What we learned today, Saturday 29 October
’Tis the weekend for terrifying costumes – and that was just Derby Day at Flemington. Here’s your round up of today’s stories:
Four Australian women and their 13 children arrived safely in Sydney from the Syrian refugee camp where they had been detained.
Australia has dropped its opposition to a treaty banning nuclear weapons (if that double negative stumps you, Australia used to vote “no” but will now abstain).
The Australian Press Council delivered its ruling on the Sydney Morning Herald threatening to “out” actor Rebel Wilson.
She hits, she does not miss. So don’t you dare miss her – Katharine Murphy on Peter Dutton’s budget reply.
And Benita Kolovos has everything you need to know ahead of the Victorian state election.
We’ll be back here tomorrow, and into the week that heralds the announcement that causes the nation to stutter – that’s right, interest rates. Hold on to your wallets!
Updated
Yes, this is a space for Australian news. But this is news from the sun, so it’s Australian in a meta sort of way. A satellite photo shows what appears to be a happy face pattern on the sun, with dark patches called coronal holes.
Move over, man in the moon:
Updated
Here’s the story on those women and children arriving from Syria, and some of what happened next, and what might happen after that:
While we’re on Covid, the pandemic that is not at all over:
Aged care COVID. from the last week report. WA stands out as growing issues. pic.twitter.com/DRZ5koUOlL
— Prof Marc Tennant AM (@MarcTennant) October 29, 2022
Victoria is entering new Covid wave as Omicron sub-variants emerge
Guardian Australia reported this week that a new Covid surge could be imminent, and it looks more likely that Victoria is entering a new wave.
The ABC reports a 25% surge in cases – in the space of a week – has prompted the chief health officer, Brett Sutton, to warn Omicron sub-variants BQ-1 and XBB are set to overtake BA.5 as the dominant variant. (These variant names are not getting any catchier.)
On the bright(er) side, the epidemiologist Catherine Bennett says those variants are not any more likely to lead to serious disease, and that waves caused by them are relatively short.
Updated
It’s Derby Day in Melbourne and, um, they’re off and racing:
Daniel Hurst wrote earlier about that UN conference where Labor dropped its opposition to a treaty banning nuclear weapons – you can read about it here.
Here’s a separate, but interesting, note from Ankit Panda, from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:
I asked Ian Biggs, Australian @dfat envoy for Arms Control and Counterproliferation, if he'd be comfortable if Russia/China transfered naval nuclear propulsion tech to their partners by sticking to whatever precedent AUKUS will establish. His one word answer: "Yes." #NukeCon
— Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) October 28, 2022
Updated
Sorry, that was depressing. Here’s a delightful snippet our very own Malcolm Farr just shared, to make up for it:
The atlas moth has wings that mimic two cobras watching her back. pic.twitter.com/1VLHUw619r
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) October 28, 2022
Good lord. I was just having a little snipe to Natasha May about the fact it’s only going to 14C this week in Adelaide when I saw her post on possible SNOW in NSW in November. This world, this weather.
I’m sure it’ll all be fine.
Although, in case you missed it:
Hope you are enjoying your Saturday. This is where I leave you in the hands of the fabulous Tory Shepherd!
Big infrastructure promises from Victoria’s major parties ahead of election
Victoria’s two major parties are using the weekend to woo voters with big infrastructure promises a month out from the state election, AAP reports.
Labor is promising more money for Dandenong hospital in Melbourne’s south-east.
A $295m upgrade will go to expanding the hospital’s emergency department as well as building a new intensive care unit and outpatient clinic.
But the works aren’t expected to start until 2026, another election year for the state.
The Coalition is promising $1.5bn for western Melbourne’s roads, with the lion’s share – $700m – to go to upgrading the Western Highway.
Daniel Andrews’ government is tipped for a third term, according to polls, as the Liberal leader, Matthew Guy, struggles to cut through with voters.
But Guy has previously said internal party polling indicates the 26 November election will be tight.
Health and road spending have been the big focuses of both parties so far.
The contest has also drawn controversy, with a low-profile Liberal running against Andrews in his Mulgrave electorate having to apologise after saying the premier would face justice for the “murder” of Victorians stemming from hotel quarantine leaks.
One of the premier’s most recent big ticket promises was to return the state’s energy network to public hands and run it nearly entirely off renewables.
Updated
BoM predicts snow possible for NSW in November
The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted renewed river rises for NSW catchments in this coming week, as well as flagging the possibility of snow in the alps and central tablelands on the first and second days of November.
