What we learned, Thursday 7 May
That’s all from the live blog today. Here are today’s big headlines:
Gas companies will be forced to set aside local supply under major Labor shake-up
Snowfall in several states as polar blast chills Australia’s south-east
ARN reveals $22m drop in advertising because of Kyle and Jackie O Show content
Thanks for joining, see you tomorrow for another day of breaking news.
Updated
Antisemitism envoy says Australian leaders have stepped up efforts since Bondi attack
Australia’s antisemitism envoy has said a hesitation from Australian leaders to speak out against antisemitism has lifted in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
Jillian Segal, the special envoy to combat antisemitism, said she had spoken to leaders in all fields, from business to the law to sport. She said:
There has been a hesitation to speak up. [They were] not sure about the impact it would have on them, their family or their businesses but also a hesitation that comes from perhaps not clearly understanding what is antisemitism.
Segal said senior Australians had grown more willing to engage with her, in particular a group of business leaders, since the terror attack at a Bondi beach Hanukah event in 2025.
Post-December 14 last year, I think there’s been a change. There’s been a realisation that what the Jewish community was experiencing and complaining about that they were seeing wasn’t a collection of isolated incidents, it wasn’t an exaggeration, it was very real and very dangerous for the country. And I’ve been contacted by many leaders since then, wanting to be more engaged.
Updated
Call to reject hatred towards Muslim Australians over arrival of IS-linked women and children
Australia’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia has released a statement about the women and children linked to Islamic State fighters who are expected to arrive in Australia this evening.
Aftab Malik said:
While governments have obligations towards their citizens, it is entirely understandable that many will feel alarm, concern and fear when confronted with the arrival of women and children linked to Isis fighters, especially communities that have endured the brutal acts of Isis cruelty.
We must uphold the rule of law. Let the legal processes proceed fully and fairly as these families arrive, with regard for due process and human rights.
Our compassion must focus on the vulnerable children who were born into unimaginable circumstances with risks of statelessness, while recognising their innocence and the long-term impact on their wellbeing.
I urge the public to reject any response that legitimises hatred toward Muslim Australians.
Updated
Judith Neilson’s former private secretary receives 14 additional fraud charges
The private secretary of billionaire philanthropist Judith Neilson has received a further 14 fraud charges.
Annalouise Spence, 51, was arrested at her home in Erskineville last month after being charged with 68 counts of dishonestly obtaining property by deception after she allegedly made unauthorised purchases totalling $1.6m. Additional charges bring that number to 82.
NSW police allege Spence obtained a credit card in her own name through Neilson’s American Express account, without her employer’s authority, in early 2023, making a number of other unauthorised purchases of “luxury and personal items, including clothing, artwork and jewellery”. She has also been charged with allegedly using multiple cards in Neilson’s name to make unauthorised purchases dating back to December 2019.
Spence’s case had a mention at the Downing Centre local court today. She was refused bail last month, but will now have her application heard before the NSW supreme court, at a date to be decided at a hearing tomorrow.
Updated
Pauline Hanson stands by party volunteer after ‘scuffle’ with Liberal James Paterson
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has defended her party’s volunteer who was allegedly caught in a scuffle with Liberal senator James Paterson outside a polling booth in the seat of Farrer on Wednesday.
Hanson said:
I’m standing by my volunteer in that whole scuffle.
I don’t get in the gutter like these other politicians do, the people don’t want it. They won’t get it from One Nation. But I tell you, I’m going to meet that volunteer and I’m going to shake his hand and I’m going to stand by him.
The clash reportedly came after Paterson and the volunteer disagreed over revelations that One Nation’s candidate in the Farrer byelection had previously attempted to run for the Labor party, with Paterson filming the interaction.
Hanson addressed the incident after flying into Farrer on the $1.5m private plane she was gifted by Gina Rinehart to use in the lead-up to the next federal election. Asked about the plane, she said:
I’m very proud of it. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t? I was upfront right from the beginning, where the money came from, who donated it.
Her party’s candidate, David Farley, a local agribusiness consultant and former National party member, is running in the upcoming byelection in the Riverina-based electorate after former opposition leader Sussan Ley’s resignation.
Updated
Australian business asked worker to adopt ‘less obviously Jewish’ name, royal commission hears
An Australian-owned global company told an employee with an “identifiably Jewish” name to use a different name and email address at work to avoid offending an international stakeholder, the royal commission has heard.
The employee, speaking under the pseudonym ABM, said she began working in the company, which was not named, in August 2025.
ABM said she was told she had replaced an Israel-based employee who had been asked to leave after an international stakeholder “on a big commercial partnership” did not want to work with “any individuals in the Israeli division”.
Two weeks after she began work, the company’s chief executive told ABM her name may “add some complexity” for that stakeholder. She said:
He suggested or sort of requested, perhaps, that I would go by a different name in the workplace setting, particularly in external meetings, and use a name that was less obviously Jewish.
