What we learned, Thursday 17 July
We’ll leave our live coverage of today’s news there. Thanks for staying with us. The indefatigable Nick Visser and I will be back tomorrow to close out the week.
Until then, here were Thursday’s major developments:
Anthony Albanese hit back at Coalition MPs’ criticism of his China trip, claiming the previous government “didn’t have a phone conversation” with Beijing.
The unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.3%, piling pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates and sending the Australian dollar plummeting against the US dollar to its lowest point in nearly a month.
The humpback whale that swam to Circular Quay, delighting ferry passengers, left Sydney Harbour.
A rescue team continued its search for a small plane missing in New South Wales’ Snowy Mountains.
And waves up to 7 metres high have been forecast in parts of Australia as cold fronts create huge swells.
Updated
More on prosecution of sex abuse allegations against NSW MP
Continuing that AAP report: The 18-year-old’s evidence that he didn’t want to confess to pretending to be passed out was consistent with an understandable desire to avoid confronting a powerful man, Knowles said.
Similarly, Knowles suggested the 24-year-old was an “open book” who faithfully reported the alleged assault when he said he had allowed a kiss with Ward earlier in the night. She said:
He’s not trying to paint the accused completely in a bad light … He knew it was important to tell you what happened and did – warts and all.
Both men were honest and reliable witnesses who should be believed, the prosecutor told the jury. Inconsistencies in the complainants’ recollection of “peripheral details” were understandable, given the assaults took place years ago and traumatic memories may be pushed away, she said.
The evidence showed Ward had a tendency to act on his sexual interest in young men who were subordinate to his position of power by committing sexual offences against them, the jury was told. Knowles said:
These people weren’t overcome by force, they were taken by surprise.
His lawyers are expected to deliver their closing remarks to the jury on Friday.
Updated
‘Real ring of truth’ in sex abuse claims against MP, court hears
There is a “real ring of truth” in separate accounts of sexual abuse levelled at a state MP by two young men, a court has been told.
Kiama MP Gareth Ward, 44, is on trial in the NSW district court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges. He is accused of inviting a drunk 18-year-old man to his south coast home in February 2013.
The man told the jury Ward plied him with drinks before indecently assaulting him three times in one night, despite his attempts to resist. Two years later, the longtime MP allegedly sexually assaulted an intoxicated political staffer after a midweek event at NSW Parliament House in 2015.
The man, who was 24 at the time, said Ward climbed into bed with him, groped his backside, and sexually assaulted him despite him repeatedly saying “no”.
Crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told the jury there were “too many similarities” in the accounts of the complainants for it to be chance.
The men didn’t know each other, but both described their relationship with Ward as “very unequal in terms of the power dynamic”, she said on Thursday.
During the trial, both complainants described looking up to Ward and appreciating his contributions as a politician.
The jury heard they were both emotionally vulnerable and had been drinking when Ward invited them back to his house, where they were alone. When they arrived, each man described the MP pouring them more drinks before he assaulted them while they were lying down in a vulnerable state.
There had been no discussion of sexual activity before the assaults, the men said, which involved Ward sliding his hands down their pants and continuing to touch them after they indicated they did not consent. Knowles told the jury:
You might think what happened to [the complainants] did not happen by random chance or just dumb luck … Similar behaviour, similar setting, same man, same conclusion. This is not a coincidence.
The only reasonable explanation was that the men were telling the truth, as evident in the “real ring of truth” in their accounts, the prosecutor argued.
Updated
Dog theft leaves police seeking public’s help
Police are seeking information after a dog called Poppy was stolen from a home in Perth’s south in broad daylight.
The black and white American Staffy was taken from a home in Shoalwater before 1pm on Monday, 30 June 2025.
Video footage released by police shows two men getting out of a silver Toyota hatchback and walk on to a property then carry a dog back to the car, putting it in the back seat.
One person sat in the back seat with the dog before the car drove away, the footage shows.
Poppy has a mark resembling a maple leaf on her belly and chest, police said. Rockingham police invited anyone with any information in relation to this incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
Updated
RBA interest rate cut now almost certain, markets predict
Financial markets are now treating an August cut to interest rates as a certainty, predicting today’s surprise jump in unemployment will push the Reserve Bank to continue lowering borrowing costs.
Each of the major banks had already predicted an interest rate cut when the RBA’s rate-setting board meets next month. Commonwealth Bank’s Kristina Clifton said markets had now backed in a cut all the way. She wrote in a note:
Financial markets are now effectively fully pricing an RBA interest rate cut in August, up from around a 93% chance yesterday.
The rise in unemployment to 4.3% may make the Reserve Bank more comfortable cutting rates even if inflation picks up, as is predicted for data to be released at the end of July, according to CBA economist Belinda Allen.
In the July meeting the Board noted it wanted to see the outcome of [inflation] before next cutting interest rates. A weaker labour market report, we expect, lifts the tolerance for an upside surprise to the inflation data.
Looking for a wrap of Thursday’s news? Guardian Australia’s Afternoon Update newsletter will fill you in.
Read it here:
Father denied bail amid claims baby ‘thrown in’ water
A father charged over his infant son’s drowning has been denied bail after a court heard claims he threw the baby in a campsite’s lake, AAP reports.
Jaye Lee Walton, 42, was refused bail after facing Ipswich magistrates court on Thursday after being charged with domestic violence-related manslaughter over the death of Reef Hunter Walton, who was seven months old.
The baby boy drowned on 12 July at a campsite near Gympie, north of Brisbane. Walton, an Innisfail fishing trawler worker, appeared via video link in a green jail-issue tracksuit at his bail application.
Magistrate Robert Walker raised claims regarding the baby’s drowning, saying witnesses heard the defendant had “thrown him in” to the campsite’s nearby lake.
Defence solicitor Mark Butler said the claims, which came second-hand from Walton’s partner, were hearsay:
[Walton’s partner] states she said [in response]: ‘if they saw him, why didn’t they come over sooner? Why was I the first person here?’ … She does not believe what she has heard.
