What we learned today, Sunday 22 March
That’s where we’ll leave you this Sunday. Here’s a snapshot from today:
Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall in the NT before being downgraded to an ex-tropical cyclone around midday. The system has brought more heavy rain to the Top End and the risk of major flooding in the Katherine and Daly rivers. The chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, said Katherine was preparing for even worse flooding than it had endured earlier this month. Narelle could re-intensify into a tropical cyclone before it crosses into the WA Kimberley on Monday.
The climate and energy minister, Chris Bowen, revealed six of 81 ships delivering fuel supplies to Australia had been cancelled. Fuel rationing was not currently on the cards, he said, and would not be invoked lightly. Meanwhile, the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union has joined others, including the Victorian Greens and the Victorian Farmers Federation, in calling for urgent cuts to public transport fares and increased services in response to the crisis.
State and federal politicians across the political spectrum took stock after Labor’s landslide win in the South Australian election. The re-elected SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, said mainstream parties needed to offer a clear policy agenda in response to the rise of parties like One Nation. The One Nation MP, Barnaby Joyce, said Labor’s win was partly due to the premier being “a good-looking guy”.
Updated
Peak Muslim group denounces Joyce’s comments likening migrants to cattle as ‘profound ignorance’
The peak Muslim group has condemned comments by Barnaby Joyce earlier today, likening a ban on migration from Muslim countries to buying cattle “that just don’t work”.
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) has described the comments as “deeply offensive” and betraying a “profound ignorance of Australia’s history, values, and social fabric”.
On Sky News this morning, Joyce said it was a matter of having to conform “with an Australian culture, no matter where you come from”, when asked if One Nation would ban Muslim migrants from Australia.
He continued:
I don’t want to be trite about it, but it’s a bit like buying cattle. If you’re getting cattle in from a certain … seller, and there’s an unreasonable number of ones that just don’t work when they get off the truck, well, you don’t buy them any more.
In response, ANIC’s senior adviser and spokesperson, Bilal Rauf, said:
Such language dehumanises entire communities and echoes the worst instincts of dog-whistle politics long associated with One Nation.
More troubling still is the normalisation of this rhetoric in mainstream political discourse. When such views are aired and enabled, they risk eroding public trust in our institutions and weakening the social cohesion that underpins a diverse and democratic society.
That said, I remain confident that most Australians will see these comments for what they are and reject the ignorance and division they represent.
Updated
One missing after Tasmania vessel wreck as two adults and child found
Three people in lifejackets have been rescued in the search for a fishing vessel in Tasmania’s north-west, near Robbins Island. One man was still missing on Sunday afternoon.
Tasmania police said:
The vessel left the Montagu campground boat ramp at 5.30pm yesterday afternoon on a fishing trip with four people on board; three adults and a child.
This afternoon, just after 1pm, two adults and a child were located in the water at Robbins passage.
They have been taken to North West Regional hospital for treatment, having spent many hours in the water. They were otherwise uninjured.
According to police, the four occupants were thought to have been thrown into the water about 9pm on Saturday, when the vessel broke up. Concerned relatives contacted police on Sunday morning when the group did not return to the campground.
A rescue helicopter, marine rescue vessels and private boats continued to search for the missing man on Sunday afternoon.
Updated
Warning for ‘rapid’ flooding of NT’s Katherine and Adelaide rivers as ex-tropical cyclone tracks west
The Northern Territory emergency service has issued a “watch and act” warning for flooding along the Katherine and Adelaide rivers, as ex-tropical cyclone Narelle continues to track west across the Top End.
Heavy rain, with isolated intense downpours, is expected to cause rapid river rises in already soaked catchments.
The SecureNT warning advised:
Don’t drive, walk, swim or play in floodwater because it is dangerous.
Stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams and waterways.
A severe weather warning was also in place for heavy rainfall, with isolated intense downpours and damaging winds for Daly and parts of the Arnhem, Carpentaria and Gregory districts.
