What we learned today, Sunday 25 September
The time has come to wrap up the blog. Here’s a summary of the day’s top stories:
The ongoing flood emergency in NSW is expected to continue, with towns cut off by road and further wet weather across the state forecast in the coming days.
Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, has condemned the latest nuclear threat from Russia and pledged long-term support for Ukraine.
The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, has criticised a proposal for Australia to buy nuclear submarines directly from the US.
Tasmanian authorities have removed the majority of whale carcasses on Ocean Beach, in the state’s west, after a mass stranding event on Wednesday.
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, said the ending of the fuel excise – due on Wednesday – will be “tough on motorists”.
We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow. Ciao!
Australian PMs and former PMs to attend Shinzo Abe’s funeral
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will travel to Japan on Monday to attend the state funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Joining Albanese will be former prime ministers John Howard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, all of whom worked with Abe during his two terms in government.
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, serving between 2006 and 2007 and then again between 2012 and 2020.
He was assassinated in July.
Abe visited Australia five times as prime minister, the last of which was in 2018.
Albanese called Abe “a reassuring figure of certainty” during a condolence motion moved in the Australian parliament in July:
Our friendship with Japan is one of the central elements of Australia’s international relations.
There is warmth at the heart of our friendship, there is respect and there is trust. Mr Abe embodied them all.
– from AAP
Updated
Police find body in North Parramatta
A sad update to some news we brought you earlier: police have found the body of a man who went missing after being hit by car in western Sydney.
The man’s body was found in a lake in North Parramatta by police divers.
Emergency services were called to James Ruse Drive in North Parramatta about 9.40pm on Saturday after the man was struck by a sedan.
The driver of the sedan stopped at the scene but the injured man ran off.
As police were responding to the crash, they received reports a person was in distress at nearby Lake Parramatta Reserve.
The police air wing and dog unit, officers and State Emergency Service personnel started a search on Saturday night.
Those efforts were suspended but continued on Sunday morning before divers located the body at about 12.30pm.
The body is yet to be formally identified but police believe it is that of the missing man.
Investigations are continuing and police have urged anyone with information to come forward.
– from AAP
Updated
Back to football for a minute: winner winner chicken dinner.
NSW election polling favours Labor
The NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, concedes the next state election will be “very close”, after a Newspoll and Resolve poll released on Saturday showed NSW Labor is on track to claim government for the first time since 2011. AAP has the story.
Perrottet told reporters:
It’s not for me to commentate on polls … What I will say is that the next election will be a very close election.
The premier urged voters to look at the government’s track record in dealing with the aftermath of droughts, bushfires, floods and the pandemic. He denied the John Barilaro New York job saga had taken some of the shine off the Coalition’s record.
Perrottet acknowledged some decisions made during the coronavirus pandemic weren’t popular with people in areas such as western Sydney, who lived through some of the strictest lockdown rules in Australia:
It has been a difficult time ... for every single person across our state, and we stood side by side with them during that period of time.
Whilst we may have not got every decision right during the pandemic, I believe in the main that we did.”
The state election is locked in for March next year.
The Newspoll showed NSW Labor had 40% of the primary vote against the government on 35% and was ahead on a two-party preferred basis, at 54% to 46%.
The Resolve Strategic showed Labor on 43% of the primary vote, compared to 30% for the coalition.
But the Resolve also showed the Labor leader, Chris Minns, was running equal to Perrottet on the preferred premier stakes, with both on 28%.
The Newspoll was conducted between September 19 and September 22 and the Resolve poll on September 18.
Updated
Dead whales moved from mass stranding site
The Tasmanian department of natural resources and environment has provided an update on the pilot whales that were stranded near the town of Strahan, on the state’s west coast, earlier in the week.
With the assistance of local aquaculture companies, department staff have removed the majority of whale carcasses from Ocean Beach, west of Strahan.
Around 230 pilot whales were found stranded at Ocean Beach on Wednesday, exactly two years after another mass stranding in the same area.
The carcasses were towed out to sea today and released in deep open water, where they are expected to initially drift south and eventually sink and decompose in the Southern Ocean.
Incident controller Brendon Clark said the retrieval and removal of the remaining whale carcasses from nearby Macquarie Harbour is now the authorities’ focus:
Yesterday, we undertook extensive aerial surveillance of the area, before moving into this part of the operation. During that exercise we located some live whales in Macquarie Harbour and were able to refloat and release these in deep waters.
This follows the successful refloating and release of about 44 live whales over the past few days.
Members of the public are asked to report any sightings of whales or whale carcasses, which may wash up on local beaches in coming weeks. The whale hotline is: 0427 WHALES.
It is an offense to interfere with or possess any part of the deceased animals, so people are urged to stay away from carcasses if they spot them.
Thanks Christopher Knaus. I’ll be taking you through into the evening – if you want to flag anything, you can get in touch at Donna.Lu@theguardian.com or on Twitter at @donnadlu.
I’m handing over now to my colleague Donna Lu, who’ll keep you across the rest of the developments this afternoon.
Thanks for sticking with me today.
