimated to have endometriosis, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Before bed read
‘He swam, hooking my arm with his penis’: inside the dolphin sex scandal that outraged a nation.
Wild new podcast Hooked on Freddie follows the 1990 tabloid frenzy about an animal rights activist who formed a special bond with a dolphin – only to be put on trial for it.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: RICK. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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