And that’s where we’ll leave you today. Here’s what we learned:
• Prime minister Anthony Albanese says it was a “great honour” to meet King Charles in London, but says he hasn’t had cause to reconsider his views about the monarchy and its value to Australia.
• Albanese also said he looks forward to working with new British prime minister Liz Truss on addressing climate change and issues in the Pacific, after his first meeting with the new leader.
• The prime minister also shared new details of the national memorial service to Queen Elizabeth, which will be held this coming week as soon as he returns from London.
• Acting prime minister Richard Marles said Australia won’t follow some other countries and ban Russian tourists from entering the country, saying sanctions are focused on the Russian government, not the Russian people themselves.
• Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has promised his government will redevelop Maroondah hospital and rename it in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, as part of his pitch for re-election in November.
• While in NSW, Labor has announced a $150m commitment for another 500 paramedics in rural and regional areas in its first term, as it attempts to wrest power from the Coalition government for the first time in 12 years.
• Residents on Sydney’s northern beaches are pushing extend the Collaroy seawall to protect homes from coastal erosion and massive ocean swells.
• And Brendan Moon, the head of Queensland’s disaster recovery agency, has been appointed to oversee the newly created national equivalent, the National Emergency Management Agency.
Thanks for sticking with us today. Stay safe and dry this evening and we’ll be back with you on Monday morning.
Updated
Further #rain is expected in western #NSW on Tue, spreading to all areas on Wed, before contracting the east from Thu. See https://t.co/hG9Lx5mRRb for the latest warnings. Follow advice from #NSWSES.
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) September 18, 2022
See https://t.co/OHAIksVV44 for the forecasts. pic.twitter.com/XW9tVBdWmc
Anti-abortion campaigner vandalised office, Kew independent alleges
Victorian independent political candidate for Kew, Sophie Torney, has alleged that an anti-abortion activist poured kerosene under the front door of her campaign office overnight.
Torney, who is pro-choice, said in a statement that the actions of the individual concerned were “deplorable” and that “attacking political campaigns, threatening violence, and intimidating volunteers is an attack on democracy.”
Last night an anti-abortion activist poured kerosene into our campaign office under the front door.
— Sophie Torney (@Sophie4Kew) September 18, 2022
I support a woman's right to choose, the actions of this individual are deplorable.
This attempt to intimidate our campaign & our volunteers is an attack on democracy.#auspol pic.twitter.com/j6iIfEcx4P
We’ve reached out to Victoria police to find out whether they are investigating and will bring you that information when it comes to hand.
Updated
What some consider the ugliest wall in Australia could soon be bigger, with residents pushing to extend the Collaroy seawall on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Northern Beaches council has received a new application by five local property owners to build two new sections of the wall in front of their properties to protect the homes from coastal erosion and massive swells.
Under the plan, 50-metre and 30-metre sections of wall would be added either side of South Narrabeen Surf Life Saving Club. In total there would be an extra 80 metres of concrete wall constructed.
It would add to the 210-metre-long, 7-metre-high existing structure built in response to a fierce storm in 2016 that tore into properties in the area, ripping a private pool from its moorings and leaving some houses at risk of falling into the sea.
Residents would cover 80% of the cost, paying up to $250,000 each, with the state government and local council splitting the rest between them.
Read the full story here:
Updated
WA Police to investigate serious high-speed crash
WA Police are investigating a serious crash that occurred in the suburb of Myaree last night after a high-speed chase along the Stirling Highway.
In a statement on Sunday, WA Police said around 8.20pm, a police vehicle was travelling on Stirling Highway with lights and sirens on, responding to an unrelated matter.
A white Toyota Camry, travelling at speed and approaching the police car from behind, overtook it and continued on Stirling Highway “at speed”, the statement alleged.
Further down the highway, police deactivated lights and sirens, and called for the driver of the Camry to pull over.
WA Police said:
The Camry failed to stop, travelled at speed towards Leach Highway and a short evade-police incident ensued.
Around 8:22pm, the Camry contravened a red light, travelling through the intersection of Leach Highway and North Lake Road in Willagee, before colliding with a Jaguar sedan and a Volvo.
The female driver and male passenger of the Jaguar, both in their 50s, received serious injuries and were taken to hospital. The male driver of the Volvo was uninjured.
The male driver of the Camry, in his 30s, was taken to hospital with injuries.
The statement said that due to the nature of the crash, Major Crash Investigation Section officers would review the circumstances of the incident with oversight from the Internal Affairs Unit.
