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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Stephanie Convery (now) and Royce Kurmelovs (earlier)

Andrew Wilkie says detention of Julian Assange ‘unconscionable’ and repeats calls for release – as it happened

New South Wales Australia Victoria Sydney
Andrew Wilkie speaks outside Belmarsh prison in the UK in 2020 ahead of the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Andrew Wilkie speaks outside Belmarsh prison in the UK in 2020 ahead of the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

What we learnt today

And that’s where we’ll wrap up for the afternoon. Here’s your cheat sheet for today’s events:

• Defence minister Richard Marles said Australia has “absolutely not” committed to back the US in the event of an invasion of Taiwan by China. He said Australia would not automatically commit the new submarines to support the US in any future war, with decisions to enter conflict up to the government of the day.

• Trade minister Don Farrell described Aukus as a “sensible” arrangement for the strategic circumstances Australia faces in 2023 – but played down the potential impact on the overall project to “stabilise” the relationship with China.

• NSW Liberals rallied supporters in the western Sydney marginal seat of Penrith as the party makes its final push for votes before polling day, with Dominic Perrottet pledging a 20% discount on weekly public transport costs.

• Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says the human rights of trans people are “not negotiable” and that “Nazis aren’t welcome”, after transgender rights protesters clashed with neo-Nazis in Melbourne yesterday after the controversial UK figure Kellie-Jay Keen appeared at an event in the city.

• A farmer helping volunteer firefighters conduct a hazard reduction burn in NSW has died after becoming trapped by the fire.

• A woman and a child have been flown to hospital after being stung by a suspected irukandji jellyfish in Queensland last night.

• Labor’s Manuel Brown has declared victory with nearly 70% of the two-candidate-preferred vote in the byelection for a remote Northern Territory electorate after the former local member’s unexpected death.

• Geelong great Gary Ablett Sr has become the latest high-profile former AFL footballer to reveal a brain damage diagnosis as a result of head injuries sustained during his playing career.

• It was the hottest March day on record for parts of New South Wales as temperatures soared into the high 30s and low 40s. A cool change will move through the state tonight.

We’ll be back with more news bright and early tomorrow morning. Look after yourselves.

Updated

Research points to ‘unlikely’ need for new coalmines

A bill to establish a contentious safeguards mechanism policy is expected to pass the lower house when parliament returns but the government needs the Greens and two extra votes to get it through the Senate, AAP reports.

The mechanism, which applies to the 215 biggest emitters in the country, aims to reduce emissions by 205m tonnes by 2030.

But the Greens have said they will support the proposal if the government commits to a ban on new coal and gas projects.

The minor party commissioned a parliamentary library research brief on domestic coal demand and supply, which found existing mines in Australia were “adequate” to meet coal-fired electricity demand through to 2040.

The brief said it was “unlikely” new coalmines would be needed to keep up with expected electricity demands:

If additional domestic supply was required, there is ample available product in the export-bound production to supplement any shortfall.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said the research showed new coalmines were not needed to maintain power supplies.

When coupled with research by the Australia Institute thinktank, which showed new gas wasn’t needed to meet domestic demand, Bandt said the parliamentary library brief confirmed no new coal or gas projects were needed to keep the lights on:

Labor is yet to give any convincing explanation why they want to open new coal and gas mines in a climate crisis when Australia already has enough of both.

We have offered to support Labor’s safeguard mechanism, despite all its faults, if Labor stops opening up new coal and gas.

Coal and gas are the biggest causes of the climate crisis and we simply do not need any more.

Updated

New program to help recycle old soles

A recycling program backed by the Australian Sporting Goods Association and recycler Save Our Soles is asking for donations of old pairs of shoes.

The program, called TreadLightly, has recycled more than 600,000 pairs of shoes – but now its operators want to capture more of the 25m sports shoes imported each year into Australia.

Executive director Shaun Bajada says Australians should know eligible shoes – including most sports shoes, school shoes, thongs, slides and even gumboots, can be remade into new products including gym mats and flooring:

Shoes can be recycled, no matter how dirty or overworn they are.

A network of retailers across Australia is acting as collection points for old shoes, which are then sent to Save our Soles, which shreds them.

Various components such as metals and textile fluff are extracted and separated, with shoe waste blended with rubber from recycled tyres to make new products.