Emergency shelters were open or soon to open at Urapunga school in the East Arnhem region and at Bulman school, Guluman child and family centre and Katherine high school in the Big Rivers region.
As a precaution, a “boil water alert” has been issued for Jilkminggan, Palumpa, Umbakumba, Angurugu, Milyakburra, Numbulwar and Yirrkala. People in those communities were advised to use cooled boiled water or bottled water for drinking, preparing food or baby formula and brushing teeth.
Updated
Cyclone warning for parts of WA Kimberley as Narelle threatens to re-intensify
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued a cyclone warning for parts of the Kimberley in Western Australia, as ex-tropical cyclone Narelle continues to move west with a chance it could re-intensify to a tropical cyclone over the Joseph Bonaparte Gulf.
A warning is in place from the King George River mouth to the WA-Northern Territory border, with widespread heavy to locally intense rainfall forecast from Monday.
Jonathan How, a BoM senior meteorologist, said:
It really only has a low chance of becoming a tropical cyclone over open water, but we are still expecting to see gale force winds within [the warning] area on Monday.
From there, Narelle was expected to move across the Kimberley and off the WA coast, rapidly re-intensifying as it moved away from the Pilbara by Thursday. That could bring the potential for very strong to gale-force winds and large waves along large tracts of the WA coastline.
By Friday, the system could take a range of possible paths, including one that curved back onto land near the Gascoyne, bringing showers to the Wheatbelt and as far south as Perth.
Updated
NSW public transport union urges government to slash fares in response to fuel crisis
Rail and public transport workers want the New South Wales state government to urgently cut fares and increase services in response to the global fuel crisis.
The Rail, Tram and Bus Union NSW has written to the state government with the requests, which included calls for an immediate industry roundtable.
Toby Warnes, secretary of the RTBU, said the crisis had exposed Australia’s vulnerability and was already placing pressure on households.
We are standing on the edge of a cost of living crisis that will have deep and lasting impacts on individuals and families.
Petrol prices are rising sharply, and that pressure will not end at the bowser. Higher fuel costs are expected to flow through to groceries and everyday goods as transport costs increase.
What is required is urgency and coordination. In a fuel price crisis, public transport is not just a service. It is part of the economic response.
The NSW Government cannot control global events, but it can act on their consequences here.
Updated
NSW opposition calls for QR codes in taxis to report complaints
Continued from our previous post:
The NSW opposition said the state government’s new guidelines for ride-share service providers did not go far enough, calling for a QR code system in taxis to provide clearer records to support complaints.
The NSW Taxi Council, which backed the government’s new guidelines, has also supported the opposition’s proposal for a QR code system within taxis.
The code would be linked to the driver and the vehicle, providing real-time trip verification and fare transparency, and creating a clear record to support investigations into complaints.
“More than one in four women experiencing inappropriate conduct is a disgrace, and the government’s response is far too weak; it is all talk and no accountability,” the NSW deputy opposition leader, Natalie Ward, said.
“Government can’t be in every cab, every time – but a QR code can. Training modules won’t stop bad behaviour in the moment [but] real accountability will.”
Updated
NSW ride-share drivers on notice over offensive behaviour
One in four women in New South Wales has experienced inappropriate behaviour from ride-share and taxi drivers, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Survey data released by the NSW government showed just six out of 10 women who experienced the offensive behaviour reported the incidents, which included unwanted conversation, being asked personal and sexual questions and staring by the driver.
Service providers, including Didi and Uber, will be issued with new guidelines by the state’s point-to-point commissioner, including driver training regarding what constitutes offensive behaviour towards women.
The guidelines will require driver training on offensive and unacceptable behaviour while also empowering providers to act to identify best-practice incident management.
“Whether you are travelling around town in the daytime, or out enjoying our vibrant city at night, this initiative will help ensure that every passenger on every ride-share, taxi and hire vehicle journey feels safe and respected,” the state transport minister, John Graham, said.
I asked the commissioner as his top priority to continue to reinforce safety standards and develop a culture of accountability within the point to point transport industry, and am very pleased to support these new guidelines in line with that priority.
