What we learned today, Thursday 9 April
We’re going to close the blog now, thanks for joining us.
Here are today’s top headlines:
Australia says Lebanon must be included in the Middle East ceasefire and has led a group of other countries in expressing deep concern about “the worsening humanitarian situation and displacement crisis” as Israel escalates its bombing campaign on Beirut and the country’s south.
A man is fighting for his life after a woman allegedly attacked him with a hammer while he lay in his bed at a major Sydney hospital.
Bruce Lehrmann has lost his last legal avenue to challenge his failed defamation case against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson after Australia’s top court dismissed his case.
A witness to the police shooting of a First Nations man says armed tactical police said nothing to the man immediately before opening fire, contradicting evidence from officers that they shouted at him to “drop the knife”, a court has heard.
Kyle Sandilands suffered humiliation and loss of reputation when Kiis FM sacked him from his top-rating radio show for serious misconduct, according to documents filed in the federal court.
The Liberal MP, Andrew Hastie, says Ben Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence but “none of us are above the law” in his first public comments since Australia’s most decorated living soldier was charged with war crimes.
See you tomorrow morning for another day of breaking news.
Updated
Some Ben Roberts-Smith allegations were heard in his defamation trial. How would a criminal case be different?
While the long-running defamation case involving Ben Roberts-Smith was described by some as an unofficial war crimes trial, the Victoria Cross recipient could now face the real thing.
Roberts-Smith has been charged with five counts of the war crime of murder and will remain in jail after his legal representatives declined to apply for bail on Wednesday.
In June 2023, Roberts-Smith lost a defamation case he brought against the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times over reports from 2018 that alleged he was involved in the murder of unarmed civilians while serving in Afghanistan.
He denied all wrongdoing relating to the allegations which were the subject of the civil case. While it seems likely he will defend the criminal case, he may not be required to enter a plea in relation to the criminal charges for months.
Read the full explainer here:
Households stock up on tomatoes, beans and canned fruit
Food company SPC Global has recorded a surge in demand for canned tomatoes, baked beans and packaged fruit as households stockpile long-life pantry staples in response to the Middle East conflict.
The company said in a trading update today that it was securing “additional materials and volume” to ensure sufficient supply of products.
It said: “Weeks four and five of the conflict evidenced the potential increase in demand of certain products, with sales of tomatoes, baked beans and packaged fruit increasing between 12-20% across major retailers.”
SPC said it was anticipating increased household stockpiling as a result of the conflict.
The Iran war has sparked huge volatility in oil prices, and fueled expectations that food prices will rise as farming and transport costs rise.
Updated
Ben Roberts-Smith entitled to presumption of innocence but ‘none of us are above the law’, Andrew Hastie says
The Liberal MP, Andrew Hastie, says Ben Roberts-Smith is entitled to the presumption of innocence but “none of us are above the law” in his first public comments since Australia’s most decorated living soldier was charged with war crimes.
Hastie served alongside Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan and was among the 21 Special Air Service (SAS) who gave evidence in the defamation case he brought against the Nine newspapers.
Read more here:
Kyle Sandilands claims he ‘suffered humiliation’ after he was sacked by Kiis FM over on-air spat with Jackie O
Kyle Sandilands suffered humiliation and a loss of reputation when Kiis FM sacked him from his top-rating radio show for serious misconduct, according to documents filed in the federal court.
Sandilands and his co-host, Jackie “O” Henderson, have commenced separate legal action against the Kiis FM licensee, Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which terminated them both a year after they signed separate 10-year contracts for the Kyle and Jackie O breakfast show. It was supposed to run until 31 December 2035 but their services were terminated last month.
In a statement of claim prepared by Sandilands’ counsel, Scott Robertson SC and Philip Boncardo, it is argued that while the shock jock’s contract did specify that the $100m deal could be terminated if he committed an act of serious misconduct, no such conduct occurred and the termination was invalid.
Read more here:
Updated
Timor-Leste is vulnerable to ‘infiltration by foreign organised crime’, president José Ramos-Horta says
Timor-Leste is vulnerable to “infiltration by foreign organised crime”, the country’s president, José Ramos-Horta, has warned.
