What we learned today, Wednesday 22 May
We are wrapping up the blog for tonight. Here’s what made the news:
Bird flu has been detected at an egg farm near Meredith in central Victoria, authorities say. The Victorian health department confirmed a case of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza in a child who recently returned to Australia from overseas.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed eight Australians were injured in the Singapore Airlines flight SQ 321 turbulence incident.
The Liberal senator Simon Birmingham said international criminal court arrest warrant requests created “false equivalence between Israel and Hamas”.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, signalled a Coalition government may consider walking away from the ICC if it issues arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Australian government welcomed “positive engagements” with Israel over an investigation into the killing of an aid worker.
More than 80 Australians have touched down at home and been reunited with their families after being evacuated from New Caledonia following more than a week of deadly rioting. Another 100 Australians are set to be evacuated soon.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has improvised Coalition policy on migration in a post-budget address, offering different targets for net migration than the opposition leader.
The Queensland MP Robbie Katter called for a new state in north Queensland.
Updated
Mobile black spot funding gets tick from audit office
The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) has released its probe of the latest rounds of the mobile black spot program.
The audit came after calls from the shadow communications minister, David Coleman, who accused the Labor government and communications minister, Michelle Rowland, of “pork-barrelling” the $37.2m in grants.
Ultimately, the audit office gave the department a green tick for giving “clear and accurate advice” to the minister. The minister got the thumbs up as well for complying with the rules and recording her decisions. Funding outcomes for target locations was also deemed “proportionate”.
In a media release on Wednesday afternoon, Rowland said the report cleared her of the accusations and said the Albanese government was providing the “vital investments needed to narrow the digital divide right across the country”.
While the ANAO’s report did not find any wrongdoing or maladministration, it did note a breakdown that the electorates receiving funding weighed heavily toward Labor marginal seats.
The ANAO’s analysis showed 74% of the 54 “target locations” chosen to receive the funding were in Labor electorates. Of those, 44 were deemed marginal.
Coleman said the funding allocation “cannot be described as equitable – unless Minister Rowland’s view is that 74% of electorates in Australia are held by the Labor Party”.
He added:
The minister owes it to Australians to apologise for her conduct in her selection of ‘target locations’ under Round 6 of the Mobile Black Spot program.
Updated