Uber, Didi and the NSW Taxi Council all backed the guidelines.
“We believe consistent, industry-wide guidelines play an important role in helping women feel safer when they travel,” the Uber Australia and New Zealand safety head, Nicole Ashton, said.
“Ongoing collaboration between government, industry and women’s safety experts will be critical to ensuring these efforts are effective.”
Updated
Liberals have ‘a lot of work to do’ after SA wipeout, Anne Ruston says
The senior Liberal and federal frontbencher Anne Ruston, whose party has so far only secured four state seats in yesterday’s South Australian election, with a handful more too close to call, said her colleagues needed to learn “sobering lessons” from the result.
“The Liberal party has got a lot of work to do to rebuild the trust of Australians,” she told Sky News on Sunday.
I absolutely believe that we can do that. The values of the Liberal party will resonate, and do resonate with Australians.
We just haven’t been telling our story very well.
One Nation’s result was its best at any poll since the 1998 Queensland election, but some voter surveys have put its federal support higher than the 21.6% in first preferences so far secured in South Australia.
Ruston suggested the rightwing party was unlikely to maintain that level of support.
“We’ve seen the rise and fall of One Nation on numerous occasions around the country,” she said.
But senior state and federal Labor figures warned no one could be complacent about the political threat Pauline Hanson’s party posed.
“We’ve got to look at those grievances and respond with solutions,” federal minister Amanda Rishworth said.
“That’s not something One Nation offers up.”
– AAP
Updated
NT chief minister urges vigilance as severe weather from ex-cyclone threatens ‘rapid consequences’
Northern Territory’s chief minister, Lia Finocchiaro, says Katherine is preparing for even worse flooding than it endured earlier this month, despite no reports of injuries or damage to major infrastructure from Tropical Cyclone Narelle as it crossed the coast early on Sunday morning.
Narelle was downgraded to an ex-tropical cyclone, but a severe weather warning for intense rain and damaging winds now included Darwin, she said, with the potential for flash flooding along the Darwin River.
Ex-tropical cyclone Narelle will continue to weaken as she moves across farther inland, but we are going to be experiencing further intense rainfall, and that is going to impact places like Katherine.
We are now expecting in Katherine for there to be even larger levels of flooding than we saw a fortnight ago.
Finocchiaro said the Katherine community was well prepared for further river rises expected on Monday, including receiving a delivery of 10,000 sandbags. Some schools were expected to close in flood-affected zones.
About 20 patients had been evacuated from Katherine hospital to Darwin and Palmerston regional hospitals, as well as nine pregnant women as a precaution, she said.
This is our seventh high risk weather event. And so just a reminder to everyone: the ground is saturated, our rivers are already full, and any additional rainfall – which could be in the couple of hundred millimetres – is going to make a significant impact, and could have rapid consequences.
Anyone who has seen water levels rise or been inundated and impacted you must remain vigilant. This could impact you again.
Updated
Search under way for four missing fishers in Tasmania
A search is under way in Tasmania’s north-west, near Robbins Island, after four people on a fishing trip failed to return.
Tasmania police said the fishing vessel left the Montagu boat ramp at 5.30pm yesterday, with the four people on board.
Concerned relatives contacted police on Sunday morning, when the group did not return to the campground.
A rescue helicopter and marine rescue vessels have been deployed to the area.
Updated
Joyce likens migrants from Muslim-majority countries to ‘buying cattle’ that ‘don’t work’
Barnaby Joyce has likened a ban on migration from Muslim countries to buying cattle “that just don’t work”, saying it was necessary to be “brutal”.
When asked by Sky News this morning if One Nation would look to ban Muslim immigrants, Joyce said it was a matter of having to conform “with an Australian culture, no matter where you come from.
“I don’t care if you come from the Vatican City, and you have a desire that Australia is going to look like the Vatican City, don’t come. How’s that?”