Images are filtering in from Geelong’s supporters’ day, where the team presented the premiership cup to fans after yesterday’s huge victory over the Sydney Swans.
Looks like thousands turned out to St Mary’s Football Club to celebrate.
Australian government to announce new security measures for data breaches
The ABC is reporting that the government will announce new security measures following the massive Optus data breach this week.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, is expected to pursue reforms to speed up notification for banks and other institutions in the event of a breach, where it is relevant to their customers.
The ABC reports O’Neil met with the Australian Signals Directorate and the Cyber Security Centre to discuss the Optus breach.
The changes being contemplated mean banks and other institutions would be told immediately of such events in the future, allowing them to better protect customers.
But as my colleague Josh Taylor points out, such changes may not have changed much in the Optus case. The company went public within a day of the breach.
Optus went public with it in less than a day and before the data was purportedly put up for sale. Not sure this solves much tbh.
— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) September 24, 2022
Surely it needs to be something like a requirement for companies like Optus to pay for passport and drivers licence replacements etc. https://t.co/Z0goUl50gw
Updated
Australian government to give $2.3m boost to elite rugby league in PNG
The Australian government will use $2.3m to boost support for high performance rugby league in Papua New Guinea.
The international development minister, Pat Conroy, and the sports minister, Anika Wells, announced the government will partner with the Queensland Rugby League to support the PNG Orchids and Kumuls, the women and men’s teams, enhance opportunities for female players, and develop home-grown high performance expertise.
The countries’ prime ministers, Anthony Albanese and James Marape, will attend the prime minister’s XIII rugby league matches tonight in Brisbane. Conroy:
Australia is a steadfast partner and friend to Papua New Guinea, our closest neighbour. We are bound by rich historical ties, shared values and our love for rugby league, which has been a binding force in our relationship for over a half a century.
The Australian Government has supported rugby league in PNG since 2013 through the community-driven League Bilong Laif program. This new investment extends our support to the high performance level for both men and women.
Updated
End of fuel excise relief will be 'tough': assistant treasurer
Asked whether the government will extend the relief from the fuel excise introduced by the last government, Jones says:
Labor can’t keep going around doing what the former government did, which is write billion-dollar cheques to solve every political problem ... We know that this is going to be tough on motorists. We know we’ve got to make some tough decisions. And I think Australians understand, they can expect the government to take some tough decisions that will be necessary, not only to get us through this period …
Over the next few months, where inflation is going through the roof, we have got to have a process where we are working hand-in-hand with the Reserve Bank to ensure the fiscal policy and monetary policy is working hand-in-hand. But I think Australians understand that we cannot keep writing, as the former government did, billion-dollar cheques and letting the debt mount up and up and up.
The fuel excise relief is due to end on Wednesday.
Updated
Assistant treasurer slams opposition for ‘giving up on forming policy’
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, spoke to reporters in Sydney a little earlier.
He slammed the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, for saying the opposition has no policies because it is not in government.
An admission from the opposition finance spokesperson this morning that the opposition has no policies. They gave up on governing and now it appears they are giving up on forming the policy basis for a new government. If the Coalition hasn’t got any policies of its own, they should get out of the way of the government [and] limiting its policies. We have got some big challenges.
Next week, Jones says the government will be introducing affordable childcare legislation, a bill for the federal integrity commission, and will be attempting to “repair the $1tn of debt and the mess in the budget that the former government has left us”.
He says Australia is facing “very tough economic circumstances”.
We have got the United States economy, the biggest economy in the world, in all sorts of trouble. The war in Ukraine is pushing up the prices of energy and all other goods. Europe and other economic strife. It is impossible that these things will not impact on Australia.
Despite all of these changes, Labor is committed to implementing our election policies, which is to put in place repair to the budget, including dealing with a structural deficit we have inherited from the former government.
Updated
Selwood mulls future after record-breaking fourth premiership appearance
Geelong captain Joel Selwood will take time to contemplate his AFL future, intent on not making an emotional decision in the wake of his latest premiership.
Selwood made a record-breaking 40th finals appearance in the grand final thrashing of Sydney – one more than Hawthorn legend Michael Tuck.
And the resounding victory made the 34-year-old the first Cats player to feature in four flags.
It would be the perfect way for Selwood to sign off, after 355 games across a decorated 16-year career.
But coach Chris Scott fanned the flames of possibility on Sunday, impressed by his skipper’s influential display against the Swans.
I make it a rule not to speak for our players, and certainly not for our captain, but I didn’t see any problem with the way he played yesterday.
Selwood, who debuted in 2007, was the oldest player in Geelong’s grand final line-up as they fielded the oldest team in AFL/VFL history.
A decision on the veteran midfielder’s playing future could be made within days. Selwood said:
We’ll talk throughout the week with the club and there’s a bit to go through.
I’ll speak with people who have been watching me and seeing how I’ve been going.
It’s not just a decision for myself.
- from AAP
Updated
Victoria to expand program to help patients with disabilities leave hospital
The Victorian government will expand a program helping patients leave hospital while waiting for an NDIS plan.
