What we learned, Tuesday 22 September
That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage for today.
Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:
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The City of Sydney has banned smart glasses in all its pools, libraries, gyms, childcare centres and town halls.
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Anthony Albanese has joined the leaders of more than 20 countries in signing a statement calling to bring the rapid growth of artificial intelligence under control.
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The Greens have called for a national authority to oversee the triple-zero network, which is responsible for emergency call operations.
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A pilot of “ground rules” hearings will reduce distress and trauma for complainants in sexual assault trials alongside other reforms being introduced to NSW parliament today, the state government says.
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A medicinal herb found in cold and flu supplements will be phased off Australian shelves over links to severe allergic reactions.
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Police in Sydney are appealing for information after a man allegedly performed a Nazi salute in the inner city suburb of Newtown on Saturday.
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NSW police are investigating possible organised crime links after 11-year-old boy was shot in a Sydney apartment.
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The Reserve Bank governor has said migration is holding up Australia’s economic growth, not adding to inflation, as the government defends its plan to tighten the immigration intake.
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Victoria has confirmed two new cases of deadly H5 bird flu in fur seals on the state’s coastline.
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A mother has been charged after allegedly fatally stabbing one child and seriously injuring two others in the Blue Mountains.
Thanks for sticking around, see you tomorrow morning!
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Mother charged after alleged Blue Mountains stabbing
A New South Wales mother has been charged after allegedly fatally stabbing one child and seriously injuring two others in the Blue Mountains.
Emergency services responded to reports of a stabbing at a property on Waratah Road, Valley Heights, at about 12.45pm on Sunday.
A five-year-old child died at the scene, despite witnesses providing first aid while waiting for emergency services.
Two other children, aged one and three, were taken to hospital and are in a critical but stable condition.
The woman, who is in her 40s, was also found at the property with critical injuries.
She has been charged with murder and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. She was refused bail and will remain in custody until her next court appearance next month.
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Jetstar staff to waive extra baggage and seat fees as industrial action escalates
Jetstar staff will escalate industrial action this week, with union members expected to waive extra charges for passengers during a busy travel period.
The Australian Services Union (ASU) confirmed that protected industrial action will commence at 12.01 am on Wednesday and run until midnight on Thursday. The timing coincides with the Victorian and Queensland school holidays and precedes the AFL Grand Final.
While workers will assist passengers as normal, they won’t collect extra fees on the airline’s behalf, waiving or recording excess baggage, seat selection and late fees as $0.
ASU national assistant secretary, Scott Cowen, said the dispute is about fair pay, highlighting Jetstar’s recent annual results showing domestic earnings up 15% and international revenue up 14%.
Our members are still turning up to look after passengers, but they won’t be collecting extra fees on Jetstar’s behalf until Jetstar shows that it is serious about its workforce. The ball is now in Jetstar’s court.
Members voted in favour of protected action following a ballot in late August, seeking wages aligned with other Qantas Group employees, higher penalties, improved leave, weather protections and job security.
A Jetstar spokesperson said operations will not be impacted by the action and that it is “committed to working constructively towards an outcome”.
We’ve put a comprehensive and fair offer on the table that includes pay increases, improved penalty payments and allowances, as well as more flexibility in rostering.
This is a great package for our people which also allows us to keep investing in our fleet and grow our network while keeping fares low, despite escalating fuel costs impacting the industry.
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Victoria confirms state’s first cases of bird flu in fur seals
Victoria has confirmed two new cases of deadly H5 bird flu in fur seals on the state’s coastline.
A long-nosed fur seal was found dead at Gabo Island in East Gippsland, while an Australian fur seal was reported at Rye back beach on the Mornington Peninsula. Both animals were identified about a week ago through community reports, with tests now confirming the presence of the virus.
The state’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said:
Timely reports from the public are helping our teams respond quickly, investigate cases and build a clearer understanding of where the virus is present.
The cases followed news on Monday of four Australian sea lions, including one pup, testing positive for bird flu, at the Pages islands near Kangaroo Island in South Australia.