Showers and storms Monday and Tuesday may see new or renewed rises in some inland river catchments. Cold and windy from Tuesday with the chance of frost along and west of the Dividing Range this week. Snow possible for the Alps and Central Tablelands late Tuesday-Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/L7wFUHrP8A
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) October 29, 2022
Updated
'Deeply thankful': women brought back from Syria release statement
We brought you the news earlier that four Australian women and 13 children who have been living from the al-Roj camp in Syria since the fall of the terrorist group Islamic State, arrived in Sydney this morning.
The women have released a statement, saying they are “deeply thankful to be back home in Australia with our children”.
We appreciate the complexity and significant work it has taken from many people, including the Australian government, to bring us home and we could not be more relieved to know our children are now safe.
We want to express our regret for the trouble and hurt we have caused, especially to our families.
We are willing to do whatever is asked of us by government authorities to ensure the safety of our families and the Australian community and we will fully cooperate with all Australian law enforcement agencies.
Statement from the women brought back to Australia this morning from Syria @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/22sBINPmy2
— Lizzie Pearl (@lizziepearl) October 29, 2022
Updated
Tasmanian ferry operator cancels horse transport
Ferry operator Spirit of Tasmania has confirmed it will no longer transport livestock, including horses, across Bass Strait for the foreseeable future, AAP reports.
The decision comes after a court found TT-Line, which has operated the service for 37 years, guilty of breaching animal welfare laws over the deaths of 16 polo ponies on a summer Bass Strait voyage.
The horses had competed in a tournament in Tasmania and were travelling from Devonport to Melbourne in a converted refrigeration trailer on the night of 28 January 2018.
They were discovered dead when the trailer was opened at Yarra Glen in regional Victoria at about 7.15am the next day. Two horses, named Scarlet and Delilah, survived.
TT-Line was on Thursday found guilty in Burnie Magistrates Court of breaching 29 animal welfare laws.
Magistrate Leanne Topfer ruled the company made no inquiries to ensure the horses were individually stalled, per regulations, or ensure adequate ventilation.
In a statement on Saturday, TT-Line announced it would no longer carry livestock “effective immediately and until further notice”.
The company said it was acting on legal advice following the court decision. It said:
TT-Line is working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
TT-Line is expected to return to court for sentencing on 21 December.
The company has been operating ferries between mainland Australia and Tasmania since 1985.
The Tasmanian Labor opposition said the decision by TT-Line was a concern for the horse industry and would have a huge impact. Party leader Rebecca White said:
This will impact the racing and breeding industry but also junior competitors in pony club, recreational and amateur riders looking to compete in national competitions, as well as any person needing to transport a horse to or from the mainland.
Updated
PM opens Griffith’s new sports complex
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has attended Come and Try Gala Day at Griffith’s regional sports complex.
Albanese took to social media to emphasise the government understands the importance of financial commitments in regional Australia after the Nationals accused Labor of having a “vendetta” in the lead up to the budget.
Albanese tweeted:
I was delighted to be there to officially open the complex which was 20 years in the planning and a huge commitment from locals.
Our sports complexes are not just starting blocks for Australia’s incredible athletes and coaches, they are social hubs, places where friends and families connect and communities are strengthened.
This government knows how important community infrastructure is, particularly in regional Australia. Which is why our budget last week included programs that will support building community infrastructure just like this in regional areas across Australia.
It’s Come and Try Gala Day day at Griffith's brand-new Regional Sports Complex, so of course I had a crack. (1/7) pic.twitter.com/nurlXiHoMX
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) October 29, 2022
Shout out to the Wiradjuri Dance Group for their incredible performance at the opening. (7/7) pic.twitter.com/iaYJt3DoyS
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) October 29, 2022
Updated
Perth community remembers Cassius Turvey
The community of Midland, north of Perth, has gathered at Weeip Park to remember the Indigenous schoolboy Cassius Turvey, who died after allegedly being attacked in broad daylight while walking home from school.
The community-led event was organised to show solidarity with Cassius’s family as well as to support the Indigenous children in the community during this difficult time.
There were some high-profile guests at the community barbecue, including local AFL great Michael Walters and actor Ernie Dingo.
Dingo told the ABC:
It’s important that the feeling about today’s function is showing family that we have a responsibility to look after each other.
The event in Perth today comes as rallies and vigils in solidarity are being planned around the country, with many to take place on Wednesday 2 November.
I'm asking all those who consider themselves to be allies, believers in justice, those who abhor racism, who can feel the pain of a parent losing a child to a violent act, please attend a vigil to pay respect to the beautiful young man Cassius Turvey on Nov 2.#JusticeforCassius pic.twitter.com/I55QVyLDtb
— Prof Anita Heiss AM (@AnitaHeiss) October 28, 2022
Our Indigenous affairs reporter Sarah Collard has more on the community anger following the death:
Updated
Greens call NSW government pledge to double koala numbers a ‘hollow promise’
The NSW shadow environment minister, Penny Sharpe, mentioned Labor’s koala policy will be informed by the year-long parliamentary inquiry, chaired by the Greens MP Cate Faehrmann.