The program is designed to reduce bed block in the state’s hospital by helping those with a disability to transition into home or “home-like” accommodation when they are deemed medically fit but are still waiting on NDIS-funded accommodation.
The Victorian government piloted the program in Melbourne. It freed up 3,000 hospital bed days, according to the government. It will now be expanded into regional areas.
A statement issued by the health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, said:
Following a successful pilot in metropolitan Melbourne which saw more than 3,000 hospital bed days freed up, the program will expand into regional Victoria for the first time – helping more people with a disability regain their independence and spend more time with their families.
After years of NDIS neglect from the Morrison government, delayed discharge times for patients with a disability rose to an average wait of five months, with some spending as long as 600 days waiting for discharge.
Updated
Australian businessman denies threatening to sell Conflict Islands to China
The owner of 21 tropical islands off the coast of Papua New Guinea says he never threatened to sell them to China and his main aim is to save the turtles that nest there.
Ian Gowrie-Smith, an Australian businessman and investor, bought the Conflict Islands, which lie less than 1,000km from the Australian coast, almost two decades ago.
The largely uninhabited atolls are a nesting ground for critically endangered hawksbill and green turtles, whose breeding season begins within weeks. Some then migrate to the Great Barrier Reef.
Gowrie-Smith had been talking about selling the islands or developing partnerships to support the conservation work for several years, and hoped the Australian government could work with PNG, or by supporting a charity, to protect the breeding grounds.
The “atoll custodian” told Guardian Australia he contacted the office of the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, in June to discuss the future of the land, but grew frustrated waiting for a response.
“Here’s an opportunity to protect not only the area but the Great Barrier Reef’s conservation – that in itself should have been enough of a reason for someone to reply and say this is a pretty important site,” he said.
In August that frustration led him to appear on A Current Affair, which focused on the “danger” if the islands should “fall into Chinese hands”.
But Gowrie-Smith said any suggestion he was threatening to sell the islands to China was entirely wrong.
“I don’t have any intention of selling these islands to the CCP,” Gowrie-Smith said.
Updated
Federal Icac legislation to include public interest test for public hearings
Sky News is reporting that the integrity commission legislation, set to be introduced next week, will include a public interest test to determine whether public hearings are appropriate for individual investigations.
The issue of public hearings has been a key point of contention. Integrity advocates say public hearings are crucial in both promoting government transparency, deterring misconduct, and attracting witnesses and whistleblowers. But opponents say they unfairly tarnish the reputations, before any finding of wrongdoing is made.
NSW’s independent commission against corruption also includes a public interest test for conducting public hearings.
Updated
It’s been a bumper weekend for football, and another Australia vs New Zealand game has just begun at Eden Park – barely a day after an Australian defeat in a different code (poor, humiliated Wallabies).
The Socceroos are taking on the All Whites, and you can follow live updates from my colleague Emma Kemp here:
Defence minister says timeline for nuclear submarines being prepared amid reports US will expedite delivery to mid-2030s
The defence minister, Richard Marles, who spoke earlier today about the war in Ukraine, has also said an interim report on Australia’s military capabilities and a timeline for nuclear submarines are being prepared.
Marles says initial reports will be provided to him in November but they won’t be made public.
The Wall Street Journal reported the White House is in talks to expedite the delivery of the subs to the mid-2030s by building the first ones in the US in a bid to counter China’s growing military might.
A spokesperson for Marles reiterated his comments, saying:
It’s important to get the capability as soon as we can.
We are still doing the consultations to set out the optimal pathway for Australia to acquire the capability.
Marles told Sky News the original timeline for receiving the submarines in the 2040s would have opened a military capability gap:
What we’ve sought from the process that’s under way with Aukus right now is not simply to answer the question as to what platform we run with ... but how soon we can get it.
Cost would also be considered in the bringing forward of any construction or acquisition, he said.
– from AAP
Updated
Two northern NSW towns likely to be isolated for days as floods continue
Two NSW towns are likely to be isolated for days as the NSW flood emergency continues.
State Emergency Service workers performed six rescues and answered 112 calls for help between 6am on Saturday and 6am on Sunday.
The towns of Warren and Wee Waa, in the state’s north, are cut off by road and expected to remain that way for days.
Emergency services are using aircraft to delivery water, medicine, food and other supplies to residents.
The town of Gunnedah continues to be impacted by major flooding as of Sunday morning, however water is slowly receding.
The Namoi River peaked at the major flood level of 8.24 metres on Saturday and SES workers were on the ground to assess the damage as it became clear.
- from AAP
Updated
Cycling road race favourite Van der Poel charged with assault
Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, who was the favourite going into the UCI Road World Championships elite men’s road race in Wollongong, was arrested and charged with common assault on Saturday night following an incident at his hotel.
He started the race on Sunday morning but retired after less than an hour of racing.
Van der Poel is understood to have gone to sleep early ahead of the race, the biggest one-day event on the annual cycling calendar, only to be repeatedly woken by two teenage girls knocking on his door at the hotel in Brighton-Le-Sands, in Sydney’s south.
