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The Guardian - AU
National
Lisa Cox and Josh Taylor (earlier)

Biloela family welcomed home; Albanese announces $830m submarine penalty – as it happened

Nadesalingam Biloela Australia United States Angela Fredericks Jacinda Ardern Anthony Albanese Priya Richard Marles Greens
Priya and Nades Nadesalingam and their daughters Tharnicaa and Kopika are welcomed back by supporters and members of the community at Biloela’s Flourish festival.
Priya and Nades Nadesalingam and their daughters Tharnicaa and Kopika are welcomed back by supporters and members of the community at Biloela’s Flourish festival. Photograph: Dan Peled/Getty Images

What we learned today, Saturday 11 June

We’re going to wrap things up for the day. Here are today’s key events:

  • The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed Australia has agreed to pay €550m (A$830m) in a settlement with Naval Group over the former Morrison government’s decision to scrap the French attack class submarine project.
  • The Nadesalingam family has been welcomed back to Biloela and were guests of honour at the town’s Flourish festival. Priya Nadesalingam told a crowd at the festival she will dedicate her life to the Biloela community. Earlier, the prime minister told reporters he sees “no impediment” to permanent residency for the family.
  • Australia has recorded another 70 Covid-19 deaths, the highest tally in more than a fortnight.
  • Albanese said the government was continuing to push for the release of the Australian economist Sean Turnell, who is to face trial in Myanmar.

Thanks, as always, for joining us. Have a great weekend.

Updated

French defence minister welcomes submarine settlement

The French defence minister has welcomed the $830m settlement the Australian government announced with submarine builder Naval Group, AFP reports.

“It permits us to turn a page in our bilateral relations with Australia and look to the future,” Sebastien Lecornu said this afternoon.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, Lecornu said France valued its “friendship” with Australia.

“Just because a government in the past did not keep its word, it does not mean we have to forget our strategic relationship,” he said.

“Australia has a new team in power, we are happy to be able to work with them.”

Announcing the deal earlier today, Anthony Albanese said he would travel to France soon to “reset” a relationship beset by “pretty obvious” tensions.

“I’m looking forward to taking up President Macron’s invitation to me to visit Paris at the earliest opportunity.”

Priya Nadesalingam has told the crowd at the Flourish festival she will dedicate her life to the Biloela community.

Updated

Biloela officially welcomes Nadesalingam family home

Updated

And with that, I will leave you in the very capable hands of Lisa Cox for the rest of the afternoon.

Victoria announces electrician upskilling for electric charging stations

Hundreds of Victorian tradies will be trained on how to install electric vehicle charging stations as part of a new pilot program, AAP reports.

State training and skills minister Gayle Tierney announced $950,000 to back the upskilling initiative for 500 licensed electricians on Saturday.

Along with knowing how to install the charging stations, the electricians will be able to maintain and fix them.

“It’s about making sure that current electricians are qualified to work on new technologies that are available,” Tierney said.

Electrical Trades Union Victorian branch secretary Troy Gray said the chargers had a high amperage of up to 60, which could be lethal if they were not correctly installed.

“[Today is the] grounding work in putting a development course together to ensure electricians are trained up to the highest level to install these chargers,” he said.

The Andrews government plans to install 116 electric vehicle charging stations around the state by July next year. This means drivers in any town will only be an hour away from a fast charger, authorities say.

The upskilling program is expected to start in 2023 and will be free for the 500 licensed electricians. It will be led by the Electrical Trades Union and administered through Melbourne training providers The Centre for U and Holmesglen Tafe.

In NSW, the final piece of a network of fast chargers along the Barrier Highway was switched on earlier this month, allowing electric vehicle drivers to travel from Sydney to the state’s outback.

“It means drivers travel no more than 300km to recharge their vehicles when making the 1,000km journey between Sydney and Broken Hill,” NSW deputy premier Paul Toole said.

“And once we roll out our network by 2023, most EV drivers will be no more than 150 kilometres from an EV charging station, allowing people to travel to Broken Hill, Moree and Bourke, and to link up with major routes in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.”

Fast chargers can charge a vehicle in 30 minutes.