His comments come as Australian federal police confirmed to the Guardian the force is providing support to local law enforcement in Timor-Leste, including a December 2025 visit from the agency’s digital forensic and cyber experts.
“The AFP is increasing its focus on cybercrime and digital forensics capability development within the region in response to the threat of online scam centres,” a spokesperson said.
On Tuesday a joint investigation between the Guardian and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project revealed an alleged connection between three individuals involved with a proposed “blockchain theme” resort project in Dili and the Prince Group, which was sanctioned by the US and UK governments in October.
Read more from Guardian Australia’s Ariel Bogle and Kate Lamb here:
‘No direct recording’ of moment Queensland police fatally shot First Nations man, inquest told
Warning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have died
A witness to the police shooting of First Nations man Aubrey Donahue says armed tactical police said nothing to the man immediately before opening fire, contradicting evidence from officers that they shouted at him to “drop the knife”, a court has heard.
The pre-inquest hearing on Thursday was also told there was no recorded evidence of the moments before the 27-year-old was shot on 25 March 2023 because none of the specialist officers involved were wearing body-worn cameras.
Aubrey’s death prompted Black Lives Matter protests in the small community of Mareeba, west of Cairns in north Queensland, and increased pressure on police to make body-worn cameras mandatory. His family have requested he be referred to by his first name.
Read more here:
Bruce Lehrmann loses final bid to appeal defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson
Bruce Lehrmann has lost his last legal avenue to challenge his failed defamation case against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson after Australia’s top court dismissed his case.
The high court dismissed his bid to challenge the outcome in a short judgment published to its website on Thursday.
“Special leave refused with costs,” the judgment said.
It comes after Lehrmann lost an appeal against the finding last year.
Read more here:
Updated
Famous vineyard region raided as black economy targeted
One of the country’s most famous wine districts has been raided as part of a national crackdown on the illegal cash economy, AAP reports.
Federal authorities have staged surprise inspections of 18 vineyards in South Australia as they investigate unlawful labour practices and exploitation of seasonal workers.
Regulators have combed vineyards at the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale in recent weeks, quizzing workers, managers and labour-hire providers.
The landmark crackdown has also requested detailed records including any labour-hire contracts, invoices, timesheets, pay slips and work rosters as part of the raids.
That’s all from me. Ima Caldwell will take the reins from here. Have a nice arvo.
Greens will oppose NDIS cuts
The Greens say they will fight Labor on efforts to save money from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, warning the government against unfairly targeting disabled Australians as it looks for budget savings.
Guardian Australia reported on Thursday Labor has quietly established a razor gang to drive budget savings from the $52bn program, with a senior treasury official relocating to the Department of Health earlier this year.
Growth in NDIS spending was 10.3% last year, well above the federal government’s target rate of 8%. Health minister Mark Butler and the NDIS minister, Jenny McAllister, have indicated they are continuing to urgently try to bring spending growth down to between 5% and 6% annually.
Greens spokesman Jordon Steele-John said the party would not support cuts.
“Disabled people are used to fighting for their basic rights. They won’t stop now, and the Greens will back their fight,” he said.
Every cut Labor makes to the NDIS removes a critical support from a disabled person and puts the labour back onto the family to pick up the slack, amid a cost of living crisis.
Toll traffic fell in March, Transurban reports
Traffic has fallen on toll roads operated by Transurban in the wake of surging fuel prices, the company reported today.
Most of Transurban’s Sydney toll roads saw traffic decline or go backwards in the March quarter of 2026 from the same period in 2025. While the WestConnex saw trip numbers rise 10,000 a day, and the M5 up 2,000 a day, Transurban’s other six Sydney roads lost a combined 6,000 trips a day.
WestConnex’s growth powered an 0.6% annual increase in average daily traffic, well below the 1.8% recorded by December and the 2.4% recorded in March 2025. Average weekend/public holiday traffic stood still, up just 0.1%.
