What we learned today, Wednesday 28 May
That’s the end of today’s blog. Here’s are some highlights from a whirlwind day of news:
The Liberals and the Nationals have settled their dispute and reformed the Coalition after a week-long fissure.
Sussan Ley and David Littleproud unveiled their shadow ministry, which rewarded key supporters and saw others – including Jane Hume, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Barnaby Joyce – demoted or relegated to the backbench.
Anthony Albanese said Australia should “follow our own path” on Israel after other nations threatened to impose sanctions on the country.
Environment minister Murray Watt gave the green light to Woodside Energy’s plans to extend the life of the controversial North West Shelf gas development to 2070. Watt said there are “strict conditions” on the plan, but it has already prompted concerns from experts about ongoing pollution.
The UN group Unesco has deferred a decision to grant world heritage status to the Murujuga cultural landscape, home to more than 1m petroglyphs, some of which are nearly 50,000 years old. The move is linked to Woodside Energy and other fossil fuel projects.
About 9,000 people are still isolated after the NSW floods. SES officials have declared more than 1,000 buildings uninhabitable after the event. More than 6,000 insurance claims have already been filed.
Tesla is one step closer to opening a factory in an Adelaide suburb despite overwhelming community opposition.
Eggs cost almost 20% more than a year ago, according to this morning’s consumer price report. Inflation is steady at 2.4%.
See you bright and early tomorrow morning.
Updated
Environmental law group says it’s ‘no surprise’ energy companies want to ‘avoid legal scrutiny’
The Environmental Defenders Office has responded to comments by Santos chief executive, Kevin Gallagher, at the Australian Energy Producers conference earlier today.
Gallagher said environmental charities that mount legal challenges against big companies should have to disclose all of their financial backers. He was reflecting on the Munkara legal proceedings in the federal court that ended last year with the EDO ordered to pay Santos $9m in legal costs.
EDO chief executive, David Morris, said:
It comes as no surprise that the fossil fuel giants want to avoid legal scrutiny of their projects …
However, the public interest is not served by allowing these powerful vested interests to avoid the scrutiny and accountability that legal action provides.Community groups have a right to take legal action to ensure approval authorities and companies uphold the law. Indeed, many groups feel it is their duty to do so.”
Updated
Law groups calls for reform to whistleblower protections
We reported earlier that David McBride, a former military lawyer who leaked documents to the ABC, had lost an appeal to reduce his prison sentence.
McBride was sentenced by the ACT supreme court last year to almost six years’ imprisonment for leaking material later used by the ABC for an exposé on alleged war crimes.
His failed appeal has prompted the Human Rights Law Centre, the Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom and the Whistleblower Justice Fund to call on the Albanese Government to reform whistleblower protections.
Kieran Pender, associate legal director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:
The truth should not be criminalised, yet Australia’s broken whistleblower protection laws have led to numerous whistleblowers being prosecuted for speaking up. The Albanese government must act with urgent law reform and the establishment of a whistleblower protection authority, to ensure prosecutions like this never happen again. Whistleblowers should be protected, not punished.
Updated
Small earthquake near Appin, NSW
Geoscience Australia is reporting a small, 3.5-magnitude earthquake took place near Appin, NSW, about 70km south of Sydney.
The quake hit about 2.53pm.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce says new shadow cabinet ‘not generation change’
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has rejected an assertion that the newly unveiled shadow cabinet represented a new era for the Coalition on Afternoon Briefing. Joyce was among a handful demoted to the backbench this afternoon.
Joyce said:
I know David [Littleproud] is 48, fair enough, Kevin [Hogan] is 61, I’m 58, so he’s older than me. Bridget, 55, well, same area. … It is not generational change. So we have to be straight.
It is a decision based on policy and personalities, and that’s OK, that is absolutely the prerogative of the leader.
Linda Burney calls death of Alice Springs man in custody a ‘tragedy’
Linda Burney described the death of a 24-year-old Aboriginal man in custody in Alice Springs yesterday as a “tragedy” on Afternoon Briefing.