Updated
Further to the news that Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is pledging to upgrade and rename Maroondah hospital:
I have stood with you @DanielAndrewsMP even when your decisions were not perfect but if you change the name of a hospital named an Aboriginal word to the name of the dead colonising monarch you will have me against you. https://t.co/h4UYfo5Sx1
— Claire G. Coleman (@clairegcoleman) September 18, 2022
According to Maroondah city council, where the hospital is located, the word “Maroondah” is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning “leaf”, which the council says symbolises the municipality’s green environment.
Updated
Australian wins silver medal in UCI Road World Championships
Australia has had a strong start to the UCI Road World Championships, being held in Wollongong from today until next Sunday, with Grace Brown winning the silver medal in the women’s time trial.
The 30-year-old was in the hot seat for most of the day, but was narrowly beaten by the final rider of the day to cross the finish line, defending champion Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands.
The men’s time trial is now on the course – Australia’s Luke Plapp is currently sitting in the hot seat after recording a blistering time of 41:26.83, but he faces an anxious wait with plenty of world class riders to come.
Aussie @LucasPlapp (@AusCyclingTeam) in the hot-seat early, finishing the men's time trial in 41:26.83. Should be enough for top 10 - outside chance for a medal? #Wollongong2022
— Kieran Pender (@KieranPender) September 18, 2022
Updated
One inch hail in Croydon! Similar sized hail reported in Ringwood East and Heathmont. Did you get it?
— Victorian Storm Chasers (@VicStormChasers) September 18, 2022
📸 Sharon Gallo#melbourneweather #melbweather pic.twitter.com/8TMrCG4o1U
Queensland disaster recovery agency head appointed to national equivalent
The head of Queensland’s disaster recovery agency has been appointed to oversee the newly created national equivalent.
Brendan Moon has been named as the nation’s first coordinator general to oversee the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), AAP reports.
The body was created following a merger of Emergency Management Australia and the National Recovery and Resilience Agency. Moon joins the agency after having led the Queensland Reconstruction Authority since 2016.
Federal Emergency Management minister Murray Watt said on Sunday that Moon would be a strong fit in the new role:
Queensland has had more than its fair share of natural disasters in the past decade and the way in which the QRA, under Brendan’s leadership, has responded and rebuilt has been very impressive.
Brendan will ensure the new NEMA delivers national leadership and strategic coordination for emergencies and disaster preparedness, response, relief, recovery, reconstruction, risk reduction and resilience across all levels of government and sectors.
Watt said the agency was working to prepare the country for the high-risk weather season being forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Right now, officers from the National Emergency Management Agency are rolling up their sleeves and getting on with the job.
The forecast for the next three months showed the country moving into a high-risk weather season with flooding as the major risk, over bushfires or heatwaves, according to the weather bureau.
Severe storms, intense rainfall, and giant hail are expected to hit the eastern states, with bushfires to affect the northern part of Australia.
Updated
Art Gallery of New South Wales construction upgrades completed
A fritted glass canopy will be the centrepiece of the newest addition to the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Works have been completed on the new standalone building, public art garden and revitalised historic building, which means the gallery is right on track to open to the public in December, AAP reports.
Pritzker prize-winning architects SANAA designed the new, open and accessible home for art, sensitive to the gallery’s beautiful parkland setting overlooking Sydney Harbour.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet said on Sunday that the government’s $244m investment into the project would help inject $1bn into the NSW economy as well as inspire the next generation of artists:
The new building is an architectural masterpiece, befitting some of the world’s finest artworks and we can’t wait to welcome the public in December.
The expansion was supported by more than $100m from private donors.
Updated
Kenyan Moses Kibet claims historic victory in Sydney marathon
The top three finishers all bettered the previous fastest time on Australian soil.
Kibet clocked a winning time of two hours, seven minutes and three seconds on Sunday, crossing the line just two seconds ahead of countryman Cosmas Matolo.
Ethiopian Chalu Deso Gelmisa – the victor in the Paris marathon earlier this year – was third in 2:07:08.
The three Africans smashed the Australian all-comers record of 2:07:50 set by Japan’s Yuta Shitara on the Gold Coast in 2019.
Ethiopia’s Tigist Girma Getachew won the women’s marathon in 2:25:10 ahead of compatriot Letebrhan Haylay Gebreslasea and Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu Gebrehiwet.
Jun Hiromichi won the men’s wheelchair marathon in 1:52.47, with Australian Richard Colman second in 1:53:28.
Australian Sinead Diver – who was a creditable 10th in the marathon at last year’s Tokyo Olympics – claimed victory in the women’s half-marathon at the Sydney Running festival in a course record of 1:13:07.