He continued:
I don’t want to be trite about it, but it’s a bit like buying cattle. If you’re getting cattle in from a certain … seller, and there’s an unreasonable number of ones that just don’t work when they get off the truck, well, you don’t buy them any more.
And that’s not saying, ‘Oh, we just avoid people of Islamic faith’, but you have to be a very mindful of what parts of the world they’re coming from, and the predominant worldview, or an excessive worldview that’s held there that probably doesn’t mix with what you need in Australia. And if you can’t be brutal like that, as brutal in that statement, well you’re not going to help.
Updated
One Nation doesn’t ‘believe’ in multiculturalism, Barnaby Joyce says
Barnaby Joyce says One Nation is against multiculturalism, preferring to set up “guardrails” for what the party determines to be “Australian culture”.
Earlier this morning, the One Nation MP told Sky News:
We [One Nation] don’t believe in multiculturalism. We believe in Australian culture and guardrails that give us the egalitarian and freedom that we’ve always … had to express ourselves and enjoy ourselves. And if that upsets you, then be upset.
The one-time Nationals leader said One Nation’s policy was against importing “cultural Balkanisation” – a term that references the historical conflicts of people living within the Balkan peninsula.
Joyce said:
You can go to parts of the world where they all look the same, they sound like they speak the same language, they live in the same area … the only problem they’ve got is they hate each other. And we don’t want that in Australia.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce suggests Labor’s SA emphatic win partly due to ‘good-looking’ Malinauskas
Barnaby Joyce believes Peter Malinauskas’ resounding win for Labor in the South Australian election overnight was in part due to him being a “good-looking guy”.
The federal One Nation MP joked on Sky News this morning that the state premier was “tough” because he’s a “good-looking guy”.
The Sky host, political editor Andrew Clennell, asked: “You reckon that helps? Being good looking, Barnaby Joyce?”
Joyce responded: “Well, Andrew, if you or I were up against him, you’d find the sad answer to that question.”
Updated
Narelle downgraded to ex-tropical cyclone as severe warnings remain
Tropical Cyclone Narelle has now been downgraded to an ex-tropical cyclone as it continues to weaken, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
However, a severe weather warning remains in place across the central and western Top End due to the risk of heavy, intense rainfall and damaging winds.
The ex-tropical cyclone is now located about 225km northeast of Katherine, bringing wind gusts up to 100km/h.
Updated
Read more: Saturated NT braces for Tropical Cyclone Narelle
As Tropical Cyclone Narelle makes its way across the Top End, many territory communities are still reeling from a series of extreme weather events.
(A)manda Parkinson details the effects the extraordinary wet season has had on the region in this story:
Updated
NSW town flips switch on Australia’s first community-owned solar farm and battery
Australia’s first community co-op solar farm and battery has officially opened in Goulburn, New South Wales.
The project, a 1.4-megawatt solar farm with a 4MWh battery, is owned by 288 investors, 80% of whom are from the region’s community.
Andrew Bray, the chair of the Goulburn Community Energy Co-operative, said it was the culmination of 12 years of hard work by the community.
The powerful thing is these members now have a stake in a renewable energy power plant rather than leaving the clean energy market to large national and international interests. It is a great step in true benefit sharing.
The co-op ownership structure means that each investor has one vote, regardless of the size of their shareholding. As well as financial returns for investors, Bray said a portion of annual profits would be directed to a community fund to address energy poverty in the area.
Edison Zhou, the group director of Australia and New Zealand for Trinasolar Asia Pacific, which supplied the solar modules and energy storage, said:
Community energy projects like this one show what is possible when local determination meets the right technology and the right partners.
We are proud that Trinasolar’s solar modules, tracker and storage solutions could play a part in making it a reality, demonstrating that advanced clean‑energy technology is no longer just for large-scale developers, it is accessible to communities too.
The solar farm is completing final commissioning and is expected to be fully connected to the grid within weeks.
Updated
Severe weather warning for central Top End as Tropical Cyclone Narelle heads west
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for intense rain and damaging winds across the central Top End, south of Darwin, as Tropical Cyclone Narelle continues its westward path.
