What we learned today, Monday 20 May
We are wrapping up the blog for tonight. Here’s what made the news:
Millions of Australian children could be barred from using social media platforms under changes put forward by state premiers who want better protection of minors from online harm.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, has said that Australia is “standing by” to airlift the 300 Australians currently in New Caledonia.
The University of Queensland has warned pro-Palestine protesters they could face disciplinary action for chanting “out, out, Israel out” or displaying posters which read “intifada” at rallies.
The University of Melbourne has issued a loudspeaker announcement to pro-Palestine protesters camped within a department building, warning they are trespassing if they do not leave campus ground and could face police action.
The University of Sydney has underpaid casual staff an estimated $70.1m, its latest annual report released today shows.
New South Wales police have charged more than 550 people during a four-day operation targeting alleged domestic and family violence offenders.
NSW police say the death of a man and child is being investigated as a murder-suicide.
The federal court’s Justice Melissa Perry has handed down a decision rejecting the existence of a duty of care by the Australian government to limit the length of time non-citizens spend in detention.
The electoral commission says it is expecting deepfake videos and voice “clones” to feature in election misinformation at coming Australian polls.
A man who allegedly stabbed a police officer in the head in Sydney’s CBD has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.
The deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, says Australian radio stations should ban the music of American rapper Sean Combs (AKA Diddy) after video was published of him beating his former girlfriend in a hotel in 2016.
Updated
Queensland police and premier warn against vigilantism after former LNP MP allegedly assaulted
Queensland police and political leaders are urging people not to intervene in crime matters after alleged vigilantism, AAP reports.
Police were called to a disturbance in Holloways Beach near Cairns on Friday where officers seized weapons and arrested two people.
Four hours later police were back on the same suburban street after reports of people armed with weapons having hit several people and a car before leaving the scene on foot.
The former Liberal National party MP for Cairns Michael Trout said he was assaulted and left with facial injuries.
Police continue to patrol areas of Holloways Beach but have asked the community not to take matters into their own hands.
A 15-year-old boy and a 47-year-old man have been charged with being armed to cause fear after the first incident on Friday.
Later in the evening police said a 23-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man received non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at the scene and a 31-year-old man was taken to Cairns hospital for treatment.
The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, said there was no place in the state for vigilantism because it brought significant risk to the community.
He told reporters on Monday:
The police will constantly say that if you need their assistance call them.
You don’t want to make their job even harder and that’s what they say happens when people try to take things into their own hands.
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Dutton’s migration cuts would cost $34bn over coming decades: thinktank
Peter Dutton’s cuts to migration over four years would cause a $34bn hit to the federal budget over coming decades, an independent thinktank has said.
The Grattan Institute estimate backs the treasurer Jim Chalmers’ statement that Dutton’s proposed migration cuts would cost “billions”, which the opposition leader dismissed on Monday as “voodoo economics”.
In his budget reply on Thursday, Dutton said the Coalition would cut permanent migration from 185,000 to 140,000 for the first two years, followed by 150,000 then 160,000 in the next two, a cumulative reduction of 150,000 over four years.
More on this story from Paul Karp and Amy Remeikis here:
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PM supports Papua New Guinea team joining NRL
It would be “a good thing” for Papua New Guinea to get its own team in the NRL, Anthony Albanese says, again committing his government to backing an expansion of the rugby league competition.
The prime minister has also claimed the Coalition is hiding its plans for nuclear energy, telling ABC Sydney radio that the opposition “won’t tell your listeners or anybody else where they’ll be”.
Albanese dialled into ABC Sydney this afternoon, talking up the budget’s $300 energy bill rebates. He was also asked about the opposition leader, Peter Dutton’s budget reply speech, where he proposed a cut in migration. Albanese labelled as “absurd” the proposition that Dutton’s migration changes would have a major effect on Australian society, saying the changes would be small.
“You actually need serious policies rather than slogans. Peter Dutton has had three budget replies and has yet to come up with a single costed policy, whether it’s this one, or whether it is nuclear reactors, where he won’t say who will finance and how many there will be, where they’ll be, even though just yesterday, David Littleproud said that actually been done polling on the locations,” Albanese said.
Albanese rejected the idea that the budget would be inflationary. Moving on to rugby league, the NRL has said in recent days it may confirm long-awaited expansion plans shortly – including adding teams in PNG, Perth or further afield.
The government has backed a new team in the rugby league mad PNG – with its support partly thought to be about countering China’s influence in the region.
“It would be a good thing for the economic development of PNG, as well as for the relationship that our two great nations have as they approach their 50-year anniversary of independence, to have a team in the NRL,” Albanese said.
The PM, a league tragic himself, said he thought a PNG team would “go pretty well” and be a “powerhouse” in the NRL comp.
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Four children taken to hospital after breathing fumes at NSW pool
Four children under the age of two have been rushed to the hospital after becoming overcome by fumes at a pool on the NSW mid-north coast.
Just after 9.30am this morning, police were called to Macksville Memorial Aquatic and Fitness Centre after reports fumes had affected five children.
Four were taken to hospital, while a fifth child was treated at the scene.
The pool has been closed by Nambucca Valley council, who are also in attendance.
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Australia ‘standing by’ to airlift nationals from New Caledonia
The defence minister, Richard Marles, has said that Australia is “standing by” to airlift the 300 Australians currently in New Caledonia.
Amid rising tensions in the Pacific territory, Marles told the ABC his government is engaging with French officials and are “monitoring the situation very closely.”
We are standing by and ready to engage in airlift if it is necessary, but again, the starting point here is speaking closely with the French authorities about their work and what is happening on the ground. And we need to be obviously clear with the French authorities about how they are progressing in terms of managing law and order within Noumea and if there is any need for any kind of airlift from Australia and at this point that is an ongoing conversation.
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State premiers propose raising age minimums for social media platforms
Millions of Australian children could be barred from using social media platforms under changes put forward by state premiers who want better protection of minors from online harm, AAP reports.
The leaders of NSW, Queensland and Victoria united on Monday in a push to lift age minimums on major platforms such as TikTok and the Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram.
All of the platforms require users to be at least 13 years old, but that limit could be lifted to as high as 16 under a proposal from NSW.
State leaders concede they might not have the power to legislate controls on the platforms, with several calling for a national regime.
South Australia is investigating if it can impose social media bans for children under 14 and parental permission for those under 16.
Those changes would be a national first and follow legislated restrictions on children using social media accounts in nations such as Spain, as well as some US states.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he wanted a minimum age of 16 for social media users, while Queensland counterpart Steven Miles nominated 14.
Victoria premier Jacinta Allan did not specify a minimum age but called for the platforms’ limits to be raised or for Australia to set its own limits.