Save Our Soles says all material is collected, recycled and manufactured in Australia.

For drop-off locations check the TreadLightly website.

– AAP

Updated

NSW premier promises cheaper public transport

Premier Dominic Perrottet has used a Liberal party rally in western Sydney to pledge a 20% discount on weekly public transport costs, at a cost of about $1.1m a week.

His announcement came minutes after John Howard warmed up the crowd with tales of his 1996 federal election victory and warnings about Labor governments.

After claiming federal Labor’s only economic plan was raising taxes, Howard said Anthony Albanese’s “overwhelming presence” in the rival party’s state campaign launch made it appear like a mini-launch for the prime minister’s re-election:

You have to ask yourself is that because under [Chris] Minns, Labor’s economic approach would be very similar to that of Albanese in Canberra? The answer to that has to be a resounding yes.

The Labor party’s election plans for NSW have an unambiguous, undeniable hole of $11bn.

Last weekend Howard was one of the few Liberal figures to show his face at the NSW Liberals’ campaign launch, which did not feature federal leader Peter Dutton, former prime minister Scott Morrison or other federal MPs.

A week after revealing his kids future fund, Perrottet tweaked a 2019 election policy to cut public transport costs, taking the weekly Opal cap to $40 for adults and $20 for concession card holders from 1 May:

That means more money in the hip pockets of western Sydney families when they need it most.

– with AAP

Updated

Two people stung by suspected irukandji

A woman and a child have been flown to hospital after being stung by a suspected irukandji last night.

Queensland Ambulance Service said paramedics assessed two patients after they were stung at 6.10pm. The pair were airlifted from a popular Queensland resort island to Rockhampton hospital.

They were in a stable condition.

Updated

It’s the hottest March day on record in parts of NSW:

Updated

Flood warnings have been issued for parts of Queensland tomorrow:

Updated

Effort to identify 82 unknown soldiers buried at Fromelles

Relatives of soldiers who served during the first world war and believe they may have been killed at the battle of Fromelles are being encouraged to take a DNA test to help identify 82 soldiers buried in a mass grave.

The first major engagement by Australian troops on the Western Front, the Battle of Fromelles proved a disaster.

A poorly disguised “feint” intended to draw German troops away from the Somme, it led to the deaths of more than 5,500 Australians in less than 24 hours.

The remains of 250 soldiers were recovered in 2009 from an unmarked mass grave at nearby Pheasant Wood and were later reburied. Since then, 168 have been identified through genealogical testing.

Fromelles Association of Australia president Geoffrey Benn said the association wanted anyone who may suspect they had relatives in the battle to come forward:

We’ve got a process that we use to try and identify the DNA strands and find a donor out in the real world ... and ask if they’re interested in submitting a sample.

If they are and the ancestral connections check out, the army then contacts those people and asks them to provide a sample with a swab.

The samples will be sent to a laboratory in the UK and the results will be provided to the army.

Benn said:

Each generation loses a bit of information from the one before.

We’re just trying to find the families. The race against time is to try and get them before the families might not have any surviving relatives so that we lose the ability to actually test someone at all.

– with AAP

Updated

Ex-marine to challenge extradition in court

A 54-year-old former US marine arrested by Australian authorities on allegations of illegally assisting the Chinese state has been moved to maximum security pending his challenge against his extradition this week, his supporters say.

Daniel Duggan was moved from Silverwater remand centre to Lithgow’s maximum-security prison a week ago.

A spokesperson for Duggan said the facility, mainly housing convicted prisoners, had very few provisions for meetings with his legal team:

A 45-minute meeting in the facility’s single video conference room with his legal team this week, ahead of Monday’s court appearance, was interrupted with technical issues every three minutes, to the point it was impossible to follow the conversation or discuss legal strategy.

No additional time was provided.

The Duggan family is unable to access legal aid and has launched a crowdfunding campaign for his defence.

Duggan will appear before a Sydney magistrate tomorrow but the decision about whether to extradite him to the US will be made by attorney general Mark Dreyfus.

The former marine, through the spokesperson, said the case was “a test of Australian sovereignty but is being fought by a struggling farming family in regional NSW, at great personal and financial expense”.