Transurban’s Melbourne CityLink toll road saw traffic decline by 7,000 trips a day in the March quarter from a year earlier. Its new West Gate Tunnel recorded an extra 39m trips a day, but large vehicles account for two-thirds of that motorway’s traffic.
Average daily traffic grew by just 0.7% in Brisbane, excluding the impact of Tropical Cyclone Alfred last year. Traffic had been growing at a yearly pace of 2.7% in Brisbane in December.
RBC analyst Owen Birrell judged Melbourne saw an underlying 3.4% fall in traffic in March, excluding the West Gate Tunnel, and Brisbane saw an underlying 0.3% fall in March, excluding last year’s cyclone. Birrell said:
We are concerned by the soft underlying Australian network results and weakness accelerating into March … Melbourne and Brisbane networks displayed noticeable weakness in the month of March due to [macroeconomic and] fuel concerns which bodes poorly for April (and possibly May) if the conflict in the Middle East is drawn out.
This post has been updated to correct the trip numbers on Transurban’s Sydney tollroads
Updated
NSW police searching for escapee who fled custody
NSW police are searching for a detainee who fled custody in Bankstown, in Sydney’s west, yesterday.
Officials said Michael Angok, 30, was transported from Villawood immigration detention centre to Bankstown hospital yesterday, where he escaped around 9.30am. Police were notified and began a search of the area, but they have not been able to locate him.
Police released photos of the man on social media. He was last seen wearing a black hooded jumper, grey tracksuit pants and white croc-style sandals.
Angok previously lived in the Bankstown area and officials said he may use the public transport network. They have urged anyone who may have seen him to not approach, but to contact triple zero immediately.
Villawood Detention Centre is run by Secure Journeys, a local subsidiary of the US private prison company Management and Training Corporation (MTC). Last month a damning report found there had been at least 12 escapes since the company took over Australia’s immigration detention network.
Updated
Major cyclone finally expected to turn towards Australian coast
A record-breaking cyclone is expected to finally make its move towards the Australian coast, putting a flood-weary region again on high alert, AAP reports.
Severe tropical cyclone Maila on Thursday is forecast to slowly turn towards far north Queensland after stalling between Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea for several days.
The category four system is currently producing wind gusts of up to 260km/h after setting a new record as the strongest cyclone recorded so far north in the Solomon Sea. It is set to weaken as it interacts with landfall closer to PNG and gradually treks toward Queensland’s coast in the coming days.
However, residents in Queensland’s far north are still wary of its potential impact, with the system likely to initially follow a similar path to March’s cyclone Narelle when it crosses the coast.
Maila is currently forecast to make landfall between Cooktown and Lockhart River on Tuesday as a category two system, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Jonathan How said.
Diesel prices surge 20 cents a litre in two days
Diesel prices have risen as much as 20 cents a litre in two days to record highs of nearly 330 cents a litre around Australia.
Wholesale price rises have outweighed the government’s fuel tax relief, rising another 5 cents a litre around the country on Thursday, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.
The service station diesel price has been forced up to more than 322 cents a litre in Sydney on average, 326 in Brisbane, 328 in Melbourne and 329.3 in Canberra this morning, according to MotorMouth. All capitals are facing record high average prices for diesel.
Petrol prices rose in some cities yesterday but resumed falling overall in every capital this morning except for Adelaide, where unleaded prices edged up again to 223.9 cents a litre on average.
However, the wholesale price of unleaded has risen about 5 cents a litre around the country in the last two days, suggesting retail price rises are on the way.
The US-Iran ceasefire had sent prices plummeting for crude oil, which is refined into diesel and petrol, but oil prices are still at recent highs and are edging back up as renewed bombing leaves markets doubting oil supply can resume.
Updated
Share market rebound stalls amid uncertainty in the Middle East
Australia’s share market rebound has stalled as optimism for a US-Iran ceasefire fades, with the strait of Hormuz still largely blocked and fighting continuing in the Middle East, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 had fallen slightly, about 0.04% as the broader All Ordinaries lost 0.15%. The local bourse had its best day in a year on Wednesday as investors welcomed a truce between the US and Iran to facilitate peace talks.
