Hi there. It's Wednesday, August 17 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here: Scott Morrison has again defended his controversial self-appointments
The saga involving Scott Morrison has continued, with the former prime minister holding a lengthy press conference today.
Here's what you need to know:
- Yesterday we found out Mr Morrison had appointed himself to a total of five ministries, largely in secret
- Today he said the fact cabinet ministers didn't know about his self-appointments was proof he had not interfered or intervened in other ministries, except in one instance
- Mr Morrison also rejected calls from within the Liberal Party to resign
- Governor-General David Hurley has stood firm on his actions around the appointments, while a spokesperson said General Hurley "had no reason to believe that appointments would not be communicated"
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Scott Morrison should apologise to the Australian public, and not just his colleagues.
You can find out more about the ministries Scott Morrison appointed himself to (and why) in this explainer.
Today we heard a lot about the NSW flood inquiry
An independent report into this year's devastating floods in New South Wales has found that people in the "highest-risk" areas near Lismore should be relocated "urgently".
The inquiry — prepared by former police commissioner Mick Fuller and Independent Planning Commission chair Mary O'Kane — has made 28 recommendations.
These were five of the key issues raised:
- The SES has limited capacity to respond to large-scale disasters
- Residents in the highest-risk areas of the Northern Rivers flood plains need to be relocated
- Resilience NSW didn't perform as intended
- Emergency telecommunications are needed
- The Bureau of Meteorology's NSW rain gauge network isn't fit for purpose
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said all 28 recommendations would be adopted, either immediately or over time.
News you might have missed
- Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney has conceded defeat to a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump, in one of the most-keenly watched US primary races of 2022. Results suggest Ms Cheney was defeated by Harriet Hageman, but she has vowed to continue fighting Mr Trump and his legacy
- The High Court has found that Google did not assist in writing or disseminating an article which Melbourne lawyer George Defteros said had defamed him. A previous court found Google was a publisher and had defamed the lawyer, however, that finding has successfully been appealed.
Here's what Australia has been searching for online
- Julia Robinson. The Brisbane Broncos winger posted an Instagram story saying she felt the need to call out comments shaming her for being too muscular, with her NRLW teammates and opponents supporting her on social media
- Ellia Green. The Rio Olympics rugby sevens medallist has spoken about his identity as a trans man at a rugby tournament anti-transphobia summit in Canada. Green is known for his role in Australia's gold medal-winning women's rugby sevens team at the 2016 Olympics
- Tasmanian tiger. Partners in a new science venture say recreating a living baby Tasmanian tiger might be as little as 10 years away — close to 100 years after the species became extinct. Here's an explainer on what led to the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger in the first place.
One more thing: A lost dog's amazing cave rescue
Missouri man Jeff Bohnert had all but given up on seeing his 13-year-old dog Abby again after she went missing in early June from his home in Perryville.
Two months later he got a text saying people exploring a nearby cave had found a dog.
Abby had managed to survive nearly 60 days on her own, apparently much or all of it in a pitch-dark, 14 degree Celsius cave.
She's now wagging her tail again.
"It's amazing how she's springing back already," Mr Bohnert said. "She's acting like herself again."
You're up to date!
We'll be back tomorrow with more news.
ABC/Wires
