What we learned – Friday 2 August
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. Here is a recap of the main news:
Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against Brittany Higgins got under way in the Western Australia supreme court.
The former Australian defence force chief Mark Binskin said the Israeli government should provide an “appropriate apology” to the families of the Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and her six colleagues over their killings in Gaza.
A court application has been filed by the Fair Work Commission to appoint an independent administrator to the CFMEU’s embattled general and construction divisions
One of the co-chairs of the Uluru Dialogues has declared the need for First Nations recognition and representation to be as urgent as it ever was, as the first annual Garma festival begins.
Victoria’s chief health officer, Dr Clare Looker, confirmed the first death in the state’s legionnaires outbreak.
The probe into PwC is continued today, and Labor senator Deborah O’Neill says the focus will be on confidence in the audit sector.
New South Wales will become the first state in the country to hold a parliamentary inquiry into the effects of “harmful” pornography as part of the government’s bid to address domestic violence.
Foodbank Victoria announced it is “dangerously low” on food and will be holding a large-scale emergency food drive for next weekend.
Two-thirds of people only visit the dentist when they have a problem, with affordability the main reason keeping them away, according to new data from the Australian Dental Association.
A Sydney man was charged after meth worth $828m was allegedly found in a shipping container.
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The Bureau of Meteorology has released its monthly report for July. In short, rainfall was about 7% below average for the month.
Mean temperatures, which average out day and night readings, were 0.7C warmer than the 1961-90 norm.
You can read the full report here.
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Higgins and Sharaz coordinated an “ambush” of Reynolds, senator’s lawyer tells court
Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz schemed to “ambush” Linda Reynolds’ appearance at the National Press Club, the Liberal senator’s lawyer has alleged.
Martin Bennett directed a Western Australian supreme court to a series of communications between Higgins, Sharaz and a number of journalists in Canberra’s press gallery.
In text messages with journalists, Sharaz explains Higgins will go to the police after Reynolds’ speech so that the senator, then the defence industry minister, couldn’t use government holding lines relating to ongoing investigations.
In a text message with a journalist from The Australian, Sharaz allegedly wrote “the standard holding line won’t cut it”.
In February, Sharaz had also described to Higgins the timing of Reynolds’ appearance at the high-profile media event as being “F**king. Amazing.”
Bennett accused the two of coordinating an “ambush” of Reynolds.
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Higgins and Sharaz cast Linda Reynolds in ‘villain’ role, Liberal senator’s lawyer tells defamation trial
Back to the WA supreme court, and this afternoon Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, has alleged Brittany Higgins and her now husband, David Sharaz, conceived a media plan down to the last detail.
Bennett reiterated the evidence would prove Higgins “needed a villain” and she decided to “cast Linda Reynolds in that role”.
Notes taken from Higgins’ phone and shown to the court on Friday showed she had written a few sentences about a “thesis” on the role of media in a “political sex scandal”.
Bennett said there had been a level of “sophistication” in the pair’s planning due to getting both a print journalist, Samantha Maiden, and TV journalist, Lisa Wilkinson, on board.
Text exchanges between Sharaz and Maiden showed the two agreed the story needed to be released during a sitting week. Others showed that Higgins, Sharaz, Wilkinson and Network Ten producer Angus Llewellyn discussed the need to find “friendlies” to back up the story and to continue the attention in the coming Senate estimates hearings.
The trial continues.
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NSW rail workers may offer ‘free public transport’ if bargaining agreement not reached, union says
Train workers in New South Wales will threaten to provide free public transport in September as they bargain for higher wages.
The Fair Work Commission has ruled that station workers have the legal right to turn off Opal readers and open gates while taking industrial action. Members of the NSW Rail Tram and Bus Union will vote on whether to take action in coming weeks.
If the action goes ahead, barriers would be opened and card readers switched off at gated stations across the state, allowing commuters to access public transport without paying.
NSW RTBU secretary, Toby Warnes, said the union was looking forward to providing “free public transport” during bargaining:
“We want to take actions that don’t hurt commuters, that hurt the government’s hip pocket, but at the same time, do our little bit to help ease the cost of living crisis.”
Combined rail unions including the RTBU are negotiating a new enterprise agreement with the NSW government’s train operators and transport department.
The unions have asked for annual pay increases of 8%, while the government is offering 3.5% in 2024, then 3% in subsequent years, plus extras.
Results of the RTBU vote on whether to take action will be declared on 26 August. Industrial action would not be taken until September at the earliest and would be avoided entirely if agreement is reached through negotiations.
A spokesperson for the transport minister, Jo Haylen, said the government “will maintain good faith discussions and will work through any issues” as the “detailed and constructive negotiations” continue.
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ATO official may have dropped ‘breadcrumbs’ about tax leak issue, ex-PwC chief says
A testy afternoon session in the PwC tax leak inquiry has drawn to a close with former CEO Luke Sayers drawing the most heat over what notes he might have of conversations with ATO second commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn.
Asked by the inquiry members whether he had been explicitly told about a breach of confidence, Sayers said: “Did he drop a few breadcrumbs? . …I don’t remember it.”
“Could he have? Maybe he did. But the one thing I’ll guarantee you, whatever he told me, I would have gone back and talked to the people at PwC,” he said, adding that Hirschhorn “had been waxing lyrical” about the firm’s culture.
Since Hirschhorn had made a contemporaneous note about the meeting, Sayers was asked if he too had taken notes. He said he did.
In the follow-up session, now under way, senator O’Neill has asked the PwC current CEO, Kevin Burrowes – who kicked off the morning session – if he can find Mr Sayer’s notes. Burrowes said PwC “will go away and have another look”, having failed to locate them in previous searches.
Under strain of questioning during his session, Sayers said: “I’m trying to be very constructive and helpful to the fixes that need to happen. So this bloody cluster – I won’t use the full word here in Parliament House – never happens again.”
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Death of woman involving lawnmower treated as suspicious
The death of a woman involving a ride-on lawnmower is being treated as suspicious, AAP reports.
Police say they are still unsure what happened to the 49-year-old mother of three at an Upper Lockyer property west of Brisbane.
Det Supt George Marchesini said the woman was found at the property with critical injuries about 3.45am on Tuesday. She died at the scene.
Her husband allegedly told police he found her and called triple zero after there was an incident with a ride-on mower.
Marchesini said the death had been deemed suspicious because they were still unsure of what had occurred.
“There’s a number of things that we need to understand better, to understand what the cause is and how this actually happened,” he told reporters on Friday.
Marchesini said the husband was assisting police with the investigation.
The woman was last seen alive on Monday afternoon.
“This is a tragic incident,” Marchesini said.
“It’s an incident where our hearts do go out to the family, in particular the woman’s three children, the community, her workplace and also first responders that go to these types of jobs.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact police.
“If they have knowledge of the woman, they’ve got knowledge of the family … we want to hear from them in terms of what they do know,” Marchesini said.
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Zomi Frankcom’s family welcomes Binskin report
Zomi Frankcom’s family has welcomed the report prepared by the former Australian defence force chief Mark Binskin as “an important first step” while noting there were “limitations” in his role as a special adviser to the government.
Frankcom and six of her colleagues from World Central Kitchen were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on 1 April.
A spokesperson for the family said in a statement issued this afternoon:
We are very grateful to have had the benefit of a detailed discussion with Mr Binskin and DFAT personnel. We appreciate that Mr Binskin’s role had some limitations, but his report is an important first step. We hope it will be followed by further investigations in Israel regarding those responsible for this tragic event, followed by appropriate action.
The supportive comments of the Australian foreign minister, Senator Penny Wong, and the Australian government, also mean a great deal to us.