For more on this story, read Guardian Australia’s previous reporting here:

Updated

Wilkie calls for Assange's release on anniversary of Iraq war

Independent Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie has called the continued detention of Julian Assange “unconscionable” on the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war.

Assange is facing espionage charges in the US and remains in London’s Belmarsh prison, held there since 2019 while fighting extradition proceedings.

At a Hobart rally in support of the detained Australian’s release, independent MP Andrew Wilkie said Assange had revealed war crimes committed by the US in Iraq:

It’s only because of Mr Assange and WikiLeaks that the world knows of some of the shocking war crimes committed by the United States in Iraq, and for the US to be pursuing him the way they are is simply unconscionable.

Before entering parliament, Wilkie was a senior intelligence analyst in the Office of National Assessments. He resigned a week before the war because he believed the Howard government was moving with the US based on false allegations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction:

Twenty years has not diminished the horror of the Iraq war ... nor has 20 years righted the wrong of the staggering dishonesty behind the war.

Regrettably no one in Australia has ever been held to account for this egregious misconduct.

Moreover, the opportunity to learn from it and to reform war powers – in other words to give the parliament responsibility for deciding to go to war – has been ignored.

For more, read the Guardian’s coverage of Assange’s continued detention.

– with AAP

Updated

Weather warnings

A heatwave stretching across Australia has left temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s, with fires burning across New South Wales.

In northern Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned of thunderstorms on Sunday and squalls along the east coast near Cairns.

Thunderstorms are also forecast for NSW but little to no rainfall is expected.

Fire bans area also in place across Western Australia where temperatures are expected to rise.

Down in Tasmania the BoM appears to have taken over the duties of the state’s tourism department as it advertises the state’s blue waters while the rest of the country sweats.

Updated

Farmer dies after becoming trapped during hazard burn

A farmer helping volunteer firefighters conduct a hazard reduction burn has died after becoming trapped by the fire.

The farmer suffered severe burns and was airlifted to Royal North Shore hospital in Sydney but died last night, according to police.

A crime scene was established at the property and examined by specialist forensic officers. Initial inquiries suggest it is not suspicious.

– AAP

Updated

SUVs are more popular than ever in Australia – but there is a downside

UVs are everywhere in Australia. More than 50% of new vehicles sold in the country last year were SUVs, a share that has almost doubled over the past decade. In a recent survey, more than 40% of Australians who owned a car manufactured since 2021 had an SUV.

So why are SUVs getting more popular? There are a number of factors, including better visibility and ease of getting in and out of cars. Regulations in countries like the US may also encourage manufacturers to create more SUVs.

Tony Weber, the CEO of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), points out that larger vehicles are more flexible, able to “do the grocery run, carry the tools and tow the boat on the weekend”.

But the increasing number of larger cars could be problematic, in part due to increased risks to pedestrians and other drivers.

For more on the death of the Aussie ute – and the growing supremacy of the SUV – read the full story by Guardian data journalist Josh Nichols.

Analysts read tea leaves in RBA speech for hint on future rate moves

The minutes from the Reserve Bank’s last board meeting will offer some context for the last cash rate decision and, hopefully for borrowers, further signs the bank is readying for a pause.

The central bank hiked interest rates by another 25 basis points in March, taking the official cash rate to 3.6%.

While the RBA remains committed to mowing down persistently high inflation, in communications after its last cash rate decision, governor Philip Lowe tempered his language and said the bank was getting closer to a pause.

The bank has since been confronted with another hot labour market read – largely unwinding the softness in December and January – and few signs of deteriorating business conditions in NAB’s February business survey.

But signs of financial instability overseas will probably work to offset indicators of strong momentum in the domestic economy.

Westpac has since updated its interest rate predictions for a lower terminal rate, with chief economist Bill Evans writing that he now expects a pause in April and one last 0.25 percentage point hike in May:

Despite the better than anticipated employment report, we expect the risks around financial market developments and the evidence of the soft data since the February board meeting will prompt the RBA to use its “pause option” in April.

ANZ economists have stuck with their earlier prediction of 25bps of tightening at both the April and May board meetings based on the robustness of the February jobs report.

As well as the minutes from the board meeting on Tuesday, a speech by RBA assistant governor, financial markets Dr Christopher Kent will also be of interest.