Faehrmann has told the NSW Koala Conference why the Greens chose the koala as the subject of their first inquiry after they secured the position of chair of the environment planning and local government committee of the NSW upper house for the first time at the last state election.
We needed something more that would make the general public and the media not just see the forest and the trees but to see the wildlife that call the forest home.
We chose an inquiry into koalas because, as we know, they were in serious trouble before the bushfires and because they’re so loved. And if we can’t save the most loved animal – not at least in the country but I think everybody in this room would argue in the world – I don’t think we can save ourselves, frankly.
'Koalas were in trouble before the 2019 bushfires.' @greencate NSW Koala Inquiry laid the roadmap. #CoffsKoalaConference #VoteForKoalas #NSWVotes2023 pic.twitter.com/udrCSy9H1Z
— Meredith Stanton (@CloudsCreek) October 29, 2022
Faehrmann says the 42 recommendations of that report are the “roadmap for what is needed to save our koalas in NSW.”
The report made international headlines for its finding that the koala will become extinct in NSW before 2050 without urgent government intervention to protect habitat and address all other threats.
Since the report, Faehrmann says the NSW’s government’s promise to double koala numbers by 2050 represents a “hollow promise” made “for a headline”.
Faehrmann also says the Greens will ensure that a Great Koala national park is created.
You have a rock-solid guarantee that the Greens will never cave to vested interests when it comes to what’s next for our environment and the koalas. The Greens will ensure that a Great Koala national park is created.
Faehrmann also flagged that her Greens colleague Sue Higginson will be introducing a bill in the final sitting fortnight of NSW parliament that will require an immediate halt to logging in all koala habitat in a public native forests and transfer this to the national park estate.
Faehrmann says Higginson will speak to the bill but with two weeks left of parliament there will not be enough time to debate it.
Updated
NSW Labor vows to 'act as quickly as possible' to save koalas if elected
Natasha May back on deck with you, bringing you more updates from the NSW Koala Conference which has now finished its third session, Politics of Koalas.
The shadow NSW minister for the environment, Penny Sharpe, and the Greens MP Cate Faehrmann are in attendance, while a short video message was played from the NSW environment minister, James Griffin.
In her speech, Sharpe criticised the NSW Coalition’s record over the past four years, saying it has “systemically dismantled many environmental protections”:
First there was a koala recovery plan that was allowed to lapse, the cutting of compliance officers involved in environmental agencies and the lack of support from government to undertake their work and ensure that they can undertake prosecutions to uphold the law.
Sharpe says she is still finalising her policy on koalas with her colleagues, so she will not announce the plan today. However, she says she will “sketch out the lines”, flagging she will draw “heavily” on the year-long NSW parliamentary inquiry.
If elected, a Labor government will act as quickly as possible to protect koala habitat.
Labor [would] prioritise the completion of National Parks and Wildlife Service national parks establishment plan. The last completed plan was under the previous Labor government in 2008, and there’s currently a draft plan [that] has been languishing on the shelf since 2017.
The first cab off the rank finalising that plan will be the work needed to create a Great Koala national park. The need for a national park in south-west Sydney must also be part of the picture.
Labor will ensure the statutory review of the biodiversity conservation act is rigorous, open and transparent. The review must include options for how runaway land clearing can occur and how the mess of the current biodiversity settings can be fixed.
I want the environmental behaviour systems to focus on landscape scale preservation and restoration of wildlife corridors. I want the NSW government to focus on working with all land holders, including First Nations people, farmers, local councils and public agencies, in genuine partnerships to develop better incentives to keep trees. I want governments to work closely with communities and community organisations who are doing so much of the good work across the state.
As new protected areas are developed, I want to ensure that impacted workers have good secure jobs and communities are included in the creation of these areas.
Updated
Labor MP welcomes Australia’s vote at UN on nuclear weapon treaty
Some more reaction is rolling in to Australia’s vote at the UN today on the relatively new treaty that is designed to impose a blanket ban on nuclear weapons.
While Australia has not yet actually joined the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons, the shift in its voting position to “abstain” after five years of “no” is seen by campaigners as a sign of progress given the former Coalition government repeatedly sided with the US against it.
Josh Wilson, the federal Labor MP for Fremantle and co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, says:
This is a welcome and sensible acknowledgment that the TPNW has already made a valuable contribution to advancing the normative position that nuclear weapons are wrong, and that working to achieve the wider participation in and effectiveness of the TPNW is a worthy effort in the vital cause of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
Updated
Here’s some more on Kamalle Dabboussy and his family, from Ben Doherty and Nino Bucci:
Children rescued from Syria are happy and meeting family in Sydney, grandfather says
Dabboussy says it is a matter of public record that his daughter was coerced into going to Syria.