Host Patricia Karvelas asked if the man’s death warranted a renewed effort to investigate the number of deaths in custody.
Burney said:
I think it does need revisiting. The deaths continue, of course they’re disproportionate, because there is a disproportionate amount of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in jail and juvenile justice.
Read more here:
Bridget McKenzie says reunion of Nationals and Liberals ‘not at all’ superficial
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said the party remains an “independent, sovereign political movement” that can’t be taken for granted. The party reunited with the Liberals today after a dramatic split. The ABC’s Patricia Karvelas asked if the mending was superficial. McKenzie replied: “Not at all.”
She added to the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:
Now the fact that the Liberal party has agreed to our policy positions, that’s a good thing.
We always believe our country is best served by a strong, stable, Liberal-National coalition, and so today’s announcement of a shadow ministry includes both political parties I think is an important thing for us to get into the election review proper and start taking up to the Labor government.
She went on to say there needed to be an “element of trust in a relationship that has been this longstanding”. Read more here:
Updated
Husic says government’s decision on North West Shelf relied on science
Ed Husic said Labor had been “pretty strong on climate change” while in power when asked about the government’s decision to extend the gas project until 2070. He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:
I would make the case so we’ve been strong in responding to climate change and we’ve also been strong in using the law … in making this decision, relying on science
Ed Husic says Australia should be ‘prepared’ for other nations to sanction Israel
Ed Husic has reiterated he believes it would be wise for Australia to impose targeted sanctions to oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza, “looking at individuals who have been directing the operations” in the region.
He also said the government should be prepared for allies on the international stage to impose their own. Husic said on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing:
What I’m trying to suggest is that we be prepared because if our friends and allies move on this, clearly the best option is to be a coordinated one.
We need to use whatever mechanism we can to get the Israeli government … to recognise that its actions in enforcing this blockade is having a life or death impact on the most vulnerable.
Read more here:
Some updates from NSW SES on flood damage
The NSW SES has now completed more than 10,000 damage assessments after the floods, deeming more than 1,100 building uninhabitable. NSW SES assistance commissioner Colin Malone said:
We have teams on the ground and are working closely with recovery partners to provide support and assistance through a range of measures over the coming days.
We are continuing to resupply isolated communities and we still have a few residual jobs to attend to, but with the assistance of our valued emergency service partners and community members mobilising to help we are working through them as quickly as possible.
Anyone seeking flood recovery information can find that here.
Updated
Greens also unhappy with North West Shelf extension, will urge groups to take legal action
The Greens say today’s move has seen Labor fail its first climate test. The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, said in a statement:
Sacrificing the oldest art gallery on the planet for Woodside’s private profits while the Hunter has just experienced a 1-in-500 year flood event shows the climate madness this decision is.
Approving fossil fuels out to 2070 totally undermines the government’s commitment to net zero by 2050, which is already too late for a safe climate future.
Waters said the Greens would encourage environmental groups to take legal action “against this approval”.
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called the extension an “environmental disaster”.
The government has a choice this term – to work with the Greens in the Senate to insert a climate trigger into laws and ensure dirty projects are properly assessed for their impacts, or continue approving toxic coal and gas that sends our climate to collapse.
Updated
Climate Council says Labor supporting ‘massive climate bomb’ with extension of gas facility
The Climate Council has expressed deep disapproval after the Albanese government approved the extension of the contentious North West Shelf gas development until 2070. The group’s CEO, Amanda McKenzie, said:
Communities in NSW are starting the cleanup after record breaking floods.
It is shocking that at the same time the Albanese government has approved this massive climate bomb as the first act of this term of government …
If the government is actively making the climate crisis worse it must explain to communities, like those experiencing flooding right now, how it will protect them from more frequent and forceful extreme weather events.
As reported earlier today, Unesco said such facilities should be removed from the region if Australia hopes to win world heritage listing for the area’s 1 million rock carvings.