Victoria’s environment department reminded members of the public to stay at least 30 metres away from marine mammals that appear unwell, and to keep children and pets well clear. People can report sick or dead wildlife to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
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Peter Greste says Trump media protest should serve as warning for press freedom in Australia
Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom executive director, Peter Greste, has warned that attacks on press freedom in the United States should serve as a warning to Australia.
His comments came after major US television news outlets agreed to suspend their video coverage of Donald Trump after the administration barred journalists from several outlets from entering the White House grounds.
Speaking to the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Greste said:
We need to be very careful about not normalising these kinds of behaviours.
This is the latest in a fairly long history, a long period of attacks on press freedom and freedom of speech and all sorts of ways by the Trump administration so I think what it shows us is unless we stand up and take note and speak out, whenever these things happen, we do run the risk of these kinds of assaults being normalised and treated as part of a new normal. It is very dangerous for democracy and we have to stop it.
Greste said the developments should serve as a warning to Australia, pointing to domestic examples such as One Nation recently barring Guardian Australia and ABC journalists from its press conferences.
The example of the United States shows that we can see press freedom being chipped away at the edges. The fact that we are at this particular point I think tells us here in Australia that we cannot take press freedom for granted, and the US has always been held up as that bastion of freedom of speech and freedom of the press because it has the first amendment protected it in its constitution.
We don’t have anything like that here in Australia so I’m concerned that if we do not heed the warning from the United States, if we do not recognise the press freedom in Australia is in fact extraordinarily vulnerable, we risk finding ourselves in a very difficult place.
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Rohan Dennis’s lawyer warn of ‘personal affront’ risk for presiding judge
A judge who warned former Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis he could expect to be jailed if he drove while banned might feel personally affronted that Dennis had breached the ban, his lawyer has told a court.
Dennis, 36, received a suspended 17-month jail term and a five-year driving ban in 2025. It followed a guilty plea over the events leading up to the death of his Olympian wife Melissa Hoskins.
Despite the suspended sentence over his head, Dennis was allegedly caught driving with two children as passengers on 11 June.
AAP reports that in the South Australian district court on Tuesday, Dennis’s lawyer, David Edwardson told Judge Ian Press that it would be inappropriate for him to deal with the matter from every perspective.
The perception that Your Honour ... might be personally affronted at the fact that – having given an opportunity to a man by way of a suspended sentence and having given the caution or warning of the potential consequences – that that of itself carries with it almost the inevitable outcome.
The prosecutor opposed the claim, stating there was nothing inappropriate about a defendant receiving a standard warning about the consequences of not abiding by a good behaviour bond.
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Suspension extended for Royal Australasian College of Physicians director
A director of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians has had her suspension extended by the charities regulator until early December.
In May, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) suspended Dr Sharmila Chandran, the president-elect of one of Australia’s oldest medical colleges, until 20 September for allegedly contravening a direction from the NSW work health and safety watchdog. It followed months of conflict within the RACP’s board, which culminated in an extraordinary general meeting in April to which police were called.
Prior to her suspension as a responsible person of the RACP, which is a registered charity, Chandran had been due to become president and board chair at an annual general meeting on 29 May.
On Friday, the ACNC decided to extend Chandran’s suspension until 4 December, noting that “although the RACP has made progress in addressing the governance and workplace safety issues identified by SafeWork NSW, it has sought an extension of time to comply” with an improvement notice. Chandran said:
I have been suspended as a director by the ACNC for simply writing emails to the senior leadership team, emails which in my opinion were always respectful and professional …
In my view the regulatory process to date reflects, among other things, retaliatory targeting and victim-blaming of a whistleblower, racial discrimination, bullying and harassment, and institutional bias.
Asked for comment, an ACNC spokesperson said:
By law the ACNC cannot speak publicly about the circumstances of any charity, apart from referring to information published on the Charity Register, or unless an exception applies in limited circumstances.
RBA: AI could be a bubble and is boosting inflation but not efficiency
Michele Bullock has said the AI investment boom could be a bubble, with no sign that it is improving efficiency and every sign it’s adding to inflation.