ASX-listed energy stocks rebounded 2.3% on Thursday, tracking oil prices, after getting hammered in the previous session.
The Australian dollar was buying 70.35 US cents, down from 70.70 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm as risk sentiment faded.
New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords reunion gigs sell out in minutes
New Zealand’s self-described “fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo-a cappella-rap-funk-comedy-folk duo” Flight of the Conchords sold out their first shows in eight years in minutes this week, sparking a frenzy among fans, AFP reports.
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement formed the musical comedy act in 1998, soaring to worldwide fame off the back of their HBO comedy series of the same name with tunes including Business Time and Hiphopopotamus vs Rhymenoceros.
The duo announced on Tuesday four shows to be held at the Wellington venue Meow Nui from next week – their first gigs since 2018.
Tickets went on sale on Wednesday and sold out within half an hour.
SLHD executive says alleged attack on man at Sydney hospital left staff and patients ‘rattled and distressed’
Deb Willcox, the chief executive of the Sydney local health district (SLHD), is speaking after a man was allegedly attacked with a hammer at Sydney’s RPA hospital. She said the incident has been stressful for those working at the facility, but there have been no impacts to other patients or to staff members.
The man who was allegedly attacked was in a four-bedded bay in a general ward. She said people were “obviously” a bit “rattled and distressed by the events, as they would be”.
Willcox went on:
This sort of event is clearly a terrible thing that they’ve had to tolerate over night. The police are now dealing with the matter … and we’ll just await the police doing their work.
… This is a very big and busy hospital … and our staff do whatever they can do accommodate their loved ones.
She maintained that RPA remains a safe place for patients in Sydney to come and receive medical treatment and staff were trained to respond to incidents.
Updated
‘They poo all over the yard’: little corellas are terrorising Kangaroo Island – and nothing can stop them
Thousands of little corellas that have been terrorising the inhabitants of Kangaroo Island have been culled but it won’t be enough to fix the problem, authorities say.
The birds, which are not native to the island, have covered a local school in faeces, torn up infrastructure, damaged crops and caused mental distress to residents with their screeching.
They have been spotted using the nesting hollows of the endangered glossy-black cockatoo, smashing their eggs and killing their nestlings.
Past attempts to control populations by shooting, scaring, trapping or gassing them have failed, with the highly intelligent birds learning how to survive or just moving to cause havoc somewhere else.
Read more here:
Updated
Man in critical condition after alleged hammer attack at Sydney hospital
A 63-year-old man is in critical condition after he was allegedly attacked with a hammer at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital on Thursday morning.
NSW police said the man was a patient in the hospital before a woman allegedly entered the facility just after midnight.
She walked into the man’s room and allegedly assaulted him with a hammer to the head, causing serious injuries.
Police said they believe the man knew the 46-year-old woman. She was taken to Newtown police station and charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Bail was refused and she will face court today.
Updated
Australian extends deployment of military plane to Middle East
Anthony Albanese says Australia will extend the deployment of the Wedgetail surveillance aircraft, and up to 85 ADF personnel, to the Middle East beyond its initial four-week commitment.
“The Wedgetail will be staying in the region for a period of time,” Albanese said this morning when we asked at a press conference in Brisbane.
“That extension was something that, in fact, I signed this morning, after that was agreed at the National Security Committee.”
The surveillance plane, which defence minister Richard Marles has said is feeding information back to the Combined Air Operations Centre based in Qatar, with its data able to be accessed by the United States. Australia deployed the plane nearly four weeks ago, saying it was in a defensive capacity to assist the UAE defend attacks from Iran.
That four weeks was due to expire this weekend. Albanese only declared the extension when asked, and did not say how long the additional deployment would extend.
Updated
Australian playwright among those selected for major literary award
Australian playwright S Shakthidharan, known as Shakthi, is also among those selected for this year’s Windham-Campbell prizes, which award $1.4m annually to writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama, with the aim of enabling them to focus on their work free from financial pressures.