Updated
More than 6,000 insurance claims already filed after NSW floods
Insurers have received more than 6,000 claims linked to the massive floods across NSW’s mid-north coast, according to the Insurance Council of Australia – 80% of those are linked to damage to homes.
A hub to help process those claims has been set up at Taree Leagues Sports Centre and will run to 13 June. Andrew Hall, CEO of the council, said:
It is confronting to see the extent of the damage across the region and it is clear the recovery is going to take some time and that means support must be ongoing.
Insurers will continue to have a presence on the ground in impacted communities, and we urge anyone who needs help with their claim to come down to the hub and have a chat with the dedicated support staff.
The group added it is too early to put a dollar figure on the total damage bill, but said it doesn’t expect the number will be higher than the $6.4bn in losses incurred during the 2022 flooding.
Updated
With that announcement wrapped up, I’ll hand over to Nick Visser to take you through the rest of the day’s news. All the best.
Sussan Ley has said the culture of Parliament House must improve after Senator Fatima Payman reported the behaviour of a male parliamentary colleague over claimed inappropriate comments.
Ley said she was concerned by the news:
I read that report with great concern and it is simply not good enough to have that behaviour take place in this building.
It is vital that reporting of events like this are a reminder to everybody that we must never take our eye off the ball when it comes to continuous improvement in the culture in this building.
Read the full report here:
Updated
Littleproud denies demanding ‘free for all’ for shadow ministers
David Littleproud has denied misleading his party room after Nationals MP Colin Boyce this morning accused his party leader of failing to raise a key issue believed to have motivated the Coalition split.
Liberal politicians said Littleproud had demanded shadow ministers be permitted to break shadow cabinet solidarity and cross the floor, which Nationals MPs said he had never discussed with them.
Littleproud said he had never demanded a “free for all”:
It wasn’t a demand, it was a conversation, and Sussan was quite clear that the parameters that we have were ones that we should continue to adhere to. I wasn’t asking for a free for all and that was not something I think was appropriate to share – the fact that it’s been ruminated out here – because I don’t want a free for all in my party room.
He said National party room members remained free to come forward and bring new policy or challenge existing policy.
Disquiet among the Nationals MPs saw Barnaby Joyce endorse Michael McCormack to replace Littleproud as leader, but Littleproud denied McCormack was being punished for criticising him:
I made it clear when I became leader three years ago that I wanted to have generational change but, at that point, wanted to respect the leadership that was before me to allow them to impart their wisdom.
Updated
David Littleproud has refused to say whether he regretted his decision to split the Coalition at a time Liberal leader Sussan Ley had left Canberra to be with her dying mother.
Asked whether he had apologised to Ley for his decision, the Nationals leader said:
With due respect, we made sure Sussan and I worked through that at a pace she was comfortable with … We were sensitive around that. So much so that … Sussan offered to fly back to Canberra to have our first meeting and I made it clear I didn’t want her to leave her mother’s side.
Updated
Ley has said she “doesn’t get hung up on titles” after failing to appoint a shadow minister with an explicit responsibility for climate change listed in their title.
Dan Tehan has been appointed shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, opposite Labor’s climate and energy minister, Chris Bowen.
Ley said she looked past the title of ministries to the substance:
At one stage there were so many titles on a minister that they couldn’t fit on a business card, in the days that we had those. I look at the substance of what’s going on and the policy areas and don’t get hung up on the titles.
Ley was again asked about whether she supported net zero by 2050, and did not explicitly confirm:
We have to play, as a country, our part in the global response to climate change. Net zero, Paris [Accord] targets, gas, all of the resources conversations around critical minerals are all part of that. We have to get this right. We have to play our part but we have to make sure that we don’t do it at any cost …
You can’t have an energy policy that crashes our energy grid and you have to recognise the great manufacturing base of this country and it’s built on reliable, secure, baseload power.
Updated
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price demoted
Sussan Ley was asked if Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been demoted after the firebrand senator was denied a shadow cabinet position, instead appointed to the shadow minister in defence industry.