Kent is due to speak about “long and variable” lags in monetary policy at an event in Sydney tomorrow.

– AAP

Updated

Real estate market picks up – but not as strongly as last year

Australia’s housing market has its second busiest auction week over the year to date across all capital cities – but the number of sales is still lower than what it was at this time last year.

According to CoreLogic’s weekend market summary, clearance rates across all states and territories are down 28.1% than the same time last year, with a success rate of 68.4%.

Melbourne was the busiest capital city, with 1,043 properties auctioned compared with 788 in Sydney. In Brisbane 139 properties went under the hammer, with 125 in Canberra and 122 in Adelaide.

It is expected these numbers will rise again next week, with 2,400 slated for auction across all capital cities – 1,150 of them in Melbourne alone.

Updated

Daniel Andrews says ‘Nazis aren’t welcome’ in Victoria after march outside parliament

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says the human rights of trans people are “not negotiable” and that “Nazis aren’t welcome”.

The comments came after transgender rights protesters clashed with neo-Nazis in Melbourne yesterday after the controversial UK figure Kellie-Jay Keen held an event in the city.

Three people have been arrested in relation to the protests, according to Victoria police.

One was arrested for allegedly putting a female officer in a headlock, according to a statement.

Federal Labor MP Josh Burns called for “tougher laws” after black-clad marchers performed Nazi salutes in front of the Victorian parliament.

On Twitter Andrews said anti-transgender activists were “spreading hate” while Nazis used “evil ideology to scapegoat minorities”:

I wish it didn’t have to be said, but clearly it does: Nazis aren’t welcome. Not on Parliament’s steps. Not anywhere.

Updated

On carbon pricing …

To briefly circle back to Insiders for those who were watching: right at the end of the segment there were some comments made about the effectiveness of carbon pricing – these statements were incorrect.

Carbon pricing, in fact, worked extremely well.

Updated

AFL great Gary Ablett Sr reveals brain damage diagnosis

Geelong great Gary Ablett Sr has become the latest high-profile former AFL footballer to reveal a brain damage diagnosis thanks to head injuries sustained during his playing career.

Ablett, who played 248 games in his 16 years on the field, revealed this morning that his “significant structural and functional brain damage” had been manifesting over the past decade as headaches and head pressure, deterioration of his mental health and severe fatigue.

In an interview with the Herald Sun, Ablett said:

I began getting headaches and pressure in the top of my skull around 2010, initially a few days a week. It then led to depression, anxiety and extreme fatigue. Under the advice of doctors I then had numerous scans to try and find the cause of headaches and skull pressure …

From 2015 onwards, and almost every day, there were signs that things had changed, then about 12 months ago I started getting symptoms that alarmed me to the point where I contacted [Ablett’s former manager] Peter Jess, whom I’m aware has been a concussion advocate for a number of past players.

Jess helped Ablett access a magnetoencephalography scan – a neuroimaging technique that maps the brain and directly measures brain function.

The scan “showed I have significant structural and functional brain damage”, Ablett said. He is now seeing a psychiatrist.

The scans can’t detect chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma, as that can only be diagnosed postmortem, by autopsy.

Ablett said he didn’t want to “bring the game into disrepute” but wanted to be open about his struggles “more for awareness and other players who may be experiencing the same problems”. He estimated that he had been knocked out cold approximately 10 times, but also went on to describe further “dozens” of times he experienced symptoms that indicated a diagnosis of concussion would have been appropriate:

… such as ears ringing and out of it for a few minutes many dozens of times, but because you weren’t knocked completely out you wouldn’t even bother mentioning it.

The AFL has just this week been hit by two class-action lawsuits from former players who sustained concussions during their careers. The same day the papers were lodged for the first case, the AFL released guidelines for the management of concussion in its elite codes and its four-year concussion strategy, including a 10-year, $25m study into the long-term effects of head injury on players.

You can read more about all the concussion-related goings on in AFL this week here:

Updated

Labor wins NT byelection

Labor has declared victory in the byelection for a remote Northern Territory electorate after the former local member’s unexpected death.

The party’s candidate, Manuel Brown, had secured nearly 70% of the two-candidate-preferred vote for the territory seat of Arafura by late on Saturday evening, beating the Country Liberal party’s Leslie Tungatalum.