Walker told Walton he was facing a strong prosecution case before reading out details of the police’s allegations, saying Walton had been returning from NSW with Reef and the baby’s mother when they stopped at Chatsworth Park on Friday, before he allegedly drank four litres of boxed wine.
Police alleged Reef was unsettled the next morning and Walton took him for a walk to the toilet block. Thirty minutes later, Walton’s partner saw him lying down by the edge of the pond and Reef floating face down about 10 metres out, the court was told.
Butler said Walton had been described as a “loving father” and the alleged incident could be related to alcohol use or lack of sleep. He said:
[His partner] described his relationship with his son as amazing. He was his first son, he was his little mate.
Updated
Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots and United Australia parties hit with data breach
The political parties run by Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer have been hit with a ransomware attack, with banking records, employment history and other personal information potentially compromised.
The Trumpet of Patriots, which ran but did not secure any seats at May’s federal election, announced to supporters on Thursday that a breach occurred on 23 June and related to information from the party as well as its predecessor, the United Australia party.
The party said there was unauthorised access to its servers on 23 June, resulting in access to and the possible copying of data records, potentially including all emails to and from the parties and documents and records created by the parties.
Trumpet of Patriots said this could include email addresses, phone numbers, identity records, banking records, employment history, and other documents, but said the party was unsure of the amount of information.
Read more here:
Working with children checks creating false sense of security, National Children’s Commissioner warns
Working with children checks are giving Australians a false sense of security, the National Children’s Commissioner has warned, saying responsibility for failures in the regulation of childcare lies with state and federal governments.
Anne Hollonds made the warning in the wake of new reports about a former early learning worker facing child sex abuse allegations. You can read more here:
The commissioner told the ABC:
This is extremely worrying and as we are getting this drip feed of more information daily on this horrendous case, it really highlights how unsafe this environment has been.
Hollonds, whose position exists under the Australian Human Rights Commission, said a uniform process for more comprehensive working with children checks should be applied across the country:
[The checks are] giving all of us a false sense of security and not supporting early childhood education providers, schools, sporting clubs or anyone employing someone to care for children.
It is giving them a false sense of security that this person is suitable. It is a very minimal baseline track of things like previous criminal record but it does not actually assess the suitability.
Race discrimination commissioner to meet with antisemitism envoy to discuss concerns
Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism demonstrates the urgency of implementing a national focus on fighting racism, Australia’s race discrimination commissioner has said.
Giridharan Sivaraman also confirmed he will meet with Segal to discuss concerns over her plan. He had earlier on Thursday called for a meeting with the antisemitism envoy to discuss her proposals’ implications for fundamental rights and freedoms.
Segal has suggested withhold government funding from universities that “facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism” and monitor media organisations “to avoid accepting false or distorted narratives”. You can read more about the commissioners’ concerns about Segal’s plan here:
The commissioner said Segal had responded to his request. He told the ABC:
We need to know more about how these recommendations might work. … She has indicated she is happy to meet [and] we are arranging now.
Sivaraman said the envoy’s report showed the need for the Albanese government to commit to the national anti-racism framework launched by Australian Human Rights Commission in November:
I think the reports we are seeing from the envoys, other instances of racism coming to the fore, for example the report into the tragic death of Kumanjayi Walker … show that we need a national coordinated approach that can help against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism for First Nations people and other forms of racism that are happening on a daily basis.
Updated
Victoria’s acting premier, Jacyln Symes, has welcomed the arrest of a man accused of stealing “a communal crime car” used in an arson attack at the Adass Israel synagogue Ripponlea last year.
She told reporters in Sunshine, in Melbourne’s west:
The community welcomes the progress of the investigation and charges send a really strong and comforting message that police have been actively investigating this and justice is being applied.
Symes thanked police and described the charges as a “breakthrough”.
Getting to an arrest demonstrates that the investigation is at a critical point. I’m sure that once they have the ability to question who they’ve arrested, that there may be further arrests down the track.
Acting Vic premier on latest reports about the child sexual abuse allegations
The acting premier, Jaclyn Symes, was also asked about the story, first reported by the ABC, that Joshua Dale Brown was sacked from a Melbourne childcare centre after working there for just three weeks.
Nido Early School on Thursday confirmed it terminated Brown from its Werribee childcare service during his probation period in July 2021, after he allegedly breached the company’s internal policies around handling of incident reports. It did not relate to any behaviour with children.
Three months later, in October 2021, Brown started working at the Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, where police allege he sexually abused children in his care between 2022 and 2023.
Symes said it was a “horrific series of events that has shocked and distressed Victorians, and rightly so”.
She said:
This is why making sure that we have clearer data, sharing, clearer registration and knowing where people are in the future will make sure that you can identify more concerning behaviour.
Updated
Australian dollar falls to lowest point in nearly a month
The Australian dollar has fallen to its lowest level against the US dollar in almost a month, after unemployment jumped in June, as traders hike their bets on a Reserve Bank interest rate cut.
The dollar has levelled off at less than 64.9 cents after hitting a low of 64.76 US cents on Thursday afternoon. It hasn’t been that low since 24 June, when global markets shuddered after the Trump administration bombed Iranian nuclear facilities.
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran followed by the Reserve Bank’s surprise decision to leave interest rates on hold helped the dollar higher in the weeks since, peaking at nearly 66 US cents on 11 July.
One week on, the dollar has slipped after a surprise jump in Australia’s unemployment rate to 4.3% in June, above the RBA’s expectation of a smaller rise to 4.2% and market predictions the rate would hold at 4.1%.
Strong job creation and a shortage of workers has been one of the key reasons the RBA has cited when deciding to delay rate cuts this year, so a weaker jobs market points to a higher chance of an interest rate cut. That would lower the return on Australian investments, which is why investor demand for local dollars has dropped.