Updated

Reported paraglider crash in Wollongong

There are reports of a paraglider crashing offshore from Woonona Beach in Wollongong. A police search is under way.

Updated

Police investigate serious car crash in Perth

Western Australian police say they are investigating a serious crash on Friday afternoon in East Rockingham.

Police say at about 3.05pm a Holden Cruze travelling on Gilmore Avenue and a Kia Carnival collided just prior to the intersection on Mandurah Road.

Police said:

As a result, the Holden Cruze and Kia Carnival have subsequently collided with another two vehicles and a bus.

A six-year-old boy, who was a passenger in the Kia Carnival, sustained serious injuries and was flown to Perth children’s hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.

The driver of the Holden Cruze, a 64-year-old male, was conveyed to Rockingham hospital for treatment.

Updated

One of Victoria’s 10 new community hospitals to be at Diamond Creek near Eltham

One of 10 new Victorian community hospitals will be built in Melbourne’s north-east, AAP reports.

The Andrews government on Saturday announced the new hospital will be built on government-owned land at Diamond Creek, 23km from the city centre.

The facility, dubbed the Eltham area community hospital, will be operated by Austin Health and offer day hospital and primary care services including unplanned urgent care, day surgery and chronic disease management.

The hospital is one of 10 planned by the government in what it deems major growth areas.

Authorities say the facility’s location at 405 Ryans Road will reduce the need for locals to travel to major hospitals, including Austin hospital at Heidelberg.

“This location is a great outcome for our local community. It’ll mean we’ll be able to get a number of everyday health services close to home,” the MP for Eltham, Vicki Ward, said.

Once the 10 hospitals are built, it is expected they will be able to cater for at least 114,000 more urgent care patients, 55,000 dialysis treatments and 100,000 allied health sessions each year.

Designs for the Eltham hospital will be released later this year, with the project due to be completed in 2024.

Updated

Anthony Albanese attends official opening of Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre

After the French submarine announcement, Anthony Albanese has attended the official opening of the Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre in Marrickville, in his electorate.

The place has been open for a little while, but this is the official opening. I’m told by locals it’s quite a good venue.

Updated

National Covid-19 update: 70 deaths reported across Australia

Just a bit more on the Covid-19 deaths announced today, via AAP.

Australia has recorded 70 additional Covid-19 deaths, the highest tally in more than a fortnight.

However, 13 of the total are deaths that occurred in South Australia between January and May but were previously unreported. They included a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s.

More than 25,000 new cases were announced nationwide on Saturday, while 2,651 people were in hospital with the virus – the lowest figure since early in June.

Updated

Marles: ‘There will be no cuts to our defence spending’

Marles finishes his speech by saying that Australian defensive policy has not changed with the change of government.

The 70-year-old alliance with the United States has never been more important to our nation. A deep US engagement has never been more important to the stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific.

There will be no cuts to our defence spending. The Albanese government has committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence, including to enhance the Australian Defence Force with capabilities outlined in the 2020 strategic defence update, like long-range and precision-strike weapons.

He says Aukus will help guide “accelerated movement of defence capabilities where they have the most impact, such as quantum technology, artificial intelligence, undersea warfare and hypersonics”.

Marles adds the Aukus agreement will not limit Australia’s ambition to do more with other partners, including Japan and India. He says he is travelling to Japan on Monday, and will visit India soon.

Updated

Marles: global community must act as one in calling out threats to peace

The UN security council should be allowed to condemn North Korea’s illegal ballistic missile tests. It should be able to call for the restoration of civilian government in Myanmar. Russian disinformation on Ukraine should be exposed, not amplified.

The return of war in Europe should be a warning to us all. The war Russia has embarked on demonstrates that we cannot just rely on economic interdependence to deter conflict. On the contrary, it demonstrates that interdependence is no barrier when one country’s determined military buildup creates an imbalance of power – in which Moscow determined that the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks. This has been a catastrophic misjudgment by Russia, and is why Australia is standing with Europe.

Not only to prevent the brutal subjugation of a sovereign state, but also to reject the idea that any power has a right to dominate its neighbour. The global rules-based order matters everywhere.