Ley responded saying Price had told her she was excited to take on the new position:
I’m delighted that Jacinta is taking up what is a really vital role and her style of communication and relationship with Australian people will be incredibly valuable.
David Littleproud, standing alongside opposition leader Sussan Ley, says he remains disappointed that Price left the Nationals but that he wished her well:
She has ambition beyond what my party room can give and I don’t think I should put my personal disappointment above somebody who has the ambition to have a higher office than the National party. I have to be bigger than that and think about the country. We wish her well in whatever endeavour she achieves but why should we put a ceiling on someone that has ambition?
Updated
Ley has declined to take a stance on net zero and says the Coalition’s commitment to remove a moratorium on nuclear energy development is an “important first step” in policy development.
The commitment to remove the ban on development was a term in the agreement for the Coalition’s reunification. Ley told reporters:
There will be development of the detail of any further policy with respect to nuclear after that point, so that’s where we’re starting.
Asked whether she would consider dropping the Liberal party’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, Ley said:
We’ll have those discussions inside the policy development process.
Nationals senators Matt Canavan and Barnaby Joyce have spoken out against net zero, which Ley said was their ability as backbenchers:
One of the traditions our parties share is the ability to speak freely on the backbench. It’s not something you can ever do in the Labor party but we value it and we love the expression that people want to make.
Updated
Coalition not distracted by ‘gossip and innuendo’, Littleproud says
Sussan Ley denies the Coalition split was a “bitter breakup”, saying she and David Littleproud had maintained a professional partnership between the Coalition parties.
Ley told reporters she got along well with Littleproud:
Personally, David and I will be friends. I think a woman who got her start in the shearing sheds of western Queensland can always find something to talk about over a steak and a beer, David, with you, the person who represents those communities now. So we will, 100%, take this forward together. We will be stronger together.
Littleproud said negotiations over the last week had been effective, taking a shot at media commentary over the split:
We’ve laid the boundaries and foundation stones and while there’s been gossip and innuendo through the halls of the gallery, let me be clear – Sussan and I have always kept the lines of communication open. We’ve risen above that. We haven’t let us get distracted by what’s been reported.
Updated
Jane Hume dumped from shadow cabinet
Sussan Ley has not reappointed former Liberal frontbencher Jane Hume to shadow cabinet but she denies that decision was “vengeance”.
Asked whether Hume had asked to not be reappointed, Ley would not confirm. She said she would not reflect on private conversations but paid tribute to Hume:
These are tough days and having been through many days like this myself in my parliamentary career, I recognise that. …
[Hume] has contributed amazingly over her political career, will continue to do so and is a strong performer across a range of different subjects.
Updated
David Littleproud, Nationals leader, announces his party’s appointments to the shadow ministry:
Darren Chester in veterans’ affairs.
Ross Cadell in water, fisheries, forestry and emergency management.
Anne Webster in regional development, local government and territories and regional telecommunications.
Pat Conaghan as shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for financial services.
Sam Birrell as shadow assistant minister for regional health and regional education.
Jamie Chaffey as shadow assistant minister for agriculture and resources.
Updated
Ley announces the last set of appointments to shadow ministry:
Gisele Kapterian will become shadow assistant minister for communications, shadow minister for technology and the digital economy, if she wins Bradfield in a recount.
Andrew Wallace as shadow cabinet secretary.
Dan Tehan as shadow minister for energy and emissions reductions.
Dean Smith as shadow assistant minister for energy and emissions reduction.
Alex Hawke as shadow minister for industry and innovation and manager of opposition business in the house.
Jonathon Duniam in education and early learning.
Julian Leeser as shadow attorney general and minister for the arts.
Paul Scarr as shadow minister for immigration.
James McGrath as shadow minister for urban infrastructure and cities, a new portfolio.
Phil Thompson as shadow assistant minister for defence and for the NDIS.
Matt O’Sullivan as shadow assistant minister for infrastructure and for fisheries and forestry.
Leah Blythe as shadow assistant minister for stronger families and stronger communities.