Minns said he was moved to act after seeing social media’s impact and his experience as a father of three boys.
“Obnoxious” social-media algorithms were “designed to keep children glued to the device rather than ripping it away and speaking with family and friends and getting out of the house”, he said.
The federal Labor government has indicated it supports tighter restrictions on children accessing social media, which the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has identified as a national issue.
The health minister, Mark Butler, said a potential age limit was still being worked out while a verification trial was completed using funding allocated in the recent budget.
“We’ve got to get the age right and we’ve got to get the technological implementation right,” he said.
The NSW government on Monday also announced a state summit to look at the impact of social media platforms on young people involving policymakers, academics and company representatives.
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University of Sydney underpays casual staff $70m
The University of Sydney has underpaid casual staff an estimated $70.1m, its latest annual report released today shows.
The annual report included an update on the university’s Employment Payment Review, which remained ongoing but has estimated the underpayment based on work taken by casual academic staff across a period of 13 semesters.
The vice-chancellor, Prof Mark Scott, said paying staff correctly and remediating any historical underpayments was the university’s “absolute priority”, adding it remained in regular contact with the Fair Work Ombudsman since its initial self-disclosure in 2020.
We deeply regret any underpayments that have occurred and are committed to ensuring all staff are paid according to our enterprise agreement.
The annual report also showed the university recorded a surplus of $351.8m in 2023, in excess of $298.5m in 2022. Its underlying loss was $9.4m, compared with an underlying margin of $216.6m the previous year.
Scott, said the financial environment in which universities operated remained “challenging”.
There are ongoing uncertainties ahead. At Sydney, we are fortunate to have been able to build a solid future fund to support our research and education, and our staff and students. This is largely thanks to strong investment returns, as well as the generosity of our donors and our international students continuing to want to study with us.
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Opposition says its not ‘good economic policy’ to ‘reply solely’ on migration
The opposition environment spokesperson, Jonathon Duniam, has claimed on Sky News that reducing migration was necessary to address the housing crisis.
He said it wasn’t “good economic policy” to “rely solely” on migration to generate economic activity, and couldn’t expand on how and where exactly migration should be cut.
I don’t think it is a good economic policy to rely solely on high immigration numbers as a means of generating economic activity.
The environment minister could well bring forward laws that make it easier to do business in this country to get more projects off the ground more quickly to provide more jobs and more economic activity.
The by-product of our high immigration numbers, people coming to this country permanently, is that houses are less affordable and less attainable for Australians and we’ve got to put Australians first here.
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University of Queensland warns protesters of disciplinary action
The University of Queensland has warned pro-Palestine protesters they could face disciplinary action for chanting “out, out, Israel out” or displaying posters which read “intifada” at rallies.
The university last week signalled its aims for its pro-Palestine camps to end, amid a wave of encampments across the country.
In an email sent to encampments organisers on Friday, the university’s deputy vice-chancellor, Prof Kris Ryan, says the expression “intifada” – the Arabic word for uprising – could be considered threatening, intimidating or harassing to some people.
The email, viewed by Guardian Australia, also warns protesters against chanting the phrase “out, out, Israel out”:
The use of the words ‘out, out, Israel out’ at the protest yesterday in the context of harassing and intimidating behaviours, and the placement of anti-Semitic stickers on windows and students, go beyond the limits of free speech.
The email urges the protesters to take “appropriate action to address the unacceptable behaviours”, warning failure to do so could result in disciplinary action.
Protester Liam Parry, from the Students for Palestine University of Queensland group, described the move as “overreach”. The university’s tertiary education union branch has also passed a motion which opposes any action by the university to “limit non-violent protest” on campus.
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Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you for the rest of the day.
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Mostafa Rachwani will be here to take you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care!
Australians stranded in New Caledonia amid unrest
More than 300 Australians are stranded in New Caledonia amid deadly unrest, and are anxiously waiting on French authorities to allow air travel out of the territory.
Earlier today the PM said the situation was “really concerning” and that the ADF is “certainly ready to fly, pending commercial flights resuming.”
You can now read the full story on the situation from Ben Doherty and Eva Corlett:
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One-in-five drink drivers in Victoria caught during day, police say
One-in-five people caught driving under the influence of alcohol on Victorian roads are nabbed during the day, AAP reports, as police crack down on the state’s dangerous habits.
Police figures show about 1,200 of almost 4,900 drink-drivers were nabbed between 6am and 6pm in the last financial year. More than 400 were caught between 6am and noon.
The state’s assistant commissioner, Glenn Weir, said the figures were worrying, as people traditionally believed drink-driving mainly occurred in the late afternoon or evening:
It’s really concerning because those times of day are when there are lots of people on the roads. Lots of pedestrians on the road and generally vulnerable road users like schoolchildren coming to and from school.
Weir said there wasn’t any current research into the reason, but an increase in working from home could be something to explore.
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Optus says need to keep government informed during cyber attack was ‘a challenge’
Optus has told the federal government that during its cyber attack in 2022, needing to keep the government updated in its response was “a challenge” while also dealing with the fallout from the attack.
The company said in a submission to the federal government’s cyber security framework, published on Friday, that:
While this information is just as important as the incident response itself, it is not as time-critical. Optus therefore suggests that the implementation of several measures be guided by a clear principle: separating the operational response to an incident from the regulatory response. In doing so, this separation should occur in both reporting timeframes and information-sharing protocols.
Ausgrid – the main energy provider in New South Wales – revealed that if its systems were compromised that in the worst-case scenario, it would cost the economy up to $120m per hour, or $2.9bn per day.
We supply energy to 105 hospitals, Australia’s only radiopharmaceuticals production facility, 4 of the world‘s top 200 ranking universities, 3 major ports and 37% of Australia’s financial services industry. This means that a cyber attack on our network, even for a few hours, would severely disrupt lives and livelihoods.
The Insurance Council of Australia also called on the government to be more responsive when businesses share information about cybersecurity issues:
The government should show industry that in any act of sharing, information will flow both ways. The Insurance Council understand that often information is provided to the Australian Cyber Security Centre by business to no response. This is disconcerting and disincentivising for firms and should be reviewed.
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Dutton accuses Chalmers of ‘voodoo economics’ amid migration, housing debate
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has responded to treasurer Jim Chalmers’ criticism that his plan to cut migration by 25% would cause billions of dollars of damage to the economy during a media conference in Queensland today.
Dutton has continued to link migration numbers to the housing crisis and accused Chalmers of “voodoo economics”. He said:
If the treasurer is saying that the economy can only function with migration numbers at an historic high, and that the price of that is people not being able to find a home, then I don’t sign up to Jim Chalmers’ form of voodoo economics.