Updated
Australia to seek more ‘direct investment’ from China
Albanese has signalled his government will push for greater business and financial ties with China, singling out emissions reduction and green steel production as a sector for future focus.
The prime minister the said he had told Chinese leaders he wanted more Australian dollars flowing into China:
I want to see more direct investment here. It’s something that I’ve raised.
Albanese said the preceding Coalition government had overseen a decline in Australian investment in its major trade partner, and cheered the business-to-business conversations that have occurred during his visit this week:
The year in which it began to decline, 2019, [involved the specific issues during that term of the Morrison government … What you have had with this [trip], though, is concrete discussions and agreements going forward between Australian companies and Chinese companies.
Updated
‘Nothing that he has said to me has he not fulfilled’, says Albanese on relationship with Xi
Albanese has declined to say whether he trusts Xi Jinping, saying his visit to China had showed him the regional power was confident and innovative.
The prime minister told reporters he had a warm relationship with the Chinese president but did not directly answer when asked whether Xi had earned his trust.
Albanese had previously avoided saying whether he trusted Xi in 2023 following his trip to China that year. He gave a similar answer today:
I have no reason – nothing that he has said to me has he not fulfilled. So I give the same answer that I gave last time.
The prime minister praised the Chinese president for visiting every Australian state and territory in the past, adding he had valued the chance to travel widely through China on his trip.
Albanese said the trip had shown him China had a confident and forward-looking sense of itself.
China sees itself as confident going forward, and you come to this city [Chengdu] … more innovative architecture than in any city I have been to around the world. Quite clearly new, dynamic, it’s creative.
Updated
Coalition ‘didn’t have a phone conversation’ with China during term, says Albanese
Albanese has said his focus is on reaching “more agreement and less disagreement” with China when asked about criticism his visit this week had not achieved tangible benefits for Australia.
The prime minister pointed to increased cooperation between China and his government compared to the previous Coalition government as proof of results. He told reporters:
If you compare the difference of this visit with the failure of the Coalition during the last term, during the term in which I was opposition leader, they didn’t have a phone conversation between a single minister in Australia and our major trading partner.
What we’ve had is constructive engagement. … The fact that you have the four major Australian resource and iron ore exporters – BHP, Rio Fortescue and Hancock – all sitting down with their Chinese purchasers of their products, that benefits Australia enormously.
Albanese said he was looking forward to continuing conversation over points of cooperation with Chinese leaders, with visits from Communist party chair, Zhao Leji, to come later this year. He said:
What I’d like to see is to be able to talk about those issues regularly, get as much agreement as possible … Out of understanding, can come greater cooperation.
Updated
PM denies Coalition claims China trip lacked concrete diplomatic outcomes
Anthony Albanese denied his trip to China had been “indulgent,” after opposition frontbencher James Paterson criticised the prime minister for visiting the Great Wall of China and meeting pandas in Chengdu.
The visit had focused on building diplomatic relations, Albanese said, pointing to the economic benefits of stronger ties between China and Australia. He told reporters:
The Great Wall of China symbolises the extraordinary history and culture here in China, and showing a bit of respect to people never cost anything. But you know what it does? It gives you a reward.
Paterson had criticised Albanese’s focus on “a Gough Whitlam history tour” of China and a lack of concrete diplomatic outcomes. Asked whether he had past prime ministers’ visits to China in mind during the visit, Albanese said:
“I was thinking more of them than I was of James Paterson, it’s fair to say. But it’s also the case I was thinking of how worthwhile it is for Australia as well. Those pictures go to 27 million people, potentially, in Australia. They go to over a billion people in China … who increasingly are rising up the income ladder and are potential tourists and therefore job creators in Australia.
If James Patterson doesn’t understand that, then he doesn’t understand much.
Updated
Albanese praises Xi after ‘very successful visit’ to China
Australia is focused on “today and tomorrow rather than the past” in its relationship with China, Anthony Albanese has said, as he approaches the end of what he described as a “very successful visit” to China.
Asked about Chinese leaders’ references to past difficulties in the relationship between the two countries, Albanese said he was looking to the future:
Overwhelmingly what we discuss is moving forward is issues of today and tomorrow rather than the past. And it’s something that I very much have concentrated on. What I speak about is the potential that’s there to grow the relationship, to develop further economic ties.
Speaking after a medical technology luncheon in Chengdu, the prime minister pointed to the signing of two-way trade agreements and two way tourism agreements and his meetings with China’s top leadership as evidence of his success.
Albanese praised China’s Xi Jinping, who he said had congratulated him on his election win earlier this year:
President Xi is warm and engaging. We have had four bilateral meetings but have also engaged at other times as well on an informal basis. That’s a positive thing. President Xi sent a very warm message of congratulations, as did other leaders after the May 3rd election.
Updated
Thanks for staying with us this Thursday. I’ll be taking you through the afternoon’s news.
That’s all for me, thanks for sticking with us through the start of the day’s news. Luca Ittimani will take the reins from here.
Chalmers says unemployment figures show economy ‘not immune’ from uncertainty
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, weighed in on today’s unemployment numbers from the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Durban, South Africa.
He says the increase in the unemployment rate to 4.3% in June is “the inevitable consequence of economic uncertainty and volatility around the world and the ongoing impact of higher interest rates.” Chalmers added:
Despite all the challenges coming at us, Australia’s unemployment rate remains historically low and we’re pleased to see the participation rate remains near-record highs.
The ongoing resilience in our labour market over the past three years remains one of our best defences against the volatile global economic conditions we face, which is a big focus of my discussions here at the G20.
The Australian economy is not immune from global uncertainty but we are well‑placed and well‑prepared to face the challenges ahead.
Updated
Coalition says unemployment numbers ‘not what Labor promised’
The Coalition blamed Labor for today’s surprise uptick in unemployment, saying the increase to 4.3% in June shows the Albanese government is “failing to manage the economy”.
