Summary
Thank you for joining us on the blog today. Here is a wrap:
Back and forth ensued over the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, comparing a pro-Palestinian protest at the Sydney Opera House to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. Dutton defended the comparison today (“I don’t resile from that at all”), while the federal education minister, Jason Clare, slammed it (“if you want to run the country, you can’t run your mouth”). The Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, said “it is never appropriate to compare the Port Arthur tragedy with anything, in any circumstance,” and the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties argued such statements “dangerously conflate unrelated issues, leading to misinformation and unwarranted associations”.
The Australian Medical Association released new analysis showing private health insurers’ management expenses and profits are the “key drivers of premium increases” for customers.
Tasmania’s Liberals formally secured minority support, after independent MP and former Labor leader David O’Byrne provided a written assurance of confidence and supply.
A 36-year old woman was taken to hospital after a reported stabbing at Bondi beach. In another reported stabbing across the state, one teenage boy died and another was hospitalised in Sydney’s west.
New data revealed two-thirds of Tafe teachers are considering leaving the sector due to the ongoing impact of nearly a decade of Coalition cuts to public vocational education and pressure from the fee-free Tafe program.
Save the Children Australia called on the Australian Government to urgently address rising starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, and avert a catastrophic famine in the occupied territory.
And women in a Victorian community rocked by three recent killings demanded an end to male violence in a Ballarat rally.
That is all for today, see you next week.
Updated
Vaping penalties should be kept in ‘civil space’ rather than criminal, police tell NSW inquiry
Assistant commissioner Scott Cook said it was not known how much money organised criminal groups made from vapes while disputing claims that gangs controlled the market.
He suggested penalties around vaping be kept in the “civil space”, such as a licensing scheme under which suppliers could be threatened with cancellations.
The last thing we want to see as police is criminalisation of vaping, particularly for young people – it will bring them into contact with the criminal justice system they will never get out of.
The illicit market around tobacco and nicotine products with import restrictions was “nowhere near the prohibited drugs illicit market”, he added.
Asked if police needed more power to control the sector, the assistant commissioner said: “no, not at all.”
In addition to sufficient search and seizure powers, police had “significantly higher priorities than doing enforcement work for vapes”, he said.
The committee’s deputy chair, Hugh McDermott, suggested those priorities were not for police to decide, adding that children as young as 11 were becoming addicted to illegally sold vapes due to a lack of enforcement.
But Cook said if that was the government’s position, then NSW Health should be resourced to do that properly.
McDermott earlier noted industry representatives declined to appear at the inquiry.
- AAP
Updated
Holding the smoke, students find new way to hide vaping
Attempts to combat vaping could have perverse outcomes as students try to avoid detection and organised criminals eye off a market that only recently became illicit.
An inquiry has been told schools are taking a health-focused approach to getting children to quit while a senior police officer has warned against criminalisation.
Students caught vaping at school were being offered health-based interventions, education department deputy secretary of student wellbeing Martin Graham told a NSW parliamentary committee today.
“There’s lot of vaping going on,” he said.
The direction is not just about the education for why you shouldn’t vape, but also, moving them onto cessation, so helping them to get off the vapes.
Graham said vaping had been added to behavioural policies with principals “who know their kids best” entitled to suspend students.
Schools with a specific need for vaping detectors in toilets can request them, but they provided a false sense of security and could drive more dangerous behaviour.
One that was brought to us by the young people and health professionals was suddenly a trend to try and hold the smoke in your lungs to avoid the detector … that’s just making things way worse.
Enforcement since a crackdown started in January has primarily been handled by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and Border Force and, more locally, NSW Health.
NSW police were mainly interested in retailers with suspected links to organised crime, which assistant commissioner Scott Cook told the inquiry might take an increased foothold in a now-illicit market.
“The vape market, up until recently, was supplied on a legal basis … in other countries where these vapes are coming from, they’re all legal,” he said.
- AAP
(More to come)
One teen dead, another hospitalised, after stabbing in Sydney’s west
A teen has died and another is in serious condition after multiple stabbings near a school in Sydney’s west. One person has been arrested, according to a NSW Police media release.
Emergency services responded to the stabbings on Power Street, Doonside, about 3.40pm today.
Before officers could arrive on scene, two teenage boys presented to Blacktown police station with stab wounds.
They were treated at the scene for serious injuries.
A teenage boy died at the scene, and the other was taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Police have established crime scenes at both locations and are investigating. Inquiries are ongoing.
Updated
Union denounces ACT government’s appointment of robodebt official
The Community and Public Sector Union has called out the ACT government for its decision to appoint an official involved in the robodebt scandal, saying it could have a “detrimental impact” on the union’s dealings with the territory’s administration and could “undermine the confidence of public servants”.
The main public sector union has singled out the appointment of Lisa Carmody as the new deputy director general of the ACT government’s central department as “alarming”.
During royal commissions hearings, Carmody, then the human service department’s acting chief counsel, said she had brief discussions in early 2017 with the Australian Government Solicitor (AGS) about concerns over the scheme’s lawfulness.
Ultimately, the AGS did not end up providing a legal opinion until late March 2019, more than two years later. The AGS said then the scheme was likely unlawful. The royal commission’s final report, which found the scheme was “crude and cruel” and illegal, did not make any adverse findings against Carmody.
In a media release on Friday afternoon, the CPSU’s ACT regional secretary, Maddy Northam, called on the ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr, to reconsider the decision.
The CPSU is concerned that this appointment could have a detrimental impact on the ACT government’s relationship with the union movement and undermine the confidence of public servants when raising concerns with management.
An ACT government spokesperson clarified Barr was not involved in the recruitment process and added the CPSU’s assertions were not supported by the final robodebt report.
A nationwide search was undertaken to recruit for this role, including a full merit based assessment and due diligence process. The Robodebt Royal Commission final report does not support the assertions of the CPSU. When Ms Carmody commences in the role, she will look to actively engage with all key stakeholders.
Updated
Andrew Forrest accuses Facebook of ‘blatantly refusing’ to take action against scam ads
Australian billionaire and philanthropist Andrew Forrest has accused Facebook’s parent company of “blatantly refusing” to take action against scam ads on its platform, as a criminal case he brought against Meta in WA was discontinued.