Shakthidharan was selected in recognition of works including his 2019 multigenerational epic Counting and Cracking, which is inspired by the story of his family and traces the history of 20th-century Sri Lanka. It won a swathe of prestigious awards in Australia, including the $100,000 Victorian prize for literature.
The “financial security” that comes with the grant allows writers “the time, space and creative freedom to think, write and nurture their talent” said Michael Kelleher, director of the Windham-Campbell prizes, adding that the arts are “facing more challenges now than ever before”.
Read more here:
Updated
Albanese says the relationship between Australia and Singapore remains strong, and success reflects the fact that he is traveling there at such short notice to shore up fuel supplies.
The fact we are welcomed at relatively short notice to Singapore speaks about the strength of the relationship.
Albanese says Australia ‘firmly believes’ Lebanon should be included in ceasefire
Albanese said Australia “firmly believes” Lebanon should be included in the ceasefire. He said:
We want to see peace in this region and it will make a difference and I know that many Australians are concerned about the events that are occurring in Lebanon.
He added he is looking forward to a “productive” conversation with Singapore’s prime minister tomorrow about Australia’s fuel supplies.
Albanese details new agreement to bring more fuel to Australia
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking in Brisbane before his trip to Singapore, where he will discuss the country’s access to fuel supplies.
In a new announcement, Albanese said Export Finance Australia has agreed to terms with Ampol and Viva Energy to enable the companies to bring more fuel to Australia. The prime minister said:
This is not business as usual. This is additional supply here in Australia that they will be able to source.
He said the government will be able to direct where that supply goes, which should alleviate shortages in regional Australia and areas that are under supply pressures.
Updated
Chalmers says criticism of renewables investment amid fuel crisis ‘bizarre’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said earlier this morning Australia should focus on diversifying its energy sources and investing in “cleaner and cheaper energy” amid the fuel crisis.
Chalmers spoke to reporters in Melbourne, where he was asked about criticism from the opposition about investment in renewables. The treasurer said:
I find it bizarre, frankly, that in the context of what we have seen in the last month and a half that anyone would conclude from that that we should continue to have all of our eggs in one basket.
We need cleaner and cheaper energy, more diverse sources and more reliable and robust supply chains.
Chalmers went on to say the federal government remained steadfast in its effort to ensure energy comes from “a number of sources”, including both traditional fossil fuels and development of “cleaner, cheaper, sovereign capacity.”
Updated
Sydney light rail trialled pedestrian sensors after death but scrapped project due to cost, whistleblower claims
The company that operates Sydney’s light rail investigated safety upgrades after a death in 2023 but cancelled the project due to its cost before a second person died, a whistleblower alleges.
After the first death, Transdev successfully trialled sensors that would detect a person entering the coupling area between two joined trams, according to the former employee who requested anonymity. But the project was stopped before another death in 2025, they said.
Transdev this week rejected “any assertion that the assessment of sensor technology has at any point been ‘shelved’ or put on hold”.
Read more of Guardian Australia’s exclusive here:
Updated
Police investigate shooting that left man dead in Melbourne
Victoria police are investigating what they believe is a targeted shooting this morning in the Melbourne suburb of Box Hill.
Police said emergency services had responded to reports of an altercation in the area just before 2am. A man, who is yet to be identified, died at the scene.
Homicide detectives are investigating and a crime scene has been established.
Updated
Albanese heads to Singapore to shore up fuel supply
Anthony Albanese heads to Singapore today, for meetings tomorrow with the country’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong, which are expected to focus on fuel. Singapore is Australia’s largest source of refined fuels.
On the way, Albanese has stopped in Brisbane, where he will soon hold a press conference. We’ll expect to get some updates on Australia’s petrol supplies and the government’s actions in addressing the fuel crisis.
We’ll bring you updates from that press conference this morning.
Updated
ASX to slide as Iran ceasefire tested
Australian shares are expected to drop this morning as the hours-old ceasefire in the Middle East gets tested.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is forecast to slide by about 0.25% when the market opens, to trade at the 8,930 point mark.
The anticipated drop comes after yesterday’s huge rally, which marked the single biggest day increase on the ASX in a year in response to the Iran war ceasefire announcement.