Markets had been expecting unemployment to remain steady at 4.1% for the sixth consecutive month. Instead, the increase puts the jobless rate at its highest level since 2021. The shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, said working Australians were finding it harder to get a job under Labor:
The unemployment rate is now at its highest level since November 2021, with 34,000 more Australians out of work this month alone. This is not what Labor promised.
While Australians are working hard just to keep up with the cost of living, Labor’s economic mismanagement is making it even harder for households to make ends meet.
O’Brien accused the government of being “heavy on spin and light on delivery”.
We know people are doing it tough and we need to ensure our policies reflect the aspirations of everyday Australians who want more secure, well-paid jobs.
Updated
Meta argues its AI needs personal information from social media posts to learn ‘Australian concepts’
Meta has urged the Australian government not to make privacy law changes that would prevent the company using personal information taken from Facebook and Instagram posts to train its AI, arguing the AI needs to learn “how individuals discuss Australian concepts”.
In a submission to the Productivity Commission’s review on harnessing data and digital technology, published this week, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp argued for a “global policy alignment” in the Albanese government’s pursuit of privacy reform in the AI age.
Meta said generative AI models “require large and diverse datasets” and cannot rely on synthetic data – data generated by AI alone. The company said available databases, such as Australian legislation, were limited in what they could offer AI compared to datasets containing personal information.
Meta has been training its AI, Llama, on publicly accessible Facebook and Instagram posts since last year. The company was ordered to stop training its data on users’ posts for those based in Europe, and Meta ultimately gave users in the EU an opt-out option.
Read more:
Updated
Should Jim Chalmers’ productivity roundtable have voice representing the environment?
The Australian Conservation Foundation wants voices representing the environment to have a seat at the table in the Albanese government’s upcoming productivity summit.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will convene three days of talks with business leaders, trade unions and eminent Australians next month, for discussions about reforms to the economy and Labor’s second term agenda.
ACF’s nature program manager, Basha Stasak, said the biggest threat to Australia’s future productivity comes from the destruction of nature. The group wants the environment minister, Murray Watt, to proceed with planned changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, delayed in the last parliament over political concerns by Labor. Stasak said:
Repairing Australia’s broken nature protection law is one critical thing the Albanese government can do to boost productivity. Research by ACF shows roughly half Australia’s GDP – 49% or $896 billion – has a moderate to very high direct dependence on nature.
It will be important for the upcoming productivity roundtable to consider the importance of healthy nature to a healthy economy.
So far, invitations to the summit in the cabinet room include the Productivity Commission, the ACTU, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Council and the Australian Council of Social Service.
Chalmers is due to announce more invitations soon.
Updated
Bearded dragons outfitted with tiny backpacks lead to surprise finding
New research, gathered with tiny fitness trackers outfitted on Australian central bearded dragons, found lizards who ran the fastest were more likely to die than their slower compatriots, a surprising finding at odds with scientists’ assumptions.
The study, published today and led by Dr Kristoffer Wild from the University of Melbourne, saw several bearded dragons tracked with “wearable smart devices” that contained tiny accelerometers and temperature-sensing radio transmitters.
While many animals are assumed to do better in the wild if they are faster than their kin, Wild’s research showed bearded dragons had a greater risk of mortality if they were faster than others. Wild said in a media release:
What we believe is happening is that speedy lizards are engaging in riskier behaviours, such as moving around more openly and frequently, making them vulnerable to predators like birds and cats.
We found that increased risk was especially pronounced during spring, so this would make sense with dragons moving around a lot more looking for mates.
Albanese wraps China tour touting ongoing cooperation to build ‘healthier, more prosperous future’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, just spoke in Chengdu, China, as he wraps up his visit to the country. He gave a short speech praising cooperation and trade between the two nations and said collaboration between Chinese and Australian firms would serve as a model for further cooperation and growth. He said:
Governments can build and expand this architecture of cooperation. Yet, ultimately, it is people who give it strength and life. Our partnership works because you work together. You engage. You share and you shape ideas. …
The positive difference that all of you have made to people’s lives is powerful proof of what can be achieved when Australia and China work together in the best interests of all of our citizens. I should add, as well, that that is in the interests of the global community, as well as our two nations. Let us continue to build a healthier, more prosperous future for the people of Australia and the people of the People’s Republic of China.
Updated
The humpback whale that swam to Circular Quay, delighting ferry passengers, has left Sydney Harbour
A young humpback whale who wandered from its usual migratory route right up to Sydney’s Harbour Bridge has left the harbour.
The sub-adult whale left the body of water, with no sign of it on Thursday morning, a government source told Guardian Australia.
The whale delighted onlookers and experts after it was first spotted swimming at Circular Quay on Wednesday morning before moving east on what experts tracking the mammal called its “full harbour experience”.
Dr Vanessa Pirotta, a whale expert on board a New South Wales Maritime boat on Wednesday, confirmed the whale was “not in distress, quite the opposite”. It appeared to be inquisitive and relaxed, visiting various harbourside locations, she said.
The whale’s appearance was a “reminder that Sydney Harbour is very wild”.
Read more:
Updated
Up to 7 metre waves forecast in parts of Australia as cold fronts create huge swells
Weatherzone reports cold fronts to the south and southwest of Australia have been generating gale to storm-force winds over the last few days across a large area of ocean. Seas exceeding 10 metres have been generated within the core of the storm, with some waves topping 5 metres extending west of Tasmania to nearly Africa.
Significant waves of up to 6 metres are expected to be present off the south-west corner of Western Australia until early Saturday, with some waves exceeding that 6 metre mark on Friday morning.
Parts of South Australia, southwest Victoria and western Tasmania are also expected to see wave heights more than 4.5 metres on Thursday. The exposed west coast of Tasmania could see increased swells, possibly up to 7 metres, on Saturday.
Updated
Melbourne creek turns bright blue after construction chemicals wash into waterway
A creek in Melbourne’s north-east has turned a lurid blue after chemicals used in construction of a major road project washed into the waterway.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began investigating after a community member reported blue discoloration in the waters of Banyule creek, south of Lower Plenty Road in Rosanna, on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the EPA said.
