What we learned: Monday, 30 June
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Thanks for reading along, we’ll be back first thing tomorrow with all the latest.
Until then, here were the major developments of the day:
New South Wales’ State Emergency Service is preparing for a “severe weather event” from Byron Bay to the Illawarra by deploying helicopters and high clearance vehicles to the coastal zones that are most at risk from the developing coastal low which is forecast to hit on Tuesday. The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) has urged communities to prepare for significant flash flooding and storm damage due to intense rainfall and damaging winds.
Anthony Albanese says tariffs placed on Australia by the US Trump administration “should be zero” as leaders around the world prepare for a second “liberation day” announcement following a 90-day pause on tariffs.
NSW police has declared a critical incident investigation into the arrest of the former Greens candidate, who has claimed she could lose sight in her right eye and has been charged with resisting arrest. NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson has written to the premier, Chris Minns, urging the charges against Hannah Thomas and four other protesters be withdrawn and accusing the police of “brutally assaulting” Thomas.
The jury in Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial has retired to consider its verdicts.
And a senior home affairs department official has been found to have abused public office and misused official information to get her future brother-in-law a job, including failing to disclose their relationship and passing interview questions to her sister.
Back to the federal government’s gas market review, Australian Energy Producers (AEP) has called it an opportunity to strengthen investment and increase supply.
The chief executive of AEP – a peak industry body representing Australia’s oil and gas exploration and production sector – Samantha McCulloch, said industry supported the government’s commitment to consolidating and streamlining regulations and creating a long-term stable regulatory environment.
The review is an opportunity to future-proof the east coast gas market and ensure reliable and affordable gas supply for Australian households and manufacturers.
Natural gas will play a critical role in Australia’s energy mix for decades to come. The east coast gas market needs to be fit-for-purpose to support continued investment in our abundant gas resources and avoid projected shortfalls.
McCulloch said the federal government’s Future Gas Strategy “makes clear” that natural gas will “remain critical to Australia’s energy security through to 2050 and beyond”.
Updated
