What we learned, Thursday 30 April
Thanks for staying with us today. We’ll end our coverage of today’s breaking news there. Here were the top stories:
The royal commission established in the wake of December’s Bondi beach terror attack handed down its interim report.
The Albanese government has received a fuel supply assurance from South Korea as part of the diplomatic effort to insulate Australia from the international oil shock. Penny Wong also said China has agreed to help with jet fuel exports.
Woolworths’ food sales rose early this year, helped by anxious shoppers stocking up their pantries, but its warnings of uncertain sales later this year sent its shares sliding nearly 8% by 4pm.
The mother of Beau Lamarre-Condon will remain in custody for another two weeks over accusations that she attempted to influence a key witness to change their evidence before her son’s high-profile double murder trial.
Mark Latham has been ordered to pay Sydney MP Alex Greenwich $100,000 over homosexual vilification.
A New South Wales minister said the state’s plan for new gas exploration is about getting fuel to “local mums and dads”.
Syrian officials said Australia was refusing to permit the return of the families with alleged ties to Islamic State.
The body of the missing five-year-old Aboriginal girl, Kumanjayi Little Baby, was found in Alice Springs, with her mother releasing a statement saying she missed and loved her daughter and her relative, the Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, saying “we need justice for this horrific crime”.
Former counter-terror intelligence chief and anti-hate CEO backs royal commission report
Tahli Blicblau – the CEO of the Dor Foundation, an independent not-for-profit organisation focused on strengthening Australia’s response to antisemitism and hate – said the interim royal commission report represented an important “first chapter” for governments to act on.
Blicblau, who is also the former director of strategic intelligence and capabilities at the NSW crime commission, where she worked to prevent and disrupt serious organised crime and terrorism, said:
The recommendations made today are urgent and actionable, and government should not wait for December to act on them. This commission is the most powerful tool the country has to fix this – we are backing the process, and we urge every Australian to do the same.
No single agency is ever going to see the whole threat picture alone. What Australia must strive for is an intelligence and security architecture that connects the dots strategically, acts cooperatively and always evolves to stay ahead of the threat environment.
The report found that no agency told the commission it was prevented from acting by the existing legal framework. That is significant. The failures identified are not about what the law allows. They are about how the system was organised, coordinated, resourced and run.
Blicblau also said the first round of public hearings to start on Monday were significant as they would help explain the lived experience of antisemitism for Jewish Australians.
Updated
Labor MP says ‘clear shortcomings’ in security resources led to Bondi attack
Josh Burns, a Labor MP, has said gaps and shortcomings in security agency abilities led to the Bondi terror attack.
Burns said today’s interim recommendations from the royal commission into antisemitism were important steps that needed to be implemented in full.
He said the report had shown counter-terrorism and security efforts needed more funding and capability, telling the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:
There are some things that need to be strengthened. There is no point saying things were being done extremely well before. Clearly there were shortcomings, which is what led to the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil. I don’t think it’s any great surprise there were gaps in the way in which our security agencies were overseeing the safety of Australians.
The home affairs department this week indicated it will make some staff redundant. Burns said the department needed resources to do its work:
I’d leave it to the minister to outline what areas the department feels people can make voluntary redundancies …
What government needs to be focused on is how it’s keeping Australians safe … That’s what the home affairs department needs resources and people to be able to do and beyond that I’ll leave it to the home affairs minister.
But Burns said it would be better if Australia no longer needed security for community events:
It’s easy to say there needs to be more resources and there needs to be bigger security presence. That’s clearly true. As someone who goes to a lot of these community events, it actually doesn’t give me any joy or excitement knowing actually what is required … to keep people safe, is that you need a greater presence …
You don’t want to be surrounded by a massive police force just to be able to participate.
Updated
Australia receives fuel assurance from top diesel supplier
The Albanese government has received a fuel supply assurance from South Korea as part of the diplomatic effort to insulate Australia from the international oil shock.
The two countries have deep energy trading ties: South Korea is Australia’s largest supplier of diesel fuel while Australia is a major exporter of LNG to South Korea.
A joint statement on Thursday released by Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, said:
Australia and the ROK reaffirm our commitment to working together to strengthen energy resource security, including efforts to maintain a stable, secure and reliable supply of diesel and other liquid fuels, energy resource commodities including liquified natural gas and condensate, and to notify and consult each other on any potential disruptions as far as practicable.
The federal government has reached similar agreements with Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei over recent weeks as Anthony Albanese and senior ministers work to cushion Australia from the disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.
Wong said:
The Albanese Government is working with international partners to help secure the supplies we need – including diesel, petrol and fertiliser – and ensure Australia is prioritised as a reliable energy partner.
The Republic of Korea is Australia’s top supplier of diesel. These imports enable Australia to continue being a reliable exporter of energy, food and other commodities to our region.
Updated
Mother of Kumanjayi Little Baby says she ‘misses and loves’ daughter
The mother of the five-year-old Aboriginal girl whose body was found in Alice Springs today, five days after she was allegedly abducted from her mother’s care at a town camp, has released a statement through NT police.
The girl, referred to under Warlpiri custom and at her family’s request as Kumanjayi Little Baby, had been put to bed by her mother and was last seen at 11.30pm Saturday night. She was reported missing two hours later.
Her mother, who has not been named, said:
To Kumanjayi Little Baby,
Me and Ramsiah miss and love you.
I know you are in heaven with the rest of the family with Jesus and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Me and your brother will meet you one day.
We are giving our lives to Jesus.
It is going to be so hard to live the rest of our lives without you.
Ramsiah wants to tell you that when he sees you in heaven, he is going to give you the biggest hug ever.
Love from Mum and Ramsiah.
Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family also gave permission for one image of her, smiling and wearing a pink outfit, to be used in news coverage:
Updated
Nampijinpa Price grieves ‘devastating’ loss of her relative Kumanjayi Little Baby
Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a Warlpiri woman who is related to Kumanjayi Little Baby, says it is “devastating” to learn she has been found dead.
In a statement posted on the social media site X, she said:
As part of her extended family, this loss is deeply felt. My thoughts are with her family and the Alice Springs community who are grieving.
This is the worst possible outcome, and no child should ever be placed in harm’s way. Now we need justice for this horrific crime, and those responsible must be found and held to account.
Police have made it clear this is a serious criminal investigation, and they will pursue those responsible. Right now, the focus must be on supporting her family and allowing police to do their work. Anyone with information must come forward and assist police.
Updated
Sydney to hold snap rally for Australians onboard aid ships intercepted en route to Gaza
Family members of Australian activists onboard the Global Sumud Flotilla that was intercepted in international waters near Greece on its way to deliver aid in Gaza are expected to speak at a snap rally in Sydney this evening.