On Friday, the commonwealth director of public prosecutions filed a discontinuance motion due to insufficient evidence in the criminal case brought by Forrest in the Western Australia district court over scam cryptocurrency ads bearing his likeness on Facebook.
Forrest said it was a tragedy for the innocent victims of the adverts who had lost their life savings.
You can read the full story here:
Updated
Queensland farmer finds jacked jackfruit
A Queensland farmer has found a “pretty impressive” 45kg giant jackfruit.
“I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” Peter Brighton said. It took two people to pick the fruit from a tree on his farm in Feluga, south of Cairns
Read about the jacked jackfruit from Eden Gillespie here:
Updated
Government requests urgent briefing after conflicts of interest revealed in Australian War Memorial’s $550m upgrade
An urgent briefing has been requested by the government after a scathing report into the Australian War Memorial’s $550m upgrade revealed conflicts of interest, contract irregularities and cost blow-outs, AAP reports.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said he was concerned by the revelations:
The minister has requested an urgent briefing by the ANAO (Australian National Audit Office) on its findings and recommendations, and will discuss these with the Australian War Memorial’s management as a priority.
You can read more on what the audit found from Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst here:
Updated
Federal cash to help protect treasured wetlands
The federal government has promised $17m to improve the health of one of Australia’s most important wetland areas.
The region, at the end of the River Murray in South Australia, provides vital habitat for a host of native aquatic and bird species, but is also used by some of the planet’s most impressive travellers.
Dozens of species that migrate from as far away as Siberia and Alaska visit the area each year, to feed and rest alongside native birds including the endangered Australasian bittern and the vulnerable sharp-tailed sandpiper.
The money, for the Coorong, Lower Lakes, Murray Mouth and South-East landscape, will be used to improve shorebird and wetland habitat.
Specifically, there will be new infrastructure on wetland and flood plain flats to increase the area and duration of quality shorebird and wetland habitat, among other things.
The money will underpin Australia’s commitment to international obligations including the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
The federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, said:
Restoring the Murray Mouth, Lower Lakes and Coorong is a critical investment in the health of the whole system.
This new project will ensure the survival of our internationally significant wetlands and the plants and animals who call them home.
- Australian Associated Press
Updated
Thanks to Emily Wind for the day’s blog coverage. Let’s get the rest of the afternoon’s news rolling.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today. The lovely Rafqa Touma will be here to guide you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care, and enjoy your weekend.
Advocacy groups call for ‘programs and funding’ in response to heat map
Advocacy groups have welcomed the release of a heat map from the federal government (see earlier post) but are urging them to address the root cause of extreme heat – climate change.
Emma Bacon, the executive director of Sweltering Cities, said certain communities are feeling the impacts of extreme heat more than others. She pointed to Western Sydney, facing “climate, health, housing and cost of living crises all at once”.
In my experience, the people living in hot homes and hot suburbs across the country know that heatwaves are dangerous and that members of their community are at risk. People aren’t underprepared for extreme heat through lack of knowledge, they’re being prevented from following health advice because they’re anxious about electricity bills so don’t turn on air con, or they’re renters and can’t make simple upgrades to their homes to be more energy efficient.
The map demonstrates that some of the most dangerous areas are home to millions of people. We need to stop burning fossil fuels that contribute to rising temperatures and will make this crisis unmanageable for the public and the government. We cannot properly adapt to run-away global warming.
Bacon hopes the heat map will be a “wake up call” for the government, and said she is “eagerly awaiting” an announcement of how federal, state and territory governments will respond to the map “with programs and funding to help our communities be safe”.
Ballarat community unites against violence on women
Women in a Victorian community rocked by three recent killings are demanding an end to male violence, AAP reports, as a rally is to take place in Ballarat today.
The Ballarat region’s Samantha Murphy, Rebecca Young and Hannah McGuire have allegedly died at the hands of men since the beginning of February.
A rally will begin at Ballarat train station today before gathering at nearby Camp Street, where family members of the victims, community leaders and family violence specialists will address the gathering.
Organiser Sissy Austin, who was herself savagely attacked while on a run in 2023, said the issue was a national crisis:
Us Ballarat women, we’re coming together to stand in solidarity, to feel less alone and to show the country we’re united. We’re here to fight for our rights to live safely in our community for generations to come.
The Ballarat community aren’t going to succumb to the violence that has been perpetrated in our town.
Austin said the three killings in a little over two months had stunned the community and “women are living on eggshells”.
Updated
Australia Post changes ‘big hit’ to regional and remote areas, CDU professor says
Regional and remote communities will be hit harder by Australia Post’s move to deliver letters every second day, rather than every day, an academic says.
Prof Steven Greenland from Charles Darwin University says while the impact may not be significant for major cities, services in regional and remote areas “could be significantly impacted”.
Many of these do not have daily letter deliveries and collections already, and the collective impact of the cuts will create even greater delays, and especially during the high demand periods like Christmas.
Greenland said consumers and businesses need to be better prepared for the change and factor in greater lead times. He suggested people look at alternative online channels, but noted some consumers “including the elderly may find it harder to switch”.
As we reported earlier, the regulation change is effective from Monday, but the actual changes to deliveries will be progressively rolled out until the end of 2025.
Posties will still come past homes every day as part of the changes. Australia Post said in a statement:
The new standards will not change the minimum number of post offices that Australia Post must maintain nationally and in rural, regional and remote areas, or the services available at Australia Post retail outlets.
Updated
Continued from last post:
Save the Children cited an example from more than a decade ago, when famine was declared in the Horn of Africa in 2011. Australia donated $112m to Somalia and neighbouring countries, making it the third-largest donor in the world in absolute terms.
Despite the intervention, more than a quarter of a million people died in Somalia, about half of them children under five. And the Australian government later acknowledged it had acted too slowly.
Save the Children Australia chief executive Mat Tinkler said:
Australia’s response to the famine in Somalia in 2011 serves as an important reminder that when there is political will, this country can step up and save lives. Unfortunately, it also serves as a reminder that once a famine is declared, many children will already be dead.
In Gaza today, there are children already dying due to a lack of food or surviving only by eating animal feed and leaves while just a few kilometres away on the other side of the border, there are hundreds of trucks full of food, unable to deliver life-saving aid due to restrictions imposed by the government of Israel.
The Australian government has not only a moral imperative to act but is also bound by its obligations under international humanitarian law, and the International Court of Justice ruling, to ensure that Palestinians are protected.