Heavy rain, including six-hourly totals of 80 to 120mm, is heading for Katherine and the Daly River district – areas already dealing with the aftermath of severe flooding.
Prolonged significant flooding would continue at Daly police station, after river levels peaked at 16.42m last Sunday, above the 1998 flood level (16.25m).
According to the BoM, the river is expected to remain above the major flood level for the rest of the weekend and into next week, with renewed rises possible.
Significant flooding is also possible at Nitmiluk.
Updated
Missing elderly Japanese tourist found alive in Tasmanian national park
An 81-year-old Japanese tourist, who was reported missing in Cradle Mountain national park, has been found alive this morning, Tasmanian Police said.
A search operation was launched about midnight on Saturday when the man could not be contacted.
Members of the public, not involved in the search, located the man about 7.45am on Sunday.
Police reported that he had walked away from his accommodation during the night and became disoriented in the darkness.
The male was located with non life-threatening injuries and is being assessed by Ambulance Tasmania paramedics at the scene. Police would like to thank all assisting Tasmanian emergency services and members of the public in successfully locating the missing person.
Updated
Explainer: Could Australia ration fuel?
While fuel rationing is not on the cards just yet, according to the energy minister, Chris Bowen, federal and state governments have the power to ration supplies in an emergency.
If you’re wondering what that could look like, this explainer from Guardian Australia’s economics editor Patrick Commins provides some context:
Updated
Bowen concedes fuel supply slowdown after earlier shrugging off reports top oil sources could cut Australia
Speaking on ABC’s Insiders program, Chris Bowen has acknowledged that the flow of crude oil to some key importers has slowed, leading to knock-on effects for their customers, including Australia.
My Guardian Australia colleagues reported on this on Friday, noting that the energy minister had shrugged off reports that some countries may prioritise their needs over exporting fuel to Australia.
They wrote:
Major sources of Australian oil, including Malaysia and South Korea, could cut their exports to prioritise local fuel needs, energy experts have warned, as Chris Bowen concedes some service stations are running out of stock. The energy minister said governments had ‘powers’ to ration petrol if supplies were more severely disrupted.
Bowen shrugged off reports in the Australian Financial Review on Thursday that the Malaysian embassy said the country’s government would ‘prioritise our own needs, and only then we can look at whatever demand that we receive from overseas’. Malaysia is Australia’s top source of crude oil.
Read more here:
Updated
Australia not ‘contemplating’ fuel rationing but state and federal governments have powers, Bowen says
State governments also had fuel rationing powers, Chris Bowen said.
When I was a kid … in the 80s in Sydney, I remember petrol rationing was done by state governments – the state governments do have powers there.
Yes, the Commonwealth government, under the fuel emergency act, has powers.
We are not contemplating, at this point, needing to use any of those powers.
Of course, they’re there. And I think that can also give Australians reassurance that, yes, there are powers there, and there’s plans in place and contingency, prudent contingency planning for the worst.
Updated
Rationing under fuel emergency act only to be invoked in extreme shortage, Bowen says
The National Fuel Emergency Act 1984, which enables measures such as fuel rationing, had never been invoked, including during the first two Gulf wars and the Covid-19 pandemic, Chris Bowen said. The energy minister said:
It’s not designed to be invoked lightly. It really has powers primarily around defence and health, in the first instance, to ensure that those key areas are getting diesel that they need, but also other forms of fuel.
I would need to be satisfied that there’s a real shortage and that the powers under that act are useful.
I wouldn’t exercise those quite remarkable powers unless I had pretty strong advice that it was necessary in the circumstances, and obviously it’s something I would work through with the states.
Updated
‘Massive increase’ in fuel demand hitting regional areas hardest, Bowen says
Petrol stations were facing a huge spike in demand – a 100% increase in a few days, which Chris Bowen said was “understandable and expected”.