He says:
Everything she has done has been for the safety of her children and herself. If she needs to explain that she will and that is the situation that she is in.
My daughter, as with all the women who went, the men went and took the women with them. The men either died or are in jail and the women have been left behind.
He says there will be individualised controls on the women, which could include ankle bracelets for any considered a threat, but adds that he doesn’t think they are. And he describes how his grandchildren are feeling:
The children are in a wild new world. They look with wonder and amazement around them and unpack boxes of toys and presents and stuff at the moment, so there is pure amazement and joy with the children.
And so, like all children they are resilient. They are happy and in some cases children are meeting family members, they do not know who they are and getting to know grandparents for the first time.
As far as going back to school, and education, we will take that one step at a time. We do not know when that will take place and we will work with the department of education.
Updated
Man whose daughter and grandchildren were rescued from Syria says thank you
Kamalle Dabboussy, whose daughter and grandchildren were among those repatriated, has just come from visiting them.
He has been acting as a spokesperson for the group.
He says:
They have had a long journey getting home and they are tired, but they are well. Jetlagged. The kids are opening presents and toys, the ones who are awake, anyway. I just wanted to say thank you.
The women have offered to cooperate with law enforcement and they have.
Updated
‘One of the worst places in the world to be a child’: Save the Children welcomes rescue of Australians from Syria
The Save the Children chief executive officer, Mat Tinkler, is speaking in Sydney now. He says:
We welcome this news and we want to thank and congratulate the Albanese government, and in particular the home affairs minister, for making what is a principled decision, and the right decision, in the best interest of the Australian public, the best interest of the Kurdish administration (who had been carrying the burden of these refugee camps on behalf of the world), and most importantly, the best interest of these innocent children and their mothers. They had been living in one of the worst places in the world to be a child.
Updated
Coalition attacks repatriation of Australian women and children from Syria
It’s fair to say the opposition wasn’t very keen on bringing the Australian citizens home.
The shadow minister for home affairs, Karen Andrews, said the “entire mission” had been handled “abysmally”. She said:
We have a rookie home affairs minister, who has little to no national security experience, in cabinet. And yet a decision to bring back women and children from Syria has been taken in the very early days of this government.
Andrews, slightly confusingly, said the Albanese government would have asked national security agencies to investigate the situation, but accused the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, of hiding behind the resultant advice.
Andrews said:
It is inexcusable, the actions that have been taken … in putting Australian lives at risk to extract women and children from the camps in Syria. The risk that is now in Australian community.
There is no such thing as “no risk”, she said.
Updated
PS, Natasha May has just popped out for a fresh baguette, she’ll be back in a bit.
Updated
NSW government to provide ‘extensive support services’ to women and children rescued from Syria
We’re going to keep bringing you the latest on the Australian women and children who have been safely returned to Sydney from Syria.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said the NSW government was providing “extensive support services” to help the women and children reintegrate.
The NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team is investigating allegations of unlawful activity. “Any identified offences may lead to law enforcement action being taken,” O’Neil said:
At all times the focus has been the safety and security of all Australians as well as the safety of those involved in the operation.
Informed by national security advice, the government has carefully considered the range of security, community and welfare factors in making the decision to repatriate.
The decision to repatriate these women and their children was informed by individual assessments following detailed work by national security agencies.
Updated
Queensland Greens call on Tanya Plibersek to reject development on protected wetlands
The Queensland Greens are calling on the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to reject the “completely destructive” development proposed for protected wetlands.
Elizabeth Watson-Brown, the state member for Ryan, said the call to save areas like Toondah wetlands are part of Australia’s obligations under the Ramsar Convention.
The convention is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation of wetlands, named after the Iranian city of Ramsar in which it was adopted in 1971.
One of those ”I can’t believe we have to say this out loud” situations:
— Elizabeth Watson-Brown (@EWatsonBrown) October 28, 2022
Qld Greens call on Environment Minister @tanya_plibersek to stand by Australia’s obligations under the Ramsar Convention & reject the completely destructive development proposed for protected wetlands. pic.twitter.com/uR4J7ajaVr
My colleague Lisa Cox has written about Toondah previously:
Updated
Moderate flooding predicted for Tasmanian village on the Macquarie River
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a moderate flood warning for the Macquarie River for the village of Ross.
Tasmania SES has also issued flood advice for Ross and surrounds to monitor conditions:
Locations in the Ross and surrounding areas are likely to continue to see minor to moderate flooding over the next 24-48 hours.