The Australian government has committed more than $52m in humanitarian assistance for civilians affected by the conflict in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, with a particular focus on providing essential supplies and support services in Gaza.
Updated
Save the Children Australia urging further aid for Gaza amid rising starvation
Save the Children Australia has called on the Australian Government to urgently address rising starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, and avert a catastrophic famine in the occupied territory.
As we flagged earlier, the child welfare NGO argues Australia should increase its humanitarian support to Gaza and apply greater pressure on the government of Israel to allow sufficient aid to reach those in need.
The agency said:
Israel’s systematic deprivation of aid to Gaza has led to one of the worst hunger crises in the world today, with recent IPC figures warning of imminent famine which may have already unfolded. Unless there is an immediate surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, many more children could starve to death than have been killed by Israel’s relentless bombardment over the past six months.
More to come in a second post.
Albanese to walk Kokoda Track ahead of Anzac Day
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will walk the Kokoda Track ahead of Anzac Day commemorations during a visit to Papua New Guinea, AAP reports.
Albanese will walk the track alongside the Papua New Guinea prime minister, James Marape, before taking part in a dawn service.
The trip, more than 80 years after troops fought along the rugged track to defend against a Japanese invasion, comes as Australia seeks closer ties with its closest neighbour.
Albanese is set to be the first sitting prime minister to walk the famous track.
Kevin Rudd walked the Kokoda Track in 2006 while he was opposition leader as part of an appearance on Seven’s Sunrise program, while former prime minister Scott Morrison also hiked the track in 2009 during his time as a backbench MP.
The visit to Papua New Guinea comes after Albanese became the first Australian leader to address that country’s parliament. Marape also gave a speech to federal parliament in February.
Updated
Queensland opens first publicly funded endometriosis clinic
Queensland opened its first publicly funded endometriosis clinic today, and the premier, Steven Miles, has hit back at an unhappy constituent.
Miles said the first endometriosis and pelvic pain clinic was part of the state’s $1bn women and girls’ health strategy, aimed at improving women’s healthcare.
When an anonymous constituent replied on X, stating “men pay taxes [and] deserve the same benefits and services as women”, Miles responded with this zinger:
Absolutely. Let us know when you get endometriosis and we’ll book your appointment.
Absolutely.
— Steven Miles (@StevenJMiles) April 12, 2024
Let us know when you get endometriosis and we'll book your appointment. https://t.co/5RqoJVTPE8
Updated
The Bureau of Meteorology has shared a national weather forecast for the weekend ahead:
Weekend Weather Update: National weather forecast, Friday 12 April 2024. Video current: 12:00pm AEST 12 April 2024. For the latest forecasts and warnings go to our website: https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh pic.twitter.com/vclIndeoDf
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) April 12, 2024
Two-thirds of Tafe teachers considering leaving sector, survey reveals
Two-thirds of Tafe teachers are considering leaving the sector due to the ongoing impact of nearly a decade of Coalition cuts to public vocational education and pressure from the fee-free Tafe program, a new survey has revealed.
The survey, commissioned by the Australian Education Union (AEU), found full-time workers were clocking an average of around 43 hours per week - 19% higher than contracts and equating to almost a full day of unpaid labor.
Less than one third (32%) of workers said their workload was “manageable most of the time”, and two thirds were considering walking out of the profession altogether.
The AEU is calling on the federal government to match its investment in Tafe students with the Tafe workforce. Its federal president, Correna Haythorpe, welcomed the large investment in Tafe made by the federal government but said “significant concerns” remained among teachers about workload, job security, and the level of support required by students.
Australia’s Tafe workers demonstrate extraordinary dedication and skill, but they are being pushed beyond their limits. After more than a decade of funding cuts by the previous Coalition government, Tafe teachers are carrying the burden.
Updated
Holocaust already part of national history curriculum, Labor MP says in response to Dutton
Labor MP Tanya Plibersek has responded to calls from opposition leader Peter Dutton for teaching of the Holocaust to be mandated, stating that it is already part of the national history curriculum.
In a speech earlier this week, Dutton argued children were being taught “what to think, not how to think” and were “force-fed” what he described as “anti-Israel hate”. He said:
We also need to ensure our students have a better grasp of the horrors of the Holocaust as well as the age-old, enduring and shape-shifting nature of antisemitism.
Responding to this on X, Plibersek said teaching of the Holocaust was already mandatory in New South Wales and Victoria:
Peter Dutton says he would deal with antisemitism by mandating teaching of the holocaust. I agree it’s vital that the Holocaust is taught. It already is mandatory in NSW and Victoria, and part of the national history curriculum.
Peter Dutton says he would deal with antisemitism by mandating teaching of the holocaust. I agree it’s vital that the Holocaust is taught. It already is mandatory in NSW and Victoria, and part of the National History Curriculum.
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) April 12, 2024
Updated
Footy great charged with historic child sex offences
Australian rules football great Carl Ditterich has been charged with historic child sex offences, AAP reports.
The former ruckman, who played 285 games for St Kilda and Melbourne from 1963 to 1980, has been charged with three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency.
The Bayside sexual offences and child abuse investigation team laid the charges against the 78-year-old Moama man following an investigation into alleged historic child sex offences.
The alleged incidents relate to one victim and took place at Heatherton, in Melbourne’s south-east, in 1985, police said in a statement.
The matter was heard in Melbourne magistrates court today and is due back in court in late June.
Ditterich was renowned one of the most reported players in AFL/VFL history and was suspended for 30 matches across his career. He unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate for the Victorian state seat of Swan Hill in 1999.
Updated
Federal, state funding for South Australia’s shorebird and wetland habitat
The federal and South Australian governments have announced $17m to improve shorebird and wetland habitat in the Murray River region.
This includes habitats through South Australia’s Coorong, Lower Lakes, Murray Mouth and south-east landscape, which is home to internationally recognised wetland that supports a diverse range of plants and animals, including the endangered Australasian bittern and the vulnerable sharp-tailed sandpiper.
A statement from the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, the deputy premier, Susan Close, and the Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the federal and state governments would work together to deliver the project. The $17m funding would go towards infrastructure, maintaining food webs and improving breeding habitat.
Close said:
A number of important habitat restoration projects are already planned or well underway, and this new funding will add to the work being undertaken.
It is vital that we help our wetland environments to thrive so they can remain strong into the future for the important wildlife that relies on them.