Northern Territory chief minister Natasha Fyles congratulated Brown on the victory and thanked volunteers and other supporters for their efforts.

And to Manuel – let’s get to work.

Brown has said improving roads, housing and health outcomes for constituents were his biggest priorities.

Both he and Tungutalum have roots in the Tiwi Islands, although Brown now lives in Arnhem Land.

Brown received about two-thirds of first-preference votes, while just under 30% went to the CLP candidate. The remainder went to Federation party candidate Alan Middleton.

The vast electorate, which spans 57,000 sq km, includes remote areas with large Indigenous populations including Arnhem Land, Kakadu and the Tiwi Islands.

The NT Electoral Commission’s mobile polling team used four-wheel-drive vehicles and helicopters to get to remote towns, communities and outstations across the sparsely populated region.

The byelection follows the sudden death of the sitting Labor member, whose name cannot be used for cultural reasons, in December.

– AAP

Updated

Melbourne’s anti-trans rally in photographs

A few photos from the anti-trans rally in Melbourne yesterday where neo-Nazis and members of the far right faced off with counter protests.

Pictured is neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell and his supporters, who are dressed in black.

Neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell backed by black-clad supporters
Neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell at a demonstration in Melbourne. Photograph: James Ross/EPA
Nazi salutes outside the Victorian parliament
Nazi salutes outside the Victorian parliament. Photograph: James Ross/AAP
Counter-protesters demonstrate opposition to anti-trans speakers and members of the far right
Counter-protesters demonstrate opposition to anti-trans speakers and members of the far right. Photograph: James Ross/AAP
A police line separates the two groups
A police line separates the two groups. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

NSW Liberals to rally in Penrith

The Liberals are rallying the party faithful in the western Sydney marginal seat of Penrith with former prime minister John Howard slated to attend, as they make their final push for votes before polling day.

It will be Howard’s second outing in Penrith, a couple of days after campaigning with Stuart Ayres, who holds the seat with a 0.6% margin.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has lent his support to NSW Labor leader Chris Minns and has not been afraid to take shots at the Liberals, calling the party “dysfunctional” and “riven by division”:

Peter Dutton wasn’t even at the campaign launch for Dominic Perrottet, and hasn’t been seen with Perrottet since last October.

He also criticised the kids future fund, the premier’s proposed superannuation-style fund for children, saying it would create a greater divide between rich and poor.

Under a Coalition government, every child aged 10 and under in NSW would have access to a fund with a starting investment of $400 that parents can top up, with the government matching payments up to $400.

The funds could grow for some by up to $49,000 by the time they hit 18. The policy would cost $850m over four years.

The premier hit back, saying Albanese’s criticism was “absolutely wrong” and “out of touch”:

For the prime minister to come out ... and say that he’s against, like NSW Labor, setting up a future fund account for our children shows how out of touch he is with the challenges that families are facing today.

– AAP

Updated

‘After John Howard took Australia to war in Iraq, he was scarcely held to account. Instead, he was re-elected’

Two decades after the American-led “coalition of the willing” invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein, Australia seems to have drawn few lessons from the folly of its participation.

The preservation of the US-Australia alliance, the primary reason for the conservative Howard government’s participation, still largely impels Australia’s foreign and defence policies. If evidence of this was needed exactly 20 years after the invasion, witness this week’s $368bn commitment to the Aukus submarine deal which consequently provokes China into greater potential adversarialism against Australia alongside joined-at-the-hip ally the US.

It is clear that the Howard government largely dodged the politically ignominious legacy the Iraq invasion bequeathed on US leadership and that of its other chief invasion ally, the UK. Indeed, Howard – despite initial deep electoral concerns about the war, and even amid revelations about Australia’s true, largely unstated reasons for taking part and its knowledge of abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison – was resoundingly re-elected the following year.

Australia committed three ships and a 500-strong special forces task group to the invasion, largely on a fallacious pretext that Saddam posed an imminent threat to the west and possessed weapons of mass destruction.

For more on the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, read Paul Daley as he revisits the history.

Updated

SA university partnership to help deliver nuclear subs

South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas has announced a partnership between Flinders, Manchester and Rhode Island universities to help train “hundreds of South Australians beginning to learn the skills required to operate nuclear submarines”.