SES advises people in these areas that rivers are maintaining steady levels but these are expected to fall from Saturday into Sunday and the threat of further significant rises has eased.
Updated
Plane woe strands Jacinda Ardern in Antarctica
For the second time in a week, international partners have rescued Jacinda Ardern’s mission to Antarctica after the New Zealand Defence Force plane broke down leaving the frozen continent, AAP reports.
Ardern was due to fly home on Friday night after a visit to New Zealand’s research facilities, but the NZDF Hercules failed to take off from the icy runway.
Thankfully for Ardern, travelling with her partner Clarke Gayford, the small Kiwi entourage in Antarctica was accommodated on an Italian plane heading back to Christchurch, which left around 11am NZDT.
The episode comes after Ardern was forced to take a ride on an American plane to Antarctica.
An effort to fly on an NZDF Hercules was abandoned two hours into the eight-hour journey due to deteriorating weather at McMurdo Sound.
Instead, she was offered a ride south on a US Boeing C17, a bigger and faster plane, a day later, while the Hercules successfully made it later.
The US’s McMurdo Station, New Zealand’s Scott Base and Italy’s Zucchelli Station are all located in the Ross Dependency, part of New Zealand’s territorial claim to Antarctica.
Ardern took the trip to visit Scott Base on its 65th anniversary.
Her government is funding a NZ$306m (A$277m) capital redevelopment of facilities there, which she says is a sorely needed upgrade and the first since the 1980s.
Updated
What would the minister for sport, Anika Wells, do with $160m lottery winnings?
Wells told Channel Nine this morning:
I would finally be able to realise my lifelong dream of building a 30-metre stone statue to Johnathan Thurston at the harbour of Townsville to stand watch over the north.
Like our sphinx, people would come from across the world to see it. I’ll talk to the Queensland tourism minister.
Sad to report another speed bump in my long-standing mission to honour the King of the North.
— Anika Wells MP (@AnikaWells) October 28, 2022
I did not win the Powerball. pic.twitter.com/155s5etUsF
Nick Tedeschi wrote this wonderful tribute on the Queensland NRL great’s retirement in 2017:
Updated
Australian women and children rescued from Syrian camps arrive in Sydney
A group of women and children linked to Islamic State and stranded in camps in Syria have arrived in Australia, AAP reports.
The four Australian women, who had been in the Roj camp since the fall of the militant terrorist group, and 13 children landed in Sydney on Saturday after being taken to Erbil in Iraq to begin their journey.
Earlier this month, the Albanese government confirmed a rescue plan to bring home 16 women and 42 children who are families of Islamic State members.
The first people removed were assessed as the most vulnerable of those being held.
The federal government worked with Kurdish authorities on the extraction, which reportedly included DNA testing the individuals to prove they were Australian citizens.
Most of the children were born in Syria, meaning they will be seeing Australia for the first time.
Germany, France and Denmark have also brought their citizens home from Syria.
Updated
Findings from radiologists probing astronaut brains to be presented in Adelaide
Radiologists have probed changes to the brains of astronauts that could have significant implications for the future of human colonisation on the moon and Mars, AAP reports.
The annual gathering of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists in Adelaide will hear of world-first data from MRIs taken on astronauts from Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Russian Space Agency.
They reveal significant changes in the brain associated with long exposure to microgravity, including spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome, are linked to the brain’s waste clearance system called the glymphatic system.
The syndrome can have a significant impact on those in space for long periods with symptoms including vision issues, changes to the brain’s structure and a shift in brain fluid.
The vision issues in particular may impact on the in-flight performance of astronauts, with about 70% experiencing some level of the condition.
The lead researcher, Meng Law, said the study would play an important role in discovering the mechanisms behind the occurrence of spaceflight associated neuro-ocular syndrome and the development of mitigation strategies.
The College of Radiologists president, Sanjay Jeganathan, said understanding the impacts of microgravity and developing measures to support the health of space travellers would ultimately help mankind become a multi-planetary species.
Jeganathan said:
Human space exploration is set for rapid development in the next decade.
The space radiology session demonstrates how radiology can support astronauts’ health and documents the challenges to human physiology by prolonged exposure to low gravity.
Findings from the study will be presented at the conference today.
Updated
The representative from the Northern Rivers koala community group tells the NSW Koala Conference that there are active community groups advocating for the koalas including experts and lawyers – “but we’re still losing the battle.”
She said to stop the threat to koala habitat, a groundswell of public opinion standing up for the mammal is needed.
We need a groundswell of public opinion similar to what stopped the shooting [of koalas] in the 1930s.
It’s just as inhumane to chop down the homes of koalas as it was to shoot them.