AI stock prices are soaring again after Facebook owner Meta debuted a new AI agent and saw its shares rise 11% on Monday. The Reserve Bank governor said it’s not yet clear whether share markets’ strength will be sustainable. Speaking in Sydney, she said:
All central banks are a little bit worried about that. It might not be a bubble but it might be and if it unwinds in a disorderly manner then that could have implications for the financial system and also for real economies …
Some people think it’s a bubble, some people don’t. I don’t have a particular view one way or the other, but it’s a risk that I think we’re watching.
She said the RBA and top central banks all agreed AI was “the great white hope” to make economies more productive but there was little sign it was yet to happen, with rapid adoption and investment in datacentres just adding to inflation instead. She said:
We’ve got this awkward sequencing event at the moment where, in Australia at least, we are in a situation of excess demand and the AI boom is adding to that demand, ahead of any potential supply impacts that it might have going forwards.
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RBA governor says migration responsible for economic growth, not inflation
The Reserve Bank governor has said migration is holding up Australia’s economic growth, not adding to inflation, as the government defends its plan to tighten the immigration intake.
Michele Bullock said Australia’s weak economy and lack of efficiency gains mean immigration and bigger populations are responsible for higher activity, at a CEDA lunch in Sydney. She said:
It’s fair to say that, the extent [activity] has been growing over the last few quarters, it’s been growing due to population growth.
Bullock rejected the idea that immigration just meant more people entering the country and pushing up prices. She said:
The point is it also adds to supply because a lot of those people come in and they work. And therefore, when we think about it, we typically think that it probably is much of a muchness.
She said the housing market was the exception, as new immigrants did not immediately generate new housing supply.
Where it bites is the housing market, because the housing market can’t respond …. That’s where you tend to see pressures arise.
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That’s all from me. Achol Arok will take things from here. Take care!
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Key event
House price slide is in ‘lower range of downturns’, RBA governor says
The Reserve Bank governor said house prices are falling lower than other recent downturns in the market but from a “pretty unaffordable” level.
Michele Bullock has said the drop in prices “doesn’t look entirely out of line” with past experience, at a CEDA lunch in Sydney. She said:
It’s a slight dip down after a very long run up. And I think there was a feeling, certainly for this most recent correction, that housing was in effect becoming pretty unaffordable. …
You can see that the downturn is sort of in the lower range of downturns in the past, but it’s certainly not out of the ballpark, of the sorts of downturns we’ve seen in the past.
Bullock said the downturn was due to interest rate rises, with only 5% of mortgages on fixed rates. The government’s tax reforms had “very directly” impacted the market as well, she said.
Housing approvals for investors have just dropped. They’ve dropped for everyone but they’ve really dropped a long way for investors, so it has changed the dynamic for investors, whether it’s worth investing in housing or not.
She said economic activity would be hit as slower home sales meant fewer people buying new furniture and fittings, while lower house prices would leave some people feeling poorer and less likely to spend.
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Political fight over gun buyback after boy, 11, shot in the face and neck in Sydney apartment
The shooting of an 11-year-old boy in Sydney’s north-west was a “tragic reminder” of the danger of guns, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has said while the opposition defends “backflipping” on a gun buyback.
The Liberal opposition voted with Labor in support of a buyback last year, but on Saturday pledged it would scrap Labor’s firearm ownership caps for primary producers.
The NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane, instead proposed a commission of inquiry into gun laws and a freeze of any buyback. Caps for farmers and professional shooters would also be scrapped.
The police minister, Yasmin Catley, called the Coalition’s plan a “stunning backflip” and said it would leave more guns in circulation.
Read more here:
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NSW police investigating possible organised crime links after 11-year-old boy shot in Sydney apartment
NSW police are holding a press conference after an 11-year-old boy was shot in the face in Sydney yesterday.
Supt Naomi Moore said officers found the boy with the injury on arrival. He was treated at the scene and taken to hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Moore said there were a number of people in the unit at the time, and officers have spoken to some of them and are looking to speak to others.
Some of those present at the time of the shooting “are not currently cooperating with investigators”, she said.
Three men, all 18, were arrested last night. Two have been released pending further investigations, and one was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence and had bail refused.