A spokesperson for New South Wales police told Guardian Australia that late on Saturday night, an unidentified 27-year-old man was allegedly involved in a verbal altercation at the hotel.
It’s further alleged the man then pushed both teenagers, with one falling to the ground and the other being pushed into a wall, causing a minor graze to her elbow.
Hotel management were notified of the incident, who then called police. Officers from St George police area command attended and arrested a 27-year-old man shortly after.
The individual, understood to be Van der Poel, was taken to Kogarah police station and charged with two counts of common assault. He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear on Tuesday at the Sutherland local court.
Updated
NSW premier: ‘close to 60 flood rescues’
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet says the Bureau of Meteorology and the State Emergency Service are working around the clock to support the state through the ongoing flood crisis.
We have had over 800 requests for assistance and close to 60 flood rescues during this period of time. I want to continue to stress for people across our state, please follow the instructions of the SES. If there are instructions of evacuation warnings in place please get ready to evacuate, if there are evacuation orders in place, please leave immediately, and if it is flooded, forget it. We say it every time. Please do not drive through floodwaters.
Updated
Australia’s golden opportunity to expand solar manufacturing
Australia has a golden opportunity to expand its solar energy manufacturing capacity as the industry booms and nations scramble to cut their over-dependence on China, a report by the Australian Australian PV Institute Institute says.
The country is installing 4GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity a year already but meeting just 3% of that from a local supplier, Adelaide’s Tindo Solar. That annual installation tally, though, is predicted to triple by 2050, particularly if Australia becomes a major supplier of hydrogen produced by renewable energy for export.
“We have a pressing need, we have the natural resources and we have a very sizeable market,” the report said. “Unless Australia gains control over the most strategic parts of the PV value chain, the development of any ‘green’ export market will be completely dependent on foreign powers.”
Renate Egan, the APVI secretary and head of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, said China would remain an important supplier of panels to Australia but it was important to diversify supply, including by using local firms.
“You can liken it to Europe’s reliance on gas from Russia,” Egan said, referring to shortages and soaring gas prices after Moscow imposed export curbs in retaliation to sanctions for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The world is relying increasingly on solar energy generation for the energy transition [from fossil fuels],” she said. “They’re becoming aware of the risks … in that over 90% of the tech comes from China.”
Updated
Indigenous Australian objects to be returned by New Zealand museum
Four objects from the Warumungu people will be returned from a New Zealand museum to country in the Northern Territory.
Two hooked boomerangs (wartilykirri), an adze (palya/kupija) and an axe (ngurrulumuru) were collected by well-known anthropologist Baldwin Spencer and telegraph operator James Field.
In the early 1900s, the men amassed more than 6,000 items from central Australia that have since been dispersed around the world.
The four objects now in the Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum will be returned to the Warumungu people later this year. Senior Warumungu man Michael Jones said:
They been taken away before us, but we know that they belong to Warumungu people as the new generation.
- from AAP
Updated
Charlie King: Hawthorn racism scandal ‘the low of the low’
Gurindji man and ABC broadcaster Charlie King has spoken out about the Hawthorn racism scandal. He describes the allegations as “the low of the low point” for racism in the AFL.
He told ABC’s Offsiders:
I had to catch up with other First Nations people and have a bit of a chat about it to try and get my head around it and I’ve had a couple of days to think of it and I’m still reeling thinking, ‘how is this - how is this possible in 2022?’
King said Indigenous Australians of the past had learned to live with racism in the game. But now he says it’s time to draw a line in the sand.
I just think we need to understand that there has got to be a place somewhere in discussion for First Nations people. They want to stand up to say, ‘we have had enough’. This has gone on in all our lives. Some of us are getting on in years and we have been children, wrote, played the game and saw racism when we were young and grew up with it and learned to deal with it. It’s a terrible thing. You stand on the ground and you hear racist comments. What do you do?
Updated
This is not a sentence I thought I’d ever write: A cow has disappeared into the night with Geelong Cats player Jeremy Cameron’s premiership medal.
If anyone sees a cow wearing a premiership medal, please return to: 🐄 🏅
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) September 25, 2022
GMHBA Stadium
370 Moorabool St
South Geelong, Vic, 3220#Untameable pic.twitter.com/lMagUeJkFf
New twist in the #optus hack: heard from frontline call centre staff - who have also had their data stolen - that the telecom has been swamped with complaints through its online form and are being made to call each complainant to "resolve the issue". 1/
— Royce Kurmelovs (@RoyceRk2) September 25, 2022
Police search for man hit by car in Sydney
New South Wales police are searching for a man who was hit by a car and then fled the scene. He was later seen in distress in a lake at North Parramatta overnight.
Police say:
A search will resume this morning for a man believed to have gone missing in waters at North Parramatta overnight.
About 9.40pm yesterday, emergency services were called to James Ruse Drive, North Parramatta, after reports a person had been hit by a car.
Police had been told a man was seen running across the road when he was hit by a sedan.
The driver of the sedan stopped to render assistance, before the injured man ran from the scene on foot.
As officers were responding to the crash, police were called to nearby Lake Parramatta Reserve, after reports of a person in distress in the lake.