Zoe McKenzie as shadow assistant minister for mental health and for education and early learning.
Senator Maria Kovacic as shadow assistant minister for child protection and the prevention of family violence.
Updated
Michaelia Cash, Andrew Hastie, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price given new shadow ministry positions
More positions in the new shadow ministry:
Michaelia Cash as shadow foreign minister.
Angus Taylor as shadow defence minister.
Andrew Hastie as shadow home affairs minister.
Jason Wood as shadow minister for international development and Pacific island affairs.
Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price as shadow minister for defence industry and shadow minister for defence personnel.
Kerrynne Liddle as shadow minister for Indigenous Australians.
Angie Bell as shadow minister for the environment and youth.
Melissa McIntosh as shadow minister for women.
Anne Ruston as shadow minister for health, aged care, sport and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Melissa Price as shadow minister for cybersecurity and science.
• This post was amended on 28 May 2025. An earlier version said Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was part of the shadow cabinet; she is part of the shadow ministry.
Updated
Ted O’Brien named shadow treasurer in new Coalition lineup
The new Coalition shadow ministry includes:
Ted O’Brien as shadow treasurer.
James Paterson as shadow minister for finance and the public service.
Andrew Bragg as shadow minister for productivity and deregulation and for housing and homelessness.
Tim Wilson as shadow minister for industrial relations and employment and for small business.
Dave Sharma as shadow assistant minister for competition, charities and Treasury.
Updated
Sussan Ley reveals Coalition shadow ministry
The leaders of the Liberal and National parties are unveiling the new shadow cabinet for the reunited Coalition in Canberra.
Sussan Ley is speaking to reporters and starts by thanking her National counterpart, David Littleproud, who just a week ago was leading his party as it broke away from the Liberals. Ley tells reporters:
I want to thank you, David, for the respectful and productive way that you and I have engaged throughout this process. I know that we will be a great partnership going forward.
She says she spoke to every single member of the Liberal party room about her cabinet decisions – even those who were left out:
I promised my leadership would be done differently and it will be. I have communicated with every single member of my party room about this shadow ministry. Those who are in the shadow ministry and those who are not. That style might be unconventional but it is important because I always said that I would harness the talents of my party room. Everyone has a role to play, even if they are not formally in the lineup.
Updated
On a related note, the prime minister earlier today cheered on the Queensland government’s decision to open nine new areas to gas exploration.
The Liberal-National state government would also review efforts to release more land to attract more investment into local gas production, it said in a statement this morning
Anthony Albanese said gas had a role in energy supply, especially for industry and manufacturing:
We think gas has an important role to play. It provides for firming capacity. … Our view is renewables backed by gas, backed by batteries, and backed by hydro is the way forward for Australia.
We will wait and see whether the Coalition continue with their nuclear fantasy … What we actually need is real solutions and real investment going forward.
Santos CEO says environmental groups should have to reveal financial backers if they mount legal challenges
The Santos chief executive, Kevin Gallagher, says environmental groups that mount legal challenges against big companies should be required to disclose who all of their financial backers are.
Gallagher was speaking at a session on so-called environmental “lawfare” at the Australian Energy Producers annual conference in Brisbane.
I think there’s a flawed assumption that the funders are uniquely environmental activists. But who’s to say it’s not people seeking commercial advantage and using that system as well?
You wouldn’t know, right? You just wouldn’t know who they are because of the anonymity that they enjoy.
Gallagher was reflecting on the Munkara proceedings in the federal court, which ended in November last year after the Environmental Defenders Office was ordered to pay Santos’ full legal costs of about $9m. The judgment in that case found the EDO and one of its experts had engaged in “subtle coaching” of Tiwi people and part of its expert evidence involved “confection”.
Gallagher said the cost of delays to the Barossa offshore gas project caused by “what was a fabricated, constructed case” ran “into the hundreds of millions of dollars”.
So that was the damage they did, as well as the damage to the reputation of our industry and the country as a whole.