Protesters will gather at Sydney town hall from 5.30pm demanding the safe passage of the vessels, after at least six Australians’ boats were intercepted overnight. A further six Australians have lost communications in recent hours.
Deputy Greens leader Senator Mehreen Faruqi will also speak at the rally after accusing the Australian government of having a “woeful” track record in response to previous flotillas.
Addressing the media on Thursday afternoon, she said:
I would be calling on every Australian to put pressure on the Albanese government and the foreign minister to make sure that all Australian citizens are brought back to Australia safely.
The most recent Sumud flotilla in October 2025 resulted in seven Australians being detained by Israel Defense Forces.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has been approached for comment.
Updated
Gun law reform is Labor’s to ‘go on with’, Liberal MP says
A Coalition frontbencher has said Labor’s gun law reform is a “matter for them to go on with” after it was backed by the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion.
Julian Leeser, a Liberal shadow minister, has appeared on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing to discuss the royal commission’s interim report, released today.
Leeser said the Coalition has still not been briefed on the five classified recommendations not made public for security reasons.
The Coalition opposed new gun laws earlier this year but the report recommended gun reform. Leeser did not directly answer when asked whether the Coalition would change position:
The government passed laws in relation to guns in the wake of that terror attack. They are the government’s laws. The government is being encouraged to negotiate those firearms matters with the states and that’s a matter for them to go on with.
Leeser backed the report’s call for a stronger police and security presence at Jewish community events
I think it is important that security is stepped up at Jewish communal events. The first recommendation deals with having strong security presences at Jewish communal events, of the sort that occurs at the High Holidays, the period from Rosh Hashanah for about a month after that. That should be at every communal event of a similar outdoor nature and that is a very sensible recommendation.
I think there were failures with the New South Wales authorities here and the New South Wales premier has admitted as much.
Updated
Apartment prices rising despite slower housing market
Unit prices are rising faster than houses in Australia’s four biggest cities even as the market slows under the weight of interest rate rises.
New Domain data shows Perth, the powerhouse of Australia’s housing market, saw unit prices climb 6% in the quarter to more than $700,000. They’ve risen nearly 28% in the past year. House prices rose 5.7% in the March quarter, to nearly $1.18m.
Brisbane saw unit prices rise 4.9%, to $800,500, and house prices rise 4.2%, to $1.21m.
Sydney’s unit prices rose $5,151 over the first three months of 2026, to more than $848,000. The city’s apartments have grown for the past 13 quarters (39 months) on Domain’s measure, the longest upswing since the early 2000s.
Sydney’s median house price, meanwhile, slipped nearly $800 to $1.79m, ending three consecutive years of rises.
In Melbourne, houses fell even further, down $6,357 over the quarter to $1.08m. Units stayed a little stronger, down just $2,674, now outperforming houses for two consecutive quarters. In smaller capitals and the regions, house prices continued to grow and outperforming the units.
Domain’s chief residential economist, Dr Nicola Powell, said:
Houses in the most expensive markets are feeling the interest rate pressure first, while units are holding up better as buyers reset expectations and look for safer, more accessible price points.
Updated
Bondi area MP says ‘rapid’ reform needed including more police at Jewish events
Allegra Spender, the MP for the electorate in which the Bondi terror attack occurred in December, has called for “swift” action on the interim recommendations of the royal commission into the shooting.
Anthony Albanese has said his government would act on today’s recommendations from the royal commission, which included that police expand their security presence at more Jewish events.
Spender, the independent MP for Wentworth, said governments should move quickly to enact change and she was seeking a government briefing on the report. She told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:
To the recommendations, one of the most important ones for my community, is about the security and police support for Jewish events and festivals.
Like every part of our community, you should be able to celebrate moments of importance for your community and do those things in safety.
There is a clear recommendation that that support, especially from New South Wales, or state-based, police services needs to be extended to more Jewish events and I wholeheartedly support that …
I appreciate the government has only just got this report but what we need to make sure is that the willingness to accept the recommendations turns into follow-through, in swift succession.
Read more about the royal commission here:
Updated
‘Pantry stocking’ boost to Woolworths’ sales
Woolworths supermarkets sold more food than expected in the first three months of 2026, mainly due to “pantry stocking” from worried shoppers.
We reported earlier that Woolworths is expecting its sales to slow during the rest of the year.
The supermarket is still cautious about the year to come, already predicting fuel prices have added up to $25m to its costs, the chief executive, Amanda Bardwell, told analysts on a call today.
Bardwell suggested revenue will be hit by customers cutting spending and by the “price freeze” it’s announced in response, which will apply to 300 of its homebrand products, including pasta, nappies, chicken and sausages.
But sales were “strong” in March, Bardwell said, in part because:
We did see some pantry stocking in March, which did result in an uptick in sales. It wasn’t, if I could just say, right across the network necessarily. There were actually pockets, particularly regional areas where people have to travel further, where we saw actually a greater level of pantry stocking …
It caused us to actually increase our own inventory holdings as well to make sure that we were in consistent supply on particularly those pantry products.
Guardian Australia’s business editor, Jonathan Barrett, spotted this trend a few weeks back:
Updated
Two charged over alleged drone delivery of drugs in dog poo bag
Two men will face court for allegedly using a drone to deliver a dog waste bag of methamphetamine.
Officers found a damaged drone carrying a dog poo bag holding 66g of methamphetamine when they attended an apartment block in Wollongong on Tuesday night, police said
Police had visited after being alerted to two men acting suspiciously in the area at 11.45pm on Tuesday and finding two men, aged 43 and 24, allegedly hiding inside the Corrimal Street complex. The men told officers they had been searching for a drone that had crashed within the complex. After finding the drone, police arrested the men.
The next day, police searched a home on Cliff Road, which runs parallel to Corrimal Street. The home’s front door had been secured with metal and deadbolts and officers found 42g of methamphetamine, a baton, an electronic stun device and $4,350 in cash.
Both men were charged with supply prohibited drug more than indictable and less than commercial quantity, enter inclosed land not prescribed premises without lawful excuse, and possess prohibited drug. They were both refused bail to appear before bail division court 3 on Wednesday, where they were further refused bail to appear before Wollongong local court on Tuesday 12 May.
Updated
NT chief minister holds press conference after Kumanjayi Little Baby’s body found
The Northern Territory chief minister has just finished speaking in a press conference after the body five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby, was found shortly after noon central Australian time after days of searching after her alleged abduction.
Lia Finocchiaro told reporters in an update that the entire community was grieving after the distressing end to the search where hundreds of volunteers and police scoured bushland around Old Timers Camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs.
This is devastating news, not only for [the girl’s] family, but also the first responders, the Alice Springs community and all of those around Australia who have been worrying for [her].
Every territorian has had their heart in their throat waiting for the moment when they got the announcement that she was found safe and well, and that news did not come.