The likely source had been traced to a dust suppressant used in the construction of the Victorian government’s North East Link project.
Banyule creek runs through an important wildlife corridor, particularly at Creek Bend Reserve, a 5.6ha linear park peppered with river red gums and native grassy woodlands.
Read more below:
Updated
Moesha Johnson wins Australia’s first 10km open-water swimming gold at world championships
Moesha Johnson has won Australia’s first 10km open water world title as compatriot Kyle Lee opened the team medal tally with bronze in the men’s race, AAP reports.
It is Australia’s fifth open water world title overall, with Johnson and Lee in the quartet that will defend the mixed-team title at the Singapore world aquatics championships.
The water temperature was 30C and conditions were described on social media as “human soup”. There were also two postponements for the 10km events because of water quality concerns.
Johnson, who claimed silver in the same event at the Paris Olympics, won in two hours, seven minutes, 51.30 seconds. It is also her first individual open water world championship.
Read more here:
Updated
Check out the first-ever image of a glow-in-the-dark wild eastern quoll
This shot by Benjamin Alldridge, a finalist in the Beaker Street Science Photography prize, is one of several to be exhibited at Hobart’s Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery next month.
A caption accompanying the photo reads:
Where their fur is normally fawn or black, under certain wavelengths of light, they exhibit a process referred to as biofluorescence – like nature’s version of a white shirt glowing at a disco. All of the light and colour in this image is the subject’s natural glow in response to invisible UV light exploding from its natural sandy colouration. This is the first documentation of the species glowing in the wild and forms part of ongoing research into the impacts of light pollution.
You can check out some of the other prize finalists here:
Updated
NSW minister used ministerial car for 456km trip to alpine town during ski season
The New South Wales health minister, Ryan Park, used a ministerial car and driver for a 456km journey from Sydney to Jindabyne in August last year.
The trip to the Snowy Mountains on Thursday, 29 August 2024, was made at the height of the ski season, during the final weeks of the interschool ski races, in which Park’s son was a competitor.
The trip between NSW Parliament House in Macquarie Street and the alpine town was listed in ministerial car logs released under an order for papers earlier in April. The minister’s son attended a high school in the Snowy Mountains at the time of the trip.
An earlier release of travel logs in March, reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, revealed Park made two trips to Thredbo in November and December of the same year, using a ministerial driver to take him to the resort town to meet his family.
Ministerial cars could be used for private purposes under the rules in place until February this year.
Read more here:
Updated
Man fined $1,700 for travelling under friend’s name on domestic flight
A Brisbane man has been convicted and fined after travelling under a friend’s name on a domestic flight, on which he allegedly referred to a bomb while speaking on his phone.
Authorities said the man, 45, was found to be using the fake name in January after he boarded a flight in Sydney before being escorted from the plane for allegedly speaking about a bomb.
Police said the man had travelled from Hobart to Sydney that day under the same false name. They searched the aircraft, which was headed to Brisbane, and found no bomb. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the allegation could not be substantiated. AFP detective, acting Insp Trevor Robinson said:
To ensure the safety of all passengers and crew on aircraft, it’s critical we know who is actually onboard.
The man pleaded guilty last month to one count of taking a flight with a ticket using false identity information and one count of using false identification information at an airport.
He was fined $1,700 on Tuesday.
Updated
ATO warns taxpayers to ‘stay one step ahead’ after 150% tax scam surge
As Australians turn their minds to tax time, the Australian Taxation Office is warning that scammers are actively seeking new ways to exploit personal information, with a 150% rise in scams targeting taxpayers over the past year.
About 90% of ATO impersonation scams target taxpayers via email, and scammers are adapting their methods to increasingly creative and fraudulent messages. A new ATO smartphone app has bolstered fraud controls in order to better detect unusual or out-of-pattern behaviour on taxpayers’ accounts. The assistant tax commissioner, Rob Thomson, said:
This is the time of year when people are awaiting their tax returns or expecting to hear from the ATO, and scammers know it. Downloading the ATO app is a simple and effective way to stay one step ahead.
If you receive a notification and something doesn’t feel right, lock your account immediately in our app, and verify and report the interaction on the ATO website or by calling 1800 467 033 during business hours to discuss any suspicious activity.
Updated
More on June’s shock employment slump
June’s surprise jump in unemployment is as much due to a slowdown in hiring as an increase in people looking for work.
In the first half of 2024, Australian employers hired an extra 210,000 people. Over the same period this year, the economy has added less than 60,000 jobs.
The number of employed people declined in June in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia, offset by rises in Victoria, which remains the state with the highest unemployment rate.
Job seekers also piled into the labour market, with the number of unemployed Australians rising to 659,600, the highest number since pandemic-era lockdowns in October 2021. The 33,600 monthly increase was the largest since April 2024.
All those extra job seekers helped the workforce participation rate bounce back to 67.1% after the rate fell in May.
Updated
Businesses endure the worst conditions since 2020
Australian businesses are facing their worst conditions since 2020, with sales sliding and profits narrowing, but are growing more confident about the future, new data shows.
Trading conditions and employment prospects have continued to worsen, with nearly one in two businesses reporting profit margin pressure as a drag on their confidence in NAB’s quarterly business survey.
Businesses reported a higher increase in labour costs in the three months to June compared to the previous period, and a rising share of employers are reporting wage costs as a top issue affecting their confidence.
However, firms are increasingly optimistic about the future, with confidence reaching its highest point since 2022. Plans to invest in new capital are also on the rise, and forward orders of goods and services are picking up from their low levels.
Fewer businesses said they were struggling to find workers, though the number remained higher than it had been pre-pandemic – which makes sense in light of this morning’s jobs data showing a rise in job seekers.
The mining and transport sectors saw the biggest improvements in business conditions, while finance and retail experienced the worst deterioration.