For more on this story:
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We’ve resumed in the defamation trial against Brittany Higgins. Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, is expected to continue his opening arguments until 5pm Perth time.
Brittany Higgins’ defence is likely to appear on Monday.
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Linda Reynolds’ lawyer tells defamation trial Brittany Higgins’ claims ‘absolute nonsense’
Back in the Western Australian supreme court for the defamation trial against Brittany Higgins and Linda Reynolds’ lawyer has accused Higgins of deliberately reconstructing a story to “damnify” her former boss.
Martin Bennett provided an overview of how the Liberal senator and her senior staff provided support and options to Higgins after the junior staffer’s alleged rape in Parliament House in 2019.
Bennett said Reynolds believed Higgins had the agency to make her own choice but encouraged her not to “repress” memories given her own experience visiting the site of the Bali bombings to identify bodies.
In another example, Bennett pointed to the senator’s former chief of staff, Fiona Brown, who emailed Scott Morrison’s then chief of staff, John Kunkel, in April 2019 to ask if Higgins could work from the Gold Coast to be with family instead of her usual home base of Canberra.
Bennett described Higgins’ account as a “mishmash” of events, accusing her of deliberately reconstructing the story to “damnify” Reynolds.
“It’s absolute nonsense,” Bennett said.
The hearing is paused until 2pm in Perth for lunch and is likely to run until 5pm this afternoon. We’re not expecting to hear the defence’s opening arguments until Monday in the almost-five-week trial.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has arrived at the annual Garma festival:
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Government calls in advisers to weigh up Rex bailout
The federal government has called in a cohort of heavy-hitting corporate advisers as it weighs up a potential bailout of embattled regional airline Rex, AAP reports.
The cash-strapped carrier has grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 737s on inter-city routes but is keeping regional services running after the appointment of administrators EY Australia.
Rex has faced government criticism for targeting well-served capital-city routes in competition with dominant operators Qantas and Virgin, with any potential taxpayer stake in the airline or other bailout option to focus on its ability to service the regions.
The federal transport department on Friday confirmed to AAP it had appointed a string of external advisers as it worked through support options for the airline.
Norton Rose Fulbright will act as an external legal adviser, McGrathNicol has been engaged for financial advice and O’Connor Marsden will handle probity.
The transport minister, Catherine King, has said all options were on the table when asked if the government could take an equity stake in Rex or offer it another taxpayer-backed financial lifeline.
“We have said very clearly, for regional consumers, regional communities, Rex is often the only airline that is flying in and it is vitally important,” she said on Thursday.
About a third of Rex’s 2000 employees are expected to lose their jobs with the cancellation of inter-city routes.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, bristled when asked if Rex’s demise was a “public policy failure” as suggested by former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims.
Sims told AAP the prime minister’s response ignored the benefits the extra competition could bring consumers.
“We should have a focus on creating the conditions for lower capital-city prices,” he said.
“To want the aviation market to stay as it is, with Qantas dominant on capital-city routes and Rex always confined to regional routes, is to create a lazy and high-cost-for-consumers industry structure.”
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Malarndirri McCarthy calls for respectful dialogue after Dutton pledge
The new federal minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, has called for respectful dialogue after Peter Dutton vowed to jettison the rest of the Uluru statement from the heart and abandon any truth-telling process if he wins government.
Speaking at the first annual Garma festival to be held since last year’s referendum rejected an Indigenous voice to parliament, McCarthy suggested the opposition leader’s remarks proved how difficult it has become to achieve positive change.
“Well, it just shows what l’m up against to reach out across the political divide,”
McCarthy said, when Dutton’s comments were put to her on Friday.
“What we don’t want to see in this country is the hatred and hurtfulness that occurred throughout the referendum. And l, for one, will not accept that.”
Speaking in Perth on his return from a visit to Israel, Dutton criticised the cost of last year’s referendum and rejected another element of the Uluru statement from the heart.
“Under a government l lead, there will be no Makarrata, there will be no revisiting of truth-telling,” he said.
McCarthy vowed to seek shared decision-making with Indigenous people but confirmed the government would not legislate an Indigenous voice to parliament after voters rejected the proposal to put it into the constitution.
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Pauline Hanson sacks One Nation MP Stephen Andrew
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, has sacked Stephen Andrew, the party’s only MP in Queensland parliament.
The Mirani MP was One Nation’s only success at the 2017 election, which many believed would be a breakthrough vote for the party.
Andrew was re-elected in 2020 on the same ticket, but has fallen out with Hanson, who he hasn’t spoken to in years.
This time the party hopes to snag the seat of Keppel off Labor with star candidate James Ashby, a staffer of Senator Hanson.
In his maiden speech Andrew described himself as a “fifth-generation Australian South Sea islander, descendent of the sugarcane labourers known as the Kanakas”, and gave some of the speech in pidgin English.
Kanakas were brought to central and north Queensland as enslaved people to work in the state’s sugar industry.
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Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, to take you through the rest of the day’s news.
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, and enjoy your weekend.
Greens call for independent investigation into Israeli strike on aid convoy
The deputy leader of the Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, has accused the Binskin report of “whitewashing” an Israeli drone strike on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy, and said the assertion Israeli forces didn’t deliberately target the vehicle “underscores the need for an independent war crimes investigation.”
Faruqi said in a statement that “it just seems nonsensical that Israel couldn’t identify three separate World Central Kitchen vehicles that they bombed and which killed Zomi Frankcom and six more aid workers.”
Israel has a long record of targeting humanitarian aid workers, and it is delusional for the Labor government to think these were mistakes.
Incident after incident has shown that Israel cannot be trusted to investigate itself. And yet Binskin’s report, done with no investigative powers, relies significantly on Israel’s investigation into the attack on World Central Kitchen and includes voluntary conversations with Israeli officials.
We will only uncover the facts and details with an independent investigation. If there is nothing to hide, let’s have a war crimes investigation.
Former PwC CEO doesn’t recall counsel’s concern over successor’s rise
The parliamentary inquiry into PwC’s confidential tax reform disclosure has moved to a session with two former CEO’s Luke Sayers and Tom Seymour.
Recall that earlier in the day, former PwC senior counsel Meredith Beattie told the inquiry that she had raised concerns with Sayers about Seymour’s candidacy to be the new CEO. (She said Sayers was aware that there would “have to be some steps taken in relation to Mr Seymour” over his leadership of PwC’s tax group.)
Sayers said he had not heard Beattie’s evidence to the inquiry today. Sayers said repeatedly he had no “recollection” of legal or other advice from Beattie among Seymour’s suitability for the role but added she “probably” had a better memory than he did.
He had also left PwC five years ago while Beattie had only departed the firm a year earlier.
Seymour, who also departed PwC last year, said he had not been told of his unsuitability for the top job. Had he been told he was “not a suitable candidate”, Seymour – a 30-year PwC veteran – “would have withdrawn immediately”.
Sayers said 99% of people at PwC were “awesome, amazing, intelligent people and it’s tragic what has happened to so many people and so many families”. He also “did not buy the spirit” of Switkowski’s review (see earlier post).
Seymour, meanwhile, said he had offered to meet Switkowski, but had declined a meeting at the time of his father’s death. He said he had offered to meet later but was told it was “too late”, adding he had emails to prove it.
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Continuing from our last post: Linda Reynolds’ case is seeking to show that Brittany Higgins’ claim she was “sequestered” to work in a hotel room months after her alleged rape were not true.
Martin Bennett pulled up a number of pictures of Higgins smiling in campaign pictures in Western Australia, and text exchanges she shared with her then-boyfriend, Ben Dillaway.