NT police are now focusing on locating 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis who they believe was last seen holding the girl’s hand on Saturday night before she disappeared.
Police and the NT government are urging anyone with any information about his whereabouts to come forward, with Finocchiaro saying they were considering policy and reward options but their focus was on a grieving family and community.
In terms of a policy response, it’s still early days. Everything is on the table. What we have, is an unimaginable thing, that has happened in our community … We’ll take stock and reflect. We never want this to happen.
Updated
‘Hunt for justice is on’, NT chief minister says
The Northern Territory chief minister has issued a statement into the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby, saying they extend their deepest condolences to the family and community of the five-year-old.
The chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, said the news was “heartbreaking” and thanked the hundreds of volunteers who assisted in the search for the young girl.
“This news was everyone’s worst fear, and it is heartbreaking,” Finocchiaro said.
“I want to recognise and thank all emergency services personnel and community members who have assisted throughout the search,” she said in a statement.
The NT government is urging anyone with information in the search for 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis to come forward.
A criminal investigation is ongoing, and in the interests of justice, I urge anyone with information to come forward and assist police.
Right now, our focus is on a family, a town and a territory grieving and the hunt for justice is on.
Updated
Thanks Nick Visser and hello readers. I’ll be on the blog for the rest of today’s breaking news.
That’s all for me. Luca Ittimani will take things from here. Take care
Queensland to reject Bondi royal commission recommendation on gun buybacks
Queensland’s state government will reject a recommendation by the Bondi royal commission over a national gun buyback.
Commissioner Virginia Bell recommended the states, territories and commonwealth governments should “prioritise efforts to implement the proposed national gun buy-back scheme”. She also recommended action to finalise a new national firearms agreement.
No state minister has held a press conference since Bell released her interim findings this morning, but in a statement the police minister, Dan Purdie, said the government will continue to oppose a gun buyback.
We will take time to review the interim report released today, however, our resolve to stamp out antisemitism in Queensland remains unwavering, and our efforts have focused on responding to a specific attack on a very specific group of people,” Purdie said, on Thursday.
The Crisafulli government supports the recommendation to continue work on an interstate information-sharing program and background check framework as a priority, and has already passed nation-leading laws to keep guns out the hands of criminals and terrorists.
Queensland will not be progressing a gun buyback as it doesn’t focus on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals, which is what we saw at Bondi.
The LNP passed hate speech and gun control legislation in March. The laws bans people from reciting “from the river to the sea”, a common slogan used by the pro-Palestine movement, or from saying “globalise the intifada”. Gun control groups criticised the law’s firearms reforms as being among the weakest in the country.
Updated
Minns ‘determined’ to make changes to better protect those in NSW, even if some people upset
The NSW premier was asked about any difficulties passing new legislation in the state. He had this to say:
We are determined to make changes in New South Wales to keep the public safe.
Some of them will be controversial, not all of them will be accepted by everybody, all the way from gun law reform to changes to protests in the state, but we are going to chart a course that keeps New South Wales safe even if it risks upsetting people in the process.
Updated
Police still searching for 47-year-old man after child’s body found in Alice Springs
NT police assistant commissioner Peter Malley said Jefferson Lewis, 47, is still at large and police are continuing to investigate his whereabouts in connection with the missing five-year-old’s death. Malley told reporters earlier:
The focus right now is to locate Jefferson Lewis. It is our sole job in this investigation right now.
So I say to the family of Jefferson Lewis that we believe he’s murdered this child, to not assist him. Get him to the police station and we’ll look after him.
And I’ll say to Jefferson Lewis, we’re coming for you.
Updated
NSW police striving to ensure safer community, commissioner says
NSW police commissioner Mal Lanyon said the police force remained committed to implementing recommendations of Bondi royal commission. He said:
We strive to make sure that everything we do leads to a safer community. We acknowledge the recommendations. We have, and we will continue to work with the royal commissioner, and we are committed to implementing any recommendations that impact on the agency.
Updated
Minns says NSW government ‘takes responsibility’ and will implement Bondi recommendations
NSW premier Chris Minns is speaking now, saying the state will implement the recommendations from the Bondi royal commission.
He said the state had to do “everything possible about tomorrow” to bring about changes in the law and in the culture. He said:
The reality is for a state government is that its highest responsibility is to protect its people and on December 14 last year we did not do that.
We take responsibility for that today and as I said we will do everything we can to change and ensure that we confront evil and terrorism wherever it is in New South Wales and wherever it rears its head.
Updated
NT police find body of young child in search for missing five-year-old
NT police have discovered the body of a young child in the search for a missing five-year-old. NT police commissioner, Martin Dole, said in a news conference investigators believe the body to be that of the missing girl, who was last seen after being put to bed by her family on Saturday night.
The body was found about 5km south of the Old Timers Camp in Alice Springs where she lived. Dole said:
This is an incredibly distressing development … The support shown during this time has been overwhelming and this is the worst possible outcome.
Officers said they will be limited moving forward in details that they can share.
• Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. In Australia, support for people who are grieving is available from Griefline on 1300 845 745
Updated
City of Sydney to call for inquest into death of Bikram Lama
The City of Sydney council will write to the state attorney general, Michael Daley, to call for an inquest into the death of rough sleeper Bikram Lama.
Lama died in bushes near the busy entrance to St James Station in Hyde Park, but his body lay unnoticed for up to a week and was found in a “state of decomposition”, according to police documents.
Support workers say his death highlights significant gaps in service delivery for non-residents, those who come to Australia legally but cannot get permanent residency or who have their visas expire.
The council, including Lord Mayor Clover Moore, held a minute’s silence for Lama on Tuesday night and resolved to write to Daley, urging for him to direct that an inquest be held.
Councillor Adam Worling said:
For too many of us, Bikram, as a rough sleeper, was invisible in life and then in death as well. What makes this tragedy even more painful and unacceptable is that Bikram’s fate is one of too many unacknowledged deaths of rough sleepers and homeless people that occur right here across Australia.
Updated
No answers yet on maternity ward privacy breach
Townsville University hospital has failed to find the person who took a picture of its birth book. Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe claimed she had obtained the private details of births, miscarriages and abortions in that book from a “whistleblower” back in February.
Howe also used a picture of an unidentified foetus whom she named Baby Samuel. “Samuel” was used on posters and in anti-abortion campaigns with an unverified backstory by Howe and a range of other anti-abortion activists.
The Townsville hospital and health service audited access to the book but could not identify who was responsible for the breach, and cannot confirm whether the picture of “Samuel” came from their site.
Chief executive Kieran Keyes said the service had undertaken a thorough investigation of the breach:
This has included audits of access to digital patient records and entry to the maternity ward, a review of rosters, and analysis of CCTV footage.
The investigation has concluded without identifying who was responsible for the data breach.
