What we learned today, Saturday 6 August
With that, we will wrap up the blog for the evening. We’ll be back first thing tomorrow, stay safe, enjoy your evening, and make sure you pump The Seekers extra loud tonight.
Here were today’s major developments:
- Australian singer Judith Durham of The Seekers has died at 79. The arts minister, Tony Burke, has described her as an “icon of our music”.
- The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has issued a statement warning she is deeply concerned about rising regional tensions following the launch of ballistic missiles by China into waters around Taiwan’s coastline.
- New South Wales Labor has accused the state government of attempting to bury an independent report recommending the shutdown of Resilience NSW. An inquiry into the state’s flood response recommended the state government buy back or perform a land swap for victims living in flood-prone areas. It comes as the premier, Dominic Perrottet, promised to deliver a grand “vision” for the state as he attempts to rebuild his fractured party ahead of next year’s election.
- Victoria’s elective surgery waiting list has ballooned by 21,000 compared to the same time last year, performance data released this morning has found.
- Still on the pandemic, there were 89 Covid deaths recorded across the nation on Saturday, including 30 in NSW and 24 in Victoria.
- And John Tingle, the former journalist, broadcaster and founder of the NSW Shooters party, has died at 90.
Updated
Here’s Judith Durham in 1968 at the Lodge, with the then prime minister John Gorton.
Prime Minister John Gorton meets with The Seekers at The Lodge, 1968 pic.twitter.com/jZzRPIgzGl
— Canberra Insider (@CanberraInsider) August 6, 2022
Updated