ABM said he had consulted with the company’s board and “wheels were in motion already” to change her email signature and her name in internal directories. She said she was “in pure shock” but felt she had no option but to comply:
I felt a sense of shame that I hadn’t felt before, and not because I was ashamed of being Jewish, I’m a proud Jew, but because I was suddenly made aware that something so deeply personal to me could be negatively viewed by others.
She said she had since left that job and begun work elsewhere.
Updated
Queensland premier asked about relationship between Olympic minister Tim Mander and child safety minister Amanda Camm
Queensland premier David Crisafulli has ruled out a cabinet reshuffle during a 22 minute grilling by the state press gallery over allegations of an undisclosed affair between two of his ministers.
Crisafulli and deputy premier Jarrod Bleijie invited the media pack to a location overlooking an island of inner city green – Victoria Park – slated to become an Olympic precinct on Thursday, a day after the federal environmental department gave a green light to a proposed 63,000 seat stadium.
But after only one question about Victoria Park the premier was asked about “more pressing matters”: the relationship between Olympic minister Tim Mander and child safety minister Amanda Camm.
Allegations that Bleijie described as “salacious” have swirled since the weekend around the status of their on again, off again relationship – which began as an extramarital affair– and their adherence to the ministerial code of conduct, which obliges them to declare conflicts of interests such as personal ties, after the emergence of a letter from Mander’s sister-in-law that contradicted the couple’s timeline.
Both have said they were “categorically not in a relationship” when sworn in as ministers after the LNP was voted into government in late 2024, and made it known to the integrity watchdog when they rekindled their romance last June.
Crisafulli repeatedly said his ministers had assured him they had abided by that code.
He said:
But I’ll say it again … if you believe that isn’t the case, come forward to the authorities, or to me personally, and I assure you I will act on it.
Asked if the affair was damaging his leadership, Crisafulli replied that he was “pretty confident that what we’re doing in Queensland at the moment is showing we’re heading in the right direction” – and pointed to an upcoming byelection which would prove “a test of both my leadership and the opposition’s leadership”.
Updated
Lack of agreement at Senate inquiry into new gas exports tax
A Senate inquiry into a new gas tax has failed to land a set of recommendations despite mounting support for a new 25% export levy.
But the government has indicated it is open to changes in the future, with Labor senators calling for a review of various options once the Middle East conflict subsides.
The inquiry’s final report was tabled on Thursday afternoon without any formal recommendations due to a lack of agreement from committee members.
In additional comments to the report, the Greens - whose resources spokesperson Steph Hodgins-May chaired the inquiry - reiterated their support for a 25% tax on export revenue to replace the petroleum resource rent tax (PRRT). The independent senator David Pocock also backed a 25% export tax.
Hodgins-May wrote:
The time is now. The experts say we need it. The public wants it. The government should cut the crap and just do it.
In its response to the inquiry, the Labor committee members said issues with the PRRT and the “relatively low” levels of tax collected from the resources warranted further examination.
The Labor senators Varun Ghosh and Lisa Darmanin recommended that once the international oil crisis has passed, the Treasury and the Productivity Commission should examine the various tax proposals raised in the inquiry - presumably including the 25% export tax.
They wrote:
The current global energy supply crisis, and the heightened importance of regional energy partnerships, make this an inopportune time for precipitate or sudden changes in Australia’s tax regime on gas resources. Nevertheless, the situation does not prevent the consideration of questions of tax policy or possible future areas for reform once the exigencies of the current crisis have passed.
Updated
Psychologist tells inquiry of Jewish patients facing harassment and children asking ‘why do they hate us?’
“So many” Jewish Australians are seeking psychological help for harassment and exclusion, the antisemitism royal commission has heard.
Sarah, a clinical psychologist who declined to share her surname, said she had heard “frightening” incidents of harassment and psychological harm as she sees patients. She said:
Now, I have so many people that I’m seeing currently that are not welcome anymore in academic spaces or in places of profession. … I’m one of those people people go see. And part of it is because it’s a really hard time at the moment to function and there’s a lot to unpack that we don’t understand.
Sarah said Jewish children who were her patients had asked her “Why do they hate us?”:
When a nine year old comes and asks: ‘Why do they hate us? Why do I have to hide my uniform? What is it about me that they don’t like, what have I done?’ … the only thing that you can do is, ‘there isn’t a good enough reason,’ but when they then go, ‘but why doesn’t anybody stand up for us?’
She said she had also been in a Facebook group of about 2,500 clinical psychologists, which had been mostly apolitical for a decade until 7 October 2023. Members calling for support for Palestine clashed with Jewish colleagues and accused them of taking “the side of the oppressor”, Sarah said.
I left the group and a number of other clinicians have as well. That no longer became a safe place for us.
Updated
Hello, I’ll now be with you for the next little while.
That’s all for me. Jordyn Beazley will take things from here. Take care!