The health service has also assisted the Queensland Police Service, the Office of the Information Commissioner and the Office of the Health Ombudsman as they undertake their own enquiries into this matter.
When this breach occurred, our teams responded quickly to have the image removed from social media and inform affected individuals.
We have also reinforced staff privacy obligations and moved from a hard copy birth register to a secure electronic system to reduce the risk of a similar incident.
We take the privacy and confidentiality of our patients and staff very seriously and remain committed to protecting this information.
Howe has not answered questions about the pictures and used Instagram yesterday to call on all health workers to breach patient confidentiality and privacy laws and take photos or videos after abortions and send them to her, calling those who sent her the previous pictures “whistleblowers”.
Updated
Nine to make 20 jobs redundant as it updates TV newsroom technology
The old technology used in Channel Nine’s TV newsrooms will be replaced with state-of-the-art technology, resulting in the loss of 20 jobs, Nine Entertainment said today.
The Future News program will see the number of separate titles in TV news and current affairs reduced from 100 to just nine and 120 complex technology systems will be replaced by only a handful.
New roles due to multi-skilling include story editor, digital story editor, rundown editor and multimedia journalist. Specialist roles such as political correspondent will remain.
The executive director of TV news and current affairs, Fiona Dear, said:
We are in the midst of a bold and ambitious multi-year transformation program that will differentiate Nine news and current affairs from our competitors and entrench us as a global news leader. This represents the largest investment in Nine news and current affairs in decades, with new technology, systems and workflows revolutionising the way we produce and deliver news.
Dear said every role in TV news roles would be affected, even if it’s just a name change and extra training.
Staff in targeted sections of the newsroom will be offered voluntary redundancy and will leave the company in November. The first stage of the program affects Sydney, Canberra and foreign news, and will be rolled out nationally at a later date.
Updated
83 Queensland police pistols prove faulty after whole armoury recalled
Queensland police has replaced 83 Glock pistols found to have a fault, after a recall of its entire 15,000 weapon armoury.
But the service is no closer to uncovering the cause of the fault, which caused the Austrian-made semi-automatic pistols to fire repeatedly when the trigger was pulled, rather than once.
More than 11,605 weapons have been tested, since the fault was discovered last week. The Austrian-made semi-automatic pistols are the standard sidearm for Queensland police.
Assistant commissioner Chris Hodgman said it was still not clear how the fault occurred.
“Our armorers are talking to the suppliers, and they’ll be the experts to be able to tell us what it is,” he said.
So at the moment, it’s 83 weapons out of 11,605 so less than 1% and as has been spoken about by the minister, as soon as a weapon is found to have a fault, it’s been replaced, and there’s been no operational impact across Queensland.
Matt Kean: Calls to drill for more fossil fuels in an oil crisis ‘like fixing a gambling debt by going back down the casino’
Matt Kean, chair of the Climate Change Authority, said calls to drill for more fossil fuels during an oil crisis defied logic, describing it as “like fixing a gambling debt by going back down the casino”.
The former NSW treasurer said it gave him “no comfort whatsoever” that the pain motorists were feeling and anxiety farmers faced in securing fertiliser, was adding to the economic case to decarbonise.
But, he said, Australia shouldn’t let the market disruptions caused by the war in Iran “push us down costly cul-de-sacs” that could take years to deliver.
Schemes for coal-to-oil and opening up Queensland’s Taroom basin were floated amid the oil scares of the 1970s, he said. But they didn’t proceed back then, and “the economics are likely to be even more formidable today”.
If Australia were to build a new conventional refinery, it would likely take the better part of a decade to deliver and, on indicative figures, add petrol output equivalent to only a modest share – around one-sixth – of national demand.
By contrast, if half of all new cars sold over the next 10 years were electric – which is one of the plausible pathways we examined – that would steadily and permanently cut demand for imported oil.Australia’s energy security can be enhanced by boosting output of homegrown electrons – rather than importing or prospecting for more fossil molecules – and the technology to do it is already being rolled out at scale.
Kean was speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event in Melbourne.
Dfat seeks urgent update from Israel on Australians in Global Sumud flotilla
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is urgently seeking an update from Israeli authorities on the Australians involved in the Global Sumud flotilla
A spokesperson for Dfat said:
While our officials stand ready to provide consular assistance to any affected Australians, our ability to provide support in Israel and Palestine is limited at this time due to the conflict in the Middle East.
We continue to urge Australians not to join others seeking to break the Israeli naval blockade as they will be putting themselves and others at risk of injury, death, arrest or deportation.
We encourage those wishing to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza to do so through established channels.
Updated
Twelve Australians onboard allegedly intercepted Global Sumud flotilla boats, spokesperson says
The number of Australians who are onboard boats sailing to Gaza on the Global Sumud flotilla that have allegedly been intercepted by Israeli naval forces has risen to 12, a spokesperson for the fleet told Guardian Australia.
About 14 Australians in total are onboard the dozens of vessels that set sail to Gaza from Italy on Monday in the hope of delivering 500 tonnes of aid and volunteers to the decimated strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel.
The spokesperson said they were now only in contact with two of the Australians after 14 boats were intercepted and subject to communications blackouts. Of those, four were boarded live on CCTV.
A remaining 48 vessels were continuing to sail towards Greek waters. A press conference is taking place in Sydney from 1pm when family members of the activists will address the media. We’ll bring you the latest here.
The Israeli foreign ministry and Dfat have been approached for comment.
Updated
Mother of Beau Lamarre-Condon to remain in custody for now
The mother of Beau Lamarre-Condon may remain in custody for another two weeks over accusations that she attempted to influence a key witness to change their evidence before her son’s high-profile double murder trial.
Coleen Lamarre, a 63-year-old former employee with NSW Police, was on Wednesday arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.
Coleen was remanded in custody, and had her matter heard before the NSW local court bail division on Thursday. During the mention, her solicitor Mickaela Mate said an application would be made for her release on bail and requested a two-hour hearing be set next Tuesday.
But Judge Lucas Swan said it was unlikely the hearing could be set that soon. He also said a two-hour bail hearing seemed “somewhat excessive”.
Swan set Lamarre’s next appearance at Downing Centre local court for 14 May if her solicitor is unable to secure an earlier date for the bail hearing.
Lamarre’s son, also a former police officer, was charged with double murder in February 2024 after police found the bodies of former TV presenter Luke Baird, 26, and Baird’s partner, Luke Davies, a 29-year-old Qantas flight attendant.
Lamarre-Condon, who is in custody, is alleged to have shot the couple with his police pistol at Baird’s inner-city home before allegedly attempting to dispose of the bodies. The couple’s bodies were found on 27 February inside surfboard bags at the fence line of a rural property in Bungonia, near Goulburn, about 200km south-west of Sydney.