Moore said several of those in the unit were known to police, adding:
I want to reassure the community this shooting at this stage does not appear to be linked directly to current conflicts. However, a number of individuals that were inside the unit at the time are well known to NSW police, and their association with organised crime is being considered by investigators.
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Taylor says idea to use super to help with housing purchases ‘not our policy’
Angus Taylor said shadow housing minister Andrew Bragg’s idea to use superannuation as collateral for housing purchases is “not our policy”.
Taylor was asked about Bragg’s idea earlier today. The opposition leader had this to say:
Superannuation is Australians’ money. It’s Australians’ money. They should have choice in it, that’s why we strongly support self-managed super funds. But the proposal you’re talking about there is not our policy.
As we reported earlier, Bragg said the “general idea” behind the proposal “is we want to have a country where more people are retired homeowners, and one of the most worrying trends we have is the growth in retired renters”. Bragg added:
That doesn’t seem to be the best outcome for all people, which is why we’re having this debate, because we want to be a nation of homeowners.
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Australian shares edge higher after shaky start
Australian shares have already handed back most of an early lead after optimism about the AI boom didn’t translate into significant upside for the local exchange, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 0.24% as the broader All Ordinaries gained 0.3%.
The top-200 spiked almost 49 points at the open after a tech-led rally on Wall Street overnight, but an unconvincing bounce from under-pressure mining stocks and a lack of follow-through for bank stocks left it on track for yet another flat session.
Local energy stocks weighed heavily on Tuesday, as hopes of US-Iran talks sent Brent crude down to $US101.10 a barrel, while diesel prices in the US and Europe have hit record highs.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.05 US cents, down from 71.28 US cents on Monday at 5pm.
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Man linked to suspicious death charged with bribing public officials in Bangladesh
A man has been charged with bribing public officials in Bangladesh to stop police linking him to a suspicious death, in a first in Australia’s courts, AAP reports.
An Australian-Bangladeshi woman’s death was deemed suspicious by local authorities when her body was found in Bangladesh in September 2024.
The Australian federal police began investigating the death due to the woman’s dual citizenship status, seizing international transaction records from banks in Sydney and Brisbane.
Police allege a 51-year-old man known to the woman conspired with people in Bangladesh in the two years after her death, transferring about $90,000 to bribe public officials to remove his name from police records.
Raids were carried out on Monday at homes in Goodna and Redbank Plains, in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, where authorities seized an electronic device and arrested the 51-year-old.
He was charged with bribing a foreign public official, an offence which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail.
Any attempt to corrupt investigative processes, whether in Australia or overseas, was a serious criminal matter, AFP Cmdr Stephen Jay said.
“We will continue to work closely with our domestic and international partners regarding this investigation,” he said.
The Redbank Plains man is scheduled to appear before Brisbane magistrates court later on Tuesday.
It is the first time the AFP has put an allegation of foreign bribery of a public official for personal advantage before the court.
Bangladeshi police are conducting their own investigation into the woman’s death.
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Solar and wind generation meet record 80% of power demand on Australia’s national grid
Sunshine and wind met 80.4% of demand on Australia’s main power grid on Saturday, setting a new high bar for renewable electricity.
Solar panels on rooftops provided more than half of the power used in the national electricity market, the grid that supplies the eastern states, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, for 30 minutes around lunchtime. This was complemented by solar and windfarms, and a small amount of hydro (1%). Fossil fuels, coal and gas, contributed 20%.
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the milestone meant there was “more clean, cheap, sovereign energy powering our homes and businesses than ever before”.
Read more here:
Coogee shark attack survivor Stewart says skin graft has failed
Leah Stewart, who was bitten by a shark at a Sydney beach, says a skin graft has failed as she continues her recovery.
The 34-year-old mother and school teacher was attacked while swimming at Coogee beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on 13 June.
As part of her treatment, doctors took skin from her right thigh and grafted it on to her injured left thigh.
In a social media post, Stewart said she was “devastated” after doctors confirmed the operation has failed.
Unfortunately, this is not the post I was wanting to do, but I had my graft checked yesterday and it was confirmed that it failed.
Feeling pretty devastated, had quite a few tears. And now, I’m not really sure where to go from here.