Let’s be very clear about it. I believe very strongly that there is enormous economic growth in what we’ve proposed, because Australians are much wealthier if they’re able to buy their own home and see the price of that home appreciate over time.
There is scant evidence that cutting migration will alleviate the housing crisis, or lower house prices, but Dutton is on the scent for the election. So much so that when asked about the Coalition’s much mooted but still not released nuclear policy, Dutton said the “focus for now is on how we can help Australians get into housing”.
Dutton is in the electorate of Forde, which is sandwiched between the Gold Coast and Brisbane and is the definition of “outer suburban” – the areas we know that Dutton is seeking to appeal to.
The LNP already hold the seat and there are no signs of that electorate flipping, but it’s an area where Dutton’s messages will be heard loud and clear.
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No duty of care despite ‘terrible ordeal’ in immigration detention: court
The federal court’s Justice Melissa Perry has handed down a decision rejecting the existence of a duty of care by the Australian government to limit the length of time non-citizens spend in detention.
The applicant, Yasir Hassan, was brought to Australia from Papua New Guinea (PNG) for treatment of his mental health issues as one of a cohort of “medevac” evacuees.
Justice Perry found there was “no duty of care known to the common law of Australia” and to find one would “create incoherence with the operative provisions of the Migration Act” which requires the government to detain people pending removal.
Even if a duty of care as alleged was owed the applicant had not established it was breached, despite the fact no steps were taken to remove him between January 2020 and February 2021. Justice Perry said:
I do not seek to deny or underplay the personal impact upon the applicant of spending over 500 days in immigration detention at (primarily) the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation (MITA), Avon compound. The applicant has clearly endured a terrible ordeal which it is right to acknowledge. This is all the more so where the applicant has not committed any crime, was brought to Australia only for the temporary purpose of receiving medical treatment, and had mental health issues throughout the duration of his detention.
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Asio director general says ‘general conversations’ have occured about restricting travel to new areas
The Australian security and intelligence organisation’s (Asio’s) director general, Mike Burgess, says “general conversations” have occurred around proscribing new regions deemed illegal for Australians to travel to.
Burgess is before a parliamentary inquiry into a bill that would extend laws making it illegal to travel to certain war-torn or high terrorist activity areas for another three years.
While some areas of Syria and Iraq were previously listed as declared areas, there are currently no areas listed.
Liberal National party MP and committee deputy chair, Andrew Wallace, asks whether he is aware of any consideration to list Gaza or southern Lebanon as a declared area. Burgess responds:
Good question. I will take that on notice as I can actually. In my mind, I’m aware of general conversations, not detailed, and we haven’t been asked for formal advice on any particular areas that we might consider worthy but I get your point around southern Lebanon and what might be happening there. But I’m not aware of any detailed conversations but let me take that on notice for you.
Burgess is supportive of extending the law to 2027 before it sunsets later this year, saying it’s an important “toolkit” in Australia’s response to future terrorist threats.
If we look at our security environment and what’s happening globally, we continue to keep a close eye on developments in Afghanistan ... in the Middle East and Africa, and we could well see the need to have the government call on this [law] in terms of our toolkit to respond to the terrorist threat in the future. It’s a very real possibility.
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Back to the Senate committee examining travel restrictions on parts of Iraq and Syria
The Australian federal police and the Australian Security And Intelligence Organisation (Asio) are now appearing at an inquiry into a bill that would extend laws making it illegal to travel to certain war-torn or areas subject to high terrorist activity for another three years.
Stephen Nutt, the AFP’s acting assistant commissioner, said around 230 Australians had travelled to Syria or Iraq since 2012 to “fight with or support” terrorism groups in his opening statement. Of those 230 people, Nutt said around 120 are believed to have died, 55 women and men have returned to Australia and around 60 are still living in Syria or in the region. He said:
The AFP remains concerned that individuals who have traveled to a declared area and, or engaged in terrorist activity or supported terrorist groups, can present a threat to Australia both whilst overseas and in the event they return to Australia. Foreign terrorist fighters may have enhanced any harmful capabilities, skills, expertise and knowledge as well as potential ideology and motivations to facilitate acts of terrorism or related harms in Australia.
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NSW, Queensland and Victoria unite in push to lift to age minimums on social media
The premiers of NSW, Queensland and Victoria have united today in a push to lift age minimums on social media platforms such as the Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, plus TikTok, AAP reports.
All of the platforms require users to be at least 13 years old, but that limit could be lifted to as high as 16 under a proposal from NSW.
South Australia previously announced it is investigating if it can impose social-media bans for children aged under 14 and parental permission for those aged under 16.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said he wanted a minimum age of 16 for social media users (see earlier post), while his Queensland counterpart, Steven Miles, nominated 14 as the floor.
Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, did not specify a minimum age but called for the platforms’ limits to be raised or for Australia to set its own limits.
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Man charged after allegedly misusing WA health system funds to mine crypto
A man working for the Western Australian health system has been charged after allegedly misusing its funds.
According to a statement from WA police, it is alleged the 43-year-old man – who was an employee within WA Health at the time – made a number of purchases for computer components between December 2021 and December 2022, to the value of $32,772.
The computer components were used in personal computers to mine cryptocurrency and not for work-related purposes, the statement from police alleges.
The accused registered a medical equipment and repairs company in March 2022 while still employed with the North Metropolitan Health Service. Between then and July 2023, while purporting to be an employee of the company, the man allegedly invoiced the health service on 31 occasions for parts and services, none of which were ever supplied.
The total value of the parts and services were $281,259.
On 1 May this year detectives executed a search warrants at an address in Kewdale and took the man into custody. He has since been charged with 52 counts of “Public Officer Acts Corruptly in Performance/Discharge of Functions”.
He is due to appear before the Perth magistrates court on 27 May.
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Electoral commission expects deepfake videos to feature in future election misinformation
The electoral commission says it is expecting deepfake videos and voice “clones” to feature in election misinformation at coming Australian polls.
In the Senate hearing on AI today, the independent senator David Pocock asked about how likely it was that Australian elections would experience AI-generated misinformation. He noted there had been voice “clones” of US president Joe Biden in robocalls during the current election cycle, developed by AI technology.
The AEC’s commissioner, Tom Rogers, said such technology was becoming more accessible and widespread.
I can’t give you a prediction about whether it will be used … but we’re seeing increased use of those sorts of tactics in elections around the world. I don’t think we’re going to be immune to that. So we could expect things like that to occur at the next election.
Rogers said that some examples of voice cloned robocalls may not be illegal under current electoral legislation, while some examples would be. He said the AEC’s “electoral toolkit is very constrained with what we can deal with and not deal with.”
Rogers did not agree with a suggestion from Pocock that AI content should be outlawed entirely in election cycles, saying he expected some smaller parties especially may use AI content – in a way that is “entirely lawful”.