Hanson-Young said the Greens had spend years working to “protect this area from corporate greed and overextraction”.
This project will be an important step for our precious waterways and ecosystems.
Updated
Dutton’s Port Arthur comparison ‘disrespectful to broader Australian public’: NSWCCL
The New South Wales’ Council for Civil Liberties has denounced opposition leader Peter Dutton’s decision to compare a pro-Palestine protest to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
President Lydia Shell said Dutton’s comments were both insensitive to the victims and survivors of the Port Arthur tragedy, but also “disrespectful to the broader Australian public”.
In a statement, the council argued such statements “lack factual basis” and “dangerously conflate unrelated issues, leading to misinformation and unwarranted associations”.
Shell said in a statement:
The Port Arthur massacre stands as one of Australia’s darkest moments, and any attempt to exploit its memory for political gain or to deflect from critical discussions is deeply concerning…
It is essential to distinguish between legitimate expressions of political dissent, such as protests advocating for a ceasefire in Palestine, and heinous acts of violence like the Port Arthur massacre. Drawing parallels or suggesting connections where none exist not only undermines public confidence in our civil institutions, but also risks inciting division within our communities.
Shell said parliamentarians must “resist the urge to exploit the senseless loss of human life for their own political purposes”.
The leader of the opposition’s disgraceful comments tarnish the position he holds and the party he represents. We urge Mr. Dutton and all political leaders to refrain from furthering divisive narratives and to focus on addressing pressing issues with integrity and respect for democratic values.
Updated
We can’t afford to ‘talk exclusively to those countries we agree with’: NZ foreign minister
New Zealand’s foreign minister says the country is facing the most unstable global environment in decades, and cannot afford to “talk exclusively to those countries we agree with”.
As we reported earlier, Winston Peters met with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, in Washington. The pair released a joint statement and said they would work more closely with like-minded partners to achieve a shared vision, “especially our mutual ally Australia”.
This comes as former prime minister Scott Morrison has urged New Zealand to consider abandoning its anti-nuclear stance of the past 40 years as the nation considers membership of pillar 2 of the Aukus pact (read more here).
Peters said in a statement:
We cannot afford to sit back in splendid isolation in the South Pacific, pontificate smugly, and talk exclusively to those countries we agree with.
It is critical that we show up, listen to all perspectives, and enhance partnerships with our traditional friends, so that we can adapt to the complex global environment.
- with Reuters
Updated
CDU vice-chancellor says he is ‘pleased’ academics participating in Middle Arm inquiry
Charles Darwin University’s vice-chancellor, Scott Bowman, has said in retrospect it was “unnecessary” to suggest a federal inquiry not publish submissions by three of its staff who criticised the Middle Arm development in Darwin.
You can read the full story on this from my colleague Lisa Cox:
In a statement, Bowman said:
Regarding the two submissions in question, I felt the criticisms of the process were unfair and could not see the value in these matters of process being published.
In retrospect, this was unnecessary, and I am pleased these academics are participating in the Inquiry.
The chancellor, Paul Henderson, was aware that CDU was making a submission to the enquiry. He had no input into the content or visibility over CDU’s submission.
Updated
Let’s just recap the main points from that Northern Territory press conference, regarding the Alice Springs youth curfew:
The curfew is scheduled to end at 6am next Tuesday.
Chief minister Eva Lawler said the Alice Springs community would continue to see a “high-visibility police presence” even once the youth curfew ends.
This will include 25 additional police officers stationed at Alice Springs until the end of June. These will come from other policing units across the Northern Territory.
Support service Territory Families will have additional resources on the ground, with additional staff from 10pm to 6am every night.
A safety hub will be established in the mall.
Lawler said she would be “more than happy” to call another youth curfew in the future if needed.
Updated
'I'm more than happy ... to do it again': NT chief minister on youth curfews
Asked what measure is used to determine whether there will be another curfew enforced in the future, NT chief minister Eva Lawler says:
Well, I think what we saw on Tuesday two weeks ago was abhorrent behaviour, young people that seemed to be out of control. The fear that I could feel, the conversations that I could hear when I came to Alice Springs the next day …
I will continue to work with the police commissioner, with the agency heads, and in the future, those decisions will be able to be made. We tried a curfew. It was high risk to try a curfew, it wasn’t something we knew whether it would work or not. But there was a reluctance in the past to have a curfew. We’ve seen it be successful in Alice Springs so of course, if we’ve got that string to our bow, I’m more than happy as chief minister to do it again.
Updated
NY chief minister: ‘high-visibility police presence’ will continue in Alice Springs
NT chief minister Eva Lawler is outlining actions that will come after the Alice Springs youth curfew ends next Tuesday, including more police presence and additional resources for Territory Families:
There will continue to be a high-visibility police presence in Alice Springs. There will continue to be … officers at every bottle shop in Alice Springs. There will be 25 additional police officers stationed in Alice Springs until the end of June … We know the additional officers in Alice Springs have made a difference.
Territory Families have also had additional resources on the ground. They had the co-responders, but additional staff on the ground from 10:00pm to 6:00am every night in Alice Springs, and that will continue as well. We’re going to establish a community safety hub in the mall. That will provide a visible presence of people such as traditional owners, but also police auxiliaries, Territory Families staff, engagement officers, we’ll have people in the mall providing that support to the community as well.
Updated
NT chief minister: ‘How do we get the same effect of a curfew without a curfew?’
Northern Territory chief minister Eva Lawler is speaking to the media, with the Alice Springs youth curfew set to end at 6am next Tuesday. She says:
We know the success of the curfew. The people of Alice Springs have been telling me over and over how positive the curfew has been. We have been working to come up with how do we get the same effect of a curfew, without a curfew?
More to come …
Updated
Australians consuming less of every major food group, with the biggest decrease in fruit and vegetables
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has taken a look at Australian eating habits, revealing we have been consuming less of every major food group.
Vegetables had the largest drop (14 grams per person per day), followed by fruit (down 12 grams), milk products (down 11 grams), and non-alcoholic beverages (down 9 grams).
Australians bought around 3.9% less food in 2022-23 than in the previous year – that is a a drop of 63 grams, or 337kJ, a day. Are we all on a diet, or is it just the cost of living crisis?