Stewart said despite the failure, the operation had offered her some reprieve from using a vacuum-assisted closure machine.
It’s been three and a half months and my leg is still open. I guess the only good thing is we’re trying something different, having a little break from the vac machine, which means I can move a little bit more freely.
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Police investigating after alleged Nazi salute in Sydney’s inner west
Police in Sydney are appealing for information after a man allegedly performed a Nazi salute in the inner city suburb of Newtown on Saturday.
NSW police released images of a group of men, who were seen walking along Australia Street at about 5.40pm.
The men were allegedly yelling offensive comments before one of them stopped and performed a Nazi salute. The group then continued on their way before they were approached by a woman. They allegedly made offensive comments towards her.
Detectives are continuing an investigation into the incident and have asked for anyone with information to come forward.
In a post to social media, authorities released photos of people who police believe can assist in their investigation.
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Crocodile footage pulled by BBC after featuring wrong Fitzroy River
The BBC has deleted a post and issued a correction after footage of the wrong Fitzroy River was used in relation to the Olympics 2032 venue in Queensland.
In a story about the central Queensland venue titled “River with 500 crocodiles chosen as Olympic rowing venue”, a giant reptile is shown lurking in the Fitzroy River.
However the footage showed Western Australia’s Fitzroy River – about 3,500km away.
The BBC had since issued a correction, stating: “an earlier version of this video included footage of the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia instead of the Fitzroy River in Queensland.
The BBC’s post appeared to no longer be available on Tuesday.
The Queensland government had been under pressure to reconsider the rowing venue since pitching it in March 2025, but it was endorsed last week by the IOC, World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide.
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Emergency bushfire warning for residents near Kingaroy in Queensland
Queensland officials have issued an emergency warning for people in the rural locality of Teelah to seek shelter now amid a very dangerous bushfire.
The warning applies to an area around Stretton Drive and Scott Close.
Teelah is about 115km north-west of Brisbane, near Kingaroy.
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Boy accused of plan to threaten people and cause harm in Queensland city
A boy has been accused of planning to threaten people in a Queensland regional city, AAP reports.
The teenager has been charged with acts in preparation to cause death or grievous bodily harm along with possession of a knife in a public place and possession of violent extremist material.
He was also charged with possession of a knife in public and violent extremist material in Maryborough, north of Brisbane.
He is set to face court after detectives searched a Maryborough address on 27 August. Multiple electronic devices and other items were seized during the search, police said.
Police said investigations were continuing but there was no ongoing threat to the public. The boy will appear before the children’s court later today.
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Ingredient used in cold and flu supplements to be removed over allergy link
A medicinal herb found in cold and flu supplements will be phased off Australian shelves over links to severe allergic reactions, AAP reports.
Andrographis paniculata (andrographis), also known as green chiretta, has been barred from new medicines entering the Australian market, the Therapeutic Goods Administration announced on Monday.
Existing medicines containing andrographis will not be removed from the market immediately, but the TGA has encouraged suppliers to recall products containing the herb.
Native to India and Sri Lanka, andrographis is commonly used in Ayurvedic and Chinese traditional medicine to support immunity and combat cold and flu symptoms. Around 80 products containing andrographis are listed on the Australian market, some of which are available from supermarkets, health food stores and pharmacies.
The ingredient has attracted growing industry concern in recent years after reports of anaphylactic reactions and one fatality in June 2024.
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Victoria police warn of heightened family violence risk on AFL grand final day
Victoria police have issued a warning ahead of the AFL grand final this weekend, saying officials know there is a heightened risk of family violence during major sporting events.
“This is because we see families come together and offenders may use periods of extended contact to increase their abusive behaviours,” a Victoria police spokesperson said this morning.
There were 315 family violence incidents on AFL grand final day in 2025 and 301 in 2024.
The spokesperson added:
While we have not seen a significant increase in family violence incidents on Grand Final Day or the extended weekend in recent years, we urge the community to look out for each other and report any incidents to police.
There is never an excuse for family violence and Victoria Police will ensure each crime is investigated and all offenders are held to account.