Officers from Parramatta police area command – with assistance from PolAir, the dog unit and NSW SES – commenced a search operation to locate the man.
The search was suspended and will resume today, with assistance from additional resources including the marine area command and police divers.
Inquiries continue.
Updated
More than 3m viewers tune in for AFL grand final
Sticking with the AFL grand final, we’ve just received the ratings from Channel 7.
They say they had 3.06 million viewers nationally for the grand final. The full figures are:
3.06 million total viewers nationally; reached 4.74 million on broadcast
Presentations: 2.54 million viewers; reached 3.77 million on broadcast
On the ground: 2.33 million viewers
Pre-match entertainment: 1.05 million viewers
Post match: 351,000 viewers
That’s actually down on last year, when there were 3.91 million viewers nationally, with 3.01 million in the capital cities.
Updated
Cats fans celebrate grand final triumph
Geelong fans are celebrating their team’s thrashing of the Sydney Swans at Kardinia Park, the Cats’ home ground, today. Looks like a good turnout for the team’s supporters day, which began at 11am.
Fans will thank players, hear from the club’s chief executive, coaches, and enjoy live music and entertainment.
Celebrations at Kardinia Park after the Cats smashed the Swans #afl @australian pic.twitter.com/E7nFO8kr5r
— Angelica Snowden (@ang3snowden) September 25, 2022
Updated
My colleague Cait Kelly has examined the Melbourne-based Brothers of Italy candidate, Joe Cassari, who is trying to help the far right party win power by taking a vast overseas electorate that takes in Asia and Oceania.
Melbourne leads fall in auction numbers
Thursday’s public holiday and the AFL grand final caused a significant reduction in auctions this week, according to Corelogic.
The company’s weekly property update said just 1,323 auctions were held across Australian capitals. Melbourne led the decline with a 86.9% reduction in auction activity in the Victorian capital.
Corelogic says:
Preliminary clearance rates across the combined capitals held above the 60% mark for the fourth consecutive week, with 60.6% of the 1,028 results collected so far recording a successful result. Last week’s preliminary clearance rate (62.5%) was revised to a final clearance rate of 60.1%, the highest since mid-May (61.3%). This time last year 80.6% of capital city auctions recorded a successful result.
Updated
Littleproud backs Wong on Ukraine stance
The Nationals leader David Littleproud and social services minister Amanda Rishworth were on Channel Nine a little earlier this morning.
They were asked about the government’s response to the war in Ukraine and the increasingly inflammatory rhetoric from Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Littleproud praised foreign minister Penny Wong for her handling of it.
I think you’ve got to give credit where credit’s due. Penny Wong has handled this very well and she’s right to try and engage the global community to call out Putin, who’s becoming increasingly desperate. I mean, he’s calling up an extra 300,000 troops from civilians.
I think it’s important that when we’re given the platform on the global stage to call them out and to call those influencers out that can actually hold Russia to account, hold Putin to account, I think it’s important that Penny Wong took that opportunity. She did the right thing here. And she has the support of the opposition in what she’s done and what she will continue to do in making sure that we stand up to a bully and this is what this guy is – he’s a bully.
Rishworth was asked whether next month’s budget will offer support to Australians to deal with cost-of-living pressures.
She said Labor was dealing with a “very difficult” set of budget circumstances and said “we do have to act responsibly”.
The government’s been very clear that we are dealing with a very difficult set of circumstances. The Liberal and National party’s trillion-dollars’ worth of debt, rising interest rates and inflation presents for a very difficult circumstance.
We also have in the budget, it has been revealed a whole lot of programs that should have been ongoing spending in the budget but were tricky games played by the previous government. So there’s funding cliffs as well. So we will be doing our best to make sure that we are addressing cost of living.
It was interesting to see David mention childcare. It was only Labor that went to an election that actually talked about reducing the cost of childcare. And we will be implementing that election commitment along with our other election commitments as a government.
So we do have to act responsibly though. We can’t act irresponsibly. And to be honest, that is what Labor is focused on. How do we get the balance right in paying down our debt, which was left for us, as well as supporting responsibly families when it comes to the cost of living and delivering on our election commitments.
Updated
An unusually dry day ahead for most of Australia. However, there's quite a bit of 'dry weather flooding' going on as floodwaters make their way downstream. Here's @BOM_au's list of NSW rivers is some form of flooding (including a few 'major' ones): https://t.co/gfZ5kAchPn pic.twitter.com/XlfPGYjcgh
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) September 25, 2022
Putin nuclear threat 'appalling': Richard Marles
The defence minister and deputy prime minister Richard Marles says Australia is preparing to support Ukraine in a protracted war against Russia and will continue to provide military support.
He has also condemned the nuclear threat made by Russian president Vladimir Putin as “appalling”. Marles told Sky News:
What we understand is that Ukraine is going to need support over a long period of time [and] that’s very much the sense when I was in Europe and speaking to Nato countries – Germany, UK, France. All of those countries are really steeling themselves for this being an effort which needs to be undertaken over a long period of time, and that the importance of standing with Ukraine and enabling Ukraine to be empowered to resolve this on their own terms is fundamentally important.
