What happened on Monday 10 April, 2023
With that, we’ll end our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the day’s main news developments:
Hundreds of public servants have reported bullying, harassment and discrimination allegations since the end of the last financial year, as government departments strive to improve workplace safety.
The Australian government has said it is concerned about the potential leak of classified US documents and is seeking further information.
Media companies have rejected a proposal to reform Australian privacy law, warning that the changes – including a right to sue outlets for serious invasions of privacy – are not in the public interest and would harm press freedom.
A range of medications for graft versus host disease, chronic rhinosinusitis and oesophageal cancer will be more widely available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Fourteen people have lost their lives in accidents on Australian roads this Easter weekend, after the death of a man in a single-car rollover in Victoria.
New stockpiles of soft plastics from the failed REDcycle recycling scheme have been uncovered as the work to develop an alternative program continues.
Have a pleasant evening.
Updated
Doctor stabbed in Tasmanian ED critically injured but now stable
An update on an earlier report that a doctor was in a critical condition after being stabbed inside a regional Tasmanian emergency department.
He remains critically injured, but his condition is now “stable”, reports AAP.
Australian Medical Association Tasmania’s president, Dr John Saul, confirmed that the doctor had been stabbed at North West Regional Hospital in Cooee, on the state’s north-west coast on Sunday night.
In a statement on Monday, Saul said emergency department staff are well aware of the possibility of experiencing violence while at work, but it was still shocking when it happens.
“While we do not know the details surrounding this event, we know hospitals are dealing with people who are experiencing trauma, mental health episodes or drug psychosis and may react in unpredictable ways,” Saul said.
But he called on the Tasmanian Health Service to urgently review safety protocols and measures to look for ways to improve safety for patients and staff in emergency departments.
On Monday the premier, Jeremy Rockliff, confirmed the male doctor’s condition was critical, but stable.
“On behalf of the Tasmanian government, our thoughts and prayers go to our staff member, his family and friends, and to all staff and patients that have been impacted by this incident,” Rockliff said in a statement.
Updated
Liquidators unable to find company to take over Porter Davis constructions
Liquidators for collapsed building company Porter Davis have been unable to find another company to take over the construction of around 1,700 homes.
Porter Davis went into voluntary administration late last month with liquidators Grant Thornton blaming rising input costs, supply chain delays, labour shortages and dropping demand for the company’s demise.
Grant Thornton had been searching for companies that could take over Porter Davis’ cancelled projects. A spokesperson for the liquidators has confirmed that process has so far failed:
We are continuing to discuss solutions for parts of the Porter Davis group and are aiming to be in a position to finalise those discussions within the next week.
We also hope to provide further clarity to customers regarding the next steps in completing their build - which for many customers is likely to involve engaging with a new builder of their choice.
The spokesperson also confirmed Grant Thornton had rejected an offer from property developer Amit Miglani, who was sentenced to 18 months on a community corrections order for misusing clients money while working in real estate.
While we have no reason to doubt Mr Miglani’s intention, we do not believe this is a credible offer to acquire the Porter Davis group.
Mr Migliani has not undertaken any due diligence and is unable to complete a transaction in an expedited timeframe which is a key requirement of the liquidators.
Updated
Government departments reveal hundreds of bullying reports since July 2022
Hundreds of public servants have reported bullying, harassment and discrimination allegations since the end of the last financial year, as government departments strive to improve workplace safety.
The culture of government workplaces has come under renewed scrutiny since the Albanese government’s respect at work bill became law in November, requiring employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate harassment and discrimination.
In response to questions on notice from the Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, the home affairs department revealed it received 77 formal complaints about workplace behaviour between July and February, with 29 considered to breach the Public Service Act.
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) confirmed 10 allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” during the same eight-month period.
Read more:
Updated
Liddell coal power station to close next week
NSW could face future energy supply challenges as one of the state’s major coal-fired electricity producers prepares to power down.
“The challenges are big but the work can be done,” NSW’s new energy minister, Penny Sharpe, told reporters from Nowra on Monday. “We do have a challenge also with prices rising over time.”
The Liddell power station in Muswellbrook in the Hunter region will close next Tuesday, after owner AGL delayed its planned closure by a year. The shutdown was initially flagged in 2015 after the operator found the plant had “reached the end of its technical life”.
The closure will mean there is 1260MW less electricity in the NSW grid, as three of its remaining seven power units are decommissioned. Sharpe said the grid would manage as it lost input from Liddell, but the closure could present difficulties for base load power requirements.