He is due to face trial in September, with it expected to go for two to three months. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Updated
Australian shares falling for eighth consecutive day, with Woolworths down 7%
The Australian sharemarket is on track to fall eight days in a row as oil prices keep rising.
Investors are losing confidence the US-Israel war on Iran, and its disruption to oil trade, will end soon. Oil prices have risen over the second half of April, from close to US$80 a barrel to US$109 today, on the West Texas Intermediate crude benchmark.
Investors expect that will hit Australian profits, meaning local shares are falling. The All Ordinaries is down 0.18% today, to 8,899.8 points.
Big companies’ stocks aren’t falling as much: the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index is down nearly 0.12% to 8,677.3 points. The big banks are all rising, but miners are falling.
Woolworths is down a massive 6.7%, wiping $3bn from its market value. As we reported earlier, the supermarket giant is expecting a hit to food sales throughout 2026.
Woolworths shares had risen nearly 27% since the start of 2026. An RBC Capital Markets analyst, Michael Toner, said that rise appeared much higher this year than was justified by today’s result.
Updated
Existing property investors likely to avoid more tax under possible capital gains tax reform
Existing property investors look set to avoid paying more tax under Labor’s mooted changes to CGT in next month’s budget, based on comments from Jim Chalmers in a podcast released today.
The treasurer is widely expected to modify the flat 50% tax discount on profits from the sale of assets held for more than one year, potentially returning to the pre-1999 model where capital gains are adjusted for inflation.
Chalmers told the CommBank View podcast:
Without getting into hypotheticals about policies, what you try and do is to make sure that we recognise the decisions that people have taken in the past …
Even if we went down the path that has been speculated about in those areas [capital gains tax] that you’ve asked me about, people shouldn’t expect there to be this huge amount of new revenue show up over the course of the next few years in the budget.
Read the full story here:
Greens call on Australian government to act after interception of Global Sumud Flotilla
The Greens leader, senator Larissa Waters, has accused Israel of a “shocking breach of international law” after at least five Australians were allegedly intercepted onboard the Global Sumud Flotilla en route to Gaza overnight.
Waters pressed on the Australian government to intervene for the Australians to be released. They have not been heard from since communications were cut off on at least seven boats while attempting to enter Greek waters.
Waters said:
These flotilla participants are bravely trying to bring essential supplies to Palestinians under illegal blockade by Israel, and this act of piracy shows how far the Netanyahu government will go to ensure the genocide continues.
The Australian government should be championing the actions of the brave flotilla participants, and must now strongly fight for them to be released … Labor must stop ignoring Israel’s constant breaches of international law.
Dfat and the Israeli foreign ministry have been contacted for comment.
Updated
Five Australians intercepted on flotilla en route to Israel, activists claim
At least five Australians attempting to enter Greek waters on the Global Sumud flotilla to Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli naval forces, a spokesperson for the fleet told Guardian Australia.
More than 80 boats set sail to Gaza from Italy on Monday in the hope of delivering 500 tonnes of aid and volunteers to the decimated strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel. Of those, two have been boarded live on CCTV and another five have gone hours without communications.
About 14 Australians are onboard the boats. Those allegedly intercepted include climate activist from Newcastle, Zack Schofield, Dr Bianca Webb Pullman and Sydney student and Wiradjuri, Ngiyampaa and Wailwan man Ethan Floyd, who have allegedly had their phones taken after being followed by a drone overnight.
In a statement, the Global Sumud flotilla said the activists had been “threatened at gunpoint”.
The Flotilla carries ordinary people from 55 countries and nothing but humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza. Its participants are engaged in legally protected activity under international maritime law. There is no legal justification for what occurred tonight.
Earlier, multiple flotilla boats reported radio communications jamming. Military drones and vessels were sighted. An IOF vessel ordered the flotilla to divert aid through Israeli-controlled channels.
Neve O’Connor, a flotilla participant, said in a statement earlier:
We don’t know what’s going on. We’re completely at a loss, our radios have been jammed, there’s drone activity … we’re preparing for interception.
The previous Sumud flotilla in October 2025 resulted in seven Australians being detained by Israel Defense Forces.
Dfat and the Israeli foreign ministry have been contacted for comment.
Updated
Mark Latham ordered to pay Alex Greenwich $100,000 for homosexual vilification
A court has found Mark Latham committed unlawful homosexual vilification and sexually harassed independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, ordering him to pay $100,000 in compensation
Greenwich sued Latham, a former One Nation MP turned independent, in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) last year, alleging a tweet and statements made to media constituted workplace harassment and homosexual vilification under the NSW anti-discrimination act.
On Thursday, NCAT released its judgment, ordering Latham to pay compensation and costs, and to delete within 24 hours any material posted by Latham that vilifies Greenwich on the grounds of his homosexuality.
It also ordered Latham refrain from any repeated unlawful homosexual vilification of Greenwich.
The case related to a sexually explicit tweet posted on 30 March 2023, which the Ffderal court had previously ruled as defamatory. Greenwich, a vocal advocate for the LGBTQI community, received $140,000 in damages in that case.
Greenwich said in a statement shortly after the NCAT findings were released:
The judgment makes clear that social media is plainly capable of being a vehicle for unlawful vilification, particularly where the conduct is engaged in by a public figure with a large audience. The judgment also makes clear that politicians should be careful when making comments to journalists about others.
This decision sends a clear message: public figures are not above the law, and online platforms are not a space for unlawful vilification.
Updated
Alice Springs search enters fifth day for allegedly abducted five-year-old Sharon
Northern Territory police say there have been no major developments overnight in the search for the missing five-year-old Sharon, who police believe was taken by 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis from Old Timers Camp, outside of Alice Springs.
The young girl was last seen by her mother at 11.30pm on Saturday. A short time before her disappearance NT police say she was seen with Lewis, who was holding her hand. An arrest order was issued for Lewis on Sunday. Yesterday, police found several items related to the pair including a child’s underwear and a yellow T-shirt that Lewis was last seen wearing.
In a statement to Guardian Australia, authorities confirmed that six of the 20 sq km search zone has been extensively covered on foot, with air support currently scouring the terrain for any signs of Sharon:
A helicopter is in the air now, focusing over the Mt Johns area and nearby bushland, with more air assets deploying today,” NT police said. More than 170 volunteers are assembling for the search.
72 people are on the ground as of a short time ago with the total ground search team yesterday reaching 172 individuals.
Police are encouraging more people, including experienced civilian horse riders, to join the search and comb the rugged bush and scrub in the search and rescue efforts.
The community support the NT Police Force’s Search and Rescue team has received has been overwhelming. Police would like to thank the community for this support as they work to bring Sharon home.