The National Australia Bank markets team says there is “residual uncertainty and fragile confidence in the ceasefire”. NAB said:
The lack of any follow through on the immediate reaction in financial markets reflects the fact that there remains a high degree of uncertainty as to how the situation in the Middle East unfolds.
Iran has closed the strait of Hormuz in response to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon despite the ceasefire, according to Iranian state media reports, with Iran’s authorities said to be treating the strait as still closed.
Equity markets have been pulled around by the Middle East conflict given energy disruptions contribute to global inflation by elevating costs across nearly all goods and services.
Updated
Melbourne teen charged after officer allegedly struck by electric motorbike
A Victorian teenager has been charged after an officer was allegedly struck by an electric-powered motorbike in Melbourne’s CBD on Wednesday.
Victoria police said the sergeant was patrolling the Flinders Street area when he approached a group of males allegedly riding erratically on the vehicles. Officials said the officer gave the boy a direction to pull over before he was struck down.
Police will allege the boy sped up and struck the officer as he attempted to drive away. The sergeant remains in hospital with serious injuries.
The boy was arrested at the scene and charged with multiple counts, including reckless exposure of a police officer to risk by driving and recklessly causing injury. He has been released on bail and will appear before children’s court at a later date.
Updated
Truckie boss says ‘people are getting desperate’ as siphoned diesel seen as sign of ‘dire’ crisis
After almost a decade in the trucking industry, Madilyn Lostroh says having fuel stolen from one of her vehicles for the first time came as a “bit of a shock”.
A couple of weeks ago, one of her drivers filled up with diesel in the afternoon and parked the truck in the yard they share with other businesses. The next morning, he discovered there was less in the tank.
“It’s a bit of a reality check on just how dire [the situation is], or desperate people are at the minute,” says Lostroh, 35, who runs Mal’s Haulage with her husband in Ipswich, Queensland.
Lostroh is one of several people who have reported diesel being siphoned from vehicles or fuel being stolen from service stations after the energy shock caused by the war in the Middle East and subsequent soaring retail prices of diesel and petrol.
Read more here:
Updated
NSW offers $1m reward for information related to death of woman in 2003
The New South Wales government and NSW police will offer a $1m reward for information related to the 2003 death of Harmony Bryant.
Bryant, then 26, was found severely injured in bushland in Bonny Hills, about 25km south of Port Macquarie, in August 2003. Emergency workers found her vehicle on fire about 200 metres from the road.
She was taken to the hospital with burns to 60% of her body, a broken pelvis and a fractured wrist and left arm. Evidence at the time suggested she fell from a nearby cliff and was aided to her vehicle by an unknown person or persons.
She died in hospital a month later from her injuries.
Investigators at the time found Bryant had booked accommodation the day before the incident for two people, but they were never able to locate the supposed second person. An inquest in 2011 found she died from burns that were caused by a person or persons unknown.
No one has ever been charged over her death.
Updated
Human bones found on popular Rottnest Island – reports
Human bones are believed to have been found on a popular holiday island with a tragic past, Australian Associated Press reports.
The remains were found yesterday by workers at Rottnest Island, near Perth, Western Australian, police say.
“The bones, which are believed to be human, were located during construction work on church grounds,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
An investigation has been launched, and forensic specialists will examine the bones to determine their age.
WA state records indicate 3,700 Aboriginal men and boys were imprisoned there between 1838 and 1931, according to the Rottnest Island Authority. Living conditions were brutal on the island. Overcrowding and a lack of sanitation and nutrition, extreme weather, and physical and psychological abuse contributed to hundreds of deaths.
Most were buried in unmarked graves on the island. After the prison closed, one of Australia’s largest Aboriginal burial grounds was largely forgotten about, the island authority said.
Updated
Paterson says it’s ‘clear’ Trump was escalating to de-escalate Middle East conflict
James Paterson added that he believes it’s “clear” that Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric and threats that a “whole civilization will die” were ultimately meant to end the conflict. He told RN:
Speaking about it analytically and dispassionately, it’s clear that the US president has been threatening to escalate in order to de-escalate. And it may be the reason that there is a ceasefire agreement, although a very shaky one.