Updated
Unemployment rate jumps to 4.3%
Australia’s unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% in June, the highest it’s been since 2021, adding pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates.
The rise surprised markets, which had been expecting unemployment to remain steady at 4.1% for the sixth consecutive month and for employers to hire an additional 21,000 people.
Instead, just 2,000 extra people found work, while the number of unemployed Australians rose by 33,600.
The jump in the unemployment rate has backed into market expectations that the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates at its August meeting. Traders sent the Australian dollar plunging below 65 US cents after the data was released, in a sign of increased confidence the RBA will cut rates.
The RBA last week surprised economists by holding rates steady at 3.85% but traders had this morning almost fully priced in a cut at the next meeting.
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Homebuyers flood back into market as auction clearance rate steadily rises
Homebuyer desperation is surging as auction activity holds steady halfway through July, Cotality data shows. The property analyst (formerly CoreLogic) found 1,553 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capital cities in the week to Sunday.
Melbourne is holding its title of most homes going under the hammer each week, with 628 up for sale. Meanwhile, Sydney has 609 homes scheduled for auction. Activity is expected to pick up, with more than 1,700 home auctions planned for next week.
While the number of homes going to market is lower than it was a year ago, Reserve Bank interest rate cuts have seen homebuyers flood back into housing markets in 2025.
That’s driven the auction clearance rate steadily upward over the year, towards the benchmark of 70%, which typically indicates that sellers are in control of the market.
Capital city clearance rates hit 68% last week, marking the most successful auction week since March 2024, also 68%. The second week of July in 2024 saw just 63.2% of capital city auctions succeed.
Further increases in auction clearances could follow additional interest rate cuts, with financial markets predicting a 90% chance the Reserve Bank will cut when its rate-setting board meets in August. We’ll get a better sense of how likely a rate cut is shortly, with the release of June’s jobs data.
Updated
Rescuers search for small plane missing in NSW’s Snowy Mountains
A rescue team is searching for a small plane missing in New South Wales’ Snowy Mountains.
Emergency services were first notified on Tuesday that the aircraft, with one person on board, was overdue arriving at the Moruya airport. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) said a search was continuing this morning near Khancoban involving rescue helicopters and an agency Challenger jet. Amsa said weather conditions “are challenging with low cloud and restricted visibility”.
The ABC reported the plane was flying from Wangaratta in Victoria and that NSW police said it was possible the plane had crashed near Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys, in the state’s south-west slopes region.
NSW police, NSW SES, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Snowy Hydro are contributing to the ground and aerial search.
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Victorian childcare centre confirms Joshua Dale Brown fired in 2021, though not due to action towards children
A childcare centre in Victoria confirmed it fired Joshua Dale Brown in 2021 after describing his work on an incident report as “unsatisfactory”, although the company said his dismissal was not related to any behaviour towards a child.
Nido Early School said Brown worked at its facility in Werribee across 18 individual days. A spokesperson for the company said his termination at the centre, within his probationary period, “related specifically to unsatisfactory attention by the individual to an incident report concerning a child’s behaviour towards another child”. The spokesperson added:
The action did not relate to any behaviour by the individual towards a child.
We have zero tolerance for the non-compliance to our internal policies, no matter how trivial they sound to external parties. We supervise all staff closely, with additional attention given to new starters. In this case the breach of internal policy led to termination.
Nido has fully cooperated with Police and other departments.
After his termination from Nido Early School, Brown was employed at the centre where his alleged offending occurred, ABC has reported.
Brown was charged earlier this month with more than 70 offences related to eight alleged victims during his work at two dozen childcare centres in Victoria.
Updated
Man charged over stolen car used in Melbourne synagogue arson attack
Authorities have charged a man over his alleged involvement in the theft of a vehicle used in the arson attack at the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne last December.
Previously described as a “communal crime car” by police, officials say the vehicle was also used in an arson attack at the Lux nightclub in Melbourne’s South Yarra in November as well as a shooting in Bundoora the same night as the synagogue fire.
Investigators arrested a 20-year-old man in Williamstown on Wednesday. They have charged him with theft of a motor vehicle and failing to comply with an order under the Crimes Act to provide access to applications on his mobile phone. He has been granted conditional bail and will appear in court on 3 October.
Police will allege the man stole the blue VW Golf sedan in late November.
The nightclub fire and shooting are being investigated by Victoria police and are not considered politically motivated. The synagogue arson attack is also still under investigation by many agencies; Victoria’s joint counter-terrorism team have said the arson was likely politically motivated.
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Elective surgeries paused at major Queensland hospitals amid flu, Covid-19 surge
Elective surgeries have been paused for 48 hours at several major Queensland hospitals overwhelmed by a surge in flu and Covid cases, the state’s health minister said yesterday.
Metro North Health said emergency departments were seeing a crush of presentations, prompting category 2 and 3 elective surgeries at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, the Prince Charles, Redcliffe and Caboolture hospitals to be put on hold. The pause is meant to create bed capacity for emissions in EDs. A Metro North Health spokesperson said the system had long-established plans in place to deal with winter surges in hospitalisations, noting:
No patient requiring life-saving clinical care will ever be affected by elective surgery cancellations. Emergency surgeries and category 1 elective surgeries will continue at these hospitals, as well as all categories of elective surgery at the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS).
Patients who are affected will be contacted directly.
The Queensland health minister, Tim Nicholls, said yesterday it was in people’s “best interest” to get vaccinated, noting jab rates are lower so far this year than in 2024. He said during a press conference:
We are seeing vaccination rates lower this year than they were the year before. And it’s particularly important for young children under the age of five and for the elderly, those over the age of 65 that they get vaccinated. And we know that 90% of the presentations to our emergency departments and those people in our hospital wards are not vaccinated.
Nicholls wrote on X that the state had seen the highest number of flu cases recorded in a single week “this year to date”. He said that while we are halfway through winter, “it’s not too late to get vaccinated”.