The grid can cope. Yes, it is more challenging. But this has been a planned closure for over seven years, so it’s not a surprise … there has been renewables coming online, as well as the other work that’s being undertaken.
We need to make sure that households and businesses in particular can continue to stay connected to the grid, and can continue, hopefully, to not pay very high prices.
The government has also not ruled out intervening to keep another ageing coal station, Eraring, near Lake Macquarie, open beyond its scheduled closure date of 2025.
Sharpe said the government would work with the operator in the coming years. “The issue here with Eraring is that we need to make sure that the lights stay on in NSW,” Sharpe said.
“We have said that all options are on the table as we make this transition, so we’re not saying that we’re going to be closing it down in 2025.”
This work would take place at the same time the government works on renewable energy technologies, including battery storage technology, she said.
- AAP
Updated
Mark Speakman frontrunner for NSW Liberal leadership
Former state attorney general Mark Speakman is the favourite to lead the NSW Liberals in opposition, but is yet to confirm if he will take the reins as he mulls a tilt at Scott Morrison’s federal seat, reports AAP.
Speakman has the party’s support to become state opposition leader as rumours surround the former prime minister’s plans for his southern Sydney seat of Cook.
Speakman, the MP for Cronulla and a moderate, is yet to confirm if he will run to replace the former premier Dominic Perrottet as Liberal leader, with the party also putting forward Alister Henskens (MP for Ku-ring-gai) and the conservative Anthony Roberts (the member for Lane Cove).
The three MPs are considered the party’s most experienced MPs returning to parliament after the coalition lost the 25 March state election and were put forward by the party as potential successors. So far, only Roberts has confirmed he will contest the leadership.
It comes as rumours swirl that Morrison is considering announcing his retirement.
Six Liberals said the former prime minister had decided he would resign from politics after the federal budget in May and confirmed the decision to people in his electorate, according to reports.
The party room meeting is still likely more than 10 days away, as counting continues in the state’s upper house.
Read more on the speculation from Anne Davies and Tamsin Rose.
Updated
Thanks for your attention this Easter Monday. Elias Visontay now has the blog!
The Parrtjima festival is taking place in Alice Springs. It’s an annual light and sound festival that celebrates Aboriginal art, culture and music over 10 nights with the ancient MacDonnell Ranges forming a natural canvas for the projections.
If you haven’t managed to get away this long weekend, let these pictures take you there.
Check out more pictures from the festival here:
Updated
The voice campaign: of advice and athletes
Let’s go to two major Indigenous voice stories which spread across the weekend: the solicitor-general’s advice and the various sporting stars joining the yes campaign.
As we brought you earlier, and Paul tweeted, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, did not say that the solicitor-general’s advice on the wording of the constitutional change would be released. If we go to the actual transcript of what he told Sky News (and not just, you know, an interpretation of what others think he said), the PM said:
The solicitor general’s views are very clear of support for this change, that it’s legally sound. And through the process, he will, I’m sure, take the opportunity through the attorney general to make that position clear.
That came directly after Albanese, in a direct serve to voice critic Barnaby Joyce, said “while he [Joyce] served, they didn’t release his cabinet advice to the cabinet.”
We understand the government still has no plans to release the solicitor general’s advice on the amendment, and in any case, Albanese never said they would. It’s unclear what the PM meant by “take the opportunity through the attorney general to make that clear” means – but there is a six-week parliamentary committee ongoing as to the constitutional change, with the first hearing on Friday, so there may be some info forthcoming through that process.
In any case, that legal advice was provided weeks ago, about the second form of proposed words in the referendum. Since then, a new form of words has been proposed as the final question - so the advice would be somewhat out of date, pertaining to a previous proposal, and not the one that the Australian people will vote on later this year.
To the sporting stars – it’s been reported that Albanese himself has been lobbying athletes to get behind the yes campaign and that he has spoken on several occasions about direct conversations he has had with sports stars about the referendum. That’s been known for a while.
Guardian Australia understands major codes like the NRL and AFL are working on plans, but representatives have repeatedly shrugged off calls for comment in recent months. That may be because plans are still being worked out, or because plans will be unveiled in major “setpiece” announcements.
We should note that the NRL has a special Indigenous round in May, and the AFL’s famous “Dreamtime At The G” game is in the same month.
Government sources said there would likely be multi-code events and campaign announcements in the coming months as the campaign revs up. Watch this space.