Diver was also fifth in last month’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games marathon which was won by countrywoman Jess Stenson.
The Sydney marathon is in the first year of a three-year candidacy to join the prestigious World Marathon Majors.
– from AAP
Updated
Bigger, better hospital to be named in honour of Queen if Victorian Labor re-elected
Victoria premier Daniel Andrews has promised his government will redevelop Maroondah hospital and rename it in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
As part of his election pitch, Andrews said the hospital would be rebuilt and refurbished “from the ground up” with a new emergency department, operation theatres, day procedure facilities and specialist care spaces.
The new emergency department will have an additional 14 treatment spaces with the election commitment costing between $850 to $1.05m.
Andrews said in a statement that the Queen “holds a special place in the hearts of Victorians”.
Only Labor is doing what matters – investing in hospitals, training and hiring thousands of nurses and paramedics and making it free to study nursing.
Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the hospital will provide “modern facilities” that health workers have been asking for.
We’ve made it free to study nursing and midwifery, creating a pipeline of future healthcare workers – so when the new Queen Elizabeth II hospital opens from 2029, we’ll have the workforce we need ready to go.
The announcement comes a day after Victoria’s opposition promised a $400m upgrade to Maroondah hospital, if it wins the election in November.
The opposition has previously stated it would scrap part of the Suburban Rail Loop and redirect $35bn earmarked for the project into the health system.
– with AAP
Updated
Sick, sad, or in need of comfort? Young adult fiction can be the perfect balm
There’s something about a mild case of the flu that has me reverting instantly to my childhood.
Usually when illness strikes, I will go round to my parents’ house, get out my teddy bear-shaped heat pack and lie on the couch dramatically, periodically requesting packeted macaroni and cheese or cups of tea.
While there, my favourite indulgence is having a bath while regressing to my childhood bookshelf. It’s packed with my oldest and most beloved classics – Winnie the Pooh, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden and the Famous Five.
When I fell sick this winter, though, it was the first time I’d been unwell and solo in a foreign city. I couldn’t get home to my old books, and I felt vulnerable in a new way. I gazed at my bookshelf blankly. I love The Bell Jar, but do I want to read it when I am feverish and sweaty?
Instead, I did what any reasonable adult would do: I donned a mask, a comically large jacket, and drove myself to a bookstore.
Read the full story here:
Updated
Anthony Callea to perform at Queen’s Australian service
Anthony Albanese announced earlier today that Anthony Callea will perform at the Queen’s memorial service in Australia on Thursday.
AAP has some more details on that, saying the appearance of the former Australian Idol contestant comes after he met and sang to the Queen in 2006.
Melbourne-born Callea performed The Prayer, his cover of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli’s song, for the Queen at a church service in Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral that marked Commonwealth Day in 2006.
He also performed it at Bert Newton’s state funeral in November 2021 and Shane Warne’s memorial service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March.
Callea said in a statement to AAP:
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II has obviously resonated throughout the world, especially in Australia.
Having previously had the privilege to perform for her, and after receiving the call from the Prime Minister’s office, I look forward to performing again, this time to celebrate her incredible life.
Updated
Australia won’t ban Russian tourists but is considering reopening embassy in Kyiv
We mentioned earlier that Australia won’t ban Russian tourists from entering the country as requested by Ukraine’s ambassador but is “assessing” whether to reopen the Australian embassy in Kyiv.
The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, also said on Sunday that Australia was considering sending further military aid to Ukraine to bolster existing commitments.
Here’s the full story on those developments from Josh Butler:
Updated
Flood warnings issued for parts of Tasmania
Tasmanian SES has issued flood advice warnings, urging people to monitor conditions in the areas of Fingal, Avoca, Llewellyn, Powranna and surrounds, where minor flooding is occurring.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a minor flood warning for the South Esk river.
In a media release, the state organisations say flooding in nearby streams and rivers is likely during the next few days, and some low-lying properties may become isolated by flood waters.
Property, livestock, equipment, and crops in low lying areas may be at risk and driving conditions may be dangerous.
Those who live or have farming properties in the areas of Fingal, Avoca, Llewellyn, Powranna and surrounds are advised to check their flood emergency plans, monitor conditions and, if you are not well prepared, plan to move to safety.
For flood updates, locals are advised to visit TasALERT.com or listen to ABC local radio.
Updated
Auctions up on previous week but clearance numbers still down on last year
A few notes on the housing market this week.
There were 2,190 auctions held across Australian capital cities this week, according to analytics firm CoreLogic, up from 1,918 the previous week and 1,672 this time last year. That’s the busiest it’s been since late June.