I just think that if organisations are going to be able to do that, then the funders, the people who are driving these actions, should be disclosed and we should know who we’re dealing with and why.
And be able to then go after them for damages if they’re found to have done something … as in the case with Barossa, otherwise it’s not a level playing field.
Guardian Australia has approached the EDO for comment.
Updated
The proposed decision to extend Woodside’s gas processing plant in Western Australia’s remote north-west by 40 years is the first of many consequential calls to be made by the new environment minister, Murray Watt, during Labor’s second term in government.
For more on what the gas project means for the climate and what it tells us about Labor’s plans, listen to Nour Haydar and climate and environment editor Adam Morton on Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast:
Labor proposes approval of North West Shelf gas project extension
The environment minister, Murray Watt, has said he plans to approve Woodside Energy’s application to extend the life of one of the world’s biggest liquified natural gas (LNG) projects from 2030 to 2070.
Watt said his proposed decision was to approve the life extension of the North West Shelf gas processing plant, on the Burrup Peninsula in northern Western Australia.
Watt said he had approved the application with “strict conditions” relating to local air pollution. Woodside has 10 days to respond.
The proposed approval has come despite some experts raising concerns about the impact of local pollution on a globally significant collection of rock art in the Murujuga cultural landscape, which includes the Burrup Peninsula. The area is home to more than 1m petroglyphs, some nearly 50,000 years old.
Scientists and activists have said the life extension could be linked to up to 6bn tonnes of greenhouse gases being emitted in the decades ahead, mostly after the gas is shipped and burned overseas.
Updated
Why does the government’s decision about the Woodside gas project in Western Australia hinge on rock art? Climate and environment editor Adam Morton explains in this video:
Updated
O’Brien set for shadow treasurer, Taylor tipped for defence
As was widely expected, the new Liberal deputy leader, Ted O’Brien, will be named the shadow treasurer when Sussan Ley unveils her new frontbench on Wednesday afternoon.
O’Brien will replace Angus Taylor, who is expected to be appointed to the defence portfolio after narrowly losing to Ley in the post-election leadership ballot.
The NSW senator Andrew Bragg is expected to receive the finance portfolio, according to Liberal sources.
Updated
Watt says government will ‘strongly advocate’ for Unesco to reconsider
The environment minister, Murray Watt, has responded to Unesco deferring a decision on a world heritage bid for the Murujuga cultural landscape, reported earlier in the blog.
He said the government was disappointed with the decision.
It’s important to note this is only a draft decision and a final decision will be made by the World Heritage Committee when it meets in Paris in July.
We will work constructively with the World Heritage Centre to ensure the factual inaccuracies that influenced the draft decision are addressed. We will strongly advocate to the World Heritage Committee to reconsider the nomination when it meets.
For over 50,000 years, traditional custodians have protected and managed this significant land and seascape. Murujuga deserves to be recognised and protected within the world heritage system, with a rock art collection estimated at between one to two million petroglyphs. We will be enthusiastically pursuing this outcome.
This is a complex site. None would deny that. It is disappointing that the draft decision is heavily influenced by claims made in the media and correspondence from non-government organisations, rather than scientific and other expert evidence.
It is also disappointing that traditional custodians were not consulted or given an opportunity to respond to proposed recommendations, despite their strong desire for World Heritage listing. We will work hard to ensure the traditional custodians’ voices are heard in the deliberations of the World Heritage Committee.
Updated
Green group urges environment minister to do ‘everything in his power’ to protect rock art
The Australian Conservation Foundation has responded to the Unesco call for industrial facilities to be removed from the Burrup Hub, in north Western Australia, if it wants globally significant Indigenous rock art to be world heritage listed.
As we reported earlier, Unesco has deferred a decision on a world heritage bid for the Murujuga cultural landscape, asking the Australian government to first act to remove industrial developments damaging the rock art through acidic emissions.
The Unesco response was based on the findings of a report from the International Council on Monuments and Sites, known as Icomos.