Updated
Calls for NSW candidates to declare their position on koala protection ahead of election
Following presentations from scientific experts at the NSW Koala Conference, representatives of community groups from around the state including Port Macquarie, Gunnedah and the Northern Rivers are speaking about local koala risk hotspots .
Patricia Durman of Saving Sydney Koalas is calling for NSW politicians to declare their position on koalas ahead of the NSW state election.
We need to know which politicians will support the koala and which will not as we go into the state election.
Durman says Sydney’s last chlamydia free koala population in Campbelltown will be extinct before 2050 if nothing is done.
The population is under threat from numerous developments, most recently a new housing estate near Campbelltown which scientists have warned lacked environmental safeguards.
Just helped get this koala down from a tree to carers in Campbell Town. She and her joe were separated last night when they were hit by a car. She didn’t have any obvious signs of injury and amazingly her joe survived so they’ll be checked over and reunited. pic.twitter.com/0okmNBLB0i
— Kailas Wild (@kailaswild) October 21, 2022
Updated
Dr Kara Youngentob, from the Australian National University, tells the NSW Koala Conference that koalas are suffering from climate impacts resulting in less older trees keeping forests cooler.
Koalas are like humans and don’t feel like a big meal when we’re hot, which is problematic because they get most of their hydrations from their food.
So when they’re not eating as much they get dehydrated.
Dr Kara Youngentob talking about koala habitat quality and climate change impacts at the #CoffsKoalaConference
— Nature Conservation Council of NSW (@naturensw) October 28, 2022
Even though koalas can eat young trees, less old trees create warmer forests which result in koalas eating less. pic.twitter.com/053wiAHl93
Koala populations in Gunnedah and Pilliga have seen fastest decline in NSW: ecologist
The NSW Koala Conference is subtitled ‘the vanishing’. Conference organiser, the former Liberal MP who crossed the floor for koala protection, Catherine Cusack gives an opening address with this warning:
The great silent vanishing of koalas is something the world will never forgive us for.
There’s so much official denial.
Cusack says human interventions, such as the motorway put through Ballina’s last koala population, have devastated the state’s numbers.
Dr Steve Phillips, a koala ecologist, follows Cusack, saying there is a “tyranny of small decisions” with even modifications to their habitat contributing to population decline.
Phillips says in NSW, the koala populations of Gunnedah and Pilliga in the north-east of the state have seen some of the most rapid declines.
He says left to their own devices, koala populations can be stable. However, several human factors are initiating decline, habitat chief amongst them with 60-85% of koala habitat lost since European settlement.
Population decline is not arrested by a change in conservation status.
“During the 1970’s the size of a commercial sawlog in NSW was 70cm… these days it is down to ~30cm. That is all that needs to be said.”
— Nature Conservation Council of NSW (@naturensw) October 28, 2022
Dr. Steve Phillips addressing the #CoffsKoalaConference on the vanishing of koala populations in NSW. pic.twitter.com/Ix1dfggDMF
This video by my colleague Lisa Cox (made after the koala was officially listed as endangered) was played at the beginning of the conference.
Updated
Independents welcome Australia’s changed position on nuclear weapons treaty
We brought you the news in the blog earlier that Australia has dropped its opposition to a treaty banning nuclear weapons in a vote at the UN in New York today.
The news has been welcomed by some of the independent members of federal parliament who issued a joint statement in September calling for Australia to support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Zoe Daniels, the member for Goldstein, was among the 10 independents who issued that statement has welcomed the news this morning and pointed to the joint statement.
👉👉👉👉👉Australia drops opposition to treaty banning nuclear weapons at UN vote #auspol #progress https://t.co/tYCmm7NDp2
— Zoe Daniel (@zdaniel) October 28, 2022
From 23 September 👉 pic.twitter.com/pLO8ENDBQL
— Zoe Daniel (@zdaniel) October 28, 2022
Updated
Victorian flood risk persists with downpours ahead
Persistent rain may cause more flash flooding across Victoria over the long weekend as the state braces for possibly its coldest Melbourne Cup Day in nearly three decades, AAP reports.
More than 500 calls for assistance were made to Victoria’s State Emergency Service on Friday and authorities have urged residents to remain alert with heavy rain and storms set to soak parts of the state.
Western Victoria will be pummelled by heavy rain on Sunday afternoon, with damaging northerly winds expected across southern and elevated areas. Authorities warn there could be increasing water levels in various parts of the state including northern, southern and far east regions.
An evacuation order remains in place at Echuca, after floodwaters from the Campaspe and Goulburn Rivers combined with flows down the Murray River to cause major flooding. Residents in the Barmah and Lower Moira area have been advised it’s too late to leave and to seek shelter in the highest location possible.
An evacuation warning also remains active in the northern town of Kerang after moderate flooding of the Loddon River.