We may be halfway through winter, but it is not too late to get vaccinated against flu.
— Tim Nicholls MP (@TimNichollsMP) July 16, 2025
Vaccination reduces the risk of serious illness and hospitalisation and helps to stop the chain of transmission.
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Birthrate falls in Australia’s biggest cities amid cost-of-living crisis, preliminary data shows
Birthrates in Australia’s biggest cities continued their decline in 2024 amid sustained cost-of-living pressures, dragging the national rate to a near-record low.
Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane each saw further declines in the number of children born per woman from 2023 to 2024, according to KPMG’s preliminary analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics population data, barely offset by increases in Perth and in regional Australia.
The analysis also found outer-suburban and regional Australians grew increasingly likely to have higher numbers of children per person than their inner-city neighbours.
Overall the country’s fertility rate, or children born per woman, was 1.51 in 2024, statistically similar to the 1.5 observed in 2023 and well below the rate of 1.8 observed a decade beforehand.
Read more here:
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Queensland man charged with indecent treatment of a child over alleged offence at childcare facility
Queensland police have charged a 21-year-old Cleveland man with an indecent treatment offence, linked to an alleged offence involving a four-year-old at a childcare facility in a suburb of Brisbane earlier this month.
The incident allegedly took place on 10 July at a facility in the suburb of Tingalpa. The man has faces one charge of indecent treatment of a child. He has been given conditional bail and will appear in court on 4 August.
Investigations remain ongoing.
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Shadow education minister says opposition will work with goverment to fix childcare system that is ‘not working’
Jonno Duniam, the shadow minister for education, said the growing list of childcare centres linked to the worker accused of sexual abuse, Joshua Dale Brown, lays bare a system that is “frankly not working”. Duniam spoke to RN Breakfast this morning:
There are too many gaps in reporting. There are too many gaps in information sharing between jurisdictions and indeed within jurisdictions around the sort of things you’ve just outlined for your listeners and that is incredibly distressing.
I think that the threshold for what is kept on a file and what is transmitted to future employers about potential employees and for the information of parents I think is, as I say, too low. And they’re the sorts of things that we need to see addressed here.
Duniam said the opposition would work with the government to see reforms passed, giving credit to federal education minister Jason Clare and saying both parties needed to step up to up safety in childcare centres. Duniam said:
We’re all bearing responsibility for this, but the reality is we now just have to hurry up and get such measures in place.
Two teens charged with murder after man found dead in Queensland front yard
Queensland police have charged two teenage boys with murder after an investigation into the sudden death of a man found unresponsive in his front yard on Monday.
Emergency services were called to the suburb of Warana at about 7.35pm on Monday amid reports a neighbour found the man, 57, in his front yard. The man was declared dead at the scene. Police allege a disturbance occurred at the address prior to his death, resulting in the man suffering fatal stab wounds.
Detectives have charged a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy with murder. The pair are due to appear in court later today.
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Aldi is trialling grocery delivery in Australia. We put it to the test against other supermarket giants
Aldi is known for its permanently discounted prices and its famously odd products sold in the middle aisle.
Last week, the German-owned supermarket chain took another step into the Australian mainstream, trialling a grocery delivery service with DoorDash in Canberra ahead of a potential expansion around the country.
Aldi has long resisted offering deliveries, given the service would make a basket of groceries more expensive, undercutting its price advantage over Coles and Woolworths.
Guardian Australia tested it out. Take a look:
More on the expected jobs figures due later today
The unemployment rate has stayed at 4.1% for the past three consecutive monthly readings, AAP reports.
The most recent figures in May came despite employment falling by 2,000 people, according to the bureau’s last figures.
The Reserve Bank said in its latest monetary policy decision that labour market conditions remained tight, noting:
Measures of labour under-utilisation are at relatively low rates and business surveys and liaison suggest that availability of labour is still a constraint for a range of employers.
Alternatively, labour market outcomes may prove stronger than expected, given the signal from a range of leading indicators.
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Marles says government’s position on Taiwan is ‘clear’
Richard Marles was also asked about criticism from the Coalition about the government’s stance on Taiwan, after the shadow defence minister, Angus Taylor, said this week Australia should be prepared to make “principled commitments” to its security and be prepared “to act” if needed.
Marles told RN:
We do not support any unilateral changes to the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. Now, that’s been the very clear and simple position of this government since we came to power, but to be honest, it’s been the position, the bipartisan position, of Coalition and Labor governments now for a long period of time …
This government is going to maintain what has been the position of the Australian government for a very long period of time, and that is to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
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PM raised 'delicate' matter of Yang Hengjun with Beijing, Marles says
Richard Marles was asked about the case of jailed Chinese-Australian academic Yang Hengjun, who was given a suspended death sentence by a Chinese court in 2024 on espionage charges, which he denies. The defence minister told RN:
The prime minister made clear that he raised Dr Yang’s case in his meeting with President Xi. It’s important that we have consistency in terms of continuing to raise this case, but it’s also important that we are prudent in the way in which we talk about this and what we want to see, obviously, is an outcome in terms of this consular case.
These matters are delicate, but you can look at what the government has done over the last few years in terms of how we have been able to manage other consular cases.
Marles also alluded to the delicate nature of diplomacy when asked about the Port of Darwin, which is held by a Chinese-owned company. Anthony Albanese has said he wants the port in Australian hands again, a position Marles said the government maintained:
In terms of the Port of Darwin, we have consistently said that it shouldn’t have been sold to that interest when it was by the former Coalition government, and that we want to see the Port of Darwin return to Australian hands, and that’s the course that we are pursuing now.
• This post was amended at 9.31am AEST to correct a headline incorrectly stating that the prime minister had raised the Port of Darwin with Beijing alongside the matter of Dr Yang.