ACF’s First Nation’s lead, Josie Alec, who is a Murujuga traditional owner, said it showed world heritage nomination was “completely inconsistent with more years of acid pollution damaging the petroglyphs at Murujuga”.
Environment minister [Murray] Watt should do everything in his power to protect the rock art, not protect the gas industry.
Watt has been asked for his response.
Updated
War crime whistleblower’s jail sentence appeal rejected
David McBride, who was jailed for leaking classified information about possible war crimes, will remain behind bars after losing an appeal against his sentence, AAP reports.
He was jailed for five years and eight months after pleading guilty to obtaining and disseminating classified defence information.
His sentence included a non-parole period of two years and three months, meaning the 61-year-old will remain imprisoned until at least August 2026.
Justice Belinda Baker rejected the appeal, handing down her judgment in under a minute in the ACT Court of Appeal, which operates as part of the Supreme Court, on Wednesday in front of McBride.
His legal team had already flagged an appeal to the High Court if the decision didn’t go their way.
You can read about McBride’s case and appeal here:
World heritage status denied for rock art due to Burrup gas project pollution
Pressure is growing on the environment minister, Murray Watt, over an imminent decision on whether to extend the life of one of Australia’s biggest fossil fuel developments until 2070 after a UN body found it was damaging ancient Indigenous rock art.
A government-backed world heritage bid for the Murujuga cultural landscape, taking in Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago, was due to be discussed at a Unesco meeting in July. Murujuga is home to more than 1m petroglyphs – rock carvings – some of which are nearly 50,000 years old. They are said to include the first known depiction of the human face.
Documents released overnight show Unesco has deferred a decision on the Murujuga bid, and referred it back to the Australian government so it can “ensure the total removal of degrading acidic emissions” affecting the petroglyphs. Unesco said Australia should develop a decommissioning and rehabilitation plan for existing industrial facilities at the site, which include a liquefied natural gas processing plant operated by Woodside Energy as part of its massive North West Shelf export gas project.
The Unesco intervention comes as Watt is preparing to make a decision on whether Woodside can operate the plant until 2070.
The WA government released a rock art monitoring report on Friday that it said showed the risk to the petroglyphs was lower than in the past and recorded damage was due to historic pollution.
But this has been challenged by a professor of archeology, Benjamin Smith, who said the government has blatantly misrepresented what the 800-page scientific report actually found – that local pollution was four times higher now than in the 1970s.
Watt has promised a decision by Saturday.
Updated
Michael McCormack has criticised the Nationals’ behaviour in the last week while celebrating the reunification of the Coalition.
Speaking to reporters in Wagga Wagga, McCormack said:
The Nationals and Liberals, we are back together and that is a good thing, something that I think we should never have been apart.
McCormack says his leader, David Littleproud, and Liberal leader Sussan Ley will do “the best job they can do to make sure they do forge the ties that bind us”.
But Littleproud’s decision to break from the Liberals should not have been made in haste amid the death of Ley’s mother, McCormack says:
The transition could have been not made in the haste that it was made and Sussan was mourning for the loss of her mother and you cannot replace a mum, you just cannot, and I thought it was done in too much haste and decisions taken made in haste are not always the wise and best decisions.
McCormack says he will continue to work with Barnaby Joyce, who has also been relegated to the backbench and has told colleagues he would back McCormack to challenge Littleproud for the leadership:
The two former Deputy Prime Ministers: Who would’ve thought, last week, standing united, us two? But we have never opposed as far as policy and those sorts of things. I speak to Barnaby Joyce regularly.
Queensland police suspend national park search for missing teenager Pheobe Bishop
The search for a missing girl in a national park has been suspended as police investigate the 17-year-old’s “suspicious” disappearance nearly two weeks ago, AAP reports.
Police combed Good Night Scrub national park in southern Queensland for days as they looked for Pheobe Bishop, finding some “items of interest”.
However, police on Wednesday confirmed the national park search had been suspended as they focus on the nearby Gin Gin area. A police statement said:
Investigations are ongoing and police are continuing to run out several lines of inquiry.