Updated
Tasmanian doctor critically wounded, youth in custody
More news on the medical professional critically wounded at a regional Tasmanian hospital, who has been confirmed to be a doctor. AAP reports:
Tasmanian doctors have called for emergency department safety protocols to be reviewed after one of their colleagues was stabbed in a regional hospital.
John Saul, the president of the Australian Medical Association Tasmania, confirmed that a doctor had been stabbed at North West Regional Hospital in Cooee on the state’s north-west coast last night.
In a statement today, Saul said emergency department staff are well aware of the possibility of experiencing violence while at work, but it was still shocking when it happens.
While we do not know the details surrounding this event, we know hospitals are dealing with people who are experiencing trauma, mental health episodes or drug psychosis and may react in unpredictable ways.
But he called on the Tasmanian Health Service to urgently review safety protocols and measures to look for ways to improve safety for patients and staff in emergency departments.
The victim was airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital in a critical condition.
Police said a youth was arrested soon after the isolated incident, with no threat to the wider community.
It is unclear whether the youth has yet been charged.
Updated
Liberals join Labor in condemning escalating violence in Israel
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, has followed Penny Wong’s lead condemning the escalation of violence and terror attacks in Israel.
At a holy time for people of so many faiths it has been deeply troubling to see attacks on Israel & violence in some of the most holy of places.
— Simon Birmingham (@Birmo) April 10, 2023
Such attacks are rightly condemned. Attacks & violence should cease while all should show restraint & demonstrate respect.
The foreign affairs department three days ago issued an alert to Australian tourists in Israel, Palestinian territories and Lebanon to exercise a high degree of caution amid escalating religious and political tensions.
The warning, still current, advises travellers:
Tensions in the region and in the West Bank are high and can escalate with little warning, especially around major religious or commemorative days. There has been rocket and mortar fire from Gaza and Southern Lebanon into Israel; more may follow.
Updated
Australia concerned about US leaks
The Australian government has said it is concerned about the potential leak of classified US documents and is seeking further information.
The US is investigating the source of a large cache of what appear to be classified Pentagon documents circulating on social media channels, which have included material about the Russian war on Ukraine, and also sensitive information about South Korea and Israel.
An Australian government spokesperson said in a statement issued today:
The Australian government is concerned about the disclosure of US classified information.
We are pleased the US Department of Justice has acted quickly in announcing an investigation.
The Australian government is seeking further information on this matter and is unable to provide further comment at this stage.
The Guardian’s latest story about this issue can be found here:
Aukus ‘one of the biggest industrial challenges in our history’
A leader of the Australian higher education sector has described Aukus as “one of the biggest industrial challenges in our history” ahead of talks in the United States.
Catriona Jackson, the chief executive of Universities Australia, is expected to use a series of meetings in Washington DC this week to explore “how Australia’s universities can support the delivery of Aukus”.
Universities Australia said Jackson was due to meet with national security officials from the US Department of State and representatives from the National Science Foundation. The schedule also included meetings with university sector leaders “to discuss research and national security partnerships”.
In a statement, Jackson said:
Aukus is one of the biggest industrial challenges in our history. Universities have a major role to play in developing the capability needed to deliver the project, including through the provision of skilled workers and world-class research and development.
We are focused on up-skilling the current workforce and training the next generation to support Australia’s national security.
We’ve already had close discussions with our government and Aukus partner governments about how universities can help. We’re in Washington this week to turn those ideas into reality.
Jackson said universities had previously called for defence internships to boost the flow of skilled workers needed for projects like Aukus, and were “looking forward to exploring this option further”.
Updated
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said that the solicitor general’s advice on the constitutional amendment for an Indigenous voice to parliament will be made clear through the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus.
Albanese told Sky News before departing for his Easter holiday:
The Solicitor-General’s views are very clear of support for this change, that it’s legally sound. And through the process, he will, I’m sure, take the opportunity through the Attorney-General to make that position clear.
However, Sky News is reporting – based on that interview - that the solicitor general’s advice regarding the proposed amendment to the constitution for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will be made public.
As my colleauge Paul Karp has pointed out, that is not what the prime minister said but it has not stopped the news channel from asking Nationals leader, David Littleproud, if the supposed release changes his mind.
Littleproud said it didn’t change his mind:
But it is a positive step forward. I think it is important the Prime Minister releases his advice to the working group and to the government around this and the implications of the Constitution and the implications of High Court challenges.
I think the Australian people should have that information in front of them. But our position hasnt changed. We took a position six months ago predicated on us repeating history of another representative body.