Updated
Multiple recommendations will be kept confidential as they could compromise national security
As we noted earlier, multiple recommendations in the interim report will not be made public. Albanese said in a statement:
The interim report contains a small number of classified recommendations which cannot be publicly released because they could compromise sensitive national security information. The government will respond swiftly to these recommendations and Australians will see practical outcomes through a range of policy, program and funding measures.
Higher security at Jewish festivals recommended
The top recommendation from the royal commission’s interim report is that the “procedures adopted by NSW Police in respect of Operation Jewish High Holy Days should apply to other high risk Jewish festivals and events, particularly those that have a public facing element”.
The report states that, since the 7 October 2023 massacre of Israelis by Hamas, an “increase in the occurrence and reporting of antisemitic incidents has led to a significant increase in contact between relevant NSW Police Commands” and the Jewish safety organisation, Community Security Group NSW – particularly cultural festivals including Purim, Passover, Shavuot, the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret), Chanukah and days of cultural significance.
The report notes there is already “substantial engagement” between CSG and police agencies, but that there “may be scope for exploring different modes of collaboration between all parties”.
It suggests potential benefit in working closer, including whether police could start “meeting together regularly with CSG NSW at the operational level, to discuss the threat environment faced by Jewish Australians, planning for upcoming events and receiving CSG assessments and threat information”.
Updated
‘We’re acting on it’, Albanese says of interim report recommendations
The prime minister was asked how long it will take to implement the recommendations in the interim report; weeks, months or years. He said the government only received the report this morning and had already convened the national security committee, showing the brisk pace of action:
We’re not sitting back and just reading this document. We’re acting on it.
Updated
PM calls for nationally consistent gun reform
Albanese was just asked about the pace of gun reform in the wake of the Bondi attack and resistance from some states and territories. He said:
We support the recommendations, all of them. It will be up to state and territories. Of course, we’ll have to give consideration to the very clear recommendations – there were two of the recommendations that make it clear – that we should progress with nationally consistent gun reform.
I certainly hope that that occurs, and would continue to engage constructively with state and territory governments to say that this is reform, which is necessary.
Updated
Too early to tell if there were intelligence failures before Bondi attack: royal commissioner
The interim royal commission report into the Bondi massacre says it has not yet reached any conclusions about intelligence failures or police resourcing before the attack.
In the interim report released on Thursday morning, commissioner Virginia Bell said:
While systemic aspects of the effectiveness of Commonwealth and state intelligence and law enforcement … are addressed in this Interim Report, important issues arising from the Bondi attack, including whether there was any failure to identify and act upon intelligence in the lead up to it, or in the allocation of police resources to the Chanukah event, will be addressed in hearings.
No conclusion in these respects can be reached on a review of the agencies’ documents alone and in the absence of according procedural fairness to any person or agency at risk of an adverse finding.
Bell said it was possible these questions would have to be asked in private hearings:
In light of the nature of the evidence that I anticipate will be led, some hearings will need to be closed to the public (closed hearings).
To the extent that it is possible to adduce evidence touching on intelligence and security matters in public this will be done.
The commission also noted that a submission received just before the finalisation of the interim report proposed improvements to the National Criminal Intelligence System, and “will be investigated in the course of hearings”.
Albanese says national security committee agreed to adopt all recommendations relevant to the commonwealth
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking now in Sydney after the delivery of an interim report from the Bondi royal commission.
“Five months on from the attack, Australia’s Jewish community is still grieving. Still hurting, still craving answers,” he said.
He said the report will help the nation “understand what happened that day, to help us stamp out the hatred that drove the attackers and to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again”.
He said the report found no urgent changes are required to keep Australia safe. But the 14 recommendations included in the interim report would enhance the nation’s counter-terrorism arrangements and capabilities.
Albanese said the national security committee had met this morning and will adopt all of the recommendations that a relevant to the commonwealth.
Updated
Bondi terror accused will not be called to give evidence to royal commission, Virginia Bell says
The accused shooter behind the Bondi terror massacre at a Jewish Hanukah festival will not be called to give evidence at the royal commission, commissioner Virginia Bell says, and has indicated that witnesses to the attack may also not feature in her inquiry.
It’s also unlikely the royal commission will – at least in its public hearings or reports – make any findings about the motivation behind the attack.
Her interim report gives some new ideas about her thinking about how the commission will be framed. In the report, Bell writes that her “general principle, … to guide the conduct of the Royal Commission in light of the current criminal proceedings” include not asking the accused to be interviewed or give evidence.
“Persons who are, or who are likely to be, witnesses in the criminal proceedings ought not be interviewed or called to give evidence about the Bondi attack,” Bell wrote.
The Royal Commission ought not, in its public hearings or publicly available report, make findings or comments about the intention and motivation of the shooters. To the extent that it is possible, the Royal Commission should avoid causing or contributing to further publicity that may occasion prejudice to the accused among potential jurors.
Australian counter-terror work ‘could be improved’, royal commission report says
The Bondi royal commission’s interim report says it has heard evidence that police and government agencies had not found “any gap” in legal frameworks that impeded the terror attack being prevented or responded to – but says there is room for improvement.
“No commonwealth or state intelligence or law enforcement agency has suggested that it was prevented from taking prohibitive actions before or on 14 December 2025 by the then current legislative and authorising framework. In these respects, no issue requiring urgent or immediate action has been identified,” the interim report states.
Nonetheless, the review of this considerable body of material by officers with relevant experience and expertise and by Counsel Assisting and me has revealed aspects in which counter-terrorism capability at Commonwealth and state levels could be improved.
Updated
Bondi royal commission suggests ‘counter-terror exercise’ for PM, cabinet
The Bondi royal commission’s interim report has been released. We’re reading now, but there are 14 recommendations – including six that are not included in the public version of the report, and kept to a confidential version.
Of the eight which are in the public version, they include recommendations that:
The procedures adopted by NSW police in respect of Operation Jewish High Holy Days should apply to other high risk Jewish festivals and events, particularly those that have a public facing element.
Consideration be given to making the counter-terrorism coordinator’s role full-time.
The Australian government should consider whether national security committee ministers, including the prime minister, should participate in a counter-terrorism exercise, along with all national cabinet members, within nine months of each federal election.
There’s also other recommendations about updating procedures on crisis management, a review of joint counter-terror teams, and calls for state and federal governments to “prioritise efforts to finalise and implement an updated and nationally consistent National Firearms Agreement” and “to implement the proposed National Gun Buyback Scheme”.
Updated
Instructor and student killed in small plane crash near Adelaide yesterday
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said an instructor and a student were the two people killed in a small plane crash near Adelaide’s Parafield airport.
The four-seat airplane had just taken off from the airport when it crashed into a hangar where a large amount of fuel was stored. The ATSB said it is investigating the cause of the accident, which also injured 10 people on the ground.
