What we learned today, Tuesday 21 October
That’s all for today, here are the main events:
Penny Wong said Donald Trump’s “I don’t like you either” comment to Kevin Rudd during his meeting with Anthony Albanese was “clearly tongue-in-cheek”, although the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said Rudd’s position as ambassador was not “tenable”.
Share prices of critical mineral companies, including one in which by Gina Rinehart has a stake, rocketed after the Australia-US rare earths deal which Albanese and Trump signed.
China claimed an RAAF aircraft “illegally” entered its airspace after a flares incident. The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, said China’s claims were “factually incorrect”.
Barnaby Joyce said he had a lot of “similar positions” with Pauline Hanson, but is not a member of One Nation.
The New South Wales government will buy back Northern Beaches hospital in a $190m deal.
First Nations ancestors from Kaurna country whose remains were collected and kept by museums and universities have been buried in Adelaide.
Salman Rushdie will return to Australia for the first time since a 2022 US attack.
Both NSW and Queensland recorded new October heat records, with Bourke airport in NSW recording 44.8C and the Queensland outback town of Birdsville hitting 46.1C.
Thanks for tuning in! See you again tomorrow.
Updated
Both NSW and Queensland record new October heat records
Following our earlier post about Birdsville, New South Wales has also recorded its own state-wide October heat record on Tuesday.
Bourke airport recorded 44.8C at 4pm local time, making it the highest maximum October temperature ever recorded for New South Wales, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The previous NSW record for the month was 43.9C at Brewarrina on 31 October 1919.
Updated