Malinauskas has been in the UK visiting shipyards and discussing the skills capability needed to build and maintain nuclear submarines at South Australia’s Osbourne shipyard.

Flinders University vice-chancellor Colin Stirling has joined the premier on the tour.

Updated

Keating critique old-fashioned, out of touch and ‘craven’, former diplomat says

Assoc Prof Ian Kemish says Paul Keating’s attack on the Aukus deal between the US, UK and Australia was “unedifying” and has called the former prime minister “out of touch” over his view of diplomacy.

Speaking to the ABC this morning the former diplomat said the former prime minister’s comments, and the backlash against him, has made for a “messy” spectacle:

Look, it’s pretty unedifying. The whole discussion around this, to have a form launching personal attacks on current government leaders and the media in this way, it’s not a great spectacle.

On the other hand, there seems to be a view in some circles to question or to want to debate the Aukus deal is somehow a sign of disloyalty. It’s all been messy.

Kemish said Keating’s comments about Penny Wong’s effort to engage with the Pacific “struck a chord with me” as his critique was a throwback based on traditional “great power” diplomacy.

There’s a couple of themes that I recognise from a long time ago. I recognise as old thinking about Australian foreign policy. At one level this sense that the only important foreign engagement is with the major powers, big power diplomacy stuff – I’ve always thought of that, frankly as a craven view of Australian diplomacy, the sense it’s only important if you’re dealing with one of the big guys. In the end, the neighbourhood is fundamentally important to us. It’s security, it’s prosperity, and its security and prosperity is key to our own prosperity …

The kind of engagement we have seen in very recent times is significantly better in quality because it seeks to understand the perspective of the people in the Pacific.”

Paul Keating addresses the National Press Club by video link
Former prime minister Paul Keating addresses the National Press Club by video link. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Spectre of Maralinga hangs over Aukus nuclear waste for Indigenous communities

Behind all the pomp of the Aukus submarine deal in San Diego, there was a detail that could prove a much bigger obstacle than even the massive USS Missouri moored near the three leaders. Under the agreement, Australia will be responsible for storing high-level nuclear waste from the decommissioned reactors.

And that is no easy feat. The US and UK naval reactors that will power both the Virginia class subs and the future SSN-Aukus boats are fuelled by highly enriched uranium-235.

Once removed and decommissioned, any spent fuel from naval reactors is usually reprocessed to extract usable nuclear fuel for civilian generation and the remaining radioactive waste concentrated. The Australian government has promised not to reprocess spent fuel, which means this is likely be sent offshore.

Overseas, the process typically involves extracting usable fuel such as uranium and plutonium, and then vitrification, in which radioactive waste is concentrated and melted down into a “big glass block” weighing tonnes, according Dr Patrick Burr, a senior lecturer in nuclear engineering at the University of New South Wales:

It’s actually a very small volume but it is extremely radioactive.

After this complicated and hugely expensive process has been completed, there remains one big question – where will this waste be stored?

For answers to this question, read the full report by Sarah Collard and Donna Lu.

Updated

Nuclear waste storage plan doesn’t breach Labor policy, Marles says

Richard Marles says the decision to store the waste generated by the nuclear subs somewhere in Australia is not in breach of ALP party platform.

Look, this is a big commitment that we’ve made. It forms part of being the responsible and nuclear steward that we need to become, not just in terms of disposal of the waste, but the handling of the nuclear material right through the life of it and it is a heavy responsibility to become that steward, but part that have is to be responsible for its ultimate disposal.

It will require a purpose-built facility. As you said, the first reactor will be disposed of in the mid 2050s, so we have time to get this right.

David Speers reads Labor’s party platform to Marles:

“Labor will prohibit the establishment of nuclear power plants and all other stays of the nuclear fuel cycle.” The platform says you remain strongly opposed to the importation and storage of nuclear waste that is sourced from overseas in Australia.

After a pause, Marles says a defence capability is different from a civilian nuclear industry.

I think both of those statements go to different questions that have arisen over the years. We are not talking about establishing a civil nuclear industry, and nor are we talking about opening Australia up as a repository for nuclear waste from other countries. What we are talking about here is being responsible nuclear stewards for the nuclear material that we are using for the specific purpose of naval propulsion and it is important as a nuclear ward that we do that. As I said, we’ve got time to get this right and we will.