Publisher Allen & Unwin exploring ways to cut ties with Craig Silvey
The curriculum bans come as publisher Allen & Unwin released a statement on Wednesday afternoon announcing it is reviewing ways to sever its relationship with the author:
While legal proceedings were underway, Allen & Unwin paused the sale, distribution and promotion of Mr Silvey’s work.
Following Mr Silvey’s plea, Allen & Unwin will review all available steps it can take to end its relationship with the author.
Major Australian bookstores, including Dymocks, QBD, and Readings, have also pulled his books from their shelves.
Craig Silvey’s books permanently removed from public school curriculums across Australia
State education departments across Australia have moved to permanently remove disgraced author Craig Silvey’s books from public school curriculums following his admission to child exploitation charges.
In Western Australia the education minister, Sabine Winton, confirmed on Wednesday that Silvey’s work would be permanently struck from the state’s curriculum, upgrading a temporary removal enacted when the author was first charged in January.
The New South Wales department of education said its public schools stopped using Silvey’s texts and removed his titles from both their library collections and the Premier’s Reading Challenge list when the allegations first came to light. A spokesperson confirmed the state has “no plans to reinstate any texts”.
In Victoria, a state education department spokesperson said that teaching resources for Silvey’s book Runt were “immediately removed” from circulation when he was charged, adding that his texts were not on VCE literature lists. “Our thoughts are with the alleged victims,” they said.
Meanwhile, a Queensland department of education spokesperson confirmed that no Silvey books are on the state’s prescribed text list.
Updated
Jewish group never needed to run community support campaign until 7 October, organiser says
Jewish Australians had never needed broad community support campaigns until 7 October 2023, a community organiser has said.
Lynda Ben-Menashe has told the antisemitism royal commission she had been working with the NSW Jewish board of deputies in education and building Australia’s social cohesion but had had to put that work aside after antisemitism surged in 2023.
She said:
Our ability to do that work to build Australia was curtailed to a huge extent because we had to look after our Jewish community …
That was really important work for me and for them, building a network of Australian leaders who knew each other, understood each other, wanted to contribute to the country, and so on. And that’s the sort of work we can’t do right now. We can’t focus on domestic violence right now because we’ve got to work out how to deal with the hate speech and violence being directed to us right now.
Ben-Menashe said she had never had to dedicate resources to supporting the Jewish community until 7 October 2023, when she began organising workshops in community members’ homes which have continued to this day.
We literally had never been in this position before. So we didn’t know what to do. And I just made it up really as we went along … I mean, yesterday, I had three calls from Jewish women asking about how to navigate something that was happening in their life right now. It was about 5,000 people over 103 sessions since October 7 that we’ve done so far.
Updated
NSW police searching for 80 allegedly stolen beehives
NSW police are appealing for information after dozens of beehives were allegedly stolen from a property in the state’s Northern Tablelands.
Officials said the beehives – 80 boxes in total, worth about $150,000 – were taken some time between 31 March and 6 May from a rural property about 15km west of Bonshaw village, 100km from Glen Innes.
The boxes are described as cream in colour with blue baseboards, blue and white lids and red, clear boards. They were full of bee colonies.
Police have begun an investigation into the alleged theft and are asking for anyone with footage or information of the incident to contact them.
Updated
NSW premier denies making phone call at centre of alleged donations scandal
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has denied making a secret phone call about what to do with undeclared donations amid reports the state’s election watchdog has reopened an investigation into the decade-old incident.
Last year, a former NSW Labor staffer gave secret evidence to an upper house parliamentary committee claiming that he was phoned in 2014 by Minns, then a candidate for the seat of Kogarah, asking what to do with thousands of dollars from a fundraiser at the Sunny Harbour Seafood restaurant in Hurstville after he and his campaign allegedly staff failed to keep a record of the sources.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that the NSW Electoral Commission (EC) had reopened its investigation, closed in 2023, and was conducting interviews about the donations.
Asked today if he or his staff were being interviewed as part of a potential investigation, Minns said:
Look, I’m in a difficult position, I can’t comment about ongoing investigations, whether they’re taking place or not, so, but I would say that I absolutely reject any suggestions I’ve committed any offence in relation to this or any other electoral matter.
… More specifically, I specifically reject any suggestion of a phone conversation with an individual suggesting that I was part of some conspiracy relating to donations and having them apply or sneak through the Electoral Commission.
The NSW EC declined to comment or confirm whether it was conducting an investigation, as per its compliance and enforcement publication policy.
Former Age editor says it’s a ‘failure of journalism’ that Jewish stories were not heard until royal commission
Michael Gawenda, the former editor-in-chief of the Age newspaper, has said surprise at the Jewish people’s testimony to the royal commission showed the Australian media had failed to cover antisemitism.
Gawenda said, as he had entered the royal commission today to give evidence, a reporter told him they had not until this week’s testimony been aware of Jewish people’s experiences of abuse. Gawenda said:
This is a failure of journalism. Why weren’t these stories told before? Why was there a need to have a royal commission to tell these stories? … The excuse cannot be that they didn’t have the journalists to do it.