Paterson went on to say there was “no doubt” that Iran did not want to see Trump follow through on his claims.
I’m sure it is the case that the regime did not want to sustain the attack that the US president was proposing to make.
Updated
Shadow defence minister ‘reluctant’ to listen to Iran over Lebanon’s inclusion in ceasefire deal
James Paterson, the shadow minister for defence, said he is “reluctant” to listen to Iran on whether or not Lebanon was included in a ceasefire deal announced yesterday as Israel continues to bombard the country.
Paterson spoke to RN Breakfast shortly after the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, released a joint statement calling for an end in hostilities in Lebanon as part of that agreement. He said:
On the one hand, the United States and Israel say that the ceasefire did not include Lebanon, and on the other hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran is saying that it did include Lebanon.
I am personally reluctant to endorse claims made by a country which has sponsored terrorist attacks on Australian soil.
Paterson went on to say an end to the conflict was “obviously” in Australia’s national interest.
Updated
Australian charities raise more than $3.4m for humanitarian crisis in the Middle East
Australia’s major charities have raised more than $3.4m over the past month for people in the Middle East facing a growing humanitarian crisis.
Groups including Save the Children, Care Australia and Oxfam said the appeal is meant to support those in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank. Kerren Morris, the executive director of the Emergency Action Alliance, said the figures, which include a $2m donation from the Minderoo Foundation, were extremely heartening:
Australians are seeing what is happening in a number of countries in the Middle East and responding with compassion. We recognise this is a time when Australians are also doing it tough and we appreciate how they are recognising the depth of the humanitarian crisis and responding.
The joint appeal is still ongoing, despite the ceasefire.
Updated
Penny Wong says any further fighting in Lebanon risks ‘whole ceasefire’
Penny Wong spoke to RN Breakfast this morning about the statement, saying Australia has “called for the ceasefire to apply to Lebanon and for both Hezbollah and Israel to observe the ceasefire”.
And the reason is that if fighting continues in Lebanon, it risks the whole ceasefire across the region. So we called for that last night. We’ve been joined overnight by the G7 and other countries saying the same thing, and we continue to assert that.
Asked if she had been in touch with her Israeli counterpart or if the ambassador here had presented that point of view from Australia, Wong replied:
Not in the last 12 hours, but I’ve said that publicly, and there’s a very pragmatic reason for that … that if fighting continues in Lebanon, if Israel continues to not observe the ceasefire, there is a risk the ceasefire across the region will be at risk. And we don’t want that.
We want the ceasefire to hold. We know it’s fragile. We know what it means for the world, and we know what it means for Australians at the petrol bowser.
Wong added that Australia led the joint statement with deep conviction that health and aid workers should be protected in conflict zones.
These are the best of us, and they should be protected. They should not be at risk doing their job.
Updated
Penny Wong urges ceasefire to include Lebanon in joint statement with other nations
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, released a joint statement this morning urging an end to hostilities in Lebanon as part of the ceasefire announced by US president Donald Trump yesterday.
Wong, alongside dignitaries from Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Jordan, Sierra Leone and the UK, said she remained “deeply concerned” by the worsening humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. The group wrote:
Attacks that threaten the safety and security of humanitarian personnel must stop. International humanitarian law must be upheld by all parties to the conflict in all circumstances.
Respect for international humanitarian law is essential to preserving human dignity, mitigating civilian harm, and maintaining the space needed for humanitarian action and access.
Wong added Australia condemns “in the strongest terms actions that have killed UN peacekeepers and significantly increased the risks faced by humanitarian personnel in southern Lebanon”.
Updated
Good morning, Nick Visser here to pick up the blog. Let’s see what Thursday has in store.
Li Qiang noted that China-Australia economic and trade cooperation has strong internal momentum and still holds great potential in the long run. Beijing will adhere to expanding domestic demand as a strategic priority, vigorously boost consumption, promote a marked increase in the household consumption rate, and continuously unleash market demand, he said.