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Bragg to float letting homebuyers use super as collateral for mortgages
Andrew Bragg, the shadow minister for housing, will float a new proposal for homebuyers to use their superannuation as collateral for mortgages.
Bragg will detail the idea during a speech today. He told ABC NewsRadio this morning:
The general idea here is we want to have a country where more people are retired homeowners, and one of the most worrying trends we have is the growth in retired renters. Now, there’s nothing wrong with renting of course, but for a lot of people, they would rather live in their own house in retirement.
And so we want to make sure that we’re properly calibrating all the options people might like to have in their working life to use their own savings to promote home ownership.
When asked if it would be risky for people to take out loans larger than they could service, Bragg said the risk right now is the current trajectory for older renters.
Today’s address is about setting out the rationale for having a more sophisticated debate. … We are becoming a country which is going to have a lot more retired renters, but also people potentially with quite high superannuation balances. That doesn’t seem to be the best outcome for all people, which is why we’re having this debate, because we want to be a nation of homeowners.
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Police interviews able to be used as evidence-in-chief in NSW sexual assault trials under new rules
More on today’s changes to the Criminal Procedure Act in NSW …
Under the changes, recorded police interviews will also be able to used as evidence-in-chief in sexual assault trials, requiring complainants to only provide their evidence once, including in the case of a retrial.
The NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner, Hannah Tonkin, says:
Allowing complainants’ pre-recorded evidence in chief to be used during sexual assault trials will enable them to give their account much earlier, in a safe setting, and to start rebuilding their lives sooner.
The government is also amending the law around the handling sexual assault complainants’ counselling communications so that courts can only consider them when it is necessary, rather than automatically or out of an abundance of caution.
University of Sydney-led research, due to report back in mid-2027, is considering alternative models for reform. Recent reporting has revealed how complainants’ counselling records, including audio recordings, have been used by alleged perpetrators’ legal teams.
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Minns says shooting of 11-year-old ‘very tragic reminder’ of danger of guns
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says the shooting of an 11-year-old boy in north-west Sydney is a “very tragic reminder of how dangerous guns are”.
An 18-year-old man was charged yesterday with concealing a serious indictable offence after the incident, while two other 18-year-old men were released pending further inquiries. Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, the premier said:
It’s obviously an incredibly distressing situation. It’s the subject of a major police investigation. I understand the adults in the house are not cooperating with police. We just urge anyone that has any information about this horrible event – we’ve got [an 11-year-old] in a serious condition in a NSW hospital – to come forward.
It’s also a very tragic reminder of how dangerous guns are, and often the people who are the victims of guns, are innocent people, many times they are children. They’re very dangerous, and we need less of them in our community.
Minns was asked about comments made by police deputy commissioner Peter McKenna after a spate of violence over the weekend, including the alleged murders of three women. McKenna said the government needed to be “throwing every resource” at domestic violence prevention. Minns said:
Well, Peter’s an incredibly straight talker on these issues, and he’s 100% right. I mean, the number of violent crimes against often innocent people, innocent family members is hugely distressing. It’s an urgent emergency for our state and we need to throw everything we possibly can at it.
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NSW to pilot ‘ground rules’ hearings in sexual assault trials
A pilot of “ground rules” hearings will reduce distress and trauma for complainants in sexual assault trials alongside other reforms being introduced to NSW parliament today, the state government says.
Ground rules hearings, which are already used in child sexual assault proceedings in NSW, will be piloted in sexual assault trials at Parramatta, Wollongong and Dubbo district courts from March next year until 2030.
They will provide directions about how complainants will be questioned, including the duration and manner, topics put to them and aides to support their evidence. The government says hearings will require pre-trial discussion about jury directions regarding consent and differences in accounts “without compromising the accused’s right to test the prosecution case”.
The NSW attorney general, Michael Daley, says:
Sexual assault complainants and witnesses are especially vulnerable in our justice system. We want to help them give their best evidence by ensuring they do not need to tell their story multiple times and deterring inappropriate and irrelevant questioning in court.
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Greens call for triple zero network to be brought back under independent control
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young spoke this morning about the idea for a national authority to oversee the triple zero network, which is responsible for emergency call operations.
A Senate committee said yesterday in a report that triple zero should be taken out of private hands.