So far, properties in 62.5% of those auctions sold, which is a reduction from this time least year, when 75.1% of them were successful.
The clearance numbers are broadly down in most capital cities, with the exception of Melbourne, where preliminary numbers have a clearance rate of 64.4%, up from 58.5% last year.
But the biggest drop is in Perth, where the 30% clearance rate this week pales in comparison to the 77.8% rate they were experiencing this time last year.
Updated
More from the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong:
Australia’s Grace Brown is currently in the hot seat, having clocked the fastest time yet in the women’s individual time trial this morning.
Brown, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the discipline, rode a stunning time of 44:41.33 across the 34.2km course. But it was a long and nervous wait ahead for Brown – the race wouldn’t finish until around 12.30pm, with a dozen or so riders still on course.
Dutch legend Annemiek van Vleuten, an Olympic and two-time world champion in the time trial, has recently come in well off the pace, at 46:11.62 – good news for Australia’s Brown.
A long wait ahead in the hot-seat for @GLBrown321 - last rider won’t get in until about 1230pm. Will the Australian end the race in rainbows? #Wollongong2022 https://t.co/vVHh5n00FZ pic.twitter.com/WzKhi8zdPk
— Kieran Pender (@KieranPender) September 18, 2022
Updated
On Melbourne’s Nicholson Street – also home to another northside landmark, the 96 tram – is one of the city’s most beloved institutions. An embodiment of this great town. Not a building but a whole personality.
Triple R is a community radio station that has, since its origins at RMIT in 1976, done exactly what it says on the box: been part of the community.
Clem Bastow, Christos Tsiolkas and Casey Bennetto are Superfluity, punching earholes on 102.7 FM and online from 8pm every Tuesday. This year they broadcast their 500th episode after 12 years on the air. An astounding feat by anyone’s standards, but also testament to how large this station has loomed in their lives for decades.
Bastow says:
We call it community radio because someone at some point was like, the community puts this radio station to air. But what I take from it is that it’s radio that provides a sense of community, too.
Read the full story from Anna Spargo-Ryan here:
Updated
New Zealand museum returns Indigenous Australian artefacts to traditional owners
A New Zealand museum will return six Warumungu objects to their traditional owners in the Northern Territory more than a century after they were first taken, AAP reports.
The objects include a kalpunta (boomerang), palya/kupija (adze) and a selection of marttan (stone knives).
They were originally acquired in Tennant Creek the 18th or 19th century by telegraph station master James Field and British-born anthropologist Baldwin Spencer, and came to the Tūhura Otago Museum through exchanges with Museum Victoria and anthropologist Frederick Vincent Knapp.
Senior Warumungu man Michael Jones thanked Tūhura Otago Museum for its response:
Them old things, they were carved by the old people who had the songs for it, too. I’m glad these things are returning back.
The museums are respecting us. They weren’t the ones who took them, they just ended up there.
We can still teach the young people now about these old things and our culture.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies’s Return of Cultural heritage team initiated consultation between Warumungu elders and the museum’s Māori Advisory Committee to discuss the return of the items.
Aiatsis CEO Craig Ritchie said the RoCH program was giving a voice to originating communities in how their heritage is managed in collections outside of Australia:
Storytelling is integral to the transmission of our cultural knowledge.
We don’t want to lose track of such storytelling aids, and our communities want a say in how they are used.
The Warumungu community has indicated that a selection of the returned objects will be displayed at the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre in Tennant Creek.
Updated
Albanese meets with British PM Liz Truss
Anthony Albanese has also said he looks forward to working with new British prime minister Liz Truss on addressing climate change and issues in the Pacific, after his first meeting with the new leader.
The Australian PM met Truss overnight, for their first meeting as respective national leaders. Albanese said the relationship between Australia and the United Kingdom was “a critical one”, noting the Aukus military pact and the pending free trade agreement.
Albanese said:
It is important that the trade agreement be finalised and ratified between Australia and the United Kingdom. But I had a discussion with prime minister Truss last Friday to express Australians condolences to her.
That is good that we start off having built a relationship, initially, by both of us having a platform there to talk about national security, and indeed security around the globe. We share a support and commitment to the international rule of law.
Albanese also welcomed Britain’s engagement in the Pacific.
The United Kingdom has been a leader as well in acting on climate change. When I spoke with former prime minister [Boris] Johnson, he very much welcomed Australia’s commitment under my government to acting on climate change and I know that prime minister Truss is very conscious of that as well.
Updated
Albanese releases details of Queen’s national memorial service in Australia
Anthony Albanese shared new details of the national memorial service to Queen Elizabeth, which will be held this coming week as soon as he returns from London.