Making his own statements as part of his questioning, Pocock raised strong concerns about the use of AI content in elections, and said he hoped the parliament would take stronger action on AI-generated content before the next election - due within the year.
Rogers said AI was “improving the quality of disinformation to make it more undetectable”.
It’s also going to spread that far more quickly through multiple channels. These are things that are complex and difficult for us to work with at the moment.
Rogers and Greens senator David Shoebridge engaged in a discussion about the powers the AEC has, and whether it should have more.
Rogers said there was an “urgent need” for increased digital literacy among Australian citizens.
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Sussan Ley says Australian radio stations should ban Diddy’s music
The deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, says Australian radio stations should ban the music of American rapper Sean Combs (aka Diddy) after video was published of him beating his former girlfriend in a hotel in 2016.
Combs admitted in a video apology that he punched and kicked his ex-girlfriend Cassandra Ventura after CNN released footage of the attack, saying he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable”.
Ley issued a media statement today, calling the video and incident “disturbing”.
While these are American celebrities, we cannot forget that the woman at the centre of this matter is a real person who has suffered severe domestic violence.
While this matter is occurring in the United States the vision that is circulating on media and online will deeply affect many thousands of Australian women who will be reliving their own traumatic experiences once again today. This is a reminder that domestic violence is a global scourge, and my thoughts are with all victim survivors who will be hurting.
Ley said Australians “have an opportunity to take action on this issue. We can call out this unacceptable violence”:
I am asking Australians businesses to reconsider any activities they may be taking that may be financially benefiting Mr Combs. This should see Australian media companies including radio stations take any of his music off their channels today.
Everyone has a role to play in calling out domestic violence. Australia should send a clear message on this matter.
Ley’s statement included referrals to emergency phone lines including Lifeline (13 11 14), 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) and triple-zero emergency services, as well as the men’s referral service on 1300 766 491.
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Increase in children presenting to NSW emergency departments with pneumonia
NSW is experiencing a concerning rise in young children presenting to emergency departments with pneumonia, Ryan Park, the state’s health minister, says. He told a press conference this morning:
I am concerned because we’re seeing increasing emergency department presentations … It is pretty widespread at the moment, particularly for younger people between five and 12. We’re starting to see an uptick in the number of cases that results in increased presentations to our emergency departments.
We know that these issues on top of influenza make this season very, very difficult. And over the next three months, we’re in for a challenging period.
Park encouraged people to adopt the hygienic practices encouraged at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, be up to date with their vaccinations, stay home if unwell and especially avoid vulnerable settings like hospitals, aged care or early childhood settings.
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Senate committee examining travel restrictions on parts of Iraq and Syria
Federal parliament’s powerful intelligence and security committee is examining a bill that extends laws making it illegal to travel to certain areas, such as parts of Syria or Iraq, for another three years.
The laws, which have been in place for a decade, have been used once when Belal Betka was charged in 2017 with a “declared areas” offence, in addition to terror offences, for allegedly travelling to a war zone in Syria.
Another case, that of Neil Prakash, is currently before the courts.
First up this morning is the Australian Human Rights Commission. In commissioner Lorraine Finlay’s opening statement, she says the commission is concerned about the continuation of such wide-reaching laws. In particular, Finlay says the laws should be repealed given they are not specific to actual criminal conduct.
Finlay noted in Betka’s ruling, after he plead guilty, the NSW supreme court rejected the prosecution’s argument that being in the declared area was “independently serious and represented additional criminality”. She continued:
Criminal offences should describe actual wrongdoing, not conduct that may be consistent with wrongdoing, but may also be entirely innocent. Making prosecution’s easier is not itself a legitimate reason for broadening offences to encompass conduct of this nature.
The laws are due to sunset later this year with the bill, if passed, extending them until September 2027.
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Circling back to the Senate’s hearing on AI
The AEC’s commissioner, Tom Rogers, said the AEC had recently met with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to talk about election issues.
He praised Meta’s engagement in this area: Rogers said they had “unscientifically” run some tests on Meta’s new AI search bar tool, integrated with the major platforms, to see if they could make it “spit forward false information about the Australian election … and we couldn’t do it”.
We’re doing as much as we can to work with those social media platforms.
Rogers said “most of the large platforms”, except X, had signed up to a “general protocol” developed by the Commonwealth Electoral Council.
Immediately after Rogers said X hadn’t signed up to that code, senator James McGrath asked Rogers if any other platform wasn’t cooperating, or could be cooperating better. After a small awkward pause, Rogers joked that he didn’t want “the Eye of Sauron to fall on the AEC”.
X owner Elon Musk has taken umbrage at Australia’s eSafety Commissioner in recent weeks over its orders about videos relating to the Wakeley church stabbing. Court processes for that dispute remain ongoing.
Rogers also revealed that electoral redistributions in several states, important for the next election, are due soon. The redistribution in Western Australia will be announced on 31 May, with expectations the state may gain an extra seat; while redistributions in NSW and Victoria, where both states may lose one seat, are expected in the first two weeks of June, or perhaps slightly earlier.
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Webb: work ongoing to determine motive in Sydney police stabbing
Taking questions on the alleged stabbing of an officer in Sydney, the commissioner, Karen Webb, said police were still investigating any potential motive.
The work is ongoing to determine a motive. It is not clear to us … but certainly, what is unacceptable and what we allege that is before the court: unprovoked, with a knife in the middle of Sydney …
Webb said it would take “some time” to process any electronic or other evidence found during a search warrant of the alleged offender’s residence. Asked if the alleged offender had mental health issues, Webb responded “there is nothing on our system that would indicate so”.
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Death of man and child being investigated as murder-suicide, police say
Peter Thurtell was asked about reports from overnight that a man and his son were found dead in East Lismore overnight (see earlier blog post).
He said “a more tragic event you wouldn’t come across”, and said the matter is being investigated as a murder-suicide.
Thurtell said the man was known to police “for previous DV matters but not significant issues”. He couldn’t comment on where the mother was, but is aware she lived in the community.
My understanding is that the male had an access visit on the day… My understanding is that the mother raised concerns with the fact that they were due to hand over the child at 4.30 and by 5.30 she had contacted the police, and we went around to the residence and made the discovery.
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NSW deputy police commisioner provides stats from anti-domestic violence campaign
The NSW deputy police commissioner, Peter Thurtell, has provided some more detail around the four-day domestic violence blitz last week as part of Operation Amarok.
He said 3,735 ADVO compliance checks were conducted across the state, resulting in 554 alleged offenders arrested and charged with 1,070 offences.