Paul Atyeo, ABS health statistics spokesperson, says it is part of a longer-term trend:
Many of the foods that dropped during 2022-23 are part of longer-term trends. We’re consuming between 5 and 8 per cent less cow’s milk, bread and fruit juice per person compared to 2018-19.
Australians are still having more of certain foods than we did five years ago. Notable are potato chips (up 16%), chocolate (up 10%), and cereals and convenience meals – including pizza, pasta dishes, wraps, pasta salad, sushi – (up 9%).
Updated
Federal government releases national heat index map
The federal government has released a national heat index map to help identify risks to residents during heatwaves.
A statement from assistant climate change minister Jenny McAllister said extreme heat leads to “more deaths and hospital admissions annually than any other hazard in Australia”.
The map was developed as part of the first national climate risk assessment, and uses community-level data – such as housing, access to transport and vegetation factors – to create a risk score.
McAllister said the index provides better understanding of climate risks at a granular level and will assist locally led climate adaptation.
The heat map was developed by the Australian Climate Service, a partnership between the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Geoscience Australia.
You can view the map and toolkit online.
Woman left injured after stabbing at Bondi beach
A woman has been taken to hospital after a reported stabbing at Bondi beach.
According to NSW Police, emergency services were called to the popular beach just before 11am after reports of a stabbing.
Paramedics treated a 36-year-old woman for a head injury before she was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
A crime scene has been established and an investigation has commenced. Anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Updated
Charles Darwin University must stop ‘attacks on academic freedom’, NTEU says
The National Tertiary Education Union is urging Charles Darwin University’s vice-chancellor to “drop his attack on academic freedom”.
As my colleague Lisa Cox reported yesterday, Charles Darwin University asked a federal inquiry not to publish submissions by three of its staff after the academics criticised the university’s support for the Middle Arm gas and industrial development on Darwin Harbour.
You can read the full story below:
NTEU Northern Territory secretary Dr Rajeev Sharma said the vice-chancellor’s request was highly concerning:
Trying to gag academics is an egregious attack on academic freedom and free speech … Academics have a right to respond to CDU’s submission which supported this project despite no consultation with the university community.
Academic freedom is a cornerstone of all universities. The vice-chancellor’s request for censorship should alarm all staff and students.
Thankfully senators rejected the request …
Updated
Scott Morrison urges New Zealand to abandon anti-nuclear stance
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has suggested New Zealand consider abandoning its anti-nuclear stance of the past 40 years, AAP reports.
New Zealand is considering membership of pillar 2 of the Aukus pact – along with Japan, Canada and South Korea – which would develop and share advanced military technology.
As we flagged earlier, NZ foreign minister Winston Peters and US secretary of state Antony Blinken issued a joint statement noting there were “powerful reasons” for New Zealand to “engage practically” with Aukus.
But New Zealand’s proud and bipartisan anti-nuclear stance – which extends to banning nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships in Kiwi waters – will put it at odds with its only formal defence ally, Australia, by next decade.
In an interview with Stuff’s Tova podcast, Morrison said he would welcome a debate in New Zealand to be more accepting of nuclear technology:
These things are always worth looking at. I appreciate that it’s a very sensitive issue in New Zealand and it’s got quite a history.
In Australia, under the new leader of the Liberal party, Peter Dutton, they have engaged in a discussion about a civil nuclear industry in Australia [and] it’s progressing in a very mature way … I [have] no reason to believe why New Zealand couldn’t equally consider doing that.
Morrison said a debate would have to be “guided by the national interest”, with bipartisanship necessary given the long-term nature of the commitment. He also said whether or not New Zealand signed up to Aukus pillar 2, the country could “be involved in a practical capacity”.
Updated
Tasmanian premier decries Dutton's Port Arthur protest comparison
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff has criticised opposition leader Peter Dutton’s comments comparing a pro-Palestine protest to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, AAP reports.
Rockliff, a Liberal premier, said such a comparison should not have been made to the massacre. He told ABC Radio:
It is never appropriate to compare the Port Arthur tragedy with anything, in any circumstance. This is still raw for many Tasmanians and will be forever raw with those who are directly affected.
It’s up to Mr Dutton in terms of clarifying what he has said.
My view is we need to be very careful and never compare the Port Arthur tragedy to anything but the absolutely tragedy that it was.
Updated
Chris Uhlmann joins Sky News as analyst and contributor
Former ABC and Nine political editor Chris Uhlmann has joined Sky News Australia as an analyst and regular contributor.
He will appear on Peta Credlin’s program on Tuesdays starting next week, Sky announced today.
The journalist will also appear during the day on Sky’s NewsDay program with Kieran Gilbert to analyse political news.
Uhlmann said:
I have watched the network since its inception and have always admired its commitment to journalism through straight-shooting broadcasters like Kieran Gilbert and Laura Jayes.
In 2010 I helped establish ABC News 24 and had a brutal reality check on just how hard it is trying to keep pace with Sky.
Origin Energy adds wind power, batteries for coal exit
Origin Energy will buy one of the most advanced wind and energy storage projects in New South Wales to help plug the gap left by the planned closure of the country’s largest coal-fired power station, AAP reports.
The electricity and gas company has announced an agreement with Virya Energy to acquire its Yanco Delta Wind Farm, one of the largest in the state.
Capable of powering more than 750,000 households, the project is forecast to avoid up to 4.5m tonnes of emissions a year by displacing coal generation.
Origin CEO Frank Calabria said Yanco Delta was a large-scale, advanced wind development project next to existing transmission infrastructure, with key planning and regulatory approvals already secured:
The acquisition of Yanco Delta represents a major step forward in our journey to transition Origin’s portfolio to cleaner energy.
The purchase price consists of an up-front payment of $125m and an additional payment of up to $175m conditional on the project achieving development milestones.
'Bustling on a Wednesday, ghost town by Friday': office attendance at highest level since pandemic
Australians are returning to the office at the highest levels since the pandemic, according to new data.
Data from XY Sense shows office utilisation was up 7% in Australia this quarter, averaging at 40% – the highest since the early days of the pandemic.
Data from XY Sense shows that office attendance rates are at their highest in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic.
— Emily Wind (@emilywindwrites) April 12, 2024
Read more via the @GuardianAus liveblog.
📷: XY Sense pic.twitter.com/jRlCg7bPvf
In particular, people are returning to the office more frequently midweek. Office utilisation was up on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays by around 20% compared with the third quarter of 2023.