One that we live with the consequences every day where the gap isn’t closed, the gap isn’t closed in the remote and rural areas, because we’ve got a bureaucracy that’s predicated out of Canberra.
FACT CHECK: Anthony Albanese (left) DID NOT say the solicitor general's advice will be released as some are saying (see eg the right).
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) April 10, 2023
He said his position would be made "clear" through the AG. Dreyfus has already said SG supports the change.#auspol #auslaw pic.twitter.com/TYb8Tx6xre
Temperatures drop to 2C in Tasmania
Clear skies over northern #Tasmania led to some of the coldest overnight temperatures in the state. #Launceston, #Devonport and #Wynyard all dropped down to 2 °C. But now that the sun is up, the north will be the warmest and sunniest! pic.twitter.com/repg1RbW0k
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) April 10, 2023
It was a cold Easter Sunday for #Hobart. The maximum temperature of only 13.0 °C was 5 °C below average, making it the eighth-equal coldest Easter Sunday and the coldest since 2006. On the upside, there were fewer reported instances of accidental chocolate bunny melting. pic.twitter.com/8vq3p9wK0G
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) April 10, 2023
Updated
Mark Butler announces 'life-changing' listings of medicines on PBS
A range of medications for graft versus host disease, chronic rhinosinusitis and oesophageal cancer will be more widely available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
On Monday, health minister Mark Butler announced that medications Jakavi (ruxolitinib), Nucala (mepolizumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) will be available to more Australians, especially those who have not responded to other treatments.
Butler said “the listings of these medicines on the PBS will be life-changing for patients across Australia”.
He said:
Time is of the essence for patients living with GVHD and their caregivers, who have had no other, or limited, treatment options until now.
Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps can be debilitating, causing pain, impacting people sleeping, their mental health and productivity.
Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars on treatments the government has listed these medicines on the PBS so patients will only pay a maximum of $30 per course of treatment.
Updated
Opera Australia’s clearance sale is returning for the first time in more than five years. The costumes from productions including Carmen, Don Carlos and The Pearl Fishers will be sold for no more than $100.
The sale will take place at The Opera Centre in Sydney’s Surry Hills on April 14 and 15.
Here are some of the handmade garments and period clothes which will be on offer:
Updated
Queensland drivers renewing licences may face new test
Drivers renewing their licences might have their road rule knowledge tested as the Queensland government aims to strengthen safety measures across the state, AAP reports.
Transport minister Mark Bailey has met with stakeholders and says the government is considering a range of new measures including a “refresher course” for people renewing their licences, due to changes in road rules between renewals.
He told ABC Radio Brisbane today:
There’s often a lot of changes to road rules between getting a licence, say five years ago, and renewing it.
Similar to courses available for learner and new drivers, Bailey said the measures could replicate their online pool of questions and bring drivers up to speed on changes to road rules.
It’s not designed to be some big onerous test that everyone’s going to have to spend lots of time on.
It’s designed to be a refresher course that people would look to do in an easy online way, that gives you a good review of what’s happened in the last four or five years since you got your licence last time.
The government is floating the idea and seeking feedback from the community.
Updated
Media companies criticise proposed changes to Australian privacy laws
Media companies have rejected a proposal to reform Australian privacy law, warning that the changes – including a right to sue outlets for serious invasions of privacy – are not in the public interest and would harm press freedom.
The Right to Know coalition warns the attorney general’s department’s proposal, released in February, would have “a devastating impact on press freedom and journalism in Australia without any clearly defined need or benefit”.
The coalition includes the Guardian, News Corp, Nine, AAP, Free TV Australia, the media union and public broadcasters the ABC and SBS
Updated
Easter in Tenterfield (Think I see bunnies up ahead … )
Larger than life bunnies, chicks and cattle made out of hay bales have popped up in Tenterfield in northern NSW, as part of the Tenterfield Autumn festival.
If you want to show off how your community is celebrating the long weekend in style, tweet me @natasha__may.