200 of the alleged offenders had outstanding warrants, he said. About 1,300 bail compliance checks were also conducted across the state. Thurtell said:
This has been an outstanding operation. As you know, domestic violence has been the centre of headlines across the state for the last few weeks. Our focus and attention on domestic violence has been going on for years and years. It will continue to go on…
Domestic violence is not acceptable and we will not stop in our operation. There is no way that the NSW police will ease up…
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Police commissioner comments on alleged stabbing of officer in Sydney CBD
The NSW police commissioner Karen Webb was next to speak. She addressed the alleged stabbing of a police officer in the Sydney CBD yesterday, and said:
[The alleged offender is] before the court, however we will allege that he was in possession of a knife and stabbed the officer in the back of the head, at least two times, causing two skull fractures…
He appeared at court this morning and has been bail refused until 9 July, as I understand. I spoke to both officers since yesterday and one officer has been in hospital, and was under observation, and the other officer is at home. They are doing well.
I have commended them for their actions, their courageous actions yesterday in what we will allege was an unprovoked attack. There has been footage circulating and it is pretty clear to me – a court will decide the outcome – but those officers were merely going about their duties and this [man] came up from behind.
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NSW police minister: 550 arrested in Operation Amarok domestic violence crackdown
NSW police have stepped up to provide an update on Operation Amarok, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday last week.
NSW’s police minister, Yasmin Catley, said 550 people were arrested as part of the operation which reflected how “seriously New South Wales police force takes domestic violence and, in particular … making sure that those high risk offenders are complying with their conditions”.
We know that domestic violence is a vile crime and New South Wales police force want to make sure that if there are high risk offenders out there doing the wrong thing, then we will be knocking on their door and arresting them.
Whilst [Operation] Amarok is part of a program and is done about every quarter, it is just one of the tools that New South Wales police have when it comes to addressing domestic violence. They address domestic violence, day in and day out as a matter of their routine business and can I say, whilst it is at the crisis point, generally, that the New South Wales police are dealing with domestic violence.
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AEC says it doesn’t have the tools to detect and deal with AI misinformation
The Australian Electoral Commission says it doesn’t have the tools to detect and deal with AI-generated misinformation around elections, telling a Senate committee about overseas examples of “deceptive content” about polls.
The Senate Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) is holding a hearing today, with numerous academics and expert witnesses appearing. The AEC is up at the moment, with the commission, Tom Rogers, noting the new technology had “amazing productivity benefits” but said there was a “dilemma” around balancing freedom of expression against democratic processes and not confusing voters.
Rogers, in his opening statement, said there had been “widespread examples” in recent elections - in Pakistan, the United States, Indonesia and India - about deceptive content generated by AI, and raised concerns about such examples being replicated in Australia.
The AEC does not possess the legislative tools or internal technical capability to deter, detect or then adequately deal with false AI generated content concerning the election process - such as content that covers where to vote, how to cast a formal vote, and why the electoral process may not be secure or trustworthy.
He also noted warnings overseas that certain nation states may be using AI generated content to confuse voters.
The federal government is currently undertaking consultation on a new code around the use of AI, including AI generated content. That process is investigating the potential of mandatory “watermarks” on AI generated content, to note that it is computer generated. Rogers said he would support mandatory watermarking of electoral content generated by AI, as well as raising a national digital literacy campaign, stronger codes for the social media and tech platforms and even a code of conduct for political parties to agree to be lawful in campaigns.
Rogers said there would be a benefit to mandatory disclosures that a piece of content was watermarked as being AI generated - saying it would make it easier for AEC to consider content around elections. He said not all AI generated content was “bad”, and that much would be lawful, but that citizens should be able to know if content was AI generated.
Credentialing or watermarking is something that helps prove what’s true.
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Latest on Arts West pro-Palestine encampment at University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne has issued a loudspeaker announcement to pro-Palestine protesters camped within a department building, warning they are trespassing if they do not leave campus ground and could face police action.
A group of student activists have been camped within the university’s Arts West Building since Wednesday afternoon, calling for the university to disclose and divest its ties to weapon manufacturers linked to Israel.
In a video posted to social media, a loudspeaker announcement played this morning says an inspection of the Arts West building has found it is “unfit for occupation” due to building damage and obstruction to emergency exits and firefighting equipment:
The university directs all persons occupying the Arts West building to leave the university grounds and to remove all personal property from the building. Any person who contravenes this direction will be trespassing on university grounds and may be referred to Victoria police.
Posters displayed on university buildings also warn that students who fail to comply with the order could result in expulsion.
The student protesters have rejected claims by the university that they have damaged the building and say the sit-in is a peaceful protest.
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Dutton fields questions about Coalition’s nuclear policy
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is speaking to the media from Logan in Queensland, where he is taking questions from reporters.
He is asked when the Coalition will announce the details of its nuclear policy. Dutton responded: “In due course.”
Has the government announced all of their policies for the next election? Of course they haven’t. So I hardly take advice from the prime minister or [treasurer] Jim Chalmers on when our policies should be released.
Dutton is asked whether the Coalition would look to compensate communities where it is proposing to build nuclear reactors? But he did not give any details:
Again, our policies will be announced in due course.
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Treasurer comments on budget polling
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he is unfazed by the polling numbers on the budget, AAP reports.
As we brought you earlier, 40% of people believed the budget was good for them or their household, while 21% thought it was bad, according to the Resolve poll conducted for Nine newspapers.
Chalmers has told reporters in Gladstone:
The way that we are managing the budget and the economy responsibly, combined with the way that we’ve designed our cost-of-living help, will be part of the solution to our inflation challenge, not part of the problem.
I’ll leave it to others to pore over the opinion polls, I’ve been focused on a whole different set of numbers.
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The Star Entertainment Group to temporarily pause trading
The Star has announced it will temporarily pause trading “pending a further announcement”. This comes as it has responded to media speculation it is close to a takeover.
In a statement, The Star confirmed it has received interest from a number of external parties regarding potential transactions but the nature has been “unsolicited, preliminary and non-binding” so far.
At this stage, none of the approaches has resulted in substantive discussions.
In a separate statement, The Star said it had not received a proposal directly from Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos but from a consortium of investors, which included the entity Hard Rock Hotels & Resorts “which The Star understands is a local partner of Hard Rock”.
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Man charged at Sydney airport after allegedly attempting to open emergency exit door
A 33-year-old Canadian citizen will appear in court after allegedly attempting to open an aircraft emergency exit door during an international flight.
The man was charged by the AFP after arriving into Sydney airport on a flight from Vancouver, Canada, on 14 May.
It will be alleged another passenger noticed the man attempting to open the emergency exit door about two hours into the flight and pulled him away, a statement says.
Airline staff moved the man to a seat at the rear of the aircraft and supervised him for the remainder of the flight. It will be alleged the man was intoxicated at the time of the incident.