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Marles says government needs to do ‘everything within our power’ to ensure safety in childcare
Richard Marles said the government was actively looking at ways to ensure children’s safety in childcare centres, saying the commonwealth needed to “everything within our power to clearly make sure that children are safe” in both the education and childcare systems. He was asked about the push for a register or database of childcare workers, telling RN Breakfast:
We think this is a step that would help advance the case of child safety within childcare systems, and we will work with the states to see how we can put that in place in an expeditious way.
I think we are all looking at ways in which we can take this forward and make sure that children are as safe as possible within childcare centres. And the revelations that we have seen in the last couple of weeks are obviously sickening. And as we continue to learn about how best to do this, we need to be making sure that we are exercising our powers in a way which keeps kids safe in childcare.
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Marles says PM’s visit to China part of effort to improve engagement with Beijing
The defence minister, Richard Marles, said Australia’s relationship with China is “obviously complex” but that the nation benefited by engaging with Beijing, and building better communication channels remains “really important”. Marles spoke to ABC RN as prime minister Anthony Albanese wraps up his visit, saying:
There is opportunity here, but at the same time, there are also challenges, and even in the national security space, whilst the challenges that we see there aren’t resolved, building better communication channels is really important …
For all the complexities of our relationship with China, it is benefited by engagement. That’s what other countries are doing, and that’s what we seek to do. And the annual leaders’ meeting, which is what this is, is a really important part of that.
Marles pointed to the trade relationship between Australia and China, which has been “much to the benefit of the Australian economy”. The deputy prime minister added:
Engagement with China matters, and what is a complex and challenging relationship to manage is benefited from that engagement. And that’s really as simple as it gets. And in that sense, I think the visit that Anthony Albanese’s had to China has advanced all of that and has been very successful.
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Falconio’s parents express ‘relief’ after Bradley Murdoch’s death
The parents of Peter Falconio, the British backpacker murdered in 2001 by Bradley Murdoch, said they still hold out hope their son’s remains will be found. Joan and Luciano Falconio released a statement after Murdoch died this week from throat cancer at 67, having never revealed the location of their son’s body.
The parents said their first feeling after the news was one of relief:
Upon hearing that Bradley John Murdoch had died our first feeling was of relief, it’s like a weight that’s been lifted. We are only forced to think about him now that he’s died, we don’t want to let him to ruin our lives more than he already has. The awful thing is our family’s future with Peter was cruelly taken away.
Today we instead focus on the three children we have left and our grandchildren. We didn’t have much faith but we were hoping Bradley John Murdoch would reveal where Peter was before he died. But even now we still hold out hope that his remains will be found.
The family thanked the NT police for their continued efforts to investigate the murder.
Updated
Good morning
Good morning, Nick Visser here to take you through the day’s news, pandas included. Let’s get to it.
Updated
Economists await jobs figures for interest rate indications
The Reserve Bank will have a keen eye on fresh data on Australia’s jobs market as its next decision on interest rates draws closer, AAP reports.
Labour force figures for June will be released at 11.30am AEST by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and are tipped to show the unemployment rate remaining at 4.1% for the month.
The predictions come despite a tightening of the jobs market.
The Reserve Bank would continue to closely monitor the jobless rate before its next meeting in August, NAB’s head of Australian economics, Gareth Spence, said.
“I think the focus for the RBA will be ensuring the labour market remains healthy going forward,” he said.
“The timing of cuts is not super important. It’s more about where do they end up.”
In a move that shocked analysts and disappointed mortgage holders, the RBA kept the cash rate steady at 3.85% at its last board meeting on 8 July.
Most economists had pencilled in a 25 basis point cut on the back of slowing inflation growth.
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Albanese to wrap up China visit in Chengdu
Pandas and bionic ears are on Anthony Albanese’s agenda as his six-day tour of China reaches its final leg, Australian Associated Press reports.
The prime minister touched down in Chengdu in China’s south-west yesterday afternoon, where he announced the Sichuan capital would be given hosting rights to an Australian Open wildcard playoff tournament for a second year running.
In the sweltering 37C heat, the prime minister turned down the offer of a hit on centre court, instead hailing the role of sport in boosting people-to-people and cultural links between Australia and China.
“I know that my dear friend [former professional tennis player] Glenn Busby comes here and coaches and spends a lot of time here each year, and he tells me that China will dominate the sport in the years to come,” he said.
Chengdu, home to 21 million residents, is best known outside China as the home of giant pandas.
Albanese will visit a breeding research centre at the forefront of efforts to save the species from extinction.
As well as a beloved cultural icon, pandas are a central part of China’s efforts to exert soft power in the world.
In a meeting with local party secretary Wang Xiaohui, Mr Albanese said pandas “have been such an important feature” of building positive relations between Australia and China.
He noted the two new pandas who were loaned to Adelaide zoo in 2024, in the most recent example of “panda diplomacy”.
“I thank this province for our two newest guests who have been so well received,” he said.
But Chengdu has another, arguably more impactful, connection to Australia.
Cochlear, the Australian hearing device company, bases a manufacturing and research plant in the city, which the prime minister will visit today.
More than 50,000 Chinese patients have had hearing loss restored by a Cochlear device, making it one of the company’s largest markets.
German backpacker Carolina Wilga leaves hospital after outback ordeal
A German backpacker who was lost in the Australian outback for 11 nights has been discharged from hospital.
Carolina Wilga hit her head in a car crash and left her car in a “state of confusion” before going missing in the Western Australian outback.
A desperate search for the 26-year-old began when her family and friends raised the alarm after not hearing from her.
She was discharged from Perth’s Fiona Stanley hospital on Wednesday.
More on Wilga’s ordeal in the outback here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser to be your news guide.
Anthony Albanese will wrap up his visit to China in Chengdu today. The south-west city of 21 million people is best known for its pandas and spicy Sichuan food, but it is also where Cochlear, the Australian hearing device company, has a manufacturing and research facility, which the prime minister will visit today. More coming up.
The Reserve Bank and economists will be watching today’s jobs figures for another clue as to where the economy is headed. It comes after the shock decision by the bank to keep rates steady this month. More on that shortly.