Updated

Defence minister Richard Marles warns of Indo-Pacific arms race

Richard Marles speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore
Richard Marles speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore. Photograph: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images

The defence minister, Richard Marles, is giving a speech at the security summit in Singapore.

The speech is pointed about China. He says China remains Australia’s largest trading partner and as it grows it should respect agreed rules and norms:

Where disputes among states are resolved via dialogue and in accordance with international law. This is vital when it comes to the rearmament we are witnessing in the Indo-Pacific. Australia does not question the right of any country to modernise their military capabilities, consistent with their interests and resources. But large-scale military buildup must be transparent. And they must be accompanied by a statecraft that reassures.

China’s military buildup is now the largest and most ambitious we have seen by any country since the end of the second world war. So it is critical that China’s neighbours do not see this buildup as a risk to them. Because without that reassurance, it is inevitable that countries will seek to upgrade their own military capabilities in response.

Insecurity is what drives an arms race. So reassuring statecraft is essential.

Marles says the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea should apply in all international waters, including the South China Sea. He says China’s militarisation there “needs to be understood for what it is – the intent to deny the legitimacy of its neighbours’ claims in this vital international waterway through force.

Updated

Of the 23 Covid-19 deaths reported in Victoria today, they were people aged in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 100s. This brings the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 3,611.

A new party born out of frustration with Covid lockdowns and a dislike for the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is eyeing as many as 10 seats at the upcoming state election, though political insiders have cast doubt on their chances.

The Victorians party was launched a year out from the 26 November state election and has since received sustained media coverage, helping it to attract about 5,000 members.

Read the full story here:

Updated

That warehouse fire in Rockdale, south of Sydney, seems to be still ongoing.

Canadian man charged over $22m crystal meth haul at Melbourne airport

A 76-year-old Canadian man allegedly tried to smuggle more than $22m worth of crystal meth hidden in shoeboxes through Melbourne airport, AAP reports.

The drug haul was discovered by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers when they searched the Canadian national’s luggage after he arrived on a flight from Los Angeles on Wednesday morning.

The Australian federal police say the man claimed the substance was salt, but when officers ran a test it returned a positive result for methamphetamine.

The drugs weighed about 24kg, the equivalent of about 240,000 street deals worth $22.3m, the AFP says.

Authorities charged the man with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

He faced Melbourne magistrates court and was remanded in custody, and is due back in court on 1 September.

AFP Det Insp Chris Salmon said further arrests could be made in relation to the seizure, noting there was “often an organised criminal syndicate operating behind such drug importations”.

The ABF’s acting superintendent of aviation operations, Claudine Lupton, said its officers were detecting large quantities of drugs coming into Australia every day.

“Ice destroys communities and tears families apart. This is a significant seizure and I hope this sends a strong message to those attempting to bring illicit drugs into the country: we will find you and you will be prosecuted,” she said.

Updated

South Australia records 13 Covid deaths and 2,355 cases

South Australia has reported 13 Covid-19 deaths today, with 2,355 new cases, 244 in hospital and five in intensive care.

The 13 deaths include a woman in her 50s, two women in their 90s, a woman over 100, a man in his 60s, two men in their 70s, a man in his 80s, and five men in their 90s.

Updated

Richard Marles meets global defence leaders at security summit

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has been meeting with global defence leaders at a security summit in Singapore. He’s posted photos on Twitter of his meetings with his Indonesian and Canadian counterparts.

Updated

NSW government pledges $500m for long-awaited faster rail

The NSW government has announced $500m in the state’s forthcoming budget for long-awaited faster rail connections between Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle.

The funding will go to the first stage of the northern corridor, helping build two new electrified rail tracks between Tuggerah and Wyong, new platforms and station upgrades, new bridges including over the Wyong River and “safeguarding future fast rail connections to the north and south”, subject to agreement with the new federal government.

The state’s premier, Dominic Perrottet, said the NSW government’s “fast rail vision” could slash travel times between Sydney and Newcastle to one hour, Sydney and Gosford to 25 minutes and Sydney to Wollongong in just 45 minutes:

We’re committed to a rail network that helps shape our state’s growth for the next century, starting with improvements to cut delays and lay the foundations for making faster travel times a reality.