The AFP arrested the man and charged him with one count of threatening the safety of aircraft, with a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine or imprisonment, or both.
The man is scheduled to appear in Downing Centre local court today.
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Queensland coroner finds cause of Sharron Phillips’ death ‘undetermined’
The Queensland coroner has found that the cause of Sharron Phillips’s mysterious disappearance in 1986 is “undetermined”.
Phillips’ surviving family did not attend court to hear coroner Terry Ryan read out his findings this morning.
Ryan found that her manner of death remained “unknown” but that it was “suspicious”.
It was “caused by a person or persons whose identity cannot be established,” he said.
He said open finding was due to the lack of credibility of a key witness.
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Coalition targets both permanent and net migration: Paterson
The Coalition has clarified that its migration policies will include a target for both permanent and net overseas migration.
On budget night the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said it would decrease the permanent intake from 185,000 to 140,000 over two years, then 150,000 and 160,000.
The opposition has now clarified it will also have a target of 160,000 for net migration, which would be a bigger cut from the 260,000 projected next year.
The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, told ABC RN:
Well, we will be bringing down net overseas migration as well because that obviously has a very tangible impact. A temporary resident who is here, say someone on a student visa, also occupies a home in the housing market, whether they buy it or whether they rent it. And so we will bring that down too.
Asked about the 160,000 figure, Paterson confirmed “yeah, we think that is achievable”. He cited two measures to do so: caps on international students and an increased student visa application fee. Labor has already promised to cap international students. Paterson said:
I think unfortunately, some of our higher education institutions have lost sight of what their genuine purpose is. To give you one example. Sydney University, 47% of the students are international students. That’s clearly way out of proportion of their mission to educate Australians.
NSW looking at potential social media ban for under-16s
Children under 16 could be barred from using some social media platforms in NSW, AAP reports, although the premier is yet to determine whether the state has the power to go it alone on the proposal.
Major operators such as the Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, as well as TikTok, require users to be at least 13 years old, but NSW is investigating options to lift the limit to protect minors from online harm.
“Sixteen sounds right for me,” the premier, Chris Minns, told radio 2GB in reference to a possible minimum age.
The truth is everybody’s had enough and we’re seeing the long-term effects of at best just wasting hours and hours on devices and at worst doing serious psychological damage.
Before any reform occurred, the premier noted that he would have to look at whether statewide enforceability was possible, adding that he preferred a national approach.
The federal government is due to pilot age-verification technology amid rising concern over harmful content on social media, while South Australia is investigating whether the state can impose bans for those under 14.
This comes as the NSW government announced an emergency summit on social media (see earlier posts here and here).
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PM reiterates support for four-year parliamentary terms
The prime minister has reiterated his support for four-year parliamentary terms, while making the rounds on breakfast radio this morning.
This comes as Anthony Albanese fielded questions about the timing of the next election just a few months ago.
Speaking to FiveAA Adelaide breakfast, Albanese was again asked when the next election would be, and responded:
It’ll be when it’s scheduled, which is a scheduled next year. But what we do is, well, that is the anticipated date. I think that three years is too short. I’d like to see four year terms… Every state government and territory has four years. The federal government has three.
Should it be changed with a referendum? Albanese responded, “Referendums are pretty hard. We’ve tried twice.”
And none of them got up anywhere. You know, that’s what happened. Everyone said they’d support it at the beginning and then didn’t. So, sounds familiar.
More information released about ransomware attack on MediSecure
Over the weekend, there was a bit more information released about the ransomware attack on the electronic prescriptions provider MediSecure that we reported last week.
The company said on Saturday that the data in the ransomware breach includes “personal and limited health information relating to prescriptions” and the personal information of healthcare providers. It is data held by MediSecure up until November 2023.
As we reported last week, another service, eRx, is responsible for the Australian government’s national prescription delivery service, so that was not affected.
Services Australia has said people who are concerned about their healthcare identifiers being available should know that Medicare accounts cannot be accessed with just the card number alone.
We still don’t have information on the number of people affected, but MediSecure has advised it will be informing those people.
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Man charged over alleged stabbing of woman at bus stop
A man has been charged over the alleged stabbing of a woman near a shopping centre bus stop in Melbourne’s southeast, AAP reports.
Police allege a 34-year-old Croydon man stabbed a woman with an edged weapon near a bus stop on Overland Drive in Narre Warren at 5.20pm yesterday.
The 35-year-old woman was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police began a search shortly after arriving on the scene near the Westfield Fountain Gate shopping centre and the man was arrested in Hallam shortly after.
He has been charged with intentionally causing injury, possessing a controlled weapon and theft. He will appear at Dandenong magistrates court today.
Updated
Sharron Phillips inquest to hand down its findings into mystery death
The family of Sharron Phillips may finally learn how their daughter died, as a fresh inquest into her death hands down its findings today.
The 20-year-old vanished on 8 May, 1986 after her car ran out of petrol late at night. The vehicle was later fond parked on Ipswich road at Wacol, in Brisbane.
State coroner Terry Ryan will hand down the findings of a fresh inquest this morning. A 1988 inquest found there was insufficient evidence for anyone to be charged with her murder.
The inquest was reopened after a 2016 tipoff, which led police to excavate industrial land at Carole Park. There is a $250,000 police reward offered for information which leads to the conviction of the person or people responsible for her suspected murder.
The coroner is required to investigate whether Philips is in fact dead, how, when and where that occurred and what caused her death, and whether the actions or omission of any person caused her disappearance.
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Australian men twice as likely as women to say they’d run for office, poll shows
Australian men are twice as likely as women to say they’d run for office, according to a new poll, while almost half of men say they’d do a better job than existing politicians.
Almost half of men (46%) surveyed for a DemosAU poll commissioned by the international non-profit Apolitical Foundation think they can “do a better job than the current politicians elected to serve me”, compared to one in three (32%) women who think the same.
The gender gap widened further on willingness to run for office; 24% of men and just 11% of women said they would put up their hand. Almost 60% of the men and women who said they would run also said they could not see a path into the political system.
Apolitical Foundation CEO Lisa Witter said the job of politicians needs to become attractive to more people if Australia is going to attract truly representative leaders:
The Australian public is missing out because the price of running for office is just too high for women. We know they face more harassment, hate, and sexism from the public and colleagues than their male counterparts.
We must make being a politician more sustainable for anyone who wants to serve and especially so for women and other politically underrepresented groups.
The poll collected answers from 2,258 Australians of varying education, geography, political affiliation, and age.
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Coalition defends migration cut as Labor spruiks its own
Labor has criticised the Coalition’s proposed migration policy, saying it would affect the economy and skills base, AAP reports.