Happy Easter! This giant bunny has been erected on the outskirts of Tenterfield in northern NSW 🇦🇺 using hay bales.🐰🐰🐰🌾Wait until you see the Highland cattle hay bales! 🐂🐂🐂 😍@ABCRural @abcnews @abclandline @ABCaustralia pic.twitter.com/HHaSYwWtAB
— Kim Honan (@kimhonan) April 8, 2023
Here’s another hay bale bunny in Tenterfield. Local grazier and mayor Bronwyn Petrie designed and painted this one. 🐰🪺💗 👏 @abclandline @abcrural @abcnews #haybalebunnies #happyeaster pic.twitter.com/XRkVpedd9a
— Kim Honan (@kimhonan) April 8, 2023
LOVE. 🤎💛🧡 Maple, Willow and Ash. Highland cattle hay bales at Arrajay Downs, east of Tenterfield. 🐂🐂🐂 🌾🍁
— Kim Honan (@kimhonan) April 9, 2023
📷: Arrajay Downs pic.twitter.com/DMBPojNguV
Cheep cheep! 🐥🐥🐥 How cute!!! Chick hay bale in Tenterfield at Challenge Community Services. And that’s all folks! (I think…) @abcnews @abcrural @abclandline
— Kim Honan (@kimhonan) April 9, 2023
📷: Tenterfield Autumn Festival 🍁 pic.twitter.com/b7SleCgj7L
Updated
Gilmore digs deep as Aussies charge at Bells
Stephanie Gilmore has concocted a pair of high-scoring waves to rescue her Bells Beach campaign and oust long-time rival Lakey Peterson, AAP reports.
The reigning world champion trailed for most of their round-of-16 heat but stole a wave under priority and then doubled down with another nice combination.
Her 5.63 and 5.57-point efforts (11.20 total) were just enough to pip Peterson’s six and five-point waves (11), with the American allowed onto a wave in the final three seconds but unable to produce the score she needed.
Gilmore has never lost before the quarter-final stage at the Victorian break and, ranked 14th, needs a big result to boost herself into the top-10 and above the mid-season cut line.
She will surf against Brazil’s Tatiana Weston-Webb in the final eight, while Australia’s No.1-ranked Molly Picklum also progressed, along with Isabella Nichols and defending champion Tyler Wright.
Sally Fitzgibbons was beaten by Hawaii’s Bettylou Sakura Johnson, while Picklum edged another Australian, Sophie McCulloch.
The women’s quarter-finals and men’s round of 16 are on standby.
Local wildcard Xavier Huxtable emerged as a giant killer on Sunday, shocking Australia’s world No.1 Jack Robinson.
He will face countryman Connor O’Leary in the round of 16.
Jackson Baker and Ryan Callinan will also fly the flag, but multiple world champion Kelly Slater’s elimination left him in grave danger of missing the mid-season cut.
Minor flooding possible at Birdsville later this week
⚠️ #Flood Warning for the Diamantina River downstream of the Daimantina Lakes. Minor flooding is possible at #Birdsville later this week. See https://t.co/sVE9TLmlGa for details and updates. Follow the advice of @QldFES and remember #ifitsfloodedforgetit pic.twitter.com/ZlNNCikTmB
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) April 10, 2023
Albanese says yes campaign ‘factored in’ Dutton’s opposition to Indigenous voice to parliament
Anthony Albanese says the government has “factored in” the prospect of Peter Dutton’s Liberal party campaigning against the Indigenous voice, and it doesn’t mean the referendum will fail.
He has confirmed that the yes campaign will soon feature sports stars from the NRL, AFL and cricket – and he expects the business community and faith groups to add their support.
The old maxim that referendums needed bipartisan support for success may have changed, due to shifts in Australian politics and society, Albanese told Sky News on Sunday.
And he said the opposition leader had underestimated how many Liberal supporters would vote for the constitutional change.
He’s made his decision. We factored that in and we will just work to ensure that it does succeed.
Extra REDcycle plastic stockpiles uncovered
New stockpiles of soft plastics from the failed REDcycle recycling scheme have been uncovered as the search for an alternative continues, AAP reports.
The program was wound up in November 2022 after it emerged plastics consumers had returned to supermarkets to be recycled were instead put into storage.
The retailers involved say they had no knowledge of what was really happening but have since found stockpiles at 44 sites in six states around Australia.
There are 19 sites in NSW, 15 in Victoria, six in South Australia, two in Tasmania, one in Queensland and one in Western Australia.
Coles and Woolworths gained control of the stockpiles in late February and have contacted the operators of all 44 sites to make sure the plastic is being stored safely.
The supermarket giants are searching for an alternative recycling scheme but have warned it could be a slow process and are looking into shipping waste overseas to free up limited domestic recycling capacity.
The companies said in a statement:
We’re assessing logistics and warehousing arrangements for each stockpile on a case-by-case basis, as we continue to discuss recycling options with several reputable processors overseas.