He went on:
How is it possible that a journalist [didn’t know]? … I know how it’s possible: because the media didn’t cover these issues.
Gawenda said he believed the Australian media had minimised antisemitism and could start to deny opportunities to reporters who did not oppose Israel.
My concern is that there’ll be this bar, that if you’re a journalist, Jewish or not Jewish, who supports the state of Israel or is not an anti-Zionist, you’re unlikely to get a job.
Updated
Israeli musician had to stop performing after cancellation campaign, royal commission hears
An Israeli musician in Australia had to stop performing after facing efforts to cancel his shows and being told he was a “baby killer”, the royal commission into antisemitism has heard.
The man, who spoke under the pseudonym ABK, moved to Australia in 2020 after completing his compulsory military service in the Israeli Defence Force. He said:
I’m very proud of my service. Back in my service, I saved a lot of innocent lives, Palestinians and a lot of other innocent lives of different countries that I’m not allowed to say.
He is a multi-instrumentalist who collaborated with other musicians in Australia and sings in different languages including Hebrew and English, he said. He was in Israel on 7 October 2023 while visiting family. He said:
I lost full trust. My first anger was towards the Israeli government, as that was my absolutely personal feelings, and since then it’s obviously a much more complicated matter.
When he returned to Australia, he played a show in Melbourne, where he said a few attenders began shouting “free Palestine” at him. He said:
We didn’t expect to have something like that, obviously, after what happened.
His efforts to arrange an Israeli-themed night he had previously run in Australia were rejected, he said. He was told people were contacting venues to cancel his shows and he began receiving online messages describing him and his band as “genocide supporters” and “baby killers”. Photos of him in his Israeli Defence Force uniform were posted online, which he said he believed were hacked from his personal social media.
Updated
ASX continues upswing as Iran mulls US peace proposal
The Australian share market is on track for a second straight session of gains, as oil prices eased on hopes of a potential peace deal between the United States and Iran, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 gained 0.85% by noon as the broader All Ordinaries gained 0.89%. The continued upswing followed a positive session on Wall Street, following reports that the US had proposed a memorandum of understanding to Iran to end the war.
Energy stocks tumbled 3.1% as Brent crude fell to US$101.50 a barrel, dropping more than 10% since Tuesday and weighing on oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos.
The Australian dollar was buying US72.47 cents, up slightly from US72.30 cents on Wednesday at 5pm, buoyed by improving risk sentiment and a weaker greenback.
Updated
Gas producers will be forced to set aside 20% of exports for east coast reserve
Gas companies will be forced to set aside 20% of export volumes for domestic use under a reservation scheme designed to shore up supplies and bring down prices for households and businesses on the east coast.
The federal government announced the final design of the gas reservation on Thursday after consultation with industry and other stakeholders.
Updated
More frosty scenes this morning, this time from Falls Creek, Victoria. A light dusting of snow fell over the village this morning, with local temperatures dipping as low as -5.6C overnight.
NSW health system ‘not safe for Jewish people’, Sydney nurse manager tells royal commission
A nurse manager for a New South Wales health district has said her department has left the healthcare system “not safe for Jewish people”.
The Sydney resident and dual Australian-Israeli citizen, under the pseudonym “AAV”, told the antisemitism royal commission her cousin was killed and was the last hostage to be returned to Israel after being taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
AAV said she put posters of the hostages on the wall in her office space in the hospital, and wore a necklace and yellow ribbon in memory of the hostages in the weeks after the attack. She said her manager told her to remove them “because of the likelihood of them upsetting or offending other people”.
As recently as December 2025, her request to share a “happy Hanukah” message was rejected by her hospital’s media team over sensitivities about the Gaza war, she said, adding:
NSW Health …. having tolerated this behaviour, it means that the health care system is not only not safe for Jewish people. It’s potentially not safe for anyone that comes from some sort of diverse background.”
AAV said some of her colleagues in NSW Health had made offensive comments to her:
They’ll pass me in a corridor and just sort of say, ‘Oh shame on you’ or ‘you must be really ashamed to belong to a group of child killers’. I’ve also been called Zionist scum. I’ve had staff pass me and try to justify the response of Hamas on Israel. … It made me feel very targeted, at times very disempowered.
Updated
Jewish climate justice director was encouraged to resign, royal commission hears
Stephanie Cunio, a Sephardi and Mizrahi Jew, has told the antisemitism royal commission she felt she had to step down from her role in a climate group after 7 October 2023.
Cunio said she had been a board member on an environmental non-government organisation, which she chose not to name. After Hamas’ attack, younger and migrant members of the climate movement argued with leaders and older members to advocate for Palestine, while the board began meeting without her, she said. Cunio said:
I got called up by a board member and the board member said: ‘I know this is getting very difficult for you, um, you know, maybe you should consider leaving.’