The data from XY Sense is a preview of its quarterly Workplace Utilization Index report, set to be released later this month. Co-founder and CEO Alex Birch said:
The data clearly shows office attendance is now at its highest levels since the beginning of the pandemic.
Birch said attendance spikes midweek are creating challenges for companies whose “office spaces are bustling on a Wednesday and ghost towns by Friday”.
Updated
Changes to Australia Post letter delivery: timeframe explained
Circling back to some earlier news that Australia Post will move to delivering letters every second day, instead of every day.
Australia Post has clarified the rollout of this change for us. A spokesperson said the regulation change is effective from Monday, but the actual changes to deliveries will be progressively rolled out until the end of 2025.
CEO Paul Graham said the previous regulations requiring Australia Post to deliver letters every day, even when there were no letters to deliver, had been causing “significant financial losses”.
As AAP reported earlier, posties will continue to deliver daily under the changes but their deliveries will favour parcels.
Updated
Tasmania's Liberals formally secure minority support
Tasmania’s Liberals can govern in minority after receiving the final required offer of support from an independent MP, AAP reports.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s party won 14 of 35 lower-house seats at the 23 March election, four short of the number required to govern in its own right.
Three first-term Jacqui Lambie Network MPs earlier this week inked a deal to provide votes of confidence and supply in parliament in return for several measures.
Rockliff confirmed independent and former Labor leader David O’Byrne had provided a written assurance of confidence and supply.
He told ABC radio a more formal agreement was still being discussed but at this stage he had not made any commitments in return for O’Byrne’s support:
We can now move forward ... and have a parliament that is workable, that listens to everyone’s ideas [and] provides that certainty and stability that Tasmanians want.
Updated
Compulsory income management in NT ‘ineffective in reducing harm’, study finds
A study led by Charles Darwin University (CDU) has found that compulsory income management (CIM) in the Northern Territory is perceived as ineffective in reducing harm.
The study interviewed 26 people who are experts in social welfare programs, who provide support to welfare recipients or have an in-depth understanding of CIM in the lives of welfare recipients.
CIM was established in the NT in 2007 and restricts a portion of someone’s income support payment that cannot be used to gamble, purchase alcohol and other prohibited products.
Lead author Dr Steven Roche said the study concluded CIM was considered a punitive approach to reducing harm and was incompatible with the needs of welfare recipients:
The findings detail CIM’s negligible impact on behaviour change around social harms and suggest that CIM can exacerbate issues such as family violence, where CIM is weaponised by men who use violence in situations of family violence.
According to Roche, study participants said welfare recipients found ways to bypass CIM to purchase prohibited items, that CIM doesn’t prevent or reduce family violence, and it doesn’t address the underlying issues of harm from alcohol and other drugs.
A policy reform agenda involving genuine community consultation is desperately needed to better understand the complexities of CIM in the NT that holds principles of community-based policy development at its heart.
AMA says private health insurers’ management expenses and profits are ‘key drivers of premium increases’
The Australian Medical Association has released new analysis showing skyrocketing management expenses for private health insurers, and said patients are being hit with rising bills as a result.
The analysis shows management expenses for private health insurers rose 32% over the last four years to June 2023 – an increase of $716m.
While patients pay more for their cover, the AMA data shows health insurers have recorded a 50.2% increase in profits over the same four-year period.
By contrast, the amount insurers paid out in medical services and hospital treatment benefits increased by just 3.6% and 8.1% respectively.
AMA president Professor Stephen Robson said:
When patients pay their insurance premiums, they expect that money is going mostly towards the costs of benefits for treatment and hospital stays, but what this graph shows is that management expenses and insurance profits are key drivers of premium increases.
Private health is a major part of Australia’s world-leading health system, and we understand the need for insurers to be profitable, but these numbers show something has gone very wrong and that significant reform is needed.
The AMA is urging the federal government to mandate private health insurers return a minimum 90%, on average, of premium dollars paid each year back to the consumer in the form of rebates and benefits.
Updated
Young Labor Left opposes government's deportation bill
Following on from Labor for Refugees’ concerns about the government’s deportation bill, Young Labor Left NSW has now also made a submission to the Senate inquiry bucketing the bill.
It said:
Young Labor Left NSW expresses grave concerns over the proposed amendments to the Migration Act and opposes its passage into law. These measures would only serve to further criminalise refugees and asylum seekers within this country and see these people in indefinite detention and/or at the whims of the persecution that they sought to flee from ...
The youth of this party refuse to co-sign on this government’s attempt to ram through sweeping powers to punish potentially hundreds of refugees and non-citizens.
The submission notes that it is not a “reasonable excuse” to the new offence of failing to cooperate in deportation that a person “has a genuine fear of suffering persecution or significant harm”. This amounts to “an intentional and concerted effort to target asylum seekers and threaten them with imprisonment if they do not comply with removal even if they have well-founded concerns for the lives of themselves and their families”, it said.
It said in the case of ASF17 – the man challenging detention in the high court – “this amendment will extend immigration detention indefinitely”, which it said was “inhumane”.
The submission said the bill is a “direct breach of the ALP national platform”, citing the mandatory minimum of one year in prison.
It concluded:
The bill represents a gross, miscalculated and cruel attempt to fix an issue within the refugee system that will only exacerbate said issue. It cannot be, in good conscience, allowed to pass into law.
And to think in Anthony Albanese and Andrew Giles there is a Labor left prime minister and immigration minister, so this heat comes from their own faction.
Updated
Students Against Placement Poverty to protest outside Sydney parliament offices
Students and workers are gathering outside Sydney’s parliament offices this afternoon demanding the federal government front the bill to end placement poverty.
Grassroots group Students Against Placement Poverty has lobbied for years that mandatory unpaid placements, usually spanning hundreds of hours, should be compensated.
Earlier this year, the Universities Accord final report backed their recommendations, suggesting students completing placements in care courses like nursing and teaching should receive a commonwealth stipend.
Australian Services Union (ASU) NSW and ACT secretary Angus McFarland said students who were willing to join essential workforces were struggling to make ends meet and dropping out entirely.
Social work student Isaac Wattenberg said the cost of living was “sky-high”.
It’s unaffordable and unsustainable for my peers and I to take months off paid work to complete mandatory unpaid placements. Students will no longer accept being exploited.