REDcycle previously said it was holding onto the waste while trying to ride out problems including the lack of recycling capacity.
The private company behind it has been placed in liquidation.
Some good news for Australia’s Easter mascot
Bilby numbers have almost tripled since the species was reintroduced into the Pilliga in northern NSW in 2018, the Australian Wildlife Conservancy says.
Conservationists have pushed the bilby as Australia’s answer to the Easter bunny, with rabbits part of the pest problem which is threatening the bilby.
Since 60 Greater Bilby individuals were reintroduced to the Pilliga State Conservation Area (NSW) in 2018, the population has reached a record estimated 176 individuals! 🙌
— Australian Wildlife Conservancy (@awconservancy) April 8, 2023
More 👉 https://t.co/aS7mYHahyl
📷 K Jollie, V Stokes/#AWC#BilbyCensus2023 #AustralianWildlife pic.twitter.com/1T4BW457zk
Updated
Hunt for alleged ‘dangerous’ armed gunman enters fourth day
Armed, dangerous and unpredictable - that’s how Queensland police have described a man who has been on the run for four days, AAP reports.
Queensland Police allege Mitchell Wilson threatened a number of people with a semi-automatic weapon during three separate incidents on Thursday in Brisbane’s north and south.
Queensland Police’s Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham alleged yesterday:
I consider this man armed, dangerous, irrational but particularly unpredictable.
It is alleged Wilson was part of three violent altercations, the first at a business in Brendale in north Brisbane where he fired multiple shots into the ground following a verbal altercation with a man known to him.
Massingham said CCTV of the incident was disturbing, adding the vision appeared to show two men in a “life or death” struggle for the weapon.
Wilson is then alleged to have driven to a business at Mount Gravatt, south of Brisbane, where he approached two women he knew as they left the building before ordering one of them into his car.
It’s alleged Wilson fired his gun as the pair fled. Neither woman was injured.
Police allege Wilson then travelled to a Sunnybank home arrived with the gun and a jerry can of fuel and threatened the resident who was known to him before setting the house alight and fleeing.
The home was destroyed and a pet was killed in the blaze. No people were injured.
Extensive searches have failed to locate Wilson and police are urging him to surrender. Massingham said:
I urge Mr Wilson, if he hears my message today, to make contact with police and safely negotiate his surrender.
Wilson is believed to be armed and should not be approached. Anyone who sees him should call triple zero.
Two-day respite before return to cold weather
Narramore says the eastern part of the country can expect another small burst of warmth before more cold weather on the way:
Most of the Easter weekend it has been four to eight degrees below average temperatures for Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia.
That will continue today, warming up to near average conditions tomorrow and Wednesday.
But then the next weather system moves into the south-east with another burst of widespread showers, possible thunderstorms, another 5-15mm for Victoria, Tasmania, and southern parts of New South Wales.
Updated
Widespread damage expected as cyclone strengthens
Communities in the Kimberley have been warned to brace for widespread damage as a cyclone forming off Western Australia strengthens, AAP reports.
A tropical low in waters off the state’s north is expected to become a cyclone later today, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Communities north of Broome from Kuri Bay to Beagle Bay, excluding Derby, are on alert for gales, heavy rainfall and abnormally high tides.
The cyclone is expected to track southwest to waters off Broome by Wednesday and likely cause “severe impact” along the coast between the popular holiday town and Port Hedland on Thursday or Friday.
Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore told ABC TV winds near the core of the system could reach 250 kilometres an hour.
Those kinds of winds are likely to see widespread property damage.
Bring down trees, power lines, power outages and hundreds of millimetres of rainfall is likely to wash out roads.
Possible isolation and stranding of communities, residents and travellers - so yeah, some really terrible conditions up there when it does cross later this week.
Severe flooding hit parts of the Kimberley region in January, splitting the town of Fitzroy Crossing, destroying homes and roads and leaving many communities cut off with key transport routes closed.
Hazardous surf conditions for NSW
Narramore warns there are hazardous surf conditions for much of the NSW coast:
We have a very large and complex low pressure system over the Tasman Sea and that extends to New Zealand.
That’s causing those gusty winds and cold conditions for the south-east, but it’s also driving pretty big surf as well, so we have hazardous surf conditions today and probably tomorrow for much of the NSW coast.
We’re looking at season swells offshore getting to three to four metres. And yesterday we saw just off Sydney swells getting up to five metres.
Big waves out there, so dangerous, treacherous conditions along the beaches of New South Wales today and tomorrow.