She compared her reaction to a previous experience of sexual harassment:
You know what to say but the words don’t come out. The words are: ‘Actually, you need to keep me safe. I’m a board member and I deserve safety’ … It all really got too much so I did what I was advised and it was very liberating.
Cunio said she had also founded a chat group to organise climate activists of diverse backgrounds but felt she had to leave the chat after 7 October when the members began speaking about Israel’s response with no acknowledgment of the 1,200 people killed.
She said Jewish people were seen as “white” and separate to multicultural Australia:
I really enjoyed being in solidarity with these people … it was really heartbreaking.
Updated
No timeline on fixing controversial job ready graduates scheme, Labor says
The education minister, Jason Clare, says he has no timeline on fixing the job ready graduates program, despite repeatedly calling the controversial Morrison-era scheme a “failure” in its attempt to discourage students from undertaking humanities degrees.
The scheme was introduced in 2021 to incentivise students to take degrees such as science, nursing, education and IT, and disincentivise humanities, law and creative arts degrees by significantly increasing fees. It’s been in place longer under the Albanese government than under the Liberals.
Clare, speaking to reporters in Sydney this morning, said it was expensive and complex to fix, but that the new Australian Tertiary Education Commission, established under legislation earlier this year, would be able to look at it. When it will do that, is still unclear.
I’ve said that JRG is a failure if the purpose of the former government was to get people to not study the things that they are passionate about.
I’ve also said that it is expensive and complex to fix. The Atec, the Australian Tertiary Education Commission has got the ability now to be able to look at the costs across the whole system. And I said that this is unfinished business and that there is more work to do, but I won’t set a timeline on that today.
Treasury modelling revealed earlier this week found it will take one quarter of humanities students more than 25 years to repay their degrees.
Owners of closed kosher kitchen tell royal commission of ‘devastating’ blaze
The owners of a kosher restaurant in Bondi that burnt down in 2024 have spoken at the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion as it begins its fourth day of hearings.
Judith Lewis told the commission she was the managing director of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, formerly on Bondi’s busy Curlewis Street, and a great-grandmother in a large Jewish family. She, her husband and her parents established the kosher caterer in 1970, before it became a restaurant.
Karyn Lewis, Judith’s daughter, said she had worked at Lewis’ for close to 40 years, joined by her cousins and her children over the years. It had been the first kosher takeaway restaurant in Sydney before catering for airlines, hospitals, jails and offering fine dining, she said.
The restaurant burnt down in October 2024 and has not reopened. Judith Lewis said:
A lot of people came and met there, and were able to sit and eat and then see other people there. It was a communal centre … For us it’s devastating because we’re not seeing all our friends, because the customers very much became our friends.
The commission then moved into a closed session to hear the Lewises’ evidence without prejudicing criminal proceedings over the attack on the restaurant.
Updated
Queensland education department hit with ‘international cybersecurity breach’
The Queensland education department has been affected by an “international cybersecurity breach”, the state’s education minister says.
John-Paul Langbroek released a statement on Thursday confirming the names, email addresses and school locations of students in state schools since 2020 may have been exposed in the hack of the third-party provider responsible for the state’s online learning platform, QLearn.
Langbroek says there is no evidence that sensitive information – including password, dates of birth, or financial details – were accessed in the hack.
This incident has impacted thousands of educational institutions, including state schools and universities within Queensland, across Australia and overseas, and early advice is this will impact more than 200 million people and more than 9,000 institutions worldwide.
School principals are in the process of contacting families and teachers to advise them of the breach.
Langbroek said the department was providing “priority support” to families and teachers with known domestic violence or child safety histories.
Updated
NSW premier says ‘tactical policing operation’ expected for arrivals from Syria
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says there will be a “tactical policing operation” when Australians linked to Islamic State fighters arrive in Sydney today.
Earlier, the police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, would not say if there would be an arrest when a woman and a child arrive as expected this afternoon. Asked this morning what measures were in place for their arrival, the premier said police had “a tactical policing operation that they will need to carry out today”.
I can assure you that NSW police counter-terrorism command, the JCTC, will be working with commonwealth colleagues to take action if they believe a criminal offence has been committed, or they believe that public needs to be made safe as a result of an arrest for example.
If there’s action for the NSW police and charges relating to those individuals upon landing in Australia, that’s exactly what should happen.
Minns said the Department of Communities and Justice would be involved in the reintegration of returning Australians, including children. The police minister, Yasmin Catley, who confirmed the expected arrivals yesterday, would not say if there would be a large police presence today.
In my briefings, they have advised me of all of this information, and I have confidence that the NSW police, along with the commonwealth agencies, will certainly operationalise this as they have planned.
Updated
Government to unveil further gas reserve details
The federal government is expected to announce further details on the design of its planned east coast gas reservation scheme later this afternoon.