In messages responding to Dillaway’s questions about her time there, Higgins responded in her first few weeks she had been “out and about” at local campaign events and had been enjoying her downtime “poolside” and “adventuring” around the lake.
Bennett said the exhibits showed a “vivacious” young woman enjoying her job and the “barefaced falsity” of Higgins’ claims.
Higgins’ lawyer has not yet delivered the defence. The hearing continues.
Reynolds defamation case hearing against Higgins continues
A little earlier, Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, ran through a series of text exchanges, pictures and meeting invites to sway the court that Brittany Higgins misled the commonwealth during her personal injury settlement.
Higgins settled a personal injury claim against the government for $2.445m in December 2022. Bennett said Reynolds could not attend the settlement despite the matter relating to her alleged treatment of Higgins after the incident in early 2019.
The details of the settlement were tendered during an earlier defamation trial launched by Bruce Lehrmann against Network 10 and Lisa Wikinson.
In court, Bennett pointed to the settlement document, which outlined Higgins was “fearful of losing her career” and agreed to help Reynolds’ re-election campaign in April 2019.
The settlement outlined Higgins had given evidence to say she was required to work in a hotel by herself for 7 days a week over six weeks, and her mental health subsequently “deteriorated”.
The settlement, agreed to on 13 December 2022, was reported on by News Corp despite it being subject to confidentiality. Bennett said the article would have given readers the impression that Reynolds’ conduct in the matter had been “so true, so damning, so correct” that the federal government had no choice but to agree to a multimillion-dollar compensation.
More to come in a moment.
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‘Bridgewater Jerry’ fog rolls towards Hobart – video
The Bureau of Meteorology shared this time lapse video of fog rolling over the River Derwent towards Hobart early this morning.
The local weather phenomenon – named “Bridgewater Jerry” – is a unique, giant, snake-like fog which affects the Derwent estuary during autumn and winter:
Fog, Hobart style.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) August 2, 2024
Locally weather phenomena #BridgewaterJerry looked impressive this morning making its way down the River Derwent towards the city.
📸Luke Johnston
Forecasts and warnings https://t.co/4W35o8i7wJ or the BOM weather app. pic.twitter.com/BBipR14d8Y
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Administrator to be appointed to tackle disgraced CFMEU
A court application has been filed by the Fair Work Commission to appoint an independent administrator to the CFMEU’s embattled general and construction divisions, AAP reports.
The commission in July revealed it would take action after accusations of criminal misconduct and bikie links were levelled at the union’s construction arm.
The commission’s general manager, Murray Furlong, today filed a federal court application to nominate an independent administrator to the CFMEU’s general and construction divisions.
The commission has proposed the court appoint Mark Irving to the position. Irving has been a member of the Victorian Bar for nearly three decades and has experience acting on union and employer matters.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the government would begin moves to address the CFMEU, and workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, previously said the government is preparing legislation to steamroll the union at any sign of resistance.
Labor’s national executive has already severed ties with the CFMEU and will no longer accept political donations or affiliation fees from the troubled construction arm.
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Opposition responds to Binskin report
The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, has responded to Mark Binskin’s report handed to the government, regarding the Israeli strikes on a World Central Kitchen aid convoy in April that killed Australian Zomi Frankcom.
Birmingham said in a statement:
This report has largely confirmed Israel’s accountability, transparency and cooperation, which will only add to questions about whether domestic politics led to the Albanese government pursuing this unprecedented review of a foreign government’s military operations.
Birmingham said he agreed with Binskin on the importance of “continued transparency by Israel when [the military advocate general] determines future actions.”
Brave and loving humanitarian workers step into dangerous situations every day to bring relief to human suffering and we urge Israel to ensure the changes they have instigated do better protect such workers and that they take all possible steps to do so.
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Here’s the full story from Daniel Hurst about Mark Binskin’s report into the 1 April incident, where a World Central Kitchen aid convoy was hit by Israeli drone strikes.
Have a read below for all the details:
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Investor lending continues to outpace owner-occupiers
Lending by property investors continues to run faster than the value of home loans taken out by owner-occupiers, AAP reports, reflecting a still-tight rental market.
That’s as the total value of lending to property investors, owner-occupiers and first home buyers rose 1.3% in June following a 1.7% slide in May.
New housing loans hit $29.2bn, data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed, to be 19.1% higher compared with a year earlier. ABS head of finance statistics, Mish Tan, said investor lending growth continued to outpace loans to owner-occupiers.
In June, owner-occupier loans rose 0.5% to $18.2bn, while investor loans gained another 2.7%, to $11bn. Tan said:
The total value of new investor loans was 30.2% higher compared to a year ago, while for owner-occupiers it was 13.2%.
Oxford Economics Australia senior economist Maree Kilroy said the tight rental market and higher gross rental yields were helping to stoke investor demand.
The spread between owner-occupier and investor mortgage rates has also progressively tightened with banks competing for market share.
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Whole of PwC ‘not corrupt’, independent reviewer Ziggy Switkowski tells inquiry
The parliamentary inquiry looking into PwC is using the start of its afternoon session to question Ziggy Switkowski.
Switkowski, a former senior executive at Telstra, Optus and other companies, conducted an independent review of PwC’s governance and culture. He said PwC did get a draft copy a few days before its release a year ago but only to check for errors.
Former PwC chief executive Tom Seymour did not meet as part of the review but he did have “interaction” through his lawyers, Switkowski said.
Switkowski said PwC governance oversight was “not match fit” and “some sort of volcanic development” occurred as a result.
“The whole organisation is not corrupt,” he said, adding that diligent and talented staff had been through a “thoroughly traumatic” event following the tax leak scandal.
Asked by Liberal MP Alex Hawke whether people really appreciated that “if they steal the Australian government’s tax information, that’s not serious?”. “Many don’t,” Switkowski said.
Among the lessons for the event, was the need to get board and executive structures “right” and to set the “right goals” that were not merely sales and market share, he said. PwC’s bureaucracy was also “overwhelming”, even compared with rivals.
It not only confuses but disguises problems.
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Wong says Australia’s requests of Israel reflect their existing commitments as part of international community
Taking a final question, Penny Wong was asked how confident she is the Israeli government would meet the requests of the Australian government.
She responded:
Israel, like Australia, is a democracy, and Israel, like Australia, accepts the obligations that go with that, which include observing international law – including international humanitarian law – and international humanitarian law does call for the protection of civilians, and in particular the protection of aid workers. So we are simply reflecting the existing commitments that Israel has already made, as part of the international community.
I would note also that the IDF itself has made very clear in its public statements that it accepted responsibility for the tragic deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues.
Q: Is the government looking at fast tracking the visas of Australians with relatives in Gaza?
Penny Wong:
We are conscious about the concerns in the community about these issues and conscious of what is occurring in Gaza and the consequences for people here, including those who have come to Australia. These [are] matters that minister [Tony] Burke … will work through in the appropriate time.
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Asked about potential criminal charges, Mark Binskin said that would be up to the military advocate general:
She is independent of the IDF, but not independent from the Israeli legal system. It would take a number of months from the time that the investigation is handed to her to make her decision and then it is a decision on her, on what she may proceed with.
And asked if this would be a case with Israel or the International Court, he responded:
That is up to the [military advocate general] and the ICC. It is not up to me to make that call and I must be careful about prejudicing an investigation.
Mark Binskin said the Israeli government was “very forthcoming” with information during his investigation:
It took time to get into Israel – which you would appreciate with the strikes that were going on and there was Passover, which we respected. It gave us a chance to talk to Solace Global and World Central Kitchen and get that side of it, and when we went in we had a fair bit of information that made the discussions very open and they were quite open …
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Q: Is Australia satisfied with Israel’s response to this matter?
