What we learned today, Tuesday 24 June
As our live news coverage for the day – another huge one for the Middle East – comes to a close, here’s a quick look at what kept us busy:
Anthony Albanese welcomed Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, saying Australia had “consistently called for dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation”.
Australians woke up to news of flight delays and disruptions after Iran’s strike on a US base in Qatar overnight resulted in several countries closing their airspace. Read our explainer for more.
Andrew Hastie, the shadow minister for home affairs, told the ABC there needs to be more “transparency” around the US military’s increased presence in Australia.
YouTube should be included in the ban on under-16s accessing social media, the nation’s online safety chief said – a move that left the video platform unhappy.
Jim Chalmers will speak with his American counterpart, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent, with tariffs and the impact of the Iran-Israel war expected to be on the agenda.
The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, accepted an invitation to attend Labor’s economic roundtable in August, in a sign the Albanese government is prepared to work with the opposition.
Albanese reduced the Coalition’s staffing numbers in a further blow to the opposition after its thumping election defeat – a move that James McGrath said was “vindictive and nasty”.
A survey found 85% of respondents believe the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Australians is important, with strong support for reconciliation and truth-telling.
Thank you for joining us. We’ll be back with more live news bright and early tomorrow.
Updated
Queensland jails more overcrowded than ever, budget papers reveal
Queensland’s jails are more overcrowded than ever, with the system at 144.5% of capacity.
The figure is contained in service delivery statements released with the state budget.
The system is well above its target facility utilisation target of 90-95% of “built cell capacity”. Many cells contain more prisoners than they were designed to due to double bunking.
It is also above its target for “built bed capacity”, at 96.7%, compared with 95%.
Last year the system was at 140.3% of “built cell” capacity.
Overcrowding has been repeatedly identified as a cause of prison violence and other problems.
Queensland jails have been overcrowded for more than a decade, according to an ombudsman report from 2024.
According to a Guardian investigation, about 10 inmates have hanged themselves at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in Wacol over the past two decades.
Coroners have repeatedly urged the state government to remove known hanging points from the prison, but about 7.1% of the state’s secure cells do not have a safer cell design.
The state has yet to model the effect of its new Adult Crime Adult Time laws, which dramatically increase sentence lengths for child offenders.
Updated