The NSW treasurer, Matt Kean, said the $500m was for early works, planning and further development of the line, which would initially minimise delays and eventually “allow high speed travel and drastically cut travel time”:

This will create tens of thousands of jobs and significantly boost the economy.

Updated

I’m going to hand the blog back to the excellent Josh Taylor who will take you through the early afternoon.

Medical students urge government to act on health system

Medical students have called on the government to address pressures on the health system, brought on in part by the Covid pandemic, AAP reports:

Australian doctors in training hold grave concerns for the future of the healthcare sector, as senior medical professionals grapple with burnout brought on in part by Covid-19 and influenza.

The Australian Medical Students’ Association is calling on governments to urgently address pressures on the workforce, and commit to long-term planning by funding the National Medical Workforce Strategy.

“Disastrous” staff shortages, extreme burnout, and intensified clinical demand are among the factors straining the sector, the association’s president, Jasmine Davis, said.

The peak body is concerned the crisis will have ramifications for patient safety.

“We know that a burned-out, understaffed medical workforce cannot adequately teach the next generation of doctors, despite their desire to do so,” Davis said.

“As a result, medical students have faced significant disruptions to their medical education throughout the Covid-19 pandemic – now in its third year – with cancelled placements, restricted access to patients, and online classes.”

Davis said students were forced to reflect on the viability and sustainability of their future careers when taught by doctors who were underpaid and overworked.

Nearly nine in 10 doctors are experiencing burnout, according to a recent survey by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

Updated

Tasmanians warned to prepare for damaging winds

In Tasmania, the SES is warning people to prepare for damaging south-westerly winds today.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the winds will most likely peak during the afternoon and evening, but are expected to gradually ease on Sunday morning.

The SES is advising people to: supervise children closely, check that family and neighbours are aware of warnings, manage pets and livestock, secure outdoor items including furniture and play equipment, beware of damaged trees and power lines and take care when driving.

Up-to-date warnings are available via the BoM and preparation advice can be found on the SES website.

Updated

My colleague Elias Visontay has written about the pressure the short-term accommodation sector is putting on the rental market in regional Australia.

In the Shoalhaven region of NSW during the month of April there were just 94 long-term residential leases advertised but 4,131 homes available for short stays on Airbnb, Stayz and VRBO.

You can read the full feature here:

Updated

My colleague Katharine Murphy’s weekend column is on what sort of prime minister Anthony Albanese is moulding himself to be a few weeks in:

People tend to think of Albanese as a veteran of the Rudd-Gillard era, and of course he is. But his sensibility and political identity was formed in the Hawke-Keating period. As a politician, Albanese has more in common with someone like Kim Beazley than Kevin Rudd. Rudd was technocratic, Gillard was detail orientated and managerial, and Albanese is big picture empath.

And now I shall hand over to my expert colleague, Lisa Cox, while I go write up the submarine news.

Albanese says Sean Turnell, who is to face trial in Myanmar, 'should be released'

He says:

Well, Sean Turnell should be released. That is the government’s position. We will continue to make strong representation on that basis. What we see is unjustified and we see in Myanmar a [trashing] of human rights and of proper legal processes and Sean Turnell will continue to receive the full support of the Australian government’s for appropriate processes to take place, but he should be released.

On the Nadesalingam family returning to Biloela, Albanese says the detention of the family over the last four years is something that Australia cannot be proud of.

This has been an exercise that, I think, is something that Australia can’t be proud of – a family, including two young girls who were born here in Australia, taken in the middle of the night and having four years in detention. The youngest girl will celebrate her fifth birthday this weekend, soon, it will be the first she has celebrated not in detention. We are a better country than that. We can do better than that. My government will do better than that.

He says the town of Biloela needs people like Nades and his family:

And the fact is, in terms of that town of Biloela as well, [Nades] works at the meat works. We had this massive skill shortage in this country where you have a problem getting people to work at meat works and for them to operate and here we have someone who was doing the job, paying Australian taxes, making a contribution, had these two young daughters, and I think that it is something that is a good day and was welcomed by the local community that a visit in 2019, after I became Labor leader and heard first-hand how love this family are by that community.

He indicates he sees “no impediment” to a visa being issued to allow them to stay there, but says the process needs to take place.