Updated
Chill in the south-east
Dean Narramore says many parts of the country have woken up to the coldest morning so far this year. The senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology told ABC News:
We saw low single figures in some areas, even getting below zero for some of our elevated areas.
For Canberra and many locations it is the coldest so far this year, which is not that unusual – we are getting closer to winter.
A chill in the air, a fair bit of rain through the Melbourne area, about 40mm of the last three days in the city, so wet conditions, and through Tasmania as well.
The first burst of cold, wet, winter-like weather for Victoria, southern New South Wales and Tasmania.
Narramore said the cold will be getting into southern Queensland tomorrow:
We have seen decent falls in the coastal and mountain areas but inland, where the farms are, hasn’t seen much rainfall. They look for the kind of 15-40 millimetres to break around this time of year. We haven’t seen it yet but cold areas getting into southern Queensland tomorrow. We could see frost around the granite belt tomorrow.
Updated
To those of us working over Easter, the PM has given us a personal shoutout on Twitter:
Thank you to everyone working over Easter.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) April 9, 2023
You deserve your penalty rates.
Charles’s coronation carriage built in Sydney
As Buckingham Palace has released the details of the procession route King Charles’s coronation will take, the ABC is reporting that an Australian-built carriage will be transporting the King to the ceremony:
The King and Camilla will be taken from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey in the Diamond Jubilee State Coach, built to commemorate Elizabeth’s 60th year on the throne and first used in 2014.
It was built in Sydney by W J Frecklington, at the time only the second royal carriage constructed in a century.
Mr Frecklington also built Queen Elizabeth’s Australian State Coach, which was given to her during the Australian Bicentennial in 1988.
Updated
Medico fights for life after Tasmanian hospital attack
A youth has been arrested after a medical professional was critically injured at a Tasmanian hospital, AAP reports.
Police were called to the North West Regional hospital in Cooee, on the state’s north-west coast, following reports someone had been wounded.
They took a youth into custody a short time later.
The victim has been airlifted to the Royal Hobart hospital in a critical condition.
Police say the incident was isolated and there is no threat to the wider community.
Investigators remain at the scene.
Updated
If you’re still feeling a bit confused about the claims the opposition leader Peter Dutton made with his announcement last week, Amy Remeikis fact checks them here. Have a watch:
Warren Mundine: ‘The idea that Aboriginals do not have a voice is nonsense’
Leading no campaigner Warren Mundine says he supports the position which the Liberals came out with last week on the voice referendum.
The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, announced last week that his party will actively campaign against the Indigenous voice referendum and instead proposed symbolic recognition in the constitution and a legislated voice. Both suggestions have long been rejected by Indigenous communities and the Uluru statement from the heart.
Mundine told ABC Radio he supports the Liberal position with more of a focus on improving outcomes for regional and remote Indigenous communities.
The idea that Aboriginals do not have a voice is a lie, and nonsense. I’ve been going to Canberra for 30 years, and I can tell you there’s just about every lobby group in the Aboriginal community there.
RN Breakfast host Hamish McDonald:
But Warren, if you are saying Indigenous Australians already have a voice, why are you then saying that you also support the Coalition position of a new regional based voice within a legislative system?
Mundine:
I support the Coalition’s push for regional and remote communities to do the practical outcomes that they need to be done.
… The nub of my argument is: Aboriginal culture is, I cannot speak for someone else’s country, they cannot speak for my country, and through the Native Title process and the land rights process, Aboriginal people are regaining their country and regaining the power to have direct conversations with government and any private or public company that wants to do things on their land.
… Whatever it is they have to talk to the local Aboriginal people today, and they’ve been like that for 20 years. So they’ve got their voice. There is nothing in Australia that can be done on Aboriginal land without Aboriginal peoples’ permission.
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Woman found dead after stabbing in NSW
A man accused of stabbing a woman to death in Sydney is set to face court charged with murder, AAP reports.
Police found the woman’s body with multiple stab wounds at a unit in Mascot on Sunday evening after responding to reports of a domestic-related incident.
The woman has yet to be formally identified but is believed to be aged 59, officers said in a statement today.
A 61-year-old man, who was known to the woman, was arrested and taken to Mascot police station.
He has been charged with murder, refused bail and is due to appear before Parramatta bail court on Monday.
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Cyclone expected in WA
Western Australia is bracing for a tropical cyclone expected to hit the Kimberley coast later today.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting that a tropical low will intensify to cyclone strength as it tracks south-west through the Timor Sea.