The prime minister is in the UK for the Queen’s funeral, and overnight visited her lying in state at Westminster and met King Charles at Buckingham Palace. He will arrive back in Australia on Wednesday, ahead of the memorial service in Parliament House and the public holiday on Thursday.
In a Sky News interview on Sunday morning, Albanese detailed what would occur at the service. Melissa Doyle, the former Sunrise host on Channel Seven, will be the MC for the service, Albanese said, while singer Anthony Callea will perform at the event.
Albanese said:
It will bring together each of the premiers and chief ministers, they have all confirmed their attendance, as well as the governors from their respective states, as well as leaders of the judiciary, including all of the justices of the High Court, as well as federal members and senators.
Myself and Peter Dutton, as leader of the opposition, will both give short tributes to Queen Elizabeth. It will be an opportunity to mourn as a nation as well.
Updated
NSW Labor promises more paramedics ahead of election
More paramedics who can do more things are part of NSW Labor’s election pitch as it seeks to wrest power from the Coalition government for the first time in 12 years, AAP reports.
Labor has announced a $150m commitment for another 500 paramedics in rural and regional areas in its first term if elected.
Opposition leader Chris Minns said consultation would determine where paramedics are needed, and they would be upskilled for intensive and extended care roles that would hopefully ease pressure on emergency rooms.
Minns said on Sunday:
The NSW system cannot cope with another four years of Band-Aid solutions, it requires serious repair.
The announcement is only the beginning of the “long-term, structural repairs” his party will take to the March election, he said.
Labor’s health spokesman, Ryan Park, said regional paramedics desperately need a resources injection to fix shortages that are pushing the ambulance network to its limit:
It’s like going to work with one hand tied behind your back…
A Minns Labor government will begin the task of repairing that.
Updated
No free trips as NSW blocks deactivation of Opal readers to stop industrial action
The NSW government is headed to court in a bid to block union plans to deactivate Opal readers at train stations as part of an ongoing industrial stoush, AAP reports.
A section 418 application has been lodged in the Fair Work Commission to have the “destructive action” to turn off or short circuit the machines from Wednesday declared unprotected, transport minister David Elliott said.
The move follows legal advice received by the government that the proposed action is prima facie unlawful, he said in a statement on Saturday:
Sydney Trains and NSW Train Link believe the notified action is also unsafe and could cause financial impacts on commuters.
The submission comes after the [Rail, Tram and Bus Union and others] rejected a number of formal requests from transport officials to withdraw the action.
Elliott said the matter was expected to be heard within 48 hours.
The union plans to leave station gates open as it did last month but this time the Opal readers will also be deactivated, preventing commuters tapping on, rather than giving them an option not to.
Not all stations have gates, although the action will also deactivate stand-alone payment poles at suburban stations.
The Opal system is operated by a private company and Elliott said on Thursday he planned to seek advice on whether the union action would result in the government having to pay any penalties under its contract.
The RTBU is among unions that recently took Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink to the Fair Work Commission in a bid to keep negotiating a new enterprise agreement and modifications to a fleet of new intercity trains it says is not yet safe to operate.
Premier Dominic Perrottet declared negotiations were over at the end of August, after a month of industrial action disrupting services across several days.
He threatened termination of an enterprise agreement if there was further industrial action.
RTBU NSW secretary Alex Claassens said the government and senior bureaucrats were “the ones responsible for this mess, they can now live with it”.
Updated
It’s a bit wet in Victoria today. Check the warnings in your area and look after yourselves.
⚠️ #Flood Warning issued for #Ovens & #King Rivers. #Moderate flooding occurring at #DockerRdBridge and #Minor flooding likely at #Wangaratta from Monday morning. See https://t.co/zQk6fgvnx0 for details and updates; follow advice from @vicemergency #VicFloods @vicsesnews pic.twitter.com/t1DCfyTFLB
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) September 18, 2022
Updated
Pressure mounts on Pacific campaign to recognise climate harm in international law
An alliance of activists, students and environmental groups have staged a flotilla outside of the United Nations headquarters in New York as part of a push by Pacific islands countries to have the International Court of Justice consider climate change.
The protesters called for a yes vote on a bid by Vanuatu for an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on climate change as part of a long-running campaign by Pacific nations.
The opinion would clarify legal questions related to climate change such as states’ obligation to other countries and may have implications for climate change litigation.
Sepesa Rasili, senior campaigner at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said in a statement the moment was a “wake up call for leaders and representatives” arriving at the UN General Assembly.