Penny Wong responded:
Our position remains [that] we want full transparency and accountability. That process for accountability is not over. This report is not the end of the matter and we will continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges.
Wong hopes Israel can understand ‘importance’ of apology
Asked about the request for the Israeli government to apologise to Zomi Frankcom’s family, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said:
I have had discussions with the family as has my colleague, and we will continue to advocate on their behalf to the Israeli government … and I hope they understand the importance of that, and I hope that this request can receive a positive response.
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IDF response ‘timely, appropriate and with some exceptions, sufficient’: Binskin
Mark Binskin said the IDF “quickly accepted responsibility for the strikes”, removed two officers from their positions and reprimanded three senior officers.
He said acceptance and accountability – including holding people to account – has been “timely, appropriate and with some exceptions, sufficient.”
One exception is with regard to the initial sharing of information regarding how the strikes occurred. It appears that most of the known information was presented to officials … however it is noticeable that the IDF public statement released on April 5 left specific detail included in the closed debriefing that could have helped reduce confusion and speculation. Information was only made public in the following days during media interviews and the like.
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Mark Binskin details findings of report into strikes on aid convoy
Former Australian defence force chief Mark Binskin is now speaking to the media to provide more information about the report he has provided to the government, regarding Israeli strikes on the World Central Kitchen aid convoy – which killed Australian Zomi Frankcom.
What transpired on the evening of April 1 is complex and analysing information provided by all three parties, what appears to have occurred due to a significant breakdown in situational awareness within the IDF from the unexpected presence of armed locals … This was further compounded by the lack of real-time communications between the IDF and the World Central Kitchen aid workers in those escort vehicles that could have clarified the situation and likely averted the strikes.
Ultimately, however, from the information provided it appears that errors in IDF decision-making and misidentification, level of confirmation bias and a failure to comply with the intent of senior command direction led to the death of one worker from the strike on the first vehicle, and that a violation of IDF standard operating procedures and rules of engagement led to the deaths of the remaining six World Central Kitchen aid workers …
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‘Delays are costing lives’: Wong
Speaking to reporters, Penny Wong said she has written to the Israeli foreign minister about humanitarian protection:
We want more aid to flow, and we will do all we are able to achieve this.
Of course the best way to protect aid workers, civilians, health workers and others is to achieve the release of hostages and increased humanitarian access to a ceasefire. The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have clearly said together in a statement last week that the human suffering in Gaza and is unacceptable and the war must end … Delays are costing lives.
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Gaza ‘the deadliest place on Earth to be an aid worker’: Wong
Penny Wong said an apology “should be provided”, and said Gaza remains “the deadliest place on Earth to be an aid worker”.
This was not a one-off incident. The UN reports that more than 250 aid workers have been killed since the start of this conflict, and in recent weeks, a number of UN vehicles have come under attack. This is not acceptable.
She said the government is implementing all of Binskin’s recommendations, “including working with the UN and the international community to press Israel to reform its coordination … with humanitarian organisations working on the ground”.
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Government ‘to press for full accountability’ after ‘tragic accident’: Wong
Penny Wong said that after the “tragic incident”, the Australian government made clear there would be “full accountability”.
Practical action is needed to ensure that this tragedy is not repeated …
As the report makes clear, Israel’s process for determining accountability is not over. The military advocate general of Israel is still to decide on further action. That is a decision for her and for the Israeli judicial system. However, Australia’s expectation remains that this decision be transparent.
And Ms Frankcom’s family, who I have spoken to, are firmly of the view that further action is necessary, including criminal investigation, and they feel that the disciplinary action taken today is insufficient.
The Australian government will continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges, and we will continue to advocate the views of the Frankcom family and the Australian government Israel.
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Wong addresses media about report on Israeli drone strikes on aid convoy
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is speaking to the media after the release of an “unclassified edition” of the report on the 1 April incident, when a World Central Kitchen aid convoy was hit by Israeli drone strikes.
Daniel Hurst brought us more details about this earlier in the blog.
Speaking to reporters, Wong has said:
I would like to start by saying we honour the life of Zomi Frankcom. Her selflessness, her courage and her service to others even in the most challenging of circumstances is to be respected and is to be honoured …
It is clear those deaths were a consequence of a failure of IDF controls, errors in decision-making and misidentification, a failure to comply with senior command direction and a violation of IDF procedures and rules of engagement. As the IDF itself has said, this incident should not have occurred and was a grave mistake.
Israel is bound by international humanitarian law. This includes the protection of civilians and the provision of aid … Demonstrably, that did not occur in relation to Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues.
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‘Dangerous inside boys’ club’ marked PwC’s response to tax scandal, inquiry told
The day-long parliamentary inquiry into PwC’s tax scandal and its aftermath has been examining how the consulting firm’s response after its leaders learnt of the gathering storm.
Meredith Beattie, a former PwC general counsel, has been describing how it dealt with a myriad of issues that posed an “enormous risk” to the firm in Australia.
Beattie, who will be called back at a later date to provide in camera evidence, told the inquiry that she was not given an opportunity by PwC to advise partners about a vote in 2020 on who should lead the firm.
Senator Deborah O’Neill said it was “unfathomable” that partners didn’t get to hear from their independent legal counsel on the matter.
Beattie said there were initially four nominees to lead PwC, but that tally was narrowed down to Tom Seymour and Sean Gregory. While normally abstaining from such votes, she decided to vote against Seymour.
Seymour won the two-horse race but resigned in 2023 when it became public he was one of dozens of partners who received emails about the confidential tax leak by former adviser Peter-John Collins.
O’Neill said PwC’s handling of the leadership in the wake of the scandal “sounds like some dangerous inside boys club where they cover each other over”.
Reynolds’ lawyer says ‘every fairytale needs a villain’ as defamation case against Higgins begins
The hearing has begun and Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, is starting with his opening arguments.
Bennett says “every fairytale needs a villain” and Reynolds was just that following the Brittany Higgins’ decision to publicly allege she had been raped in Reynolds’ office by a colleague, Bruce Lehrmann, in 2021.
Bennett says Higgins created a “fictional story of political cover up” detailing ill treatment, ostracisation, and bullying but “none of it was true”.
The veracity of Higgins’ rape allegations has never been questioned by Reynolds, Bennett says.
Terrible circumstance but not what this case is about.
He continues.
Updated
Mark Binskin report says Israel’s response to aid worker strike has been ‘with some exceptions, sufficient’
Let’s bring you some more details from that report by the former Australian defence force chief Mark Binskin, who was asked to provide special advice to the Australian government on Israel’s response to the killing of aid workers including Zomi Frankcom.
Binskin’s report, published by the Australian government today, notes that he had “no investigative powers” and all of his engagements, meetings and conversations were voluntary for those involved. But he also said he found that “all parties engaged constructively with my questions and provided the information I required”.
He said he visited Israel from 5 to 13 May and “had access to all areas within the IDF that we had requested”. He said “all requests were supported, including viewing the 90-minute un-edited Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) footage (without audio) of the WCK convoy and subsequent strikes”.
Binskin said he was of the view “that Israel’s acceptance of accountability for the 1 April WCK incident, and investigation, reporting and responding has, to this point, been timely, appropriate and, with some exceptions, sufficient”.
He said an IDF-ordered fact-finding investigation “took less than 72 hours” and led the IDF’s chief of general staff to quickly dismiss two officers from their positions and reprimand three others.