The Murray River at Torrumbarry Weir is expected to peak around 7.85m over the weekend, potentially causing major flooding.
Watch-and-act alerts have been issued for Bogong Village and Falls Creek, Bunbartha, Kaarimba and Mundoona.
Updated
‘Improving the lives of First Nations is a key priority of the Albanese government’: Burney
The Albanese government delivered its first budget on Tuesday. The minister for Indigenous affairs, Linda Burney, and the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, have this morning released this video explaining what the budget delivers for First Nations Australians.
As part of the $99m First Nations justice package, Dreyfus said $81.5m will be committed for justice reinvestment, including funding for 30 community led initiatives across Australia.
Burney said that $13.5m will be committed for First Nationals legal services.
First Nations incarceration rates and deaths in custody are a national shame.
— Linda Burney MP (@LindaBurneyMP) October 28, 2022
So our Budget delivers a $99 million First Nations justice package so that we can turn the tide.@MarkDreyfusKCMP and I explain just how our Budget delivers for First Nations Australians. pic.twitter.com/c4XhrFupKT
Updated
'Now is the time to insist koalas are a priority': NSW Koala Conference begins
The NSW Koala Conference has kicked off with the aim to elevate the issue of koala conservation in the lead up to the next NSW state election in March 2023.
Scientists, conservationists, wildlife carers, lawyers and First Nations people have gathered at Coffs Harbour to highlight the extinction risk facing koalas in NSW and policy solutions to protect koalas and their habitat.
The conference has been spearheaded by the former Liberal MLC, Catherine Cusack, who twice crossed the floor of the NSW parliament to stand up for koala protection.
Cusack said:
As a former MP who served in opposition and government, I saw up close how our political process is failing koalas.
Yes, there has been significant media coverage of their decline, nice words and lots of sympathy – but we are yet to see a credible rescue plan from the major parties who will form government after the March 2023 election.
I crossed the floor twice in parliament – both incidents concerned koala protection. I came to realise that individual politicians speaking out is insufficient – collective action by citizens is their last line of defence.
Our iconic koala populations are vanishing from the Australian landscape. Now is the time to insist koalas are a priority. In the lead up to the NSW state election in March, it’s more important than ever for us to make our voices heard.
Updated
Charity calls to get more Australians out of Syria
Women and children rescued from Syrian camps can be safely integrated back into Australian society, Save the Children says, AAP reports.
Four Australian women and 13 children held in Syria since the fall of Islamic State have been taken from the al-Roj camp to Erbil in Iraq to begin their trip to Sydney.
Earlier this month, the Albanese government confirmed a rescue plan to bring home 16 women and 42 children who are families of IS members.
The first people removed were assessed as the most vulnerable of those held.
The federal government worked with Kurdish authorities on the extraction, which reportedly included DNA testing the individuals to prove they’re Australian citizens.
Most of the children were born in Syria, meaning they’ll be heading to Australia for the first time.
Save the Children CEO Mat Tinkler said the children had been given hope. He said:
We look forward to welcoming them home. We highly commend the Australian government for following through on its promise to repatriate these innocent children and their mothers.
They have given these children hope for their futures and rightly backed the robustness of Australia’s national security, judicial and resettlement systems to support their safe integration into Australian society.
He said there were still more than 30 Australian children stuck in the camps in northeast Syria and urged the government to repatriate them as quickly as possible.
Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil refused to comment, citing sensitivity issues.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton warned the extractions were not in the national interest, claiming the rescues could inflame the risk of terrorism in Australia.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese said the safety of Australians was always paramount and the government would continue to act on national security advice.
Home affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo declined to comment on the repatriation or confirm it was occurring.
But a Senate estimates committee was told the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet was looking at whether media reporting of the rescue breached national security.
Pezzullo said:
Given the seriousness of the potential harm to national security ... we were involved in discussions about the referral.
Operational secrecy is to be preserved at all times.
Pezzullo confirmed there were still Australian women and children in Syrian camps and that Asio and other agencies kept “constantly under review” the ability to physically access the camps.
Updated
Flood clean up underway in Moree
Residents of Moree have been told they can return with caution, after the north-west NSW town saw major flooding last week.
The clean up now begins and volunteers from around the country, including 11 volunteers from the Queensland Rural Fire Service.
RFS Queensland has joined our SES and Fire and Rescue in the massive flood effort south of the border.
— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) October 28, 2022
Eleven South East Region volunteers arrived in Moree on Thursday and began the clean-up on Friday.
Crews are staying at a base camp established by NSW RFS until Monday. pic.twitter.com/0Q3Z2585Nm
Updated
Australia drops opposition to treaty banning nuclear weapons at UN vote
Australia has dropped its opposition to a landmark treaty banning nuclear weapons in a vote at the United Nations in New York on Saturday.
