PM says Australia stands ‘ready to assist’ Vanuatu after earthquake – as it happened

Anthony Albanese says his government is ready to assist the people of Vanuatu however it can. Photograph: Lukas Coch/Reuters

7.31am GMT

What we learned: Tuesday 17 December

That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Here were the day’s major developments:

• New South Wales police say they have found a second body, believed to be Jai-Bao “Rex” Chen, in Sydney’s south as part of the investigation into the suspected murder of his wife, Zhuojun “Sally” Li. Police are treating the deaths as a likely double murder and say at least two people are involved who have fled overseas.

• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck near Port Vila in Vanuatu. A tsunami warning was issued for the Pacific island nation and Anthony Albanese says the Australian government is ready to respond to a request from assistance.

• Qantas will pay $120m in compensation to more than 1,800 baggage handlers it was found to have illegally sacked in 2020, as the full cost of its controversial outsourcing decision continues to grow.

• Victoria’s premier announced sweeping anti-protest measures in Victoria “to combat antisemitism”. Jacinta Allan said the flags of Hamas, Hezbollah and white nationalist extremist groups would be banned in the state.

• And the ACCC said it had “uncovered a range of concerning practices” in recent Black Friday sales advertising, which may have been misleading to customers. The consumer watchdog is considering further investigation.

Updated at 9.34am GMT

7.03am GMT

Following up on that statement from Dfat, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said the government is ready to assist the people of Vanuatu however it can.

In a post on X, Albanese said:

Australians are thinking of our friends and neighbours in Vanuatu after the devastating earthquake that struck their home this afternoon.

We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist the people of Vanuatu in any way we can.

Australians are thinking of our friends and neighbours in Vanuatu after the devastating earthquake that struck their home this afternoon. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to assist the people of Vanuatu in any way we can.

— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 17, 2024

Updated at 7.04am GMT