Binskin said it “would be difficult for Western militaries, including the Australian Defence Force, to be any quicker”. Binskin said “any further actions against individuals” would depend on a decision by the military advocate general (MAG) “as to whether or not to proceed further”. Binskin wrote:
In my meeting with the MAG, I discussed the importance of providing a level of public transparency in her future decisions, not only ‘what’ she may decide in regard to each individual, but also an appropriate discussion as to ‘why’.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, is due to hold a press conference about the report in Adelaide very soon.
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Reynolds defamation case against Higgins begins in WA supreme court
Linda Reynolds’ case has begun in the WA supreme court. Here’s a statement she sent us last night on the eve of the trial.
It is regrettable that this trial has to proceed but I am determined to see it through.
I will not be providing any comment during the trial. To do so would be inappropriate and discourteous.
I have every confidence that justice will be done.
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Israel should provide ‘appropriate apology’ to family of Zomi Frankcom: former ADF chief
The former Australian defence force chief Mark Binskin says the Israeli government should provide an “appropriate apology” to the families of the Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and her six colleagues over their killings in Gaza.
The Australian government has released an “unclassified edition” of the report Binskin provided to the Australian government on the 1 April incident, when a World Central Kitchen aid convoy was hit by Israeli drone strikes.
The report finds there was “a significant break down in situational awareness”. The report says it appears Israel Defense Forces (IDF) controls failed, “leading to errors in decision making and a misidentification, likely compounded by a level of confirmation bias”.
However Binskin also finds:
Based on the information available to me, it is my assessment that the IDF strike on the WCK aid workers was not knowingly or deliberately directed against the WCK.
Wong said in a statement that Gaza “remains the deadliest place on earth to be an aid worker” and that the Australian government was “pressing Israel to reform its coordination with humanitarian organisations to protect civilians and aid workers”.
Israel’s process to determine accountability for the World Central Kitchen strikes is not over. The Military Advocate General of Israel is still to decide on further action. Our expectation remains that there be transparency about the Military Advocate General’s process and decision. I have written to my Israeli counterpart to this end.
We will continue to press for full accountability, including any appropriate criminal charges.
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People filter into court ahead of Linda Reynolds' defamation trial against Brittany Higgins
Lawyers, journalists and spectators are filtering into the Western Australian supreme court this morning in the centre of Perth.
Today marks the beginning of Liberal senator Linda Reynolds’ defamation trial against her former staffer, Brittany Higgins, for social posts she says damaged her reputation.
Despite the high interest in the case, the courtroom’s gallery is almost empty with a handful of people spread out across the first few rows. There are more lawyers at this stage than spectators.
Reynolds sits in the front row flanked by family and her team. Higgins is not expected to appear in person for the first few weeks of the trial.
Updated
Who is expected to appear in Linda Reynolds’ defamation trial?
Both Linda Reynolds and Brittany Higgins are expected to appear to give evidence – and we can expect a host of high-profile witnesses to offer their accounts too.
In June, Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, said he had filed 17 witness files and was preparing another five. The former prime minister Scott Morrison was among them and Bennett said he could be called to the hearings.
“He’s prepared to give evidence,” he said, adding that Morrison could give evidence remotely from overseas.
It is expected other Liberal senators could attend to provide their version of events, including senators Michaelia Cash and Wendy Askew and former foreign affairs minister Marise Payne.
Beyond politicians, expert medical witnesses may appear. The News Corp political journalist Samantha Maiden, who broke the original story along with Lisa Wilkinson for The Project, may also be called up.
David Sharaz is not expected to appear.
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Why is Linda Reynolds taking Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz to court?
Brittany Higgins’ decision to publicly allege she had been raped in Linda Reynolds’ office by a colleague, Bruce Lehrmann, in 2021 has led to a long-running saga of legal battles.
Lehrmann has always vehemently denied the allegation and pleaded not guilty at the criminal trial, which was aborted due to juror misconduct. A second trial did not proceed due to prosecutors’ fears for Higgins’ mental health. As part of his failed defamation trial against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson, a federal court in April found that, on the balance of probabilities, he raped Higgins.
Higgins settled a personal injury claim against the government for an undisclosed amount in December 2022. The amount has been reported as high as $3m, but Higgins has said it was substantially lower.
In June the following year, Reynolds said she would refer the payout to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
Reynolds claimed the payment to Higgins was finalised in an “unusually swift” manner, “raising serious questions about how this significant sum of public money was determined and allocated”.
In July, Higgins responded in an Instagram story, urging Reynolds to “stop”.
Reynolds responded by sending a concerns notice against her former staffer, saying “ever since Ms Higgins first made her allegations of rape public, I have been the target of unwarranted criticism and abuse”.
After Higgins published another statement on Twitter/X two weeks later, Reynolds proceeded to take legal action and filed a writ in August.
Court documents show Reynolds alleges that Higgins’ posts were in breach of a settlement and release signed in March 2021. That settlement allegedly contained a non-disparagement clause.
Reynolds is also suing David Sharaz for two tweets, published to his Twitter/X account in January and December 2022. Sharaz said in April that he would no longer fight the case as he could not afford legal costs.
Updated
Linda Reynolds defamation case against Brittany Higgins due to start
Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against Brittany Higgins is about to get under way in the Western Australia supreme court.
The WA senator is suing Higgins, who is her former staffer, and Higgins’ husband, David Sharaz, over social media posts she alleges damaged her reputation.
Our reporter Sarah Basford Canales is in court and will be sending updates as the trial unfolds.
But we won’t have an outcome for a while – the trial is expected to continue until early September, and a judgment could take weeks or months more.
Read more here about the case and how it ended up in court:
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Super company Mercer to pay $11.3m fine for greenwashing
Superannuation giant Mercer has been ordered to pay $11.3m after it admitted misleading the public about the sustainability of its investments, AAP reports.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission last year launched federal court proceedings against the company, accusing it of engaging in greenwashing between November 2021 and March 2023.
It alleged Mercer falsely claimed its “Sustainable Plus” investment options excluded investments in companies involved in the production or sale of alcohol, gambling and fossil fuels. In reality, six of the seven investment options were connected to those industries.
Mercer admitted the breaches in December 2023, conceding it made false or misleading statements to the public. The corporate watchdog and Mercer agreed to a $11.3m fine, which the federal court formally confirmed this morning.
Justice Christopher Horan also ordered Mercer to publish a notice on the sustainable investments page of its website detailing its admitted conduct. The notice must remain on the website for six months, he said.
Updated
Looking for a lunchtime read? Get stuck into the latest Weekly Beast from Amanda Meade below:
Police sergeant thought 'we’re in serious trouble here', Wieambilla inquest told
A police senior sergeant who drove her car into gunfire during the siege at Wieambilla has told an inquest of the moment she heard rifle shots and thought to herself: “We’re in serious trouble here.”
Christina Esselink was the most senior officer on site when she arrived at the “frantic” command post in the hours after the shootings of police constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold and civilian neighbour Alan Dare.
At this point in time police were mounting a rescue operation for Const Keely Brough, who remained on the remote property in western Queensland with conspiracy theorists Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train.
Soon after Sen Sgt Esselink arrived, a call went out over police radio for a vehicle to urgently block the exit from the property. Esselink said she decided to drive her car down to the property entrance, rather than take command of the police response as she might have done under police procedures.
I looked at my vehicle, which drove terribly, big and ugly and strong. [I thought] we’ve got to get it down there … we’ve got to block off the gate.
Esselink said she knew tactical response officers were on the way, and that she needed to contain the shooters on the property. She parked the car between two others to block the gate and came under gunfire as she reached for her police tablet.
It was all bang bang bang and I thought, oh geez that [the calibre of the rifle being used] is big. I grew up on a farm, this was like big and it’s close and I thought, ‘Oh we’re in trouble. We’re in serious trouble here.’