Updated

Albanese: ‘We intend to have an honest relationship with France’

Albanese says the Australia and France relationship is important for the Indo-Pacific region, and he intends on being honest with France, and repairing the relationship:

This is an opportunity to draw the line under what has been, I don’t need to, I think, labour the point, that the tensions between Australia and France, I think, have been pretty obvious, and they go from the top. We intend to have an honest relationship with France and one that is based upon integrity and mutual respect. These negotiations have been concluded. It’s another step in what my government has done in a short period of time. I remind you that it’s just three weeks since we came to office.

Updated

Albanese: we can now ‘reset’ the relationship with France

Asked whether the Naval Group settlement was arranged before the election and kept secret, Albanese says this is an agreement between the new government and Naval Group.

He says the agreement draws a line under the saga.

Yes, importantly this draws a line under this issue and I thank the Naval Group for the way in which they have conducted the relations. This procedure has gone through our appropriate approvals processes and ensures that we can now reset the relationship without this clouding that relationship going into the future.

Asked about opposition leader Peter Dutton’s comments about acquiring stop-gap submarines from the United States, Albanese says Dutton was all announcement and no delivery.

Well, Mr Dutton has made some comments after presiding over an all announcement no delivery regime. And not delivering on actual capability. But delivering on media releases. I make this point - you don’t defend your country and our national security with a media release. You defend it with operational capability. My government intends to concentrate on delivering rather than the statements that Peter Dutton has made that contradict all of the statements that he made while he was defence minister.

Updated

Albanese says he will visit Paris at ‘earliest opportunity’

Albanese says now the contract is settled, Australia can now move forward with its relationship with France, and says he will accept President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to visit, saying he will come as soon as possible.

Albanese:

France is a key partner for Australia. We share those historical ties going back to the first world war. And we share common interests in a stable Indo-Pacific region because France is of course an Indo-Pacific nation. And we share a commitment to a global order based upon the rule of law and shared principles. I’m looking forward to taking up President Macron’s invitation to me to visit Paris at the earliest opportunity, and we will make further announcements forthcoming about the dates in which that will occur.

And I see a personal meeting between myself and President Macron in France as being absolutely vital to resetting that relationship which is an important one for Australia’s national interests.

Updated

Australia settles with Naval Group over $90bn French submarine contract cancellation

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirms the Australian government has settled with Naval Group to conclude the Attack Class submarine program.

Albanese:

The former government made the decision to scrap the contract on the basis of advice about the capability requirements for the Australian Defence Force, advice that was accepted by Labor in opposition. But the way that decision was handled has caused enormous tension in the relationship between Australia and France. France, an important ally. An ally that we have a history of fighting alongside in two world wars and an ally that has a significant presence in the Pacific at a time when tension in it the Indo-Pacific means that we need to work with our partners. I want to thank the Naval Group for the positive and professional way that it has engaged with Australian officials to reach this settlement.

Some of the details will remain confidential, but Albanese says the Australian government has agreed to pay €550 million, which equates to around A$830m.

Albanese:

This is a fair and an equitable settlement which has been reached. It follows as well discussions that I’ve had with President Macron, and I thank him for those discussions and the cordial way in which we are re-establishing a better relationship between Australia and France.

He says it takes the total cost of the “failed policy” of the former government to $3.4bn, but this is less than the $5.5bn Senate estimates was told it would cost.

He said:

But it still represents an extraordinary waste from a government that was always big on announcement but not good on delivery, and from a government that will be remembered as the most wasteful government in Australia’s history since federation. Tens of billions of dollars wasted across a range of programs that have resulted of course in – have contributed to – the $1 trillion of debt that the incoming Labor government has inherited.

Updated

We are now just waiting for the PM’s press conference to begin momentarily.

Funding for Standards and Trade Development Facility

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, and the trade minister, Don Farrell, have announced $2.9m in funding to the Standards and Trade Development Facility.

The STDF helps developing and least-developed countries participate in the multilateral rules-based trading system, and implement quarantine standards to gain access to international agricultural markets.

Wong:

An effective, rules-based trading system with the WTO at its core is fundamental to the global economy – including the stability and prosperity of our region.