“Pacific youth have experienced untold devastation, and know the worst is yet to come,” Rasili said. “Yet despite this, they are not looking to assign blame or create division. Instead, they are simply looking to protect the world’s most vulnerable, for all of humanity, and our collective future.”
Leaders should heed this message, and translate it to action. An ICJ advisory opinion will have real global impact, including cementing consensus on the scientific evidence of climate change, compelling more ambitious action under the Paris Agreement, and integrating human rights law and environmental law.
Voting yes to the ICJ advisory opinion resolution at the UN General Assembly is a simple act, but an incredibly powerful one. With a single vote, states can help ensure Pacific island nations have a greater voice on the international stage, and provide a legal framework for countries around the globe.
For more on the movement to recognise climate harm at law, read this story by Guardian Australia’s Pacific editor Kate Lyons:
Updated
Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting will be watched closely, with analysts on the lookout for more clues regarding future rate hikes, AAP reports.
The minutes, due on Tuesday, will provide some context for the fifth consecutive rate hike that was announced by the central bank on 6 September.
The RBA came under scrutiny last week, with governor Philip Lowe and senior staff grilled by a parliamentary committee about its aggressive rate-hiking strategy.
During the hearing, Dr Lowe said the board would likely be choosing between a 25 basis-point or 50 basis-point increase at the next rate decision in October.
Updated
Arrest made after fatal stabbing outside Brisbane gym
An alleged murderer has been arrested after a stabbing execution outside a Brisbane gym.
Queensland police arrested the 24-year-old man after five days on the run.
Levi Johnson was killed on Monday when two cars boxed in his vehicle and four men began smashing the windows.
Johnson escaped across the road but was caught by his attackers who stabbed him multiple times before he died at the scene.
Updated
Magnitude 2.2 earthquake near Melbourne
If you felt the earth shake in Melbourne this morning, it was a 2.2-magnitude earthquake.
No #tsunami threat to Australia from #earthquake felt in Melbourne, Victoria (magnitude 2.2 near Melbourne, VIC). See https://t.co/Tynv3ZQpEq. pic.twitter.com/dyYFK6ZtcS
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) September 17, 2022
The movement follows a 6.6-magnitude quake near Taiwan overnight.
No #tsunami threat to Australia from magnitude 6.6 #earthquake near Taiwan. Latest advice at https://t.co/Tynv3ZQpEq. pic.twitter.com/VK9r2lRgPT
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) September 17, 2022
Taiwan is regularly hit by earthquakes as the island lies near the junction of two tectonic plates. The island does not issue tsunami warnings unless a quake is more powerful than magnitude 7.0.
Some earthquakes of 6.0 or more can prove deadly, although much depends on where the quake strikes and at what depth.
Updated
The Wollongong 2022 road world championships get underway
The UCI Road World Championships has just got underway in Wollongong this morning.
The elite women’s time trial, a 34km race against the clock, is the opening event of a week-long festival of cycling.
The #Wollongong2022 road world championships are underway! Germany’s Ricarda Bauernfiend the first down the ramp. This is the first time in @UCI_cycling history that the men and women have contested the same course over the same distance on the same day. And the view isn’t bad! pic.twitter.com/rJwQsvHG8G
— Kieran Pender (@KieranPender) September 17, 2022
Australia’s Grace Brown is on the course now and is considered a medal contender, after winning gold in the discipline at the recent Commonwealth Games. Tasmania’s Georgia Baker will ride later this morning.
The men are racing this afternoon – Lucas Plapp will be Australia’s lone representative. Today’s time trials are a significant step towards gender equality in cycling; it is the first time the world titles have been decided on the same day, across the same distance on the same course.
Updated
Albanese pays tribute to the Queen, remains unmoved on republic
Prime minister Anthony Albanese says it was a “great honour” to meet King Charles in London, but says he hasn’t had cause to reconsider his views about the monarchy and its value to Australia.
Albanese is in the UK to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Overnight (Australian time) he met new British PM Liz Truss, as well as having an audience with the King, after attending the Queen’s coffin lying in state at Westminster Abbey and signing the condolence book.
Today Jodie and I signed the condolence book at Lancaster House. In this time of great grief, we are thankful to be here paying our respects to the Queen for her services to duty, faith, family and the Commonwealth. pic.twitter.com/YF2cWvapxW
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 17, 2022
At a press conference soon after, Albanese – a long-time supporter of an Australian republic – spoke warmly of his meetings.
I was given the honour of an audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace and that was a great honour and an opportunity for me to express my personal condolences to King Charles but also condolences on behalf of Australia.