The government first announced the policy in December, proposing to force gas exporters to reserve between 15 and 25% of their gas production for domestic use.
The final model was subject to consultation with industry and other stakeholders.
The scheme, which green groups and unions have long campaigned for, is designed to lower prices for households and businesses by diverting extra supplies into the east coast market.
The pre-budget announcement is expected to coincide with the release of a Senate inquiry report into the tax settings for gas companies later on Thursday afternoon.
The Greens-chaired committee has been examining the proposal for a 25% tax on gas exporter revenue.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has ruled out such a tax in next week’s budget, in part to avoid a backlash from Asian trading partners that Australia is relying on for fuel amid the global oil shock.
Updated
Thredbo gets dusting of snow as wintry conditions arrive: ‘let’s GO!’
Thredbo resort has a new coat of snow. The resort wrote on Instagram:
Temps dropped to a chilly -6.4 this morning, the village rooftops are dusted in white and the Snow Cams are already looking very wintery 👀Opening Weekend is getting closer, and Mother Nature is giving us a taste of what’s to come – let’s GO!
The Bureau of Meteorology said yesterday parts of Victoria, Tasmania and NSW were all in for wintry conditions over the coming days due to a cold front and chasing high-pressure system.
“It’s a sure sign we really are moving into the cooler months of the year,” BoM senior meteorologist Dean Narramore told AAP.
Updated
Tabcorp under investigation by financial watchdog
Tabcorp said this morning it is being investigated by Austrac, the country’s financial intelligence agency.
The company said in an ASX announcement that Austrac had informed the betting giant that it has “serious concerns” with Tabcorp’s ability to “effectively identify, mitigate and manage its money laundering / terrorism financing (ML/TF) risks”. The investigation will focus on Tabcorp’s compliance with federal finance laws and obligations.
AUSTRAC has advised that its investigation is at an early stage and its approach will be determined once sufficient evidence has been collected and assessed. AUSTRAC has also advised that all potential outcomes remain open, including the possibility that no further enforcement action will be taken.
Brett Chenoweth, the chair of Tabcorp, said in a statement:
Tabcorp takes its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing obligations very seriously. The Board and Executive are fully committed to collaborating with AUSTRAC in the continuing uplift in Tabcorp’s ML/TF risk maturity.
Updated
Two men charged after fatal car crash into weir near Sydney
NSW police have charged two men after a fatal crash into a weir in the Royal national park near Sydney yesterday morning.
Official said emergency services were called to Audley weir about 1.15am amid reports a vehicle had gone into the water. The driver of the car, a 20-year-old man, was able to escape the vehicle. But the passenger, a man also aged 20, was not able to escape. Police divers recovered the passenger’s body later that day.
The 20-year-old driver and the driver of another vehicle, a man, 18, were taken to the hospital after the incident for mandatory testing. After inquiries, both men were arrested.
The older man was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death and negligent driving occasioning death. The 18-year-old was charged with driving with a suspended licence, and several offences for not complying with p plate restrictions.
Both men were given conditional bail and will appear before court next month.
Updated
Victorian premier reverses Fed Square ban on football match broadcasts
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, says she’s “overturning” a decision not to broadcast Socceroos matches at Federation Square.
In a statement posted on her social media she said the bad behaviour of a “few dickheads” shouldn’t stop the World Cup events going ahead:
Yesterday, Melbourne Arts Precinct decided that Fed Square won’t show Socceroos matches on the big screen. I disagree with that decision – and I am overturning it. The government will ensure Fed Square has the support it needs to put on the matches this year.
We’re also looking at additional events and live sites, so Victorians have more options to watch.
Now, more than ever, people deserve more free stuff to do together in the city.
There’s always a risk of bad behaviour from a few dickheads at every public gathering but police and security will be on site and there’ll be zero tolerance for it.
The World Cup should bring us together, not keep us apart.
Good luck Socceroos – Victoria is behind you.
You can read more about the original decision here:
Updated
Lenders all have an ‘edge of cliff’ mortgage interest rate. Here’s how to push them to it
After three consecutive interest rate hikes, mortgage holders are being squeezed.
If you are seeking a better interest rate, it’s time to push your lender to reveal their “edge of cliff” price to keep you as a customer.
Here’s what to do:
James Paterson speaks about ‘bit of excitement’ at pre-polling booth after confrontation with One Nation volunteer
Liberal senator James Paterson said there was a “bit of excitement” yesterday after he clashed with a One Nation volunteer at a pre-polling booth in Albury before the Farrer byelection. Paterson was in Albury to campaign for the Liberal candidate, Raissa Butkowski.
Video of the incident shows a One Nation volunteer confronting Paterson about a sign that criticised One Nation’s own candidate, David Farley, before the volunteer allegedly grabbed Paterson’s phone.
The One National leader, Pauline Hanson, apologised for the volunteer’s behaviour in an interview with Sky News last night, saying Farley had reached out to make sure Paterson was “OK”, adding the party had apologised “for what happened”.