Updated
Cook byelection, triggered by resignation of Scott Morrison, to be held tomorrow
The Australian electoral commission has reminded voters in the seat of Cook to vote in tomorrow’s byelection.
This comes after the AEC yesterday expressed concern about low voter turnout.
At the close of business yesterday, around 22,370 people had voted early and 11,513 had applied for a postal vote.
There will be 39 voting centres open across the electorate tomorrow from 8am to 6pm, the AEC said in a statement.
Appealing to voters, it reminded people that voting is compulsory for all 111,968 people on the electoral roll.
The Cook byelection was triggered by the resignation of former prime minister Scott Morrison.
Updated
Australia Post says new letter delivery model to be rolled out by end of 2025
Just circling back to some earlier news via AAP, that letters will be delivered every second day instead of every day for 98% of locations across Australia from Monday (see earlier post).
Australian Post said the new delivery model will be rolled out nationally by the end of 2025, with posties delivering priority mail, express letters and parcels every day, and standard letters and unaddressed mail every second day.
CEO Paul Graham said:
The regulations governing Australia Post had previously required us to focus on everyday letter delivery, even when there were no letters to deliver.
This has been contributing to significant financial losses for Australia Post.
This is an important first step for Australia Post to address those financial losses by focusing its services on the growing parcel delivery business.
Updated
Save the Children Australia urges more humanitarian funding
The CEO of Save the Children Australia says support from the federal government for humanitarian emergencies is “too low overall”.
Speaking on ABC News Breakfast just earlier, Mat Tinkler said the Australian government had contributed around $42m to Gaza, which is a “significant contribution”. But he argued more funding is needed as the threat of famine grows:
The amount of funding on the table is not enough and the access to humanitarian responders is prohibited as well …
We’re talking about Gaza now, but next week will be the one-year anniversary of the conflict in Sudan. There’s 25 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. That’s the population of Australia who needs humanitarian support.
We’re also saying that we have to lift the funding for humanitarian events generally as a country. We like to think we punch above our weight in international affairs as Australians. We’re not doing that right now. The funding available from the Australian government for humanitarian emergencies is too low overall. That’s prohibiting us doing the kind of scaled response we need to be able to do. There are plenty of places around the world that could use our support.
Updated
Three teenagers arrested over machete home invasion
Three teenagers have been arrested over a home invasion that left two people in hospital, AAP reports.
Officers have been told five people armed with machetes forced their way into a home in St Albans in Melbourne’s west overnight.
They demanded cash from a man and a woman inside the home, ransacked the property and stole money before running away, police allege.
The pair were injured and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A man, 18, and two boys, aged 15 and 17, have been arrested and are assisting police.
The investigation is ongoing and police are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers.
United States and New Zealand say they will work with ‘our mutual ally Australia’ towards shared vision
The US and New Zealand have said they will work more closely with like-minded partners to achieve their shared vision, “especially our mutual ally Australia”.
The two nations released a joint statement – which contains a reference to Aukus – after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the NZ foreign affairs minister, Winston Peters, met in Washington.
The statement reads:
To advance this shared vision, we commit today to working even more closely together not only with each other, but also with our like-minded regional partners, especially our mutual ally Australia. We see great potential for collaboration in frameworks and architectures that reflect our shared vision.
We share the view that arrangements such as the Quad, AUKUS, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity contribute to peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and see powerful reasons for New Zealand engaging practically with them, as and when all parties deem it appropriate.
Updated
‘If you want to run the country, you can’t run your mouth’: Jason Clare on opposition leader
The federal education minister, Jason Clare, has slammed Peter Dutton’s comparison between the Port Arthur massacre and a pro-Palestine protest.
Speaking on Sunrise, Clare said: “If you want to run the country, you can’t run your mouth.”
Last week, Peter Dutton took the side of another country that killed an Australian citizen. This week, he’s using the murder in cold blood of 35 Australians to try to make a political point. This bloke is all aggro and no judgment …
You have other Liberals like Bridget Archer, the Tasmanian MP [who is] respected on all sides of the parliament, who has condemned Peter Dutton’s words here and called on him to apologise.
If there were more Liberals in the Liberal party like Bridget Archer, then Peter Dutton would be gone today.
Clare said it was “extraordinary” for Dutton to blame a rise in antisemitism on the Labor party and police.
Yesterday, Archer labelled Dutton’s comments “incredibly disrespectful” and “wholly inappropriate”. You can read her full response to his speech below:
Updated
Dutton’s Port Arthur comparison ‘a mistake’, Bill Shorten says
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, was also on the Today show and said while it was important to call out antisemitism, the comparison Peter Dutton has made to Port Arthur was wrong:
I do agree that some Jewish people do feel unsafe in this country for the first time, [and] it needs to be called out, but I think the one thing that Mr Dutton has made a mistake about … is conflating it with Port Arthur.
They’re two separate issues. Port Arthur was a shocking, murderous, evil act in Australia.
[The opposition leader] should work with the prime minister to call out inflammatory language here rather than throw kero on the bonfire of hate.
– from AAP
Updated
Peter Dutton defends protest comparison to Port Arthur: 'I don't resile from that at all'
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has defended his comments comparing a pro-Palestinian protest at the Sydney Opera House to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, AAP reports.
Speaking on the Today show, Dutton stood by his remark and said the comparison was a commentary on the prime minister’s leadership:
The point I was making – which is absolutely a legitimate one – is that I thought this was a time for the prime minister to show leadership and to step up. Instead, we’ve had crickets.
You’ve got a contrast, I think, with John Howard, who stood up at a point of national importance for our country, demonstrated leadership and changed the course of history for the better.
While acknowledging criticism about his reference to Australia’s worst mass shooting, Dutton doubled down. He argued Anthony Albanese had failed to act to reduce antisemitism in the community in the wake of the Gaza conflict:
That’s the parallel that I’m making – to the absolute absence of leadership from the prime minister at the moment, which has given rise to those in the Jewish community talking about feeling unsafe in our country.
I don’t resile from that at all.
Updated
Australia Post daily letter delivery officially cut
Australia Post will take longer to deliver letters under new performance standards agreed with the federal government recognising its growing role in parcels, AAP reports.
From Monday, letters will be delivered every second day instead of every day for 98% of locations across Australia.
At the same time, Australia Post will have an extra day to deliver standard letters.