Both sides should accelerate the review and upgrade discussions of the bilateral free trade agreement to provide stronger institutional support for cooperation.
The statement said:
There is great potential for China-Australia green cooperation, and China is willing to leverage complementary advantages with Australia to deepen cooperation in such areas as clean energy, electric vehicles, energy storage and carbon reduction, jointly building stronger momentum for the development of the green economy, he added.
For his part, Albanese said the Australian government has always been committed to developing a stable, mature and constructive relationship with China. Under the current international circumstances, the steady development of Australia-China relations is particularly important.
Australia has long adhered to the one-China policy and is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with China, expand cooperation in trade, investment, mining, clean energy and people-to-people exchanges, properly manage differences in the spirit of mutual respect, and advance the Australia-China comprehensive strategic partnership.
Updated
Details of PM’s discusing with China’s premier
More details have emerged of the discussions Anthony Albanese held on Tuesday night with the China’s premier, Li Qiang.
According to a statement issued by the Chinese embassy last night, Li told Albanese that Beijing was ready to work with Australia “to expand and upgrade bilateral trade, support enterprises of both countries in conducting cooperation based on market principles, and promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes”.
Despite global uncertainty, China and Australia were important partners, Li said, and should “strive to foster and maintain a positive atmosphere, and consolidate the positive momentum in bilateral relations and cooperation”.
Pointing to the success of talks between Albanese and President Xi Jinping last year, China was ready to “maintain high-level exchanges, strengthen communication and coordination, consolidate mutual political trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, safeguard multilateralism and free trade, inject momentum into the development of the two countries and provide more stability for the region and the world at large”.
Updated
Middle East ceasefire is fragile, Penny Wong says
Penny Wong says the US-Iran ceasefire is fragile but must hold for the sake of the world economy and energy markets.
Speaking on ABC’s 7.30, the foreign affairs minister said there were obvious differences between the two parties but the potential downsides to the truce failing meant it was imperative that it worked.
This ceasefire is fragile, there’s no doubt about that. The ceasefire is fragile but the world does need it to hold. There are obviously substantial points of difference between the parties. But I think we all know that the damage that is happening to the global economy, to global energy markets, means that the world does need this ceasefire to hold.
Asked about whether Australia was on top of its fuel supplies problems, she said the gap in supply still had to be managed, noting Albanese’s trip to Singapore and her own contacts with governments in the region.
And you know, I spoke early on to Singapore, to Korea, to Malaysia, the prime minister, as you said, is going to Singapore, we’ve seen one announcement already and we will continue to work with them. I spoke to the Japanese foreign minister just before this interview, we want to keep engaging with our counterparts, because this is a very large shock to global energy markets, and one that will continue to have an effect.
And asked if the war had achieved its aims, she said:
I can understand people being really concerned about what is happening on global markets and what has happened in the Middle East, and the way this has escalated, which is why we have been saying for some time, it’s time for de-escalation.
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Albanese amps up regional diplomatic push with Brunei talks
Anthony Albanese has continued his diplomatic efforts across the Asia Pacific region as he tries to shore up Australia’s fuel supply.
Hours after a possible ceasefire deal was agreed between Iran and the United State on Wednesday, Albanese spoke last night to the sultan of Brunei, Darussalam Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.
The leaders discussed deep concerns with the situation in the Middle East and its consequences for the Indo-Pacific, including the shock to global energy markets.
They agreed to work together on energy supply chains.
Albanese heads to Singapore today to meet the country’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong. Singapore is one of the biggest sources of fuel delivered to Australian markets.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.
Anthony Albanese has continued his diplomatic efforts across the Asia Pacific region, with talks with the sultan of Brunei last night as he tries to shore up Australia’s fuel supply. Those efforts will see him travel to Singapore today for talks with its prime minister, Lawrence Wong.
Penny Wong said last night the US-Iran ceasefire is fragile but must hold for the sake of the world economy and energy markets. This morning, she called the humanitarian situation in Lebanon – where more than 250 people were killed in Israeli strikes overnight – “deeply concerning”. More coming up.
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