Albanese called his visit to Westminster “a very emotional experience”. He has been asked numerous times about a potential Australian republic, and has consistently said this is currently not the time for such a conversation.
However, asked at the press conference whether his week in London had led him to “revise any views that you have about the monarchy and its value to a society”, Albanese also pushed back.
No, I think this is something that is about respect for Queen Elizabeth and her quite extraordinary service over 70 years, and that’s something that I’ve admired and respected for a long period of time.
It was an honour to meet with His Majesty King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. I extended my personal condolences and those of the Australian people to the King. pic.twitter.com/2mP4yfZzRt
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 17, 2022
The PM said King Charles would be “always a welcome visitor” to Australia. Palace protocols dictate that meetings with the monarch are off-record, so Albanese didn’t give any details of their conversation, other than to call it a “very good” chat.
Albanese was also asked about King Charles’ environmental and climate advocacy.
I’m not going to discuss any of that detail either, as protocol requires. But King Charles, of course, has been on the record on his views over a very long period of time about environmental issues and including about climate change.
Updated
‘My position hasn’t changed’: Marles on his support for the republican movement
Finally Marles is asked whether it is possible to reconcile the Queen’s death and his support for the republican movement.
Irrespective of one’s views about our constitutional arrangement, I think Australians have been really moved by what has occurred. There has been an outpouring of grief. I felt that myself. Partly it is about – this is around event that has never occurred in our lives before. There is a sense of history in the moment, and I think whenever that happens, we all kind of walk down an introspective path about our own life’s journey, but it is about the person, about her, a person who has given a life of unparalleled service and wanting to show gratitude to that.
On the republican movement itself:
My position hasn’t changed but we will have plenty of time to talk about all that. The other point to make is that the foundational questions in our country matter. The ones we are focused on in this term of government, the Uluru Statement from the Heart, voice to parliament, that’s what the Albanese government will be focusing on in this term, and we will have plenty of time to do all of that.
Right now, though, I think it is fair that we acknowledge the life of a genuinely remarkable human being and a person who has given an enormous amount of to our nation.
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Australian submarine design ‘not a competition’ between US and UK
There are a series of questions about interoperability of hardware to enable the Australian defence forces to be able to use and swap military material with their counterparts in the US. Speers asks if this raises questions about the type of submarine that is going to be developed, but Marles stresses the design – yet to be determined – is “not a competition” between US and UK options.
It is important not to see the whole process when it comes to submarines as some kind of competition between the United States and the United Kingdom because it genuinely isn’t. Both countries are working very closely with us to help us acquire this capability. To walk down this path is a huge step for our nation.
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Marles on Aukus and Australia’s efforts to obtain nuclear subs
Marles:
The most important platform that can have in shaping its strategic circumstances in building strategic space for diplomacy, for trade, is a long-range capable submarine, and what is absolutely clear, as we move into the 2030s and 2040s, that will require that submarine to be nuclear-powered.
The recharging of batteries in a conventional submarine and what is required there is going to make that capability increasingly redundant as we get into the 2030s, and 2040s, as important as the Collins class submarines have been for us up to this point of time.
We are committed to acquiring this capability.
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China is watching world’s response to Ukraine crisis, Marles says
Marles is asked about what the situation in Ukraine and the relationship between China and Russia may mean for the situation regarding Taiwan. Specifically, Marles is asked what will happen if China moved to reunify Taiwan with the mainland using military force.
The way in which the world has reacted to Russia … has been very impressive, but so, too, has the incredible resistance of the Ukrainian people. People fight for the homeland. It has been remarkable and more than expected.
China will be watching this, as I guess we all are.
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Marles on China and Russia’s recent meeting
On the recent meeting between Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Chinese president Xi Jinping, Marles says there has been “a degree of humiliation” in how the Russian leader has been treated by his Chinese counterpart.
I think it says something about where the whole conflict is at. There is a degree of humiliation for Russia in relation to this.
I didn’t imagine when the invasion first occurred that Ukraine would be able to provide the resistance that it has.
However Marles said the recent meeting between the pair in Samarkand is “another step in a growing relationship” that is “part of the landscape of strategic circumstances we have to face”.
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Deputy PM on reopening Australian embassy in Kyiv
On whether Australia will join 60 other countries in reopening its embassy in Kyiv, Marles said this “is a question we will work through”.
Marles says there is a “whole lot of logistics and support which is required in relation to that, given the security situation”.
Obviously security is a critical factor in being able to reopen the embassy there and to make sure it can function in a proper way.