I thought it was a large calibre and it was close.
As Esselink got out of the car looking for cover, another officer screamed at her to “run”.
Updated
Some legionnaires’ patients admitted to ICU
Dr Clare Looker said a “number of cases” have required admission into intensive care.
We don’t have exact numbers and that’s partly why I’m cautious about presenting exact numbers. That’s partly because people can move in and out of ICU over the course of their admission and there can be other factors that contribute to whether they require intensive care management.
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Most cases exposed between 5-20 July, Victoria’s chief health officer says
Back at the press conference, Dr Clare Looker says there are 100 cooling towers in the suburb, of which 41 have been inspected, tested and disinfected.
Disinfection happens at the time that these visits are made, usually within 24 hours of the testing – even if their test results are not yet back and available. That means that irrespective of whether legionella bacteria is present, disinfection is put through the system and then any legionella that is there is dealt with immediately.
Dr Looker said it would be a “number of days” before authorities had test results from the samples at the cooling towers.
We are undertaking detailed analysis including understanding weather patterns that may have explained the wide geographical distribution of cases. We’ve been working very closely with and are grateful for the support of the Bureau of Meteorology, and air scientists to understand how weather patterns in mid July in Melbourne may have contributed to the spread of cases.
She said authorities believed most cases were exposed between 5-20 July.
Updated
Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia, or lung infection, caused by legionella bacteria. You can read a full explainer on what this disease is, and how it is contracted, below:
Fifty-nine people hospitalised with legionnaires as 10 more cases suspected
As we reported yesterday, Dr Clare Looker says that as of 3pm yesterday there were 60 cases and 10 suspected infections of legionnaires.
She said 59 cases, and seven of the suspected cases, had been hospitalised.
She said authorities had narrowed down the location of the contaminated water source – most likely a cooling tower – to Laverton North or Derrimut.
Updated
Victoria records first death in legionnaires' outbreak
Victoria’s chief health officer, Dr Clare Looker, is providing an update on the state’s legionnaires’ outbreak.
She has confirmed the first death – a woman in her 90s, who became ill on Tuesday evening and presented to hospital and died shortly after.
Our condolences are with her family.
Updated
Foodbank Victoria to hold emergency food drive amid ‘dangerously low’ stocks
Foodbank Victoria has announced it is “dangerously low” on food and will be holding a large-scale emergency food drive for next weekend.
In a statement, the organisation said the cost of living was “not only hitting families hard” but its network of growers, farmers and food partners across the state was “all feeling the impact as well”.
They have the same rising cost of ingredients to deal with, and they don’t carry large inventories. So there’s much less to donate to Foodbank at a time when demand is the highest we’ve ever seen and rising.
We’re spending more money on food, around $5m in the last year. But with 65,000 people to feed every day, no matter how hard we work, we can’t keep enough food on our shelves.
The organisation is asking anyone in a position to help to drop off food directly to Foodbank at 4/2 Somerville Road, Yarraville on 10 and 11 August 10 between 10am and 3pm. They are looking specifically for tuna, pasta, pasta sauce, rice, cereal, UHT milk, canned fruit and canned vegetables.
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Garma festival begins – in photos
Our very own Mike Bowers is at the annual Garma festival and has taken these photos as the day kicks off:
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Yalmay Yunupingu borrows from Whitney Houston with a message for the future
Senior Australian of the Year Yalmay Yunupingu has drawn on her background as a leader in Northern Territory education and among the Yolgnu Indigenous people of north-east Arnhem Land to urge Australians to begin a new cycle of growth, in an opening address to this year’s Garma festival.
Yunupingu drew on this year’s festival theme, “Fire, strength, renewal”, and on Indigenous people’s relationship with the environment to encourage “rehabilitation, regeneration, rejuvenation” and herald what she said must be “the fresh new beginning of the life cycle”.
We should all stand up and educate ourselves, our children, our young people to be strong citizens of this country, Australia, and stay strong and focused.
She drew laughter and applause as she re-wrote the words to the late American singer Whitney Houston’s famous power ballad The Greatest Love of All.
I have taken a song by Whitney Houston and changed a few words as follows: I believe the children are our future leaders, yesterday, today, tomorrow and tomorrow. Let them lead the way. Show the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride, dignity and identity – not to be balanda [non-Indigenous people] but Yolgnu, living in two worlds.
Updated
Garma opens with call for unity and persistence
The annual Garma festival has opened at Gulkula in north-east Arnhem Land with a call for Indigenous Australians to move past the rejection of last year’s voice referendum and come together to advance the interests of First Nations Australians.
At an opening event to honour Senior Australian of the Year Yalmay Yunupingu, Rirratingu traditional owner Mayatili Marika, of the University of Melbourne’s Indigenous Knowledge Institute, urged those gathered not to allow the referendum result to divide their communities.
“The 14th of October is behind us and we choose to move forward,” Mayatili told the crowd at the opening forum session of the first festival since the referendum proposal for an Indigenous voice to parliament was rejected.
As Yolgnu people, we have a deep and everlasting connection with the land. It means we cannot turn away from this country no matter what. Nor can we turn away from each other and fall back on old arguments and disputes.
When two people come together, as has happened in Australia since colonisation, you can find differences. But the challenge is to find out how we are the same – what unites us, not what divides us... Something happened on the 14th of October but it is nothing we have not faced before.
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Just circling back to our earlier posts on the 896kg worth of methamphetamine allegedly imported to Australia from the United States hidden inside industrial machinery.
Here are some photos that have come through from the Australian federal police:
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PM echoes concern for Australians in Lebanon
Turning to the conflict in the Middle East, Anthony Albanese said the message from the Australian government is “we want a de-escalation”.
We want to see the Biden peace proposal implemented, as advanced by the United States. We want to see a ceasefire, we want to see hostages released, we want to see a de-escalation, we want to see moves towards a two-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security and stability and prosper into the future.
We will continue to advocate strongly on all of these issues but we are very concerned – I repeat again the statement that I made yesterday – we are particularly concerned about Australians continuing to visit Lebanon or staying in Lebanon. We are concerned that if there is an escalation at Beirut airport, if it is closed to commercial aircraft, there may well be difficulty getting people home.
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Anthony Albanese is speaking to the media from Brisbane.
The prime minister is seemingly being asked (again) about the prospects of an early election, and responded:
I’m not sure of another nation around the world that has an election every three years or shorter. That is my view. I am just focused on getting the job done…
Updated
Here’s a list of the Australians to keep an eye out for during today’s Olympics schedule:
More arrests ‘likely’ after alleged seizure of nearly 900kg of meth – police
Taking questions from reporters, AFP detective superintendent Peter Fogarty said there were two men at the premises on Warwick Farm – where the drugs were allegedly delivered to – when AFP officers arrived on Wednesday.
One man has been arrested and charged. The second man was arrested and has been released and his involvement will be subject to further inquiries.
Fogarty said there was “likely to be further arrests in the future” as inquiries continue.
There hadn’t been any arrests made in the US, he said, with police believing the drugs had likely come from the US or “potentially from Mexico”.
Police will allege the man who has been charged had knowledge there was an illicit substance inside the consignment. Fogarty:
We think his role was to receive it. You know, almost 900 kilos is really a massive amount of drugs, so I think there is … very much an organised crime syndicate behind this, a much bigger syndicate who has access to large sums of money in order to bring these sorts of quantities of drugs to Australia.
Updated
Sydney man charged after meth worth $828m allegedly found in shipping container
The Australian Federal Police are speaking to the media from Sydney, announcing the seizure of 896kg worth of methamphetamine – with an estimated street value of $828m – allegedly imported to Australia from the United States hidden inside industrial machinery.