Hanson added to Sky that the volunteer had been “dismissed and sent home straight away”. One Nation’s chief of staff, James Ashby, later walked back the leader’s remarks, telling Sky while he didn’t condone the behaviour Paterson had been “rage-baiting a pensioner”.
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Woolworths brings back soft plastics collection points at some stores
Soft plastics recycling collection points are returning to Woolworths stores more than three years after the Australia-wide REDcycle supermarket scheme collapsed, AAP reports.
Woolworths says more than 700 of its stores across five states will accept chip packets, lolly wrappers and similar packaging.
“With this initiative, we have made it easier for Aussie families to recycle their soft plastics as part of their weekly shop,” Woolworths says.
The supermarket giant started a trial of the new scheme in five Victorian Woolworths in February 2024, and several stores in South Australia were the latest to join this week.
Some of the plastic collected through the scheme is recycled and turned into in-store wall panelling and Woolworths-brand bread bags.
Bridget McKenzie says rollback of inland rail project sends ‘chill’ through community
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie, the shadow minister for infrastructure, said the Labor party has sent a “chill through the infrastructure pipeline” after the Albanese government abandoned a beleaguered inland rail project connecting NSW with Queensland.
McKenzie spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying plans to dramatically scale back the project, originally envisioned as a 1,700km stretch from Melbourne to a port near Brisbane, were the wrong place to save money:
People were surprised and shocked and dismayed at this announcement by the Labor government, they’ve been making their concerns heard loud and clear.
This Labor government has actually derailed this project and, indeed, sent a chill through the infrastructure pipeline investment community because no project would now be safe from some future government turning off the tap.
McKenzie was asked what she would cut from the budget to address inflation. She pointed to efforts to get the NDIS “under control” but said she would look to Indigenous funding for more cuts, also expressing concern at the cost to monitor women and children with links to Islamic State families. She went on:
You’re cutting the wrong things, not the things that are going to drive a productive economy.
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NSW police will monitor anyone with links to IS if they return, but won’t preempt arrests, commissioner says
Mal Lanyon, the New South Wales police commissioner, spoke to Sky News this morning as several women and children linked to Islamic State fighters are on their way back to Australia. A woman and her child are expected to settle in Sydney as part of that cohort.
Lanyon said his responsibility was to ensure the safety of those in NSW but added he could not preempt if anyone would be arrested when they landed in the state. He told Sky News:
My responsibility is to make sure the community of NSW is safe. So obviously with people returning from declared areas, people who have been associated with terrorist organisations, we will actively monitor those people if they return to NSW.
For operational reasons, I won’t go into who may be arrested but obviously we’re working very closely with commonwealth authorities.
The Australian federal police said yesterday that a number of people will be arrested when they land in Australia, saying the details would be revealed if and when that happens. Lanyon added this morning:
Again, for operational reasons, I don’t want to go into specifically who will be arrested.
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Lenders told to ‘support customers’ facing hard times
Lenders are being warned they remain in the frame of Australia’s corporate watchdog as the nation heads into uncertain economic times, with households set to face financial hardship, AAP reports.
The outgoing head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission will deliver the advice in his final keynote speech at a conference on Thursday, before he packs up his desk at the end of this month.
“These are difficult times for many people in Australia, which makes it all the more pressing that lenders support customers experiencing financial hardship,” the chair, Joe Longo, will say, adding:
We are not taking a backwards step on this issue and are continuing to keep an eye on how lenders are supporting their customers.
And if hardship supports break down, debt management and credit repair services should not leave people in even greater financial difficulty.
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Defence industry minister says agreement over strait of Hormuz would be welcome
Pat Conroy, the minister for the defence industry, said reports that there may be some sort of an agreement between the US and Iran over the strait of Hormuz would be “welcome” but warned things have changed rapidly as the conflict has dragged on.
Conroy spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying:
Any move towards that is welcome. Obviously, things change rapidly in that conflict, so we’re not providing a running commentary, but we certainly have been calling consistently for de-escalation.
And we’ve been very clear that we think the United States’ stated objectives have been met and that’s justification for de-escalation.
Read more here:
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Penny Wong says government remains focused on fuel security
Penny Wong, the foreign affairs minister, says the government is continuing to focus its diplomacy on fuel security as the situation in the Middle East remains “challenging”.
Speaking on ABC Melbourne last night, Wong said she had been involved in talks with a number of countries to ensure post-conflict freedom of navigation through the strait of Hormuz.
It’s certainly a very challenging situation and there’s been a lot different phases in it. I said quite early on in this discussion that it’s very difficult to secure the strait of Hormuz militarily. And that’s one of the reasons why countries have been engaging in diplomatic outreach and discussions about how, post-conflict, we can assure freedom of navigation through the Strait.
She said that although the Trump administration had not been able “to resolve the issue yet”, the government continued to work on partnerships around the Asia-Pacific region to secure supplies.