For example, a letter posted within a state should be delivered in four days, and no more than five days. Between states, letter delivery should take between six and eight days.
The government-owned corporation will also be able to change how it manages priority mail, allowing it to deliver services “at a more commercial rate”.
The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, and the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, reassured Australians that the minimum number of post offices across the nation would not change. Posties will continue to deliver daily, although their deliveries will favour parcels.
Rowland said the changes “reflect the way Australians now interact with Australia Post” and will “help improve the company’s financial sustainability”.
Updated
Police conducting 'targeted search' in Ballarat area as part of Samantha Murphy investigation
Victorian police say they are undertaking a “targeted search in the Ballarat area today” as part of the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of Samantha Murphy.
Police have said in a statement:
Detectives from the Missing Persons Squad as well as a range of specialist resources from across Victoria Police are involved in the search.
Over the past two months, police have also regularly undertaken a range of enquiries and small-scale searches as part of the current investigation.
We are not in a position to supply further specific details of today’s operational activity at this time.
Updated
James Paterson: PM has drawn ‘false moral equivalence’ between Islamophobia and antisemitism
Speaking on ABC RN, James Paterson said data from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry showed a 700% to 800% increase in antisemitic incidents following 7 October.
He claimed that Anthony Albanese has “made a false moral equivalence” between Islamophobia and antisemitism:
They’re both equally morally repugnant, that’s clear, but one of them is much more prevalent.
It should be noted that data shows that both Islamophobia and antisemitism have been on the rise since the 7 October attack last year:
Q: Then why not talk about antisemitism on its own merits rather than comparing it to a mass shooting from a different time and context?
Paterson responded:
Or, to take a different approach, why not talk about antisemitism on its own merits without always comparing it to Islamophobia, when we know that it’s a far more prevalent problem in our community?
Paterson is asked to acknowledge Islamophobia has been longstanding in some parts of Australia:
Yes absolutely, it is a longstanding problem in Australia and it has increased since 7 October, but just nowhere near as much as antisemitism has [been].
Updated
Shadow home affairs minister backs Dutton’s comparison between Port Arthur and 9 October protest
The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, has also backed comments from Peter Dutton, after he drew comparisons between the Port Arthur massacre and a pro-Palestine protest on 9 October.
Paterson told ABC RN Dutton’s speech distinguished the two by stating there were no deaths at the protest, but it was “comparable on its social impact on Australia”.
He argued Anthony Albanese had failed to unite the country “in response to a crisis of antisemitism” in the way John Howard once united people for action against gun violence.
Asked if he could understand the backlash, particularly from families affected by the Port Arthur massacre who had found the comparison offensive, Paterson said he would “encourage people to read the speech”.
He was also asked to respond to comments from his Liberal colleague Bridget Archer, who labelled Dutton’s comments “incredibly disrespectful” and “wholly inappropriate”.
Paterson said: “Well that’s Bridget’s view, it’s not one that I share.”
I think Peter was expressing a very well-founded concern which is widely held in the community – particularly in the Jewish community – that we haven’t done enough to respond to this crisis of antisemitism.
Updated
Angus Taylor defends Dutton’s comparison between Port Arthur and pro-Palestine protest
Liberal MP Angus Taylor has defended the opposition leader Peter Dutton’s decision to compare a pro-Palestine protest on 9 October to the Port Arthur massacre, to make a point about the government’s need to seize important matters.
Speaking on ABC RN earlier this morning, Taylor labelled Dutton’s speech as a “clarion call” to “stand up against the rising tide of antisemitism in the country”.
Which is something that [the] prime minister has failed to do.
Taylor said Dutton’s argument was that the former prime minister John Howard “showed the moral leadership that was needed” following the Port Arthur massacre but Anthony Albanese had “been weak”.
So the call here is for moral leadership, and I don’t think we have seen that from Anthony Albanese.
Updated
NSW government expands policy to rezone land around train stations
The New South Wales government’s policy to increase density around train stations to address the housing crisis will expand.
The planning minister, Paul Scully, has announced that a further six stations have been added to the Transport Oriented Development scheme after consultation with councils.
Belmore, Lakemba, Punchbowl, Cardiff, Cockle Creek and Woy Woy will now be included alongside the 31 stations announced last year. Scully said:
I applaud the councils that have worked collaboratively with my department which has resulted in a Tod policy that is tailored to each location and community.
I encourage others to sit down and help us address the housing crisis by working together to find well located housing across the State for young people, essential workers and families who desperately need to access the housing market.
Read more:
Updated
As we flagged just earlier, Victorian police are expected to give an update on the ongoing search for Samantha Murphy later this morning.
In the meantime, here is the latest information on the ongoing search from yesterday:
Australia updates travel advice for Israel amid concerns of military action from Iran
Australia has updated its travel advice for Israel, with the foreign minister, Penny Wong, stating Australia is “deeply concerned” by indications Iran is preparing military action against Israel.
In a post to X, Wong said she had spoken with Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian overnight and urged Iran to “use its influence in the region to promote stability, not contribute to escalation”.
I also called on Iran to push Hamas to agree to an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and release hostages.
Australia will continue working with partners who have influence in the region to stop the conflict from spreading. Further conflict will only add to the devastation in the Middle East.
Australia’s travel advice for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories says people should reconsider their need to travel, and warns there is “an increased threat of military and terrorist attacks against Israel and Israeli interests across the region”.
The security situation could deteriorate quickly, with little or no notice.
This may also result in airspace closures, flight cancellations and flight diversions, and other travel disruptions. Airports may pause operations due to heightened security concerns. This may cause flight delays or cancellations.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning, and welcome back to the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage on this Friday.
Victoria police have said the search for missing Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy “is resuming”. Yesterday police launched a new bid to find her body, with officers searching the Enfield state park after “intelligence derived from a number of sources” had led them to the new search area.
Police are expected to provide more information later this morning, which we’ll bring you here on the blog.
Meanwhile, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said Australia is “deeply concerned” about indications Iran is preparing military action against Israel. She spoke to Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, last night and urged the nation to “use its influence in the region to promote stability, not contribute to escalation”.
Australia subsequently updated its travel advice for Israel, with Smart Traveller stating:
There’s an increased threat of military and terrorist attacks against Israel and Israeli interests across the region. The security situation could deteriorate quickly, with little or no notice.
See something that needs attention on the blog? You can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s get started.