A 31-year-old man from south-west Sydney has been charged for his alleged role in the importation, and appeared in Downing Centre local court on Thursday charged with one count of possessing a commercial quantity of the drug. He has been remanded in custody and will next face court on 2 October.
Police told the media that the drugs were found concealed within two large industrial machines exported from the US, estimated to have led to almost 9 million individual street deals.
AFP Det Supt Peter Fogarty told the media:
We allege the Winston Hills man opened the container on its arrival at the property of Warwick Farm and with assistance of a forklift began to access the contents inside. The man was subsequently arrested … Our investigations are ongoing and we’re working towards further arrests.
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PwC chief says withheld report ‘not pertinent’ but denies reading it
The inquiry has zeroed in a “statement of facts” report compiled by PwC into the tax scandal with the help of two legal firms.
Senator Deborah O’Neill said it was “completely intolerable” that PwC had not handed over that report to the inquiry. PwC CEO Kevin Burrowes said it “wasn’t mine to provide the report” and that he had “made several requests” for it.
“I don’t believe it is pertinent” to the inquiry, Burrowes said, standing by previous comments to the probe that he had not read the report.
O’Neill said the report was “extremely” relevant, noting that the new CEO had “straddled two spheres”, the international and Australian ones.
Earlier, Burrowes said he had agreed to take up the “really tough job” because he had been “a proud PwC partner for many, many years” and he believed in the firm.
PwC Australia was “in great difficulty at the time” and he wanted to help.
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PwC kept CEO’s extra $1.2m salary ‘secret for more than a year’, inquiry told
Consultancy giant PwC is getting a grilling today from a parliamentary committee raking over a scandal involving a former partner, Peter-John Collins, who revealed the previous government’s tax plans in 2015 for multinational companies to corporate clients.
Most of the early focus has been on the failure of PwC Australia’s new chief executive, Kevin Burrowes, to inform inquiry members – and PwC’s own chief risk and ethics leader – that his (corrected) annual salary of $2.8m was actually topped up from PwC to the tune of $1.2m a year.
Jan McCahey, the chief risk official, only learned of the additional payment of $1.2m on 20 June this year, about 11 months after Burrowes took up his new role. “I was surprised to learn of it at the time,” she told the inquiry, being led by Labor senator Deborah O’Neill following the breaking of the scandal in 2022.
O’Neill and Liberal National senator Paul Scarr have been pressing Burrowes and McCahey on whether the firm had been transparent about the payment and whether there was potential for a conflict of interest in not making it public. O’Neill:
You kept it secret for more than a year. [It] looks very deceptive to me … Your decision to accept payment from two masters is replete with a conflict of interest. I can’t understand why you don’t see that.
Burrowes defended his stance on not revealing to the inquiry earlier the additional salary, saying “we have been transparent” and adding: “I feel there has been a misunderstanding.”
Given today’s hearing is scheduled to last until 5.45pm, it might be a pretty long – and grilling – day.
Updated
Border force allegedly finds $13m worth of meth in luggage
A Canadian woman will face court after flying to Brisbane and allegedly concealing $13.4m worth of methamphetamine in her luggage, AAP reports.
The 24-year-old underwent a bag examination after arriving at Brisbane international airport from Fiji on 28 July after travelling from Vancouver.
Australian Border Force officers allegedly found 14.4kg of meth inside towels soaked in vinegar and layered with coffee beans. The meth had an estimated value of $13.4m, which was enough for almost 145,000 street deals, Australian federal police have said.
The woman was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug – an offence which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The woman will face Brisbane magistrates court today.
Updated
New tech trialled to help ease Sydney’s traffic woes
Cutting-edge technology to prevent trucks from getting stuck in Sydney tunnels will be trialled in a bid to reduce traffic bank-ups on major roads, AAP reports.
The NSW government says the six-month trial will combine sensor technology and warning signs to divert trucks taller than 4m from entering tunnels and getting jammed. Trucks will be scanned by the sensors, and their height and number plate will be displayed to drivers on overhead digital signs further along the road.
The trial is part of a crackdown on trucks jamming tunnel entrances and causing major disruptions to the city’s road network.
Roads minister John Graham said the government was “resolute in its commitment to stopping over-height trucks from shutting down our city and inconveniencing motorists”.
Transport for NSW executive Craig Moran said the move would save time and money for motorists and save money for the state by reducing “closure minutes” for tunnels.
The first trial is under way on the southbound lanes of the M1 Pacific Motorway at the Mount White heavy vehicle safety station, the government said.
Moran:
We’re starting at Mount White but aim to eventually roll out this new technology to all key heavy vehicle routes entering Sydney. We’ll evaluate the results of the trial in six months’ time.
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More people delaying dental treatment amid cost-of-living pressures
Two-thirds of people only visit the dentist when they have a problem, with affordability the main reason keeping them away, according to new data from the Australian Dental Association (ADA).
The data – released as part of the annual oral health survey of 25,000 people – found that 61% of people delayed treatment in the past 12 months, which is a 17% increase in the last 13 years.
Affordability accounted for 63% of respondent’s reason for the delay – a 12% increase on 2022. A third of survey respondents rated their oral health as “poor” or “very poor” and over half of these people were aged over 65.
ADA president Dr Scott Davis said:
All the more reason that there needs to be help from the government for a greater number of Australians so they can get the regular dental treatment they so badly need and often can’t afford. This is particularly the case for seniors in residential aged care, and our most vulnerable populations including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, those on low wages and people with a disability.
If people saw their dentist regularly, they’d be less likely to face more complex treatment further down the track. Government-funded schemes for our most vulnerable populations would go a long way to making this a reality for millions of Aussies for whom at the moment a dental visit isn’t a financial reality.
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Parliamentary inquiry into PwC continues today
The probe into PwC is continuing today, and Labor senator Deborah O’Neill says the focus will be on confidence in the audit sector.
O’Neill, chair of the joint standing committee on corporations and financial services, spoke to ABC RN about the probe earlier and said:
The Australian Treasury has indicated … that confidence in this sort of profession … really underpins the effectiveness of the financial reporting framework in Australia, and in doing so, it fosters the sort of confidence that we need in the integrity of our capital markets.
And why that matters is that this market that operates the economic market, all Australians have a share. This is not something just a group of people at a board table, behind closed oak doors can determine. We all have a share in how well our capital markets work, because our superannuation decisions that are made about where the trustees invest their money on our behalf are all informed by the integrity of what these big audit companies do.
Asked if the government would dial back its reliance on these companies, O’Neill responded: “Absolutely.”
The government has come in and made sure that we are increasing our public service capacity and that our reliance on consultancies is in decrease … At the moment, I don’t think I have confidence that any of the major consultancy companies are as forthright or accountable to the Australian people as they need to be.
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Honorary consul says some Australians in Lebanon deciding to stay
The honorary consul to Lebanon in Tasmania, Faddy Zouky, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier this morning, following news that Australians have been asked to leave Lebanon.
Foreign minister Penny Wong had warned there is a “real risk that the conflict in the region escalates seriously” and the security situation could deteriorate quickly and with little notice.
Zouky said he was in Lebanon two weeks ago and “a lot of Australians were there”, and that loved ones here in Australia “are concerned”.
Some are, of course, adhering [with directions to leave]. You’ll see some of the airports getting busier and people departing. But there are some people who remain, and the reason being, they’re just used to the conflict – they were born into it, and it’s nothing new to them.