While Australia was yet to actually join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the shift in its voting position to “abstain” after five years of “no” is seen by campaigners as a sign of progress given the former Coalition government repeatedly sided with the United States against it.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said through a spokesperson that Australia had “a long and proud commitment to the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime” and that the government supported the new treaty’s “ambition of a world without nuclear weapons”.
Read more here:
Updated
McCarthy is also travelling to a part of Indonesia that has links to her mob.
On a very cultural level for me, it’s significant to be travelling to Makassar to listen to stories of the engagement between the Makassans and the Yanyuwa people and the Yungara people of north-east Arnhem Land prior to White occupation but also well into the 1900, early 1900s before the white Australia policy came in.
So this is a historic moment, meeting with you know, going to Makassar and meeting with many of the organisations there and talking about our shared history and trade prior to white occupation.
Updated
Australia shares 16 vials of antidote to cure Indonesian children at minister's request
McCarthy is also the first First Nations minister to represent Australia at the G20 summit of health ministers, and brings her experience working with Aboriginal community controlled health sector.
McCarthy said Australia, like many other nations, still has some way to go meeting the needs of Indigenous health.
We know in Australia we still have a long way to go in terms of closings gap. We certainly had a very significant portion of the budget announced this week that goes towards our work on renal dialysis and the fact we are going to have 30 units of four dialysis chairs. We are employing into the future 500 Aboriginal health workers across Australia and we are also dealing with rheumatic heart disease. Now, one of the strong issues here was tuberculosis and the need to work on that around the world. We recognise we have to also deal with that in Australia. These are very common issues that we are sharing.
Just here in Indonesia this week we have been able to supply 16 vials of antidote to look after many children over 200 children have been impacted with their kidneys here with what we understand to be some poisonous medication. So Australia this week on Monday was able to deliver 16 vials at the request of the Indonesian minister, Sadikin to our Health Minister, Mark Butler. We know we can interact very quickly and give support where we can and have shared experiences.
Health ministers meet to discuss future pandemics at G20 summit
Health ministers from across the globe have gathered in Bali to discuss how to prepare for future health emergencies.
The assistant minister for Indigenous Health, Malarndirri McCarthy, is representing Australia at the G20 summit, where she will highlight the health and medical challenges facing indigenous peoples at an international level.
McCarthy told ABC News this morning what Australia will contribute to the summit:
Australia’s contributed a great deal, we have supported other countries throughout the world during Covid, but we have also been able to share the information about working with our First Nations people and vulnerable people throughout Australia in remote and regional Australia.
So logistics, the health support, we have got our Ausmat team based in Darwin which reached out across the country and around the world for different matters. So these are the sorts of skills we bring.
We saw recently with the remembrance of the Bali bombing the work of Royal Darwin Hospital with the burns treatment. So Australia, our proximity in particular to Indonesia and our reaching out to the global community says that we are here and we are very ready to assist in any capacity that we can.
Updated
Good morning!
Four Australian women and 13 children who have been held in Syria for three-and-a-half years since the fall of Islamic State are expected to arrive in Sydney today.
The families, made up of four mothers and 13 or more children, left the camp late on Thursday, Australian time, and were first taken to Iraq.
It is the first time Australians captured after the fall of the terrorist group have been returned since eight orphans from two separate families were repatriated in 2019.
The four families represent less than half of the Australian women and children held in the camp. About 40 women and children who remain there are expected to be returned in two seperate repatriations in coming weeks.
Persistent rain may cause more flash flooding across Victoria over the weekend as the state braces for possibly its coldest Melbourne Cup Day in nearly three decades.
More than 500 calls for assistance were made to Victoria’s State Emergency Service on Friday and authorities have urged residents to remain alert with heavy rain and storms set to soak parts of the state.
Authorities warn there could be increasing water levels in various parts of the state, including northern, southern and far east regions.
An evacuation order remains in place at Echuca, after floodwaters from the Campaspe and Goulburn Rivers combined with flows down the Murray River to cause major flooding. Residents in the Barmah and Lower Moira area have been advised it’s too late to leave and to seek shelter in the highest location possible.
An evacuation warning also remains active in the northern town of Kerang after moderate flooding of the Loddon River.
The Murray River at Torrumbarry Weir is expected to peak around 7.85m over the weekend, potentially causing major flooding.
Watch-and-act alerts have been issued for Bogong Village and Falls Creek, Bunbartha, Kaarimba and Mundoona.
The NSW SES received 227 calls for assistance on Friday, with eight of those being flood rescues. Flood waters are moving further north-west in the state, with the town of Mungindi near the Queensland border preparing for a possible three weeks of isolation.
Let’s get into it.
Updated