Our priority is to ensure our partners can support their development goals by exercising their WTO rights and fulfilling their WTO obligations.

Updated

Sydney warehouse fire

Firefighters are battling a warehouse blaze in Rockdale in Sydney’s south.

Residents are advised to close windows, doors and vents.

Updated

‘Among the dearly departed’

Former Liberal MP for North Sydney Trent Zimmerman has written an opinion piece today on life after losing his seat.

Zimmerman says:

Some have warned me that losing an election is like a grieving process. There is a bit of that. Certainly, some friends and residents talk to you as though you are among the dearly departed. Others on the streets cast their eyes away to avoid such a conversation.

The hardest part has been the farewells for my electorate staff who cease their employment shortly after the election. They have lived and breathed the campaign and my work as an MP and feel the election outcome as much as I have so it is a difficult time for them.

Updated

Prime minister Anthony Albanese will hold a press conference in Sydney at 10.15am

There are reports in French media that Australia has settled with French company Naval Group over the cancellation of the submarines contract by the former government. We have not confirmed, but we shall see if that’s what the press conference is about.

Updated

Victoria reports 23 Covid-19 deaths, 6,224 new cases

Victoria has recorded 23 Covid-19 deaths overnight, with 6,224 new cases reported.

There are 454 people in hospital, including 27 in intensive care and four ventilated.

Boost for Sydney-Hunter rail upgrade plan

A major business lobby group has backed reported plans for a $1bn overhaul of rail services between Sydney and the Hunter that would pave the way for faster train services, AAP reports.

NSW will work with the federal government on the upgrade, with $500 million to be set aside in June 21’s state budget.

In the run-up to May’s federal election, Labor pledged $500 million of commonwealth funds to a scheme to link Sydney and Newcastle, saying if it won government it would prioritise a link that could eventually cut travel time between the state’s two most populous cities from two-and-a-half hours to 45 minutes.

The NSW plan, focused initially on the Sydney-Central Coast link, will improve the Tuggerah-Wyong connection and include new electrified tracks, rail bridges over the Wyong River and station upgrades.

Work is set to begin in 2025.

The revamp will reportedly make it possible for express passenger services to overtake freight services and all-stop passenger trains, speeding up travel times.

Committee for Sydney chief executive Gabriel Metcalf on Saturday welcomed the move towards upgrading the link, saying a NSW government commitment meant state and federal governments were “now working together to deliver on fast rail”.

“Getting on a trip from Gosford to the city in 25 minutes and Newcastle under an hour will be a game-changer for commuters, students and many others,” Metcalf said in a statement.

“It will reshape the geography of our city.

“As we emerge from two-and-a-half years of disruption and lockdown, this is a project that will get people inspired about Sydney’s future and kickstart our economic recovery.”

Updated

NSW reports 22 Covid-19 deaths, 6,254 cases

New South Wales has reported 22 Covid-19 deaths overnight, with 6,254 new cases records. There are 1,219 people in hospital, including 41 in intensive care.

Dangerous conditions along NSW coast

Surf Life Saving NSW has warned hazardous weather conditions, strong winds and large southerly swells make it dangerous along the coast - particularly for rock fishers.

Surf Life Saving NSW Director of Lifesaving Joel Wiseman said:

People should consider staying out of the water. Rock fishers in particular are at risk and should avoid coastal rock platforms exposed to the ocean. This time of year is statistically a very dangerous period for rock fishing accidents and tragedies.

Only a handful of beaches are patrolled at this time of year by council lifeguards and it is likely these beaches will be closed due to the conditions.

Updated

Mehreen Faruqi says being made Greens deputy leader is an honour

Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi says it is the honour of her life to be elected to the role, pledging to take a stand on discrimination, AAP reports.

The NSW senator who migrated from Pakistan in 1992 will be the first Muslim Australian in the senior leadership of a large political party.

“In a diverse society, it is appropriate and frankly, necessary, that our parties and their leadership are reflective of our highly multicultural country,” Faruqi said after the first post-election partyroom meeting in Melbourne.

The partyroom re-elected Melbourne MP Adam Bandt to the leadership at Friday’s meeting, ahead of this weekend’s national conference in the Victorian capital.