Updated
Here’s what you missed overnight from the Olympics, thanks to our sports editor Mike Hytner in Paris:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has congratulated the 4x200 relay champions Mollie O’Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Bri Throssell and Ariarne Titmus on social media earlier this morning:
Gold! Congratulations to our 4x200m freestyle Olympic champions Mollie O’Callaghan, Lani Pallister, Brianna Throssell and Ariarne Titmus 🥇🇦🇺🏊♀️ pic.twitter.com/4lLKW5Mzki
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 1, 2024
Richard Boyle crowdfund hits target in less than eight hours
A crowdfunding campaign to help the former tax office employee Richard Boyle pay for a high court appeal has hit its $23,000 target in less than eight hours, according to his supporters.
Boyle accused the Australian Taxation Office of aggressively pursuing debts from taxpayers and had fought to be protected from prosecution under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, but this argument was rejected by South Australia’s district court in March 2023. An appeal court also rejected this argument in June 2024, prompting Boyle to pursue an appeal to the high court.
The charges against Boyle include allegations he taped taping private conversations without consent and took photos of taxpayer information.
Rex Patrick, a former senator who founded the Whistleblower Justice Fund, said the federal government had “totally underestimated the support for Richard Boyle in the community”. Patrick said Boyle’s “last hope is for the high court to re-interpret our current whistleblower protection laws with greater regard to the objects of the legislation as set by the parliament”.
Four-day Garma festival to begin today
Continuing from our last post: Prime minister Anthony Albanese will join new minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy and her retiring predecessor, Linda Burney, for the opening of the four-day Garma festival today.
Reflection on the referendum result and pathways to change will feature heavily in the festival’s program, in the wake of the latest Productivity Commission findings on Closing the Gap targets, which showed a lack of progress in key socio-economic determinants.
Megan Davis hailed the determination of members of the Uluru Youth Dialogue who gathered on Kabi Kabi land on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast last weekend to analyse the result and consider next steps.
Uluru Youth Dialogue co-chair and Wiradjuri woman Bridget Cama said the 2024 youth summit had been a time of “deep reflection” on last year’s vote.
The path to meaningful constitutional recognition for First Nations People has been long, and now that path has become a little longer. We wanted to gather as youth again to not only yarn and grieve the result together in person, but to learn from the last couple of years and refocus our attention on what’s next.
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Recognition and representation still 'urgent' as Garma begins
One of the co-chairs of the Uluru Dialogues that led to last year’s referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament has declared the need for First Nations recognition and representation to be as urgent as it ever was, as the first annual Garma festival begins in north-east Arnhem Land since the bid to amend the constitution failed
As hundreds gathered for the festival at Gulkula on the Gove peninsula, University of New South Wales constitutional law professor and Cobble Cobble woman Megan Davis said data from the referendum showed that most Indigenous Australians had voted “yes” for a constitutionally enshrined voice.
More and more Australians are saying the referendum was a missed opportunity. Our research shows that many Australians voted ‘no’ because they thought First Nations people didn’t want this change. The polling results show that the majority did. We must move forward on fact … not opinions. The need for First Nations recognition and representation was urgent then, and it’s urgent now.
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Greens call on new housing minister to negotiate on shared equity scheme
Sticking with the housing theme, Daniel Hurst has introduced with Liberal senator Andrew Bragg’s PBO research, the Greens have wasted no time in challenging new housing minister Clare O’Neil to return to the negotiating table.
The Coalition said no to working with the government to pass its shared equity scheme, help to buy and the build-to-rent legislation, leaving the Greens and crossbench the only option to passing the housing bills.
Negotiations stalled under former minister Julie Collins, with the Greens starting demands of tax reform including a phase out of negative gearing and a coordinated national phase in of a two-year rent freeze a bridge too far for the government.
The Greens housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, has written to O’Neil, inviting her to speak with them over the government’s legislation – as long as she promised to come in good faith. He said:
Minister, your appointment in the middle of this crisis represents a historic opportunity to take bold action.
There is broad popular support for phasing out tax handouts for investors, rent caps, and mass investment in public housing. I urge you to seize this opportunity to reopen negotiations with the Greens and work towards solutions that will give some hope to the millions doing it tough.
Updated
Coalition trumpets super-for-housing savings but fine print is more complicated
The Coalition is promoting its super-for-housing policy with new figures suggesting it could reduce federal government spending on rent assistance for today’s 35 to 45-year-old cohort by $1.8bn over 10 years.
But the parliamentary budget office (PBO) – which prepared the analysis to Coalition specifications – cautioned that the policy was “unlikely to benefit a large number of individuals” on commonwealth rent assistance and “the precise number of affected persons is subject to a high level of uncertainty”.
The Coalition asked the PBO to analyse its policy of allowing individuals to withdraw up to $50,000 from their superannuation (up to a maximum 40% of their superannuation balance) to purchase their first home.
It specifically asked the PBO to quantify the savings to commonwealth rent assistance, focusing on people aged 35 to 45, but not the impact on the federal budget overall. The PBO was asked to “assume that 20% of renters would purchase a home due to the scheme”.
The PBO responded that for this cohort of individuals aged 35 to 45, the proposal was expected to reduce the cost of commonwealth rent assistance by $689m over the four-year budget period from 2024-25. The total expected savings generated from reduced rent assistance over the decade to 2034-35 would be $1.81bn.
But the PBO pointed out that individuals receiving commonwealth rent assistance “typically have low superannuation balances and therefore uptake from this cohort is expected to be limited”. It also warned:
The proposed policy would have additional implications for government taxation revenue, particularly for superannuation tax, which were not included in this analysis.
The Coalition’s shadow assistant minister for home ownership, Andrew Bragg, said the PBO data he commissioned “shows taxpayers are now paying a heavy price for Labor’s busted housing policies”.
Bragg alleged that Labor’s housing policy was “based around a ‘rent forever’ model where super funds and foreign fund managers are encouraged to construct ‘build to rent’ houses”.
Updated
NSW to hold inquiry into 'harmful' pornography
New South Wales will become the first state in the country to hold a parliamentary inquiry into the effects of “harmful” pornography as part of the government’s bid to address domestic violence.
The Minns government announced the inquiry today after what it said was growing community concern about the exposure of children to violence and extreme pornography.
The attorney general, Michael Daley, has requested a parliamentary committee examine impacts of harmful pornography – including pornography that is violent and misogynistic – on mental, emotional and physical health.
The inquiry will also report on the production and dissemination of deepfake or AI-generated pornography, the effects on minority groups, and the effectiveness of current restrictions on access to pornography and where they should be changed.
The acting minister for the prevention of domestic violence, Rose Jackson, said:
We must address the scourge of domestic violence and sexual assault from every angle, and importantly that includes the normalisation of misogyny and violence online. The ease at which children and young people are able to access this content is extremely concerning.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning, and welcome back to the Australia news live blog this Friday – I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
As AAP reports, Liberal senator Linda Reynolds and her former staffer Brittany Higgins are set to return to court today. The former defence minister is suing Higgins over a series of social media posts she says damaged her reputation. Mediation has failed to resolve the case, which is listed in the Western Australian supreme court today for opening submissions. It’s set down for four-to-five weeks and the witnesses could include former prime minister Scott Morrison.
The Coalition is promoting its super-for-housing policy today, but the parliamentary budget office has cautioned the policy was “unlikely to benefit a large number of individuals” on commonwealth rent assistance and “the precise number of affected persons is subject to a high level of uncertainty”. We’ll bring you the full analysis from Daniel Hurst shortly.
In New South Wales, the state will become the first in the country to hold a parliamentary inquiry into the effects of “harmful” pornography as part of the government’s bid to address domestic violence. Catie McLeod will bring us more details in a moment.
As always, you can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or email, emily.wind@theguardian.com. with any thoughts, tips or questions. Let’s get started.