The Coalition will reduce Australia’s permanent migration intake by a quarter, lowering it to about 140,000 in its first two years in government, before raising it to 150,000 and then 160,000 over the following two years.
But the opposition home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, said Labor couldn’t have it both ways as the government spruiked a halving of net migration to about 260,000 from next year. He told ABC radio earlier:
How could it possibly be the case that the Labour party reducing migration is fine but the Liberal party reducing migration by a little bit more is somehow terrible? I think that’s an absurd argument.
Clearly, neither will have a disastrous effect on the economy.
We’re still going to bring in significant [numbers of] people – 140,000 permanent residents under us – but we think it’s much more sustainable than what Labor has been doing.
The plan would ease pressure on the housing market, health sector and congestion, Paterson said. But the plan wasn’t thought through, prime minister Anthony Albanese said:
When you look, the detail simply isn’t there, no costings, no understanding about impact on the economy. They’re a group that just appeal to their own base, say things that their own base wants to hear without putting forward clear, fully costed policies.
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Albanese on ‘concerning’ New Caledonia situation
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has responded to the situation in New Caledonia. Speaking to ABC Radio, he said the government is “very concerned”.
French authorities are providing regular updates for us. The situation is really concerning. We’re doing everything possible to help Australians who are on the ground. There are 300 registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Australian defence force is certainly ready to fly, pending commercial flights resuming.
So, we want to work with partners as well, so that those who wish to leave can do so. The situation on the ground at the moment is preventing flights, but we continue to pursue approvals and we continue, our officials there in New Caledonia, continue to work with people on the ground.
Albanese said those concerned about their family can call 1300 555 135 within Australia or +61 262 613 305 from overseas.
Updated
More on the latest polling results
Anthony Albanese leads Peter Dutton for preferred prime minister 40 to 32, while Labor’s primary vote lags the Coalition 29 to 36 according to the Resolve poll.
Labor went backwards 1% while the Coalition gained the same figure compared to last month.
Albanese also led as preferred PM in the latest Newspoll conducted for The Australian 52 to 33, with 15% uncommitted.
Labor leads the coalition 52-48 on the two-party preferred vote in Newspoll as well, a change from last month’s 51-49.
Newspoll put Labor’s primary vote at 34% compared to the Coalition’s 37.
Those who thought the budget was good and bad sat at 27% a piece, while almost half of Australians remained uncommitted. Almost 40% thought it would be bad for inflation, compared to 34% who thought it would make no difference and 15% who thought it would make it better.
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Labor budget gets lukewarm response, migration slammed
Energy bill relief in the federal budget has failed to spark a major boost in the polls as voters despair over migration numbers, AAP reports.
The $300 rebate for household energy bills proved popular, with 72% of people supporting the measure, according to a Resolve poll conducted for Nine newspapers.
There was a similar level of support for a $1bn package to extend and expand domestic violence programs, while revamped tax cuts received 68% support.
Taking the budget as a whole, 40% believed it was good for them or their household, while 21% thought it was bad.
The government has been slammed on migration, with 60% of all voters saying it had handled it “in an unplanned and unmanaged way” while only 20% thought it was being handled well. Coalition voters were more likely to disapprove at 75% compared to 37% of Labor voters.
More than a third of Labor voters agreed with how immigration was being handled compared to 14% of coalition voters. Two-thirds of Australians thought net migration of 528,000 people was too high, compared to 23% thinking it was right.
This dropped to 50% thinking it was too high and increased to 35% thinking it was right for next year, when net migration is set to fall back to 260,000.
The Coalition promised to reduce the permanent migration intake by a quarter in the opposition leader’s budget reply. You can read more on this below:
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More details on the NSW government’s social media summit
AAP has more detail on the emergency social media summit called by the NSW premier, Chris Minns.
The October summit will be a major plank in the official response to growing worries about mental health impacts of social media on children, the government said today.
It will bring together experts in the field including policymakers, academics and leading social media platforms and digital technologies, it said.
Minns said he called the snap summit with the understanding that the “biggest issue facing parents is kids’ access and exposure to devices and social media”.
I’m convinced we need more conversations and solutions for parents, schools and communities about how to manage this.
This summit will bring together experts and parents alike to talk about what more we can do to protect the wellbeing of our children.
The government says a large body of evidence shows social media presents risks for young people, including a higher risk of mental health issues. A significant proportion of young social media users are also at risk of image-based sexual abuse, privacy and security issues, it says.
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Police minister comments on alleged stabbing of officer in Sydney CBD
Yasmin Catley was also asked about the police officer that was allegedly stabbed in the Sydney CBD yesterday. A man has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, as we reported earlier.
Catley said the officer, Constable Elvis Poa, was in “very high of spirits” when she spoke to him last night, given “the ordeal he’s been through”.
He is very thankful for the support he got from officers that were around him and he also has a lot of support ongoing which is terrific … I just want to thank him for doing his work.
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Police minister says domestic violence blitz occurs every quarter in NSW
The NSW police minister, Yasmin Catley, was on ABC News Breakfast earlier to discuss the state’s four-day domestic violence blitz.
She said it was the sixth operation in 18 months, with “thousands of arrests” in that time.
[The operations] are scheduled about every quarter, so police have been doing this for quite some time. NSW police [utilise] the DV registry, where they accumulate information about [alleged] high-risk offenders and it’s that intelligence that they use to then go out and undertake these operations.
Catley was also asked about changes to the state’s bail laws which are before parliament:
We will debate it when we return. I would really urge the opposition to get behind it and support those bail laws that we have before the parliament.
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NSW government announces emergency summit on social media
The NSW government has announced an emergency summit on social media. The deputy premier, Prue Car, was speaking about this on 7’s Sunrise earlier this morning, and said:
Everything is on the table. We are all worried about this, I’m a parent as well myself. Social media companies are not doing enough and we need to seriously look if we need to change the law in order to keep your young people safe.
Car said it was “really realistic” to look at age verification in terms of “limiting our children’s interaction with social media”.
We need to get all the experts in one place. The premier [Chris Minns] has called this emergency summit. We are just seeing too many cases where the worst possible thing has occurred because of bullying online. We banned phones in schools in NSW and that has worked an enormous amount in the school day inside the school gates, but we need to look beyond that now.
The South Australian government is considering banning kids under 14 from having social media accounts; asked if NSW would consider this, Car said “it is going to be on the table” at the summit.
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ACTU lodges submission for right to disconnect to be incorporated into awards
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has today lodged its submission to the Fair Work Commission on the right to disconnect being incorporated into modern awards.
The submission advocates for a clause that holds employers accountable for proper staffing and planning to minimise out-of-hours contact, arguing that employers being disorganised is not an excuse for not paying workers, a statement says.