The plan would move control of Australia’s emergency call system away from commercial entities like Telstra to a dedicated public authority.
Hanson-Young told RN Breakfast this morning:
At the moment, Telstra is contracted to do this work. The taxpayers pay it. That’s your money, my money, every Australian taxpayer’s money to fund the operation of triple zero … We think it’s time to really consider bringing that back under independent control so that the customer, the public, the safety is put first – it’s not seen as some kind of chore or add-on for a privately run company …
There needs to be an overhaul of the telecommunications laws. Standards and reliability guarantees must be in the law. Compensation must be available for people. And triple zero must be run for the safety of people, not the profits of corporations.
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‘Monetised misogyny’ online is contributing to domestic violence, Chalmers says
Jim Chalmers was also asked earlier if the government would support a national royal commission into violence against women and children. He said the government had chosen to increase resourcing for child and family violence and domestic violence, adding to the ABC:
We’re trying to deal with the sources of all of this violence, whether it be more security in the housing system, whether it be the monetised misogyny that we see online – there are a whole range of factors feeding in here.
We do acknowledge that all of this violence is obviously entirely unacceptable. It’s horrific in every way. That’s why we’ve increased the resources and that’s why we all need to do better to do everything we can to make a difference here.
The Minderoo foundation put out a new report yesterday that found tech-based abuse disproportionately affects women, particularly on dating platforms. It found that 99% of women surveyed said they had experienced at least one instance of tech-based abuse on dating platforms in the past three months.
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Chalmers says Australia has ‘a lot going for us’, despite ‘pretty serious’ economic pressures
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is making the media rounds this morning after the release yesterday of the intergenerational report.
He said the government remains optimistic, despite some “pretty serious budget pressures and economic risks”. He told RN Breakfast:
We’ve got a lot going for us as well. And one of the things we’ve got going for us, even in the context of these very substantial budget pressures that come from things like ageing and other pressures in our economy, is we’ve actually got a budget which is substantially stronger than other countries.
Chalmers stressed that the difficulty of entering home ownership remained the “defining intergenerational challenge” facing too many Australians.
We could have left everything exactly as it was. We could have acknowledged the intergenerational unfairness that exists in the housing market and done nothing about it. We chose to make some difficult changes.
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Tanya Plibersek says we need to use ‘all of our big systems’ to better tackle domestic violence
Tanya Plibersek, the minister for social services, said she was struck that a spate of alleged domestic violence incidents this weekend weren’t previously identified by police.
Plibersek spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying that fact showed how the country needed to use “all of our big systems”, including health, mental health, the school system, Tafe and the university sector to help identify and tackle risk. She said:
All of these big points of contact as potential systems where we can identify that there is a risk that there’s family, domestic or sexual violence happening and be able to intervene earlier.
She went on to say increased funding was part of the solution and “bigger changes” were needed:
It’s not just about funding. There’s also, I think, a much broader role for our community …
Support for victims and survivors, making sure that we’re intervening earlier, enhancing supports for children and young people, focusing particularly on sexual violence, which is the area where we’ve seen really extraordinary growth in incidents, focusing on reducing online harms and holding perpetrators to account. All of these things will be part of our second action plan as well.
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Albanese signs declaration with world leaders urging human control over AI
Anthony Albanese has joined the leaders of more than 20 countries in signing a statement calling to bring the rapid growth of artificial intelligence under control.
“AI must remain under human direction, oversight and control. It must be developed and used in line with international law,” the statement said.
Leading scientists and executives are warning that the pace of development could outpace our ability to manage emerging risks.
The Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, Spain’s PM, Pedro Sánchez, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, also signed the statement.
“Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve lives, to strengthen our economy and productivity, and to massively advance science and medical breakthroughs,” Albanese said.
But humans need to be in control of it. If it’s going to be successful, then we need to make sure that humans are at the centre of everything that occurs.
Albanese told reporters Australia had played a “central role” in the statement.
I was in direct discussions with [Finnish] president [Alexander] Stubb, and we continue to engage with our neighbours.
The statement also sounded the alarm on AI systems being able to circumvent safeguards and gain unauthorised access to several systems.