And that’s a wrap.

Updated

‘This is less than 10% of the defence spend’

On the $368bn price tag of the submarines, Richard Marles said the government has sought to be transparent with the Australian public about the cost of the project:

Historically governments have done is supply the acquisition cost, like the purchase of a car, without having to talk about what is costs to run that car, but given the nature of this capability and so much of the cost comes in the running of it, what we’ve done is given all of it.

Marles provides a few numbers breaking down the cost over the lifetime of the project:

Having this capability over the course of its life is 0.15% of GDP. Now, that’s against a backdrop of a defence budget which is at 2% of GDP growing to 2.2, so this is less than 10% of the defence spend, and for that, we get the most transformational capability of our defence force, a dramatic increase in our potency, this is easily in the context of defence spends the best value money of 0.15% that we will spend.

Updated

Submarines will be kept under Australia’s control, minister says

Richard Marles insists any submarines in Australia’s fleet will be kept under the control and direction of the Australian government.

He notes that Australian sailors are already serving aboard British and UK vessels as part of a skills-sharing rotation.

He says Australia would not automatically commit these submarines to support the US in any future war, and the decision to enter a conflict will be up to the government of the day:

If there was a point in time in the future where there was a conflict in the world, where there was the prospect of one of these submarines with Australians onboard entering it, that is obviously going to be a matter for the government at the time.

Of course, with the anniversary of the Iraq war this week, history suggests there is a gap between intention and what actually happens at the time.

Updated

Marles says Australia has ‘absolutely not’ made commitment to back US in event of Taiwan conflict

Richard Marles is looking to play down the question of Australian involvement in any invasion of Taiwan by China.

David Speers:

Just on this point – in return for access to these Virginia-class subs, has Australia given the United States any sort of commitment, explicitly, implicitly, that we will be there in the event of a conflict over Taiwan?

Marles:

The answer to that is of course not. Of course not. And nor was one sought. I’ve listened to that conjecture from a number of commentators. It is plain wrong.

Speers:

No quid pro quo here over the access to the Virginia-class subs?

Marles:

Absolutely not. And I couldn’t be more unequivocal than that.

Updated

Fuel import routes must be protected, Marles says

Richard Marles points to Australia’s importation of fuel as a key strategic issue – he notes that in the 1990s Australia had eight oil refineries producing fuel but today there are two:

Most of our liquid fuels, most what we need, we import from Singapore. One trading route right there which goes to the heart of our economy.

For what it’s worth, the majority of Australia’s oil supply is calculated by including all the fuel that is currently in cargo ships on the water and bound for Australia. It could also be addressed by massively investing into renewable energy.

But David Speers is trying to pin Marles on who the government believes is “threatening” Australia’s trade lanes – he’s implying that this is China but he’s looking for Marles to confirm it, but the minister is talking around the issue:

There is an assertion of a sovereignty in respect of the South China Sea which is not consistent with the UN convention of the law of the sea, and international courts have made that point. So we observe that.

We observe the fact that in the year 2000, China had six nuclear-powered submarines, by the end of this decade they will have 21. In the year 2000, they had 57 surface ships. By the end of this decade, they will have 200. This is a very big military build-up.

Speers asks whether this is an arms race – but Marles doesn’t take the bait:

It shapes the strategic landscape in which we live. And now in saying all of that, we want the best relationship with China that we can have.

Updated

‘We are a country which needs to have a submarine capability’

Richard Marles says Australia needs nuclear submarines for the same reason Australia needs submarines:

A cursory glance at our geography, where we are, an island trading nation, located a long way from the places that we export our product to, means that we are really dependent upon those trading routes.

Once you think that we are a country which needs to have a submarine capability, what becomes clear, not so much in 2023, but as we project through the 2030s and into the 2040s is that the only capable long-range submarine that will be able to effectively operate is a nuclear-powered submarines.

And the reason for that is because diesel electric submarines are able to be on target for a time-frame measured in days before they then had to go to the surface, recharge their batteries by using their diesel engines – that is a noisy thing to do, it is called snorting.

Marles says nuclear submarines have the capacity to remain underwater for “months at a time” with the “only limitation is really the food for the crew”.