The right to disconnect allows workers to refuse unreasonable work-related communication outside working hours, and would also ensure employers properly compensate employees for working out of hours.
The right was passed by parliament in February, and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has vowed to eliminate it if the Coalition wins the next election. You can read more about the issue below:
The ACTU president, Michele O’Neil, said in a statement:
Unions are arguing that awards clearly set out workers’ rights to have a life outside work. Changes in technology and work arrangements cannot be used to undermine the right to be paid for the work you do and to have the right to disconnect …
The right to disconnect is an important part of addressing cost-of-living, because people deserve to be paid wages for every hour they work.
Peter Dutton’s promise to take away the right to disconnect shows just how out of touch he is with working Australians. Abolishing this right would worsen the work-life balance of families and create more burnout and stress in people’s lives.
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Details of arrests under NSW domestic violence blitz
NSW police said that the four-day domestic violence blitz included:
The engagement of 548 alleged offenders classified as dangerous.
122 firearm prohibition order compliance searches.
1277 bail compliance checks conducted with 144 breaches detected.
422 apprehended domestic violence orders served.
Police also listed a number of significant arrests, including:
A 55-year-old man charged after an alleged assault on a 62-year-old woman at a residence in Port Macquarie on 24 April.
A 53-year-old man arrested in West Kempsey after an alleged domestic assault on 15 May. It’s alleged the man and a 47-year-old woman had an argument inside a home in West Kempsey and during the argument, the man used an imitation firearm to threaten the woman before police were called. He was charged with multiple offences.
A 32-year-old woman has been charged after the alleged assault of a 37-year-old woman at a residence in West Kempsey on 16 May.
A 16-year-old girl arrested in Lurnea on 16 May after allegedly assaulting two people. She was charged with two counts of common assault (DV) and two counts of contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO (domestic). A 37-year-old woman was also charged with common assault (DV).
A 23-year-old woman was charged with common assault (DV) after allegedly assaulting a 27-year-old man in Lilyfield on 17 May.
A 31-year-old man will be extradited to Sydney today after being arrested in Queensland over an alleged domestic violence-related assault on 8 May. The woman was taken to Canterbury hospital with fractured ribs, facial injuries and a bruised kidney, as well as bruises to her torso and legs.
A 25-year-old man was arrested by officers from the from Coffs Clarence police district after he allegedly assaulted a woman before then assaulting two officers when they attempted to arrest him on 17 May.
A 23-year-old woman was arrested in Ivanhoe, in the state’s west, after she allegedly stabbed a relative about on 17 May. A 37-year-old woman allegedly received multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, head, and back and was taken to a local hospital where police were called.
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More than 550 charged following four-day domestic violence blitz
New South Wales police have charged more than 550 people during a four-day operation targeting alleged domestic and family violence offenders.
Operation Amarok ran from Wednesday to Saturday last week and saw a total of 1070 charges laid among 554 arrested, with police from every district across the state involved.
226 of those arrested were wanted by police for serious domestic violence offences, police said. The police and counter-terrorism minister, Yasmin Catley, said:
These results show how seriously the NSW police force take domestic and family violence.
NSW police executive sponsor for domestic and family violence, deputy commissioner Peter Thurtell, said:
We saw significant arrest numbers in our regional communities, and we also saw arrests for offences that occurred allegedly while the offender was in jail.
Updated
Six arrested after rally in Melbourne’s CBD
Six people have been arrested after a “Never again is now” rally against antisemitism in Melbourne’s CBD yesterday afternoon.
In a statement, Victoria police said it had a “highly visible presence” at two separate rallies taking place across the city on Sunday, including the antisemitism protest and a counter-rally. The protests totalled about 7,000 people across both events.
While the organisers had confirmed separate locations and routes for their events, protestors from one group moved to Spring Street, Melbourne East to counter protest. To ensure safety and prevent violence, Victoria Police were required to form lines between the two opposing groups.
The spokesperson said the police response was “largely successful” in keeping the two groups separate, though six arrests were still made. All those that were arrested were released pending summons.
Of those, one person was arrested for bill posting, three for hinder police, one for hinder and state false name, and one for assault police and possess a drug of dependence.
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Bodies of man and two-year-old son found in NSW home
A crime scene has been established after the bodies of a man and his two-year-old son were found in a Far North Coast home overnight.
NSW police said officers attended a unit in East Lismore about 9.45pm overnight due to concerns for the welfare of a man and his son.
Police forced entry into the unit and found the bodies of a 38-year-old man and a two-year-old boy.
A crime scene has been established overnight and inquiries into the deaths are now under way. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
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Two in hospital after industrial fire in Brisbane
Two people are in hospital after a large industrial fire in Brisbane.
Queensland Ambulance said emergency services responded to the fire on Cambridge Street in Coorparoo just before 5am.
Two people were taken to Princess Alexandra hospital in a stable condition, one with smoke inhalation and one with an arm injury.
People in the area were urged to close all windows, remain inside if possible and avoid the area.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said the fire was under control and crews were working to extinguish it:
Smoke is affecting buildings south west of the fire. Residents should close windows and doors and keep respiratory medications close by, if required. Motorists should drive with caution and to the conditions.
#Coorparoo - Emergency Services are on scene at a large industrial fire on Cambridge Street at 4.56am. Two patients are being assessed on scene. Please close all windows and if possible, remain inside if possible and avoid the area, pic.twitter.com/mQUaSq76vo
— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) May 19, 2024
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Man charged with intent to murder after officer stabbed
A man who allegedly stabbed a police officer in the head in Sydney’s CBD has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, AAP reports.
Constable Elvis Poa, 35, remains in a stable condition in hospital after being stabbed near Hyde Park by a man who allegedly demanded that officers shoot him. You can read all the background on this below:
Poa was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for two wounds to his head and was taken to St Vincent’s hospital where scans revealed he suffered two skull fractures. He remains in a stable condition, police said in a statement early today.
The 34-year-old man was arrested and taken to Royal Prince Alfred hospital under police guard, for assessment. He has since been discharged from hospital and charged with cause wounding/grievous bodily harm to person with intent to murder.
He was refused bail to appear before Downing Centre local court today.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning, and welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage this Monday.
New South Wales police have charged more than 550 people during a four-day operation, targeting alleged domestic and family violence offenders. Operation Amarok ran from Wednesday to Saturday last week and saw a total of 1,070 charges laid, with police from every district across the state involved.
Meanwhile, the bodies of a man and his son were found in a home in the far north coast of NSW overnight. Officers attended a home in East Lismore yesterday due to welfare concerns, where they found the bodies of a 38-year-old man and a two-year-old boy.
More to come shortly on both of these stories.
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.