The signatories called for AI companies to develop transparent safety protocols and for governments to develop common standards for the technology.
It also urged the UN to explore options to create an international institution that could set out AI standards.
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Good morning, Nick Visser here to take over for Martin. It’s a gloomy morning here in Sydney. Let’s get to it.
Albanese meets with EU leaders ahead of UN general assembly
Anthony Albanese has met with Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly, to talk free trade, China, critical mineral and AI.
The prime minister and president of the European Commission were joined by the president of the European Council, António Costa.
The trio discussed geopolitical issues, including ongoing support for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and Iran, as well as relations with China and the Pacific.
They also agreed to continue deepening cooperation on economic security – including on critical and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
Cooperation between the EU and Australia when it comes to critical raw minerals was also on the agenda, ahead of the Team Europe business mission to Australia next month.
“They agreed to remain in close contact with a view to explore the potential for further strengthening and deepening of EU-Australia relations,” a statement read.
It comes after the EU invited Canada to become an associate member – though the council has no such category – with some speculating Australia could follow suit.
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We're doing everything we can to curb domestic violence, Chalmers says
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the Albanese government is committed to doing “everything we can” to address to domestic violence after a horrific weekend of violence in New South Wales.
Chalmers made the comments to ABC’s 7.30 program last night after a mother allegedly fatally stabbed a child and wounded two others in the Blue Mountains and, separately, three other women were allegedly murdered inside their homes across the state.
Chalmers noted expert views that a lack of accessible housing played a role in domestic violence, along with the “magnitude” of misognystic content online. He also said frontline staffing was crucial.
I work closely with the prime minister and [women’s minister] Katy Gallagher and the relevant ministers to make sure that police and others get the resourcing they need, working with state governments.
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Chalmers says migration needed for falling birth rate
Jim Chalmers says migration is necessary to support Australia’s ageing population, and can help the nation as birthrates tumble.
The three-yearly intergenerational report found that the declining birthrate meant more Australians will be dying than being born in 40 years’ time – the first time the report had made such a prediction.
Chalmers told 7.30 Australia’s birthrates were falling faster than anticipated just a few years ago, because people are taking the decision to have smaller families later in life.
He said, in this context, “any objective observer would conclude that we need responsible levels of migration” to support the ageing population:
Migration is a force for good in our economy and in our society.
We will continue to make the case for getting that net overseas migration down in the most responsible way, that balances all of the key considerations in our economy and in local communities.
His comments come after the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, last week unveiled long-awaited changes to immigration rules, promising to bring down net overseas migration (Nom) to 245,000 this financial year, and 225,000 in 2027-28.
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City of Sydney council bans smartglasses in community facilities
The City of Sydney has banned smartglasses in all its pools, libraries, gyms, childcare centres and town halls.
The council agreed to update signage and guidance to prevent people wearing the glasses in community facilities, due to growing privacy and harassment concerns.
In a statement, Greens councillor Matthew Thompson said his motion included exemptions for those who use the glasses as accessibility devices, including those with vision and hearing loss.
He urged the federal government to do more to regulate the glasses and prevent their misuse, saying that:
Overseas we’re seeing women being targeted and harassed in public and recorded without their consent. We don’t want what’s happening in the US to happen here.
That’s why we’re banning smart glasses and other wearable recording devices from all of our pools, gyms, childcare [centres], libraries and other council spaces.
Cheap wearable devices like smart glasses are already flooding the market. But instead of stopping this problem, the federal Labor government has dumped it on to councils to sort out.
We need an import ban on these cheap, intrusive devices until we have stronger privacy protections and clear standards implemented nationally.
Last week, Sydney’s Canterbury-Bankstown council introduced its own restrictions on the technology. Its mayor, Bilal El-Hayek, decried what he called “pervert glasses” as the council barred the wearable tech from public pools.
In August, Brisbane city council became the first to ban the glasses from pools. Melbourne’s Yarra council has banned them from playgrounds, childcare centres and gyms.
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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.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the Albanese government is committed to doing “everything we can” to address to domestic violence after a weekend of violence in New South Wales. More coming up.
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