Faruqi - who came to Australia with her husband, one-year-old son and two suitcases - said she would use her position to “continue to speak up against racism, Islamophobia and all forms of discrimination in our society”.

“This is something I have never shied away from, and a fight I will take up until everyone in our community is treated with respect and dignity,” she said.

The senator noted the Greens and its grassroots movement had an immense task ahead of it.

“To ensure the new parliament takes decisive, meaningful action on the many complex problems facing our country and our world: not least, the climate crisis and the inequality crisis,” she said.

Prior to the election, the Greens had co-deputy leaders in senators Larissa Waters and Nick McKim.

Updated

Nadesalingam family in new home

Friend of the Nadesalingam family, Angela Fredericks is being interviewed on ABC’s Weekend Breakfast.

Fredericks says it was an incredible night to welcome the family to their new home in Biloela:

I arrived at the house with the family to show them their new home and it’s got this beautiful backyard and the girls started running. That was the most special moment for me. These girls for four years have been stuck in cages and so for them to have grass in their backyard and run free was just so, so overwhelming.

She says today will be Biloela’s Flourish festival, the multicultural festival of diversity, where Nades, Priya, Kopika, and Tharni are the guests of honour. Tomorrow will mark Tharni’s fifth birthday in a park.

She’s just so excited, and just can’t wait to see all her friends and be running around and playing games.... It will be a ping birthday. You can see I have pink on, at Tharnicaa’s request today. It’s a pink weekend.

Fredericks called on the government to let the family stay permanently.

We need to end the uncertainty for this family. It’s been over 10 years. Enough is enough. They belong here. We want them here. It’s time. Let’s make this permanent.

Updated

Aged care Covid warning

Ministers Mark Butler and Anika Wells have told aged care providers to act “with a sense of urgency” and speed up their fourth-dose Covid vaccinations as the sector continues to grapple with almost 700 outbreaks and a growing death toll.

The aged care ministers have also warned providers with low vaccination rates they would be required to explain themselves and show how they would turn around sluggish booster rates.

Updated

Good morning

Good morning, and welcome to the live blog for Saturday, 11 June. I’m Josh Taylor and I’ll be bringing you all the news this morning.

The defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore where overnight US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe met for an hour, but still disagree on the matter of Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Marles will not be meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

There were emotional scenes in the regional Queensland town of Biloela yesterday with the Nadesalingam family reunited with the town after four years in immigration detention and legal uncertainty.

We are expecting to see more of the family today, with events planned in the town to mark their return.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, held meetings on Friday in what Ardern said was a reset of the relationship as a result of the election of the new Labor government.

Ardern reiterated NZ’s long-standing opposition to deporting New Zealand citizens on character grounds when they have lived most of their lives in Australia, but Albanese would not say whether there would be a change in policy.

The Greens held their first party meeting after the election, and Senator Mehreen Faruqi was appointed deputy leader of the Australian Greens, replacing Senator Nick McKim and Senator Larissa Waters.

And as the long weekend gets underway in parts of Australia, we might see more chaos at the airports again, after massive queues at Sydney and Melbourne airports on Friday, due to ongoing staffing issues.

Let’s get into it.

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UK has worst rate of child alcohol consumption in world, report finds
Study by World Health Organization shows more than half of children in Britain had drunk alcohol by age 13
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
FDA Detects H5N1 Avian Flu In Milk Samples
FDA detects H5N1 avian influenza in milk but assures safety. USDA confirms virus in dairy cows. Efforts ongoing to track and contain the outbreak. CDC moni...
Top News
Top News
From Brandy Hellville to Jailed Designers: Fashion Scandals are the Hot New Trend Right Now
From Brooke Shields being oversexualized as a teenager to Balenciaga's exploitation of children, here are the most unforgettable scandals in fashion.
Fashion Times
Fashion Times
A Kardashian drinks breast milk when ill
" One thing that is not recommended by any health organization is adult consumption of human milk"
Salon
Salon
Sleep for longer — the 3 best tips I've learned for getting more sleep at night
If you're wondering how to sleep for longer these simple tips are the best things I've learnt since working as a sleep writer.
Tom’s Guide
Tom’s Guide
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