Because the Russian aggression that we have seen, and certainly the comments that we’ve seen from Vladimir Putin in the last few days, which speak to the behaviour of Russia, it cannot be allowed to stand.
He said the comments made by Putin had caused “anxiety”, and described his decision to mobilise 300,000 reservists as a “step in completely the wrong direction”.
They are appalling comments to make. I mean, it is clearly an appalling thing to do to place that potential on the table.
Russia needs to stop and Russia needs to leave Ukraine. I think the scenes that we’ve seen from Russia over the last few days, of people seeking to leave the country, of obvious distress for those being called up and being asked to serve in the Russian forces in respect of this says everything about where public opinion is actually at within Russia.
Marles said that Australia needed to “stand with Ukraine” and would continue to offer military assistance, in response to the country’s calls for more vehicles and missiles.
We’re working with the Ukrainian government about how we can provide support over the long term.
Updated
That didn’t take long …
Shorter Coalition, as channeled through Jane Hume, “we don’t have policies, we’re in opposition”. 🤨
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 25, 2022
Updated
Road World Championships resume
It’s a beautiful sunny morning in Wollongong on the final day of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. The men’s elite road race is due to begin at 10.15am, with the peloton taking on an epic 266.9km course taking in almost 4km of elevation, from Helensburgh to central Wollongong. The race is expected to finish just before 5pm.
The sun is shining and the crowds are building on the final day of #Wollongong2022. After a week of inclement weather, nice to have blue skies. The men’s road race gets underway at 1015am. pic.twitter.com/Sb3FFkD55D
— Kieran Pender (@KieranPender) September 24, 2022
For Australia, all eyes are on Michael Matthews. The Canberran won the under-23 road race last time the world championships were on home soil, in 2010. Since then he’s twice finished on the podium, but never been crowned elite world champion. Is today his day?
Yesterday, in the women’s road race, Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten stunned the peloton with a late solo charge to win the world champion’s rainbow jersey for the second time. It was a jaw-dropping effort from Van Vleuten, who had fractured her elbow on Wednesday.
Despite animating the race at the pointy end, the Australian riders could not make the final selection and did not challenge for the medals. The best local finisher was Alexandra Manly in 15th.
Updated
Hume refuses to be drawn on fuel excise
The shadow finance minister Jane Hume has refused to say whether she supports an extension of the cut to fuel excise, which ends on Wednesday night, during an interview on ABC Insiders.
She said the Coalition’s policy when in government was to support it as a temporary measure, but it was now a decision for the Labor government.
That temporary excise cut was welcomed by Australians that were feeling the pinch in their pockets.
My view is that the government will make its decision. What it does need to do is address the other cost-of-living pressures that are facing Australians.
She also said the Coalition was reserving its position on supporting the government’s changes to the childcare subsidy and its new federal integrity commission bill, which will come to parliament this week.
On childcare, Hume said the opposition wanted to “check out” whether the measure would improve productivity and participation.
On the integrity bill, she said that the opposition would support “anything that will stamp out corruption in public life”.
We’ve always said we supported the introduction of a federal Icac. This is really important legislation to get right, because if you get it wrong, it has dire consequences. We haven’t seen the details of Labor’s bill yet, so we want to ask those questions.
Will there be procedural fairness and natural justice? Will hearings be in public for private? When will they be one or the other?
Hume said she was concerned public hearings could be weaponised and this might deter good people from entering public life.
That would be a disaster. We want the best and the brightest to join, but if the risk to your professional reputation, if the risk to your bank balance, the risk to your life and livelihood is there, just because you can politicise a corruption charge, well, why would anybody enter public life?
"We don't have policies. We're in Opposition."
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) September 24, 2022
Does the Coalition support ending the fuel excise cut? @SenatorHume responds #Insiders #auspol pic.twitter.com/ng3wIhMJ7t
Updated
Search to resume for man seen in the water in Darling Harbour
Police say they are responding to reports that a man was seen in the water off King Street wharf at Darling Harbour in Sydney in the early hours of this morning.
The man had not resurfaced, according to reports to police.
Police say:
About 1.20am [on Sunday] emergency services were called to King Street wharf at Darling Harbour, after reports a man was seen in the water but had not resurfaced.
Officers attached to Sydney city police area command, with assistance from the marine area command, commenced a search for the man.
The search was suspended and is due to resume this morning, with the assistance of police divers.
Inquiries into the incident are continuing.
Updated
Getting integrity commission law wrong will have ‘dire consequences’
On the integrity commission, Hume is asked whether she supports the body having public hearings – a key point of contention.
She says the Coalition will support “anything that will stamp out corruption in public life”. But she says she will wait to see Labor’s legislation before articulating the opposition’s position.
We’ve always said we supported the introduction of a federal Icac. This is really important legislation to get right, because if you get it wrong, it has dire consequences. We haven’t seen the details of Labor’s bill yet, so we want to ask those questions: will there be procedural fairness and natural justice; will hearings be in public or private; when will they be one or the other?
