What we learned, Wednesday 25 March
And with that, we’ll wrap up the blog for the day. Have a nice evening. Here were today’s top stories:
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told her Israeli counterpart that Australia supports Lebanon’s sovereignty, after the Netanyahu government revealed plans to seize parts of the country’s south as a so-called “defensive buffer” against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, announced Iranian nationals with valid Australian tourist visas will be blocked from entering the country for six months, citing concern some may decide to stay longer than they’re allowed.
The shadow defence spokesperson, James Paterson, said he was still a “big believer” in the Aukus defence pact but cautioned Australia should be realistic that the US may not always come to its aid in the future.
Pauline Hanson spoke at a Minerals Council event, where she said One Nation wants to work with the Liberals and Nationals – including on preferences deals – to defeat Labor, and would guarantee confidence and supply to a potential minority Coalition government.
Climate activist organisation Rising Tide wrote “TAX ME ♡” in chalk on a coal ship on Wednesday morning as part of a call on the federal government to introduce a 78% tax on coal export profits.
As the average price of diesel passed $3 a litre for the first time in every capital city besides Darwin, according to the fuel monitoring website Motormouth, the government introduced a bill to give the consumer watchdog powers to hand out bigger fines for price-gouging.
The Queensland LNP government scrapped the state’s emissions target for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle was again intensifying into a severe storm off Western Australia’s Kimberley coast.
And more than 2,000 ABC staff around the country walked off the job for a 24-hour strike, forcing ABC services across TV, radio and digital to rely on repeats and BBC News programming.
Updated
Queensland government releases illustrations of new Brisbane Olympic stadium
The Queensland government has released a first look at the new Brisbane Olympic stadium, set to be built in Victoria Park.
Queensland deputy premier, Jarrod Bleijie, revealed the location of the stadium at the Queensland Media Club earlier today.
“I can confirm the Brisbane stadium will be located at the Gilchrist Avenue end of Victoria Park, with an east-west orientation”, he said.
Bleijie said “early works” on the stadium will start on 1 June, with a final contract to be signed by the end of the year. The entire park will be fenced off from then, and won’t be accessible to the public, he said.
Updated