The question is one forced by Paul Keating’s intervention into the debate this past week – Australia’s leadership now has to lay out the rational for why submarines are needed from first principles.

Updated

Wong among Australia's 'finest foreign ministers', Farrell says

Don Farrell said Paul Keating’s criticism of Penny Wong was “completely unfair” – she was emerging as “one of the finest foreign ministers” he’s witnessed throughout his life.

The Coalition’s defence spokesperson, Andrew Hastie, was also up on Sky News.

Hastie said he would “temper” Farrell’s enthusiasm about the stabilisation of the relationship with China with a dose of realism. He argued that Australia had been a good neighbour in the region but China was pursuing a huge military build-up.

He also said those who claimed Aukus increased the risk of Australia being targeted or attacked were “foolish” because China had already subjected Australia to economic coercion.

The deal would demonstrate that Australia “can stand up for ourselves” and “will make us stronger in the future”.

Updated

Subs and relationship with China are not mutually exclusive policy goals, Farrell says

Don Farrell has described Aukus as a “sensible” arrangement for the strategic circumstances Australia faces in 2023 – but played down the potential impact on the overall project to “stabilise” the relationship with China.

The trade minister told Sky News he was hopeful that the nuclear-powered submarine project would not have an impact on planned trips, including his forthcoming visit to Beijing (date TBC).

He said he had had a “warm and friendly” meeting, via video link, with his Chinese counterpart last month, and this was expected to be continued in person in Beijing:

We haven’t nailed down a particular date. The discussions have been going well at an officials level … the offer is still there to go, I’ve accepted that offer.

Farrell said Australia also would ensure its own national interest was protected. But he argued that Aukus was not in contradiction to the idea of stabilising the political, diplomatic and trade relationship with China:

Everything is pointing in the right direction for a stabilisation of the relationship and I’d be very confident that that would continue.

Here’s a thorough analysis of the ramifications of Australia’s defence announcement:

Updated

American politics a matter for Americans, Farrell says

Trade minister Don Farrell was first up on the morning political programs today. In an interview with Sky News, he steered clear of Donald Trump’s claims that the former US president would be arrested on Tuesday:

No, look, I’ll leave American politics to the Americans and I’ll just be an interested bystander.

Asked what fears, if any, the Australian government about the potential for Trump being re-elected in 2024, Farrell said:

None whatsoever.

Farrell emphasised that US politics were a matter for the American people, but said the Australian government “would look forward to another four years” of the Biden administration if that were the outcome.

Updated

Good news, everyone.

Australia swelters through heatwave

Parts of NSW are forecast to reach the low 40s as several fires continue to burn across the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting Sydney will reach 32C today, while Penrith in the west is tipped to hit 40C and Richmond and Blacktown should reach 39C.

Parts of the lower and upper western regions are also forecast to hit 42C. It comes after NSW sweltered through a hot Saturday, with more than 50 fires breaking out across the state.

A watch and act warning was in place for the south-eastern town of Berridale last night, with residents told to take action to protect themselves and their properties.

A fire at Craigs Road in the southern tablelands scorched more than 3,689 hectares and destroyed property and livestock, while the Sandy Creek fire in the Upper Hunter burned through 26ha.

Victoria is in for a cooler day after temperatures reached the high 30s and low 40s yesterday.

Residents along the Great Ocean Road in the state’s south-west were on high alert for much of the day, with a watch and act message in place for a blaze near Kenneth River.

Several other fires reached advice level before a cool change passed through the state on Saturday evening. Victorian temperatures should hover about the low to mid-20s for the rest of the week.

– AAP

Updated

Good morning

And welcome to another Guardian Australia live blog.

A heatwave extending right across the country is expected to peak today with temperatures in the low 40s across parts of New South Wales. Sydney is expected to reach 32C with parts of western Sydney approaching 42C, while Victoria can expect a cooler day after temperatures hit the high 30s yesterday. Across a large stretch of the rest of the country, temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s are expected.

NSW Liberal premier Dominic Perrottet will hold a rally in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith in an effort to shore up votes in the marginal seat. Former prime minister John Howard is expected to attend the event – six days out from voting day, with the seat now held by Stuart Ayres with a 0.6% margin.

I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be here, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.

With that, let’s get started ...

Updated

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