Updated
Hume: Coalition won’t back cut to EV taxes
Hume is asked whether the opposition will support Labor’s attempt to increase childcare subsidies. She says:
We do believe that childcare is a really significant cost and a really important service for many Australian families When we were in government, we did the largest reform to childcare in 40 years, and in fact reduced the cost of childcare and made sure that families were subsidised, particularly those who were working, those who were studying and volunteering.
She says they will wait to see Labor’s legislation before deciding whether to offer support.
But Hume is less equivocal about the plan to reduce taxes for electric vehicles.
We won’t be supporting that legislation because it is really poor policy. The electric vehicles, reduction of the FBT on electric vehicles, the government couldn’t explain whether it would actually reduce emissions. The industry couldn’t explain whether it would take up the electric vehicles. It is enormously costly, runs to billions and billions of dollars and if you can’t prove the effect of a policy decision.
Updated
Coalition went to ‘2019-20 budget essentially in balance’: Hume
Hume is asked whether she accepts the Coalition left the budget in structural deficit. She says:
Not at all. In fact, in 2019, because of the time we had been in government, we made sure there were budget offsets for new expenditures and we grew the economy. We could also decrease taxes and we went to the 2019-20 budget essentially in balance.
She says they had a “credible plan back to surplus” despite a $30bn deficit.
After the forward [estimates], but it was a credible plan back to surplus.
Updated
Hume calls on Labor to cut fiscal spending
Hume is asked about what Australia should be doing to avoid going into recession, following her leader’s prediction that the US will do so.
She is asked whether the government should be cutting fiscal spending. Hume responds:
Well, the Labor government came to government promising higher deficits than the Coalition. In fact, it promised $45bn of off-balance-sheet spending and $18bn more of on-balance-sheet spending. I think it’s time that the Labor government consider the priorities and whether it is a good idea to go ahead with it at a time when winding back your fiscal priorities, winding back your fiscal wish list to make sure that your fiscal policy is in line with your monetary policy would be a better solution.
When we were in government, we made sure we managed expenditures and grew the economy at the same time as lowering taxes.
Updated
'We don't have policies': shadow finance minister
In an interview on ABC’s Insiders, shadow finance minister Jane Hume has just made a rather interesting claim.
She was being pressed on whether the Coalition supported the temporary fuel excise coming to an end. She said it was now Labor’s policy to manage.
She said:
We don’t have policies, we are in opposition, not in government.
That will be news to many, including Insiders host David Speers, who responded:
You do, you have policies on aged pension.
Dead whales to be moved from stranding site today
The Tasmanian government is scaling down its operation at the site where hundreds of whales were stranded on the state’s west coast.
In a statement last night, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment said its staff will continue to monitor a “small number of whales” in Macquarie Harbour following the mass stranding this week.
Incident controller Brendon Clark said there were no living animals at the main stranding site.
Plans to remove the carcasses were progressing well, he said.
Through extensive aerial and vessel surveillance of Macquarie Harbour we have identified a small number of whales within the harbour precinct.
A number of those are still free swimming. However, we do have a couple that are stranded in shallower waters. We currently have crews responding to those animals and we aim to free them and get them swimming out of the harbour throughout the course of the afternoon.
The carcass disposal operation is set to start this morning, depending on the weather.
Updated
Flooding will worsen this week: SES
The SES has warned that a new trough and associated low pressure system is forecast to enter western New South Wales on Monday. The trough will progress westwards on Tuesday and Wednesday bringing more rain and the chance of thunderstorms “in many areas”.
The SES says:
Given the current flooding, saturated catchments and full dams, this forecast front will likely exacerbate the current riverine flooding with multiple systems anticipated to see prolonged or renewed minor to major flooding.
With catchments wet and many dams at capacity, waterways are very sensitive to rainfall, and further river rises and renewed flooding are likely for the inland catchments.
Ongoing operational activity can be expected to continue in these areas.
The SES will be liaising closely with the Bureau of Meteorology to determine the impact areas of the forecast weather.
Updated
‘I am pessimistic about seeing a republic achieved any time soon’
Trent Zimmerman, a longtime republican and former Liberal MP, has warned that King Charles’ accession will not make the Australian republican cause any easier.
In a piece for the Guardian, he writes:
I have supported Australia becoming a republic since my early 20s. For me, it’s about a simple proposition – should we have an Australian as our head of state – a head of state whose only loyalty is to our own nation.
Some monarchists have tied themselves in knots arguing the monarch is not our head of state – quite treasonous of them really – but that proposition does not really pass the pub test, let alone constitutional scrutiny.
Yet today, as I have been for some time, I am pessimistic about seeing a republic achieved any time soon. It will certainly not be advanced to the stage of a vote during this term of parliament and I suspect not until a future federal government is more than confident of its success.
Updated
Wee Waa and Warren will be cut off by floods for days: SES
The State Emergency Service has responded to 825 requests for assistance and performed 59 flood rescues in New South Wales in the past 11 days.