We’ve seen a massive increase in demand, accompanied by that increase in regional areas. Obviously, the regional areas are where the supply chain is the hardest to manage. It takes longer to get from Geelong and Brisbane to the various regional areas.
You’ve also got lots of rural suppliers, distributors and service stations working on very tight margins and not always able to access fuel that’s available.
Updated
Six cancelled fuel deliveries mainly from Asia, Bowen says
The six cancelled fuel deliveries were primarily from Asia, Chris Bowen said.
It’s a matter of the refineries seeing some supply problems with their crude oil, which is then impacting on their ability to deliver to their customers, including Australia, but not exclusively Australia.
I’ve always been clear, we’re in an uncertain environment.
Updated
Six of 81 ships carrying fuel to Australia cancelled since start of Iran war, Bowen says
Chris Bowen said it was a challenging international situation, and while import ships were still arriving, some had been cancelled. The energy minister said:
We get, on average, around 81 boats a month delivering fuel to Australia. We’re aware of six boats that have been cancelled out of that 81, on average.
Some of those have already been replaced by the importers and refiners with other sources.
Updated
Chris Bowen gives fuel crisis update
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, gave an update on the fuel crisis, telling the ABC Insiders program that petrol supply had increased to 38 days, with 30 days of diesel and jet fuel.
That indicates that while we’ve released more from the strategic reserve, the ships continue to arrive in good numbers, and both [of] our refineries are working absolute full pelt, and they’re both entirely 100% dedicated to Australian suppliers, not exports.
Updated
Federal government must ensure prosperity for all, Malinauskas says
The SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, has told Insiders that the federal government needed to get the economic settings right to ensure that people weren’t left behind as the economy grew.
I think the prime minister, and the entirety of the federal Labor team, are very conscious of the fact that you’re going to make sure that, first and foremost, the economic settings are right – to ensure that a growing economy doesn’t leave people behind and actually delivers a dividend for more people to have a degree of prosperity in their lives.
And that’s, of course, a very difficult thing to achieve, particularly in a global climate like the one that we have now
Updated
Triumphant Malinauskas says housing key to counter rise of protest parties
The re-elected South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, said mainstream parties needed to offer a clear policy agenda in response to the rise of parties like One Nation.
Appearing on ABC Insiders, he said:
If I was going to pick one area of policy that requires ongoing, sustained effort around the country, it is undoubtedly housing. I think that social compact that we have in Australia, where one family to the next can pass on to the idea of home ownership as an aspiration – I think that’s at risk.
For me, it’s all in on housing.
Updated
Good morning
Welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
We’ll continue to bring you the latest on Tropical Cyclone Narelle, which crossed the Northern Territory coast early this morning as a severe category three system, and will continue moving west bringing rain and dangerous storm surges across the Top End.
We’ll also bring you all the wash-up from yesterday’s South Australian state election, and keep across the unfolding situation in Iran.
We’re expecting to hear from the energy minister, Chris Bowen, in TV interviews this morning for the latest on the fuel crisis, which the International Energy Agency has called the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”.
I’m Petra Stock, and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
Updated
Tropical Cyclone Narelle makes landfall in Top End as category 3 system
Tropical Cyclone Narelle has crossed the Northern Territory coast, bringing destructive winds up to 165km/h and intense rain, with the possibility of dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
Narelle crossed about 4am local time as a severe category 3 system. It is now a category 2.
A warning is in place for communities between Milingimbi and Nathan River, extending westwards into the Top End, taking in Katherine, Bachelor, the Adelaide River, as well as the Daly River.
A BoM senior meteorologist, Jonathan How, said:
Within this severe weather warning zone, we will see 24-hour rainfall totals of between 180 [and] 230 millimetres, and some isolated locations could see more than 300mm, particularly to the north of Katherine, and this could produce dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding.
Narelle was forecast to weaken as it continued to move west on Sunday, but would still bring severe weather across parts of the territory already saturated by recent rains and flooding.
Major flood warnings were in place for the Katherine, Daly, Waterhouse and Georgina rivers and Eyre creek.
Updated