Tropical low to become a cyclone later today with gales and heavy rainfall possibly developing along the Kimberley coastal fringe. Cyclone Warning cancelled for Kalumburu to Kuri Bay this morning https://t.co/B1MVXBHUfh pic.twitter.com/s5QPoVKvnz
— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) April 9, 2023
Road deaths during the Easter long weekend
Police are warning Australians to take care as they return from long weekends away, after a significant spikes in the road toll since Good Friday compared with this time last year.
Thirteen people have lost their lives in accidents on Australian roads this Easter weekend following the death of a man in a single car rollover in Victoria.
The man who was driving the car that fatally rolled at a Wangaratta intersection late on Sunday is under police guard in a local hospital with suspected non-life-threatening injuries.
Victoria police said one of the man’s three male passengers died after the car rolled into a paddock.
The other two men are believed to be critically injured and have been airlifted to hospitals in Melbourne.
In South Australia, a 16-year-old boy has died after the station wagon he was driving collided with a tree at Lake Plains in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The deaths follow a devastating start to the Easter long weekend with seven deaths on Good Friday.
These included four adults who were killed in a crash in the Southern Tablelands in NSW and a woman in Tasmania who was a passenger in an MG sedan.
A 26-year-old woman has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after her car collided with the white MG sedan.
- with AAP
Plibersek defends approval of coal seam gas wells in Queensland
Plibersek is denying that the amount of renewables being approved is still dwarfed by fossil fuel approvals.
Asked about her approval of 116 coal seam gas wells in Queensland as part of Santos whose Surat Basin Project, Plibersek defends the decision:
That is a 1.3% increase in size on a project that’s been there for eight years. So it’s an eight-year old project that’s been increased in size by 1.3%.
So I think it’s a bit disingenuous of critics to be focusing on one project increasing in size by 1.3%, and ignoring the fact that we’ve had a massive increase in businesses wanting to invest in renewable Australia and a government that is responding by efficiently making those approvals so we can see more renewable energy into our homes and businesses.
… As I said, 11 renewable projects in 10 months. We haven’t seen a coal approval in that time, we’ve seen some gas approvals like this 1.3% increase in the Surat Basin.
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Government has more than doubled renewable approvals, Plibersek says
The Albanese government is claiming to have doubled the approval of clean energy projects since it was elected to government.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has told ABC Radio the change has come about by removing brown tape and giving business more confidence in investment:
We’re getting rid of the brown tape – the negativity, the delay, the denial that the previous government applied when they were looking at renewable energy projects and the evidence is that we’ve more than doubled them.
We’ve approved 11 renewable energy projects in the 10 months since coming to government and the comparison period, under the previous government, was five so we’ve more than doubled.
And that’s because we put more resources into the Department of Environment to speed up the approvals, and it’s because we’ve created an environment of certainty.
We’ve got more businesses wanting to invest in renewable energy projects because they know we’ve got a target of 82% renewable energy in our grid by 2030.
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Two men drown in separate incidents at NSW beaches
Two men have drowned in separate incidents at beaches in NSW’s Hunter and Lake Illawarra regions, AAP reports.
About 10am on Sunday an elderly man died after being found unresponsive in the water at Fingal Beach near Port Stephens.
Paramedics gave CPR to the man, believed to be in his 70s, but he could not be revived.
Later on Sunday a man believed to be in his 60s died after being pulled from the water in the Lake Illawarra region, south of Sydney.
Paramedics were called to Killalea Beach in Shell Cove just before 3pm but the man died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.
Police are investigating both drownings, and reports will be prepared for the coroner.
Good morning
Tragedy has struck this Easter weekend, after two men died in separate incidents at New South Wales beaches and thirteen people were killed on Australian roads.
A man believed to be in his 70s died after being found unresponsive in the water at Fingal beach near Port Stephens at about 10am yesterday.
Later the same day, another man believed to be in his 60s died after being pulled from the water in the Lake Illawarra region, south of Sydney.
In Western Australia, a tropical cyclone is expected to hit the Kimberley coast later today.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting that a tropical low will intensify to cyclone strength as it tracks south-west through the Timor Sea.
In Queensland, the hunt for an armed gunman enters its fourth day. Police are calling for the surrender of the accused drug trafficker allegedly involved in three separate violent incidents in Brisbane on Thursday.
In Tasmania, a youth is in custody after a medical professional was left critically injured at a regional Tasmanian hospital.
Let’s get into it.
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