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Australia won’t be banning Russian tourists: Marles
Marles also won’t be drawn into making calls for Russia to leave Crimea and restore Ukraine’s border to where it stood in 1991, saying only that the Ukrainian government must be “empowered” to determine its future “on its own terms”.
Marles is also asked about whether Australia will follow other countries and prevent Russian tourists from entering the country.
We have a range of sanctions in place and the focus of our sanctions is on the Russian government, those who are perpetrating what has happened in relation to Ukraine, not focused on the Russian people themselves, so this is not something we are considering at the moment, but we are very much a part of the global base of sanctions against the Russian regime.
Similar visa bands in Europe have been contentious with critics charging that their implementation binds the Russian people closer to the Russian government by cutting off avenues of escape from crackdowns on dissent.
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Deputy PM on how long Australia will continue to support Ukraine
Marles is asked about how long Australia will continue to support Ukraine and what the end result may look like.
Our objective is to empower Ukraine itself to be able to be at the centre of however this is resolved. This needs to be resolved on their terms. That has to be the outcome given the unprovoked aggression that we saw from Russia at the outset of this.
Marles however urges caution as Russia still holds a fifth of Ukrainian territory and says the conflict is not over yet, despite success in recent times.
This is an unprovoked act of aggression on the part of Russia. It cannot be allowed to stand and Ukraine must be put in a position where it can determine this on its own terms.
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Australia’s military support is ‘making a difference’ in Ukraine
Marles will not be drawn on specifically what support Australia will be providing to Ukraine saying only that the Bushmaster combat vehicles and howitzers already provided are “making a difference”.
Australia is currently providing Bushmaster vehicles to the Ukrainian military, which have been used in the recent counterattack.
Australian armored Bushmaster takes part in the liberation of the Kharkiv region pic.twitter.com/jCDp4fluV9
— ТРУХА⚡️English (@TpyxaNews) September 11, 2022
Marles:
We have committed 60 Bushmasters, another 28 armoured vehicles, six lightweight howitzers, unmanned aerial systems. We are one of the largest non-Nato military supporters of Ukraine.
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Australia to continue providing Ukraine with military support
Richard Marles is speaking to ABC Insiders this morning on the subject of Ukraine and says Australia will continue to provide military support.
We see this as a protracted conflict that we need to be there for the long haul, but ultimately the objective of Australia, Nato and all those countries supporting Ukraine is to make sure that Ukraine is in a position to ultimately resolve this conflict on its own terms.
Marles says he is speaking to the Ukrainian ambassador about how support can continue to be provided.
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Vaccine development critical to ending pandemic, expert says
Australian National University infectious diseases professor Assoc Prof Sanjaya Senanayake says the world is watching a drop in both Covid-19 deaths and cases as a combination of vaccines and natural immunity has developed.
Senanayake said there are “well over” 100 vaccines in different phases of development and it was important their development continued.
It is really important that we don’t slow down, but we accelerate to the finish line. But you also have to recognise that no pandemic doesn’t mean no Covid.
Covid will become endemic, it will be less intrusive but still part of our lives, so we need to transition to that properly.
On Thursday the World Health Organization said the end of the pandemic is “in sight” with director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus describing the situation as a marathon.
“We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic – we are not there yet, but the end is in sight,” Ghebreyesus said.
“A marathon runner does not stop when the finish line comes into view, she runs harder, with all the energy she has left. So must we.
“We can see the finish line, we’re in a winning position. But now is the worst time to stop running. Now is the time to run harder and make sure we cross the line and reap the rewards of all our hard work.”
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Deputy prime minister Richard Marles will be speaking to David Speers on ABC Insiders this morning and prime minister Anthony Albanese has appeared on Sky News from London.
I spoke with Australian media this morning from London, saying what an honour it is to represent Australia at the Queen’s State Funeral Service. Later this morning I will meet with UK Prime Minister @trussliz to extend our nation’s condolences. pic.twitter.com/7Ii7tstSFF
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) September 17, 2022
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Good morning
Welcome to another Sunday morning with the Guardian live blog.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is in the UK where he met with King Charles and UK prime minister Liz Truss overnight and paid his respects to Queen Elizabeth II. During an address at Australia House in London on Saturday, Albanese said the “Queen transcended barriers” and that even as a republican he felt “nothing but regard for her”.
Associate Prof Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases professor at the Australian National University, says that with the World Health Organization flagging an end to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was important that Australia “accelerate to the finish line”. Speaking to ABC TV on Sunday, Senanayake said the end of the pandemic does not mean Covid will disappear, but the disease will need to be managed as it is now endemic.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be in the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started ...