ATSB chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell, told ABC News Breakfast this morning:
We know quite tragically the instructor and the student have lost their lives.
Equally, we know a number of personnel were inside the hangar it’s impacted, with varying degrees of injuries to quite significant burns to smoke inhalation.
They’re being treated in various Adelaide hospitals as we speak.
Officials will hold a press conference on the crash later this morning.
Updated
Bondi royal commission report has 14 recommendations
We’re still awaiting the interim report of the Bondi royal commission to drop – we hope it will be publicly released before the prime minister gives a press conference later this morning – but one detail has so far been released.
On the royal commission’s website, it says:
The Interim Report examines the circumstances surrounding the antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach on 14 December 2025 (Term of Reference (c)).
It contains 14 recommendations.
We’ll bring you more of those recommendations when the report is published. The royal commission says its final report “will be submitted no later than 14 December 2026”.
Updated
Commissioner delivers interim report on antisemitism to governor general
The commissioner for the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion, Virginia Bell, has delivered her interim report to the governor general, Sam Mostyn, at Government House in Canberra.
We’re expecting the government’s response, and details of the report, soon.
Updated
Too early to predict impacts on profitability, Woolworths says
Woolworths says it is still too early to predict the impacts on its profitability from the conflict and how elevated living costs will impact shopping behaviours.
Consumer prices are now growing at their fastest pace in two-and-a-half years, according to inflation data released yesterday.
The overall Woolworths business, which includes Big W and its New Zealand operations, reported a 4.5% lift in quarterly sales to $18.1bn.
Separately, Woolworths is defending a court action taken by the consumer watchdog over allegations it broke consumer law by offering “illusory” discounts to shoppers.
Closing arguments are scheduled to start today in the federal court in Sydney.
Updated
Woolworths food sales up amid inflation warning
Woolworths has warned that high fuel costs stemming from the Middle East conflict will exert greater inflationary pressures later this year after reporting strong food sales across its Australian supermarkets.
The country’s biggest supermarket chain recorded a 5.9% lift in food sales from its flagship Australian division to $13.8bn, according to quarterly financial results released this morning.
Woolworths chief executive, Amanda Bardwell, says the conflict is “creating greater uncertainty for our customers, suppliers and team at a time when cost-of-living pressures are already acute”.
“While the impact on the group to date has been limited, higher fuel costs and secondary effects are likely to have an increasing inflationary impact as we move through the calendar year,” Bardwell says.
Updated
At an idyllic Sydney beach, a 25-tonne sperm whale slowly disintegrates
On a rock shelf at the southern end of Era beach, the estimated 25-tonne body of a sperm whale rests like a melted candle. Looking down at the rock pools, floating chunks of white fat bob in the water.
Since its discovery on Saturday morning, the rotting whale has lured sharks to the coastline, forcing the closure of several beaches in Sydney’s Royal national park.
Surf Life Saving New South Wales reported a shark sighting at Era beach at 9.28am on Saturday. By Sunday morning, SharkSmart confirmed all beaches within the national park – including Garie, North Era, South Era, Wattamolla and Burning Palms – were closed, and they remained so as of Wednesday.
Updated
Iran war could result in thousands fewer new homes
The Iran war could result in Australia building 33,000 fewer homes than planned, the government’s independent housing adviser has warned.
AAP reports Australia was making ground on its housing supply targets before the Middle East conflict broke out in late February, the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council found in its annual state of the housing system report on Thursday.
But the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz, which sent fuel prices skyrocketing and disrupted supply chains for building materials such as PVC pipe, has severely affected the housing sector.
Prior to the conflict, the council was estimating that Australia would build 980,000 new homes over the National Housing Accord period, which ends in June 2029.
But the council now expects 33,000 fewer homes will be built over the accord period than previously assumed if the crisis persists and the increase in construction costs peaks at 10%.
The impact could be even worse as the council’s modelling does not take into account consumer sentiment, reticence to borrow and broader economic conditions.
Updated
Australia’s use of methamphetamine has doubled in a decade, wastewater monitoring reveals
Methamphetamine use in Australia has almost doubled in the past decade and stimulants are being taken at record highs, new wastewater monitoring reveals.
On Wednesday evening the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (Acic) released its latest annual report after testing wastewater samples from 64 treatment plants across the country between August 2024 and 2025.
It found that consumption of crystal meth, also known as ice, was at its highest recorded level since the program began in 2016.
Read more here:
NSW minister says plan for new gas exploration about getting fuel to ‘local mums and dads’
Courtney Houssos, the NSW minister for finance and natural resources, spoke to RN Breakfast this morning after the state said it would open new areas for gas exploration for the first time in more than a decade.
Houssos said the plan was an “important step” to see the state have a “secure energy supply”, but said they would not be a short-term fix for any ongoing fuel issues as they could take at least 10 years to produce any usable gas. She said:
We are reading the same forecasts that you are from the Australian Energy Market Operator and others warning us of looming gas shortfalls. So we think that this is the responsible thing to do as a government.
She said she understood concerns about the plan, including slashing exploration licence fees from $50,000 to $1,000, but said the state had a robust system to take safety into account when it came to biosecurity and environmental concerns.
We’re certainly hearing those concerns, but we think this is an important step. We have to make sure that local mums and dads, local households have access to this. And that’s an important point to make.
This is gas that would be unlocked for local mums and dads, local households and local businesses.
Updated
Albanese ruled out a gas export tax on existing contracts yesterday, criticising a ‘populist’ campaign
Anthony Albanese confirmed yesterday next month’s federal budget will not include a new tax on existing gas export contracts as he criticised the “populist” campaign calling for a levy on producers.
In a speech to the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia on Wednesday, the prime minister directly tied gas exports to Australia’s fuel security amid the global energy crisis. He said:
The middle of a global fuel crisis is the worst possible time to jeopardise these partnerships, or the investment that underpins them.
You can read more about his feelings here:
Updated
Chalmers understands calls for gas export tax, but says government focused on getting fuel for Australians
Chalmers said he understands calls to tax gas exports, but maintained the government was set on securing international supply arrangements during the ongoing fuel crisis. He told ABC News:
I understand that there is a constituency in the Australian community to go further … But there are also, as the prime minister said, really good reasons to prioritise these international supply arrangements particularly during this oil shock.
All of us have been prioritising getting fuel for Australia and for Australians to keep the economy ticking over and that’s why there are good reasons for the comments that the prime minister made yesterday.
Read more from the Guardian’s Adam Morton here:
Updated
Chalmers says inflation numbers were ‘confronting’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said yesterday’s inflation numbers were “confronting”, saying Australians are paying a hefty price for the war in the Middle East.
He said his responsibility was to take “some of the edge off” of these higher prices, pointing to the halving of the fuel excise and ongoing efforts to tackle cost of living. He said fuel prices were “overwhelmingly the driver of the higher inflation that we saw in the numbers released”.