It’s why I spent last week in north Asia, in Japan, Korea and China, and in the weeks before that with the prime minister in south-east Asia, in Singapore and Malaysia and Brunei, and these are countries that export to us. And one of the things we want to do is continue to work with our partners to secure supply.
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Good morning, Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it.
NT child protection minister says processes ‘appeared not to have been followed’ in lead-up to death of Kumanjayi Little Baby
The Northern Territory’s child protection minister, Robyn Cahill, says there are “concerns processes weren’t followed correctly” in the case of Kumanjayi Little Baby, with three department workers stood down pending the outcome of an investigation.
The child protection workers were stood down on Wednesday morning after the minister requested an investigation into “actions taken, or not taken” in relation to the case.
Speaking to the ABC’s 7.30 program on Wednesday night, Cahill said she received a brief on Friday that indicated police had made child protection reports about the five-year-old girl:
Clearly the processes that should have been followed appeared not to have been followed, and it was for that reason I asked for advice as to how that process has failed, which led to the investigation that has resolved today in three staff members being stood down from their positions.
The fact the investigation has led to three people being stood down from their positions would indicate that there are concerns that processes weren’t followed correctly.
The Warlpiri girl Kumanjayi Little Baby, a name used in line with cultural tradition after her death, was discovered last week after she was reported missing.
Police have charged Jefferson Lewis, 47, with her murder.
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Man charged with hate speech following neo-Nazi rally outside NSW parliament
A man has been charged with an alleged hate speech offence in relation to a protest by a neo-Nazi group outside NSW parliament in November last year.
On 8 November, about 60 members of the now-disbanded National Socialist Network stood in formation on Macquarie Street, allegedly carrying a large banner that read “Abolish the Jewish Lobby”. Police did not oppose a “form 1” application for the protest after receiving legal advice the banner did not meet the threshold for hate speech.
In a statement yesterday evening, NSW police said after an investigation into the protest and two speeches allegedly made by participants, a 32-year-old man had been arrested at a house in South Penrith at 1.45pm. He was taken to Penrith police station, where he was charged with publicly inciting hatred on the grounds of race and causing fear. He has been granted conditional bail to appear at local court on 3 June.
“An investigation into this matter was undertaken by the security investigation unit, counter-terrorist and special tactics command, who sought legal advice in relation to the public assembly and content of the speeches,” police said.
The offence for publicly inciting hatred on the grounds of race, 93ZAA in the NSW Crimes Act, was introduced in August 2025. The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, told budget estimates in February this year that six people had been charged under the offence.
The National Socialist Network disbanded in January before legislation to proscribe alleged “hate groups” was introduced to federal parliament.
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BHP cannot appeal against ruling it is liable for 2015 dam collapse
BHP cannot appeal against a UK ruling that it is liable for the 2015 collapse of a dam in south-eastern Brazil, London’s court of appeal has ruled in a case potentially worth billions of dollars, Australian Associated Press reports.
In November, London’s high court ruled BHP was responsible under Brazilian law for the collapse of the Fundao dam in Mariana, south-eastern Brazil, which was owned and operated by Samarco, a joint venture between Australia-headquartered BHP and Brazilian company Vale.
BHP’s application for permission to appeal was refused at the court of appeal in London overnight, saying there was “ample evidence” to justify the high court’s findings.
Brazil’s worst environmental disaster unleashed a wave of toxic sludge that killed 19 people, left thousands homeless, flooded forests and polluted the length of the Doce River.
At the London trial that started in 2024, lawyers representing hundreds of thousands of Brazilians and other claimants accused BHP, the world’s biggest miner by market value, of trying to avoid responsibility.
BHP, however, argued the lawsuit duplicated legal proceedings and reparation and repair programs in Brazil. In the trial’s first week, Brazil signed a 170bn reais ($A48bnn) compensation deal with BHP, Vale and Samarco.
BHP said it was confident that work done since 2015 and the agreement with Brazil “provide the quickest and most efficient solution” to compensate those affected by the dam failure.
It also said about 240,000 claimants, representing roughly 40% of the claimant class, had received compensation in Brazil meaning their claim will be discontinued.
Pogust Goodhead, the law firm representing the claimants, called the appeal decision “a further victory” for the victims and “a major setback” for BHP.
The initial stage of the case was to determine whether BHP was liable to the claimants, with a further trial to decide on any damages to be paid expected to begin in April 2027.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Nick Visser with the main action.
A man has been charged by police in New South Wales with an alleged hate speech offence in relation to a protest by a neo-Nazi group outside NSW parliament in November last year. More coming.
BHP cannot appeal against a UK ruling that it is liable for the 2015 collapse of a dam in south-eastern Brazil, London’s court of appeal has ruled in a case potentially worth billions of dollars. More details soon.
Penny Wong says the government is continuing to focus its diplomacy on fuel security as the situation in the Middle East remains “challenging”.