The SES this morning released new data on its workload in the recent flooding across the state, particularly in the central west and southern parts of the state:
statewide requests for assistance: 825
flood rescues: 59
Previous 24 hours up to 6am 25 September 2022:
statewide requests for assistance: 112
flood rescues: six
A spokesperson said the flooding was continuing in western and southern NSW, with a number of flood warnings current.
The spokesperson said Wee Waa and Warren will remain isolated for “many days” and that major flooding was still affecting Gunnedah.
Many communities are experiencing continuous or repeat flooding. Currently minor to major flooding is present in several catchments across the state as flood peaks move slowly downstream.
Major flooding is still impacting Gunnedah. The river peaked at 8.24 metres yesterday morning. It is expected to remain at major level for the remainder of the weekend; however, it is slowly receding. As the water recedes SES personnel will be on the ground to conduct rapid impact assessments.
Wee Waa and Warren will remain isolated for many days. We are conducting numerous resupply operations to residents with essential stores such as water, food and medicines and have deployed aircraft and high clearance vehicles.
Updated
My colleague Tamsin Rose has investigated the booming demand for cosmetic injectables in Australia, which has prompted experts to warn of the risks of serious mental and physical harm.
You can read her piece here:
The river near Gunnedah, in NSW’s north-east, peaked at 8.24 metres yesterday. Emergency services say they’ve had “a busy few days” in the area.
NSW SES volunteers have had a busy few days in Gunnedah. The river peaked at 8.24m yesterday. As flood water recedes volunteers will be back on the ground conducting impact assessments. If you have been impacted by floods and need assistance please call the SES on 132500. pic.twitter.com/0wkvLpOq12
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) September 24, 2022
Child dies in Melbourne fire
A child has died after a fire took hold of a shed in Melbourne’s east.
Emergency services were called to reports of a blaze at a home in Ringwood about 6pm on Saturday.
Once firefighters had put out the blaze, the young child was found dead inside the shed at the rear of the Belle Vue Avenue property.
The child is believed to be a resident of the house.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined and an investigation continues on Sunday.
– from AAP
Updated
‘Considerable’ rainfall expected next week in NSW
Inland New South Wales will remain on high alert for flooding, despite a short reprieve from heavy rain.
Bureau of Meteorology forecasters are now turning their attention to early next week, with “considerable” falls expected on Tuesday and Wednesday in southern and central inland parts of the state.
Senior meteorologist Jake Phillips told AAP:
It’s a bit early to know exactly how high the flood peaks will get as a result of that rain, but it’s definitely something that our hydrology team will be checking out pretty closely over the next day or two
It definitely will exacerbate some of those flood peaks and could send some of them either into prolonged major flooding, or raise them from moderate into major, potentially.
Among places authorities were concerned about on Saturday was Gunnedah, where the Namoi River peaked at the major flood level of 8.24 metres in the morning.
State Emergency Service spokesman Greg Nash said people downstream of places like Gunnedah on the river should keep abreast of the latest flood information.
It’s anticipated that water will move downstream slowly and may isolate some areas.
Wee Waa was isolated by road on Saturday, but the emergency service deployed resources to the town.
Nash warned against attempting to cross floodwaters in cars, saying:
We have some very resilient communities and some communities that are very much aware of their flood risk.
[However] we want people to drive to the conditions, and if you find a flooded or a damaged road as a result of flooding, to stop, turn around [and] find another away – it’s not worth the risk to push on.
In the 10 days to Saturday, the emergency service had fielded more than 800 requests for assistance in NSW, which included nearly 60 flood rescues.
In the 24 hours to about 5.30pm on Saturday, the emergency service received 120 requests for help and five flood rescues.
– from AAP
Updated
Five-year-old boy dies in NSW floods
We’re waking to the horrible news that a five-year-old boy has died in the NSW floods. He was separated from his family on Friday night when their car was submerged in floodwaters on McGrane Way near Tullamore, in the state’s central west.
Emergency services were called to the scene late on Friday, finding two younger children and their parents, who were clinging to trees. The five-year-old was missing.
Fiona Aveyard, a local farmer and Rural Fire Service member, told the ABC she had been one of the first to arrive on scene. She said:
It was a miracle they even got a signal to call for help.
We arrived in the dark in water that was backed up a couple of hundred metres from the crossing. The water at the low-level crossing was up about a metre and a half.
They [the family members] were downstream in the creek clinging to trees – a mother, a father and two young children.
The parents were able to free the two younger children from the car but the five-year-old was trapped in the car as it submerged.
Police have since announced that they’d found the five-year-old’s body on Saturday afternoon.
Ch Insp David Maher told the ABC:
The family were very distraught in relation to the incident.
The family are Sydney residents but they do have a property in Tullamore. Tullamore is a very small community, very close-knit and it’s had a major impact on the whole community.
Updated
Good morning and welcome to our live blog for Sunday 25 September.
We’ll keep a close eye on the flooding in New South Wales, particularly in the central west.
Tragically, emergency services have found the body of a five-year-old boy, who was separated from his family on Friday night when their car was swept away in floodwaters.
Heavy rainfall is set to ease in the state’s north today, but will continue in other areas.
We’ll bring you all the latest developments as they happen.