Chalmers said work on the budget, due to be delivered next month, is still ongoing, adding to ABC News Breakfast that issues affecting housing and younger Australians were top of mind.
He added:
We’ve been very upfront with people and said when we think about the intergenerational unfairness in the budget, in our economy, in our society more broadly, a couple of the drivers of that are in housing, are in the tax system.
Updated
PM maintains Australia providing ‘no support’ to those families
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said at a news conference on Wednesday that “we are providing no support for repatriation and no assistance for these people”, AP adds.
At a separate news conference in Beijing, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, on Wednesday said that her government has made “very clear that we are not assisting in their repatriation.”
Syria’s information ministry said the families, through a lawyer, had obtained passports that were delivered by an “individual” that it didn’t identify while they were still in north-eastern Syria in an area under the control of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.
A previous attempt to return 34 women and children to Australia from the camp in February was turned back by Syrian authorities.
Australian governments have repatriated Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have also returned without government assistance.
Updated
Syria says Australia won’t repatriate families with alleged ties to Islamic State
A group of Australian women and children who left a camp in Syria that houses people with alleged ties to Islamic State group militants are stuck in the country because Australian authorities have refused to allow their return, Syrian officials said Wednesday, the Associated Press reports.
Thirteen women and children from four families last week left Roj camp, a remote facility near the border with Iraq that houses relatives of suspected militants, on Friday and headed to Syria’s capital.
An official at the camp at the time said the families were expected to remain in Damascus for around 72 hours and then be sent to Australia.
In response to an Associated Press inquiry about their status, Syria’s information ministry said in a statement that after the families left the camp, the foreign ministry was informed that “the Australian government had refused to receive them”.
They were turned back before reaching Damascus international airport, the information ministry’s statement said.
Updated
Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s news. As always, let’s get to it.
Rental market has ‘disappeared’ for those on lowest incomes, Anglicare warns
Anglicare Australia has warned the housing crisis could become a permanent feature of the system, as its latest rental affordability snapshot shows people on the lowest incomes have no access to the private rental market.
The Snapshot surveyed nearly 49,000 rental listings across Australia and found that:
Just 1 rental (0%) nationwide was affordable for a person on jobseeker
0 rentals (0%) were affordable for a person on youth allowance
Just 0.2% of rentals were affordable for a single person on the age pension
A full-time minimum wage worker could afford just 0.5% of listings
Even a couple with two minimum-wage incomes could afford only 14.8% of rentals.
Anglicare Australia executive director, Kasy Chambers, said the results show a system that is failing ordinary Australians:
The housing crisis is not a short-term shock. It is a design feature of the system.
For people on the lowest incomes, the private rental market has all but disappeared. There are no affordable homes for young people out of work, and just one across the entire country for someone on jobseeker.
This is what happens when we build a system around investors and hope that housing will trickle down.
The findings come as the government considers changes to investor tax breaks in the budget. Chambers urged the government to push ahead with tax reforms and use the savings to invest directly in housing.
Updated
Bondi royal commission interim report to be handed down
An interim report by the antisemitism royal commissioner, Virginia Bell, is expected to be released on Thursday.
Bell was appointed to lead the royal commission after the Bondi terror attack and her interim report is expected to focus on intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
She is expected to “identify other issues requiring urgent or immediate action” and make recommendations about these issues in the report, according to a spokesperson for the commission.
The report will include information given to the commission through submissions, notices to produce and meetings, rather than in public or private hearings.
The first block of public hearings are expected to start on Monday and will focus on experiences of antisemitism.
The inquiry was established after December’s massacre, in which two gunmen shot and killed 15 people and injured 40 others as they attended a beachside Hanukah event for the Jewish community.
Naveed Akram, 24, faces 15 charges of murder and 40 of attempted murder in relation to the attack. His 50-year-old father, Sajid, was shot dead by police.
Updated
Australia may need to spend more on Aukus, US committee head says
A top member of a US Congress committee overseeing Aukus has said Australia may be required to spend more to ensure American shipbuilders can deliver promised nuclear submarines.
Australia has already sent the US about $3bn (US$2bn) of the $4bn (US$3bn) it committed to invest in American manufacturers in 2023, when the plan was forecast to cost Australia $368bn by the mid-2050s.
Joe Courtney, a senior US Democrat, said US politicians appreciated that investment but more may be needed. He told ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday:
I don’t think the US$3bn number, which is in the optimal pathway, is the Ten Commandments. I think that, as this enterprise unfolds, there may be a rationale for Australia to participate more, but, as I said, at this point, the commitment of US$3bn [and] already the transmittal [sic] of US$2bn of that commitment is something that most people, certainly on Capitol Hill, still remark and comment very favourably and appreciate.
Courtney also backed the warnings of a UK committee this week that British shipbuilders may not be able to deliver the Aukus subs, saying more investment would be needed for the UK to deliver.
But he said the US Navy’s V-Adm Robert Gaucher had told him days earlier that the US’s goal of boosting manufacturing to an average of 2.3 submarines a year by 2032 was on track. Courtney also dismissed Donald Trump’s “unfair” and “gratuitous shots” at Australia, saying:
“Aukus is a long-term security agreement. It’s going to take place and evolve … It’s going to be something that will rise above this time that we are living in right now with the Trump administration.”
Updated
Penny Wong says China has agreed to help with jet fuel exports
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says China has agreed to work to facilitate exports of jet fuel, in an attempt to ease supply disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East, AFP reports.
China, a major exporter of jet fuel and diesel to Australia and other countries, has avoided the worst of the war’s energy impacts thanks to its vast oil stocks, but paused exports at the start of the war to protect its domestic supplies.
“I can confirm … that the Chinese government is facilitating engagement with Australian businesses on jet fuel,” Wong told reporters in Beijing after talks with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and the Chinese vice-president, Han Zheng.
She added that the move was “an important step, however, it is the first step”.
Earlier in the day, Wong had told Han that refineries in the Indo-Pacific region were disproportionately affected by the blockage of the strait of Hormuz.
In the talks, she called for greater reciprocity in trade, emphasising that Australia’s steady supply of raw materials and food to China should be matched by a reliable flow of gasoline, kerosene and fertilisers back to Australia.
“I made the point that the import inputs China supplies to Australia, including jet fuel, support the Australian resources sector, which in turn helps to maintain the flow of commodities that are so important in the bilateral trading relationship,” Wong told the press conference.
Updated
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.
Penny Wong has been busy on her latest overseas trip, saying China has agreed to negotiate on jet fuel sales to help ease the global oil crisis.
An interim report by the antisemitism royal commissioner, Virginia Bell, is expected to be released at 9am. We’ll have the details as soon as it happens.