In addition to investigative work, physical searches will continue as needed and as information is provided. The greater Gin Gin area remains the focus of the investigation.
Updated
Michael McCormack is speaking after news broke he will be dumped from the reunited Coalition’s shadow cabinet.
He introduces himself as the shadow minister for International Development and the Pacific – which he will soon no longer be – “because I want to say that one last time”, abd as the member for the Riverina:
No matter what position I may or may not hold, the people of Riverina are the ones I answer to, the ones I work hard for. And while I am on the shadow portfolios, yes, I have been excluded from the shadow ministry.
Asked how he feels about being relegated to the backbench, McCormack takes a shot at his replacements in shadow cabinet:
I wouldn’t be human if I say I wasn’t disappointed but I have a lot to offer. I was told it was generational change and a couple of those people are older than me. You have to ask the leader, it is his prerogative … I’m disappointed but life goes on.
Albanese says ‘we follow our own path’ after UK, France and Canada threaten Israel with sanctions
The prime minister has hit back at calls to impose sanctions on Israel, rejecting suggestions Australia should follow other nations to threaten action over the Israeli government’s military offensive in Gaza and restrictions on aid.
After the United Kingdom, France and Canada threatened to impose sanctions on Israel, Anthony Albanese said his government would make decisions for itself.
We follow our own path and Australia determines our own foreign policy. … Unlike some of those countries, we don’t provide military assets to Israel or to that region, so we are in different circumstances.
Albanese repeated his past calls for hostage releases, a ceasefire, the exclusion of Hamas from government and the delivery of aid to Gaza. Asked whether he believed Israel would accept those requests without sanctions, the prime minister challenged a reporter to suggest specific actions:
What are the sanctions you are suggesting? Exactly. That’s the point. You are not sure. And that’s not a criticism of you, is just a reflection of the reality. And the soundbites can make a difference. What really makes a difference though, they make a difference in rhetoric. What we are interested in is substance. What we want is peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians. We have made it clear that we support a two state solution that has been bipartisan position for a long period of time.
Labor MP and former cabinet minister Ed Husic called for specific action on Tuesday, suggesting ramping up aid into Gaza, calling in Israel’s ambassador and sanctioning the Israeli government.
Specific sanctions have been suggested by rank-and-file Labor members. The Labor Friends of Palestine group has called on the Albanese government to sanction individuals and groups involved in forced displacement of Palestinians, targeting of hospitals and schools, and the killing of aid workers and journalists.
You can read more about that push here:
Updated
Jim Chalmers says inflation figures show ‘substantial and sustained’ progress
This morning’s inflation figures show “substantial and sustained” progress on the fight to slow price rises, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has said.
Chalmers pointed to the repeated achievement of price rises within the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2% to 3%, after the headline number stayed in that range for nine months straight and the core figure for five months. He told reporters:
That is very welcome and encouraging news. It shows that the progress that we have made together as Australians on inflation has been substantial and it has been sustained. … It is actually the longest period where both measures of inflation have been in a target range since this monthly data started being collected in 2018.
The treasurer said people were still under pressure, especially given global uncertainty over tariffs, which he said were still “the wrong decisions for the American economy”.
But he pointed to rising wages and economic growth, plus market predictions of further interest rate cuts this year, as a sign of further hope for the economy. Chalmers has previously raised hopes of as many as four more interest rate cuts this year by reference to market predictions, though the market is now expecting three or fewer.
Updated
Staikos says Consumer Affairs Victoria will deploy a taskforce of 14 people to ensure that retailers across the state are complying with the regulations – though they won’t actually be out on the field until Thursday:
Consumer Affairs Victoria have been working very closely with retailers this week to ensure compliance with the ban and they will be on field tomorrow.
Despite the government having repeatedly defined a machete to be at least 20cm in length, Rich also conceded there is “no formal requirement for a particular length”.
Anything that an ordinary person would understand to be a machete is banned under the notice. I think people in the community understand what a machete is. If you’re in any doubt about whether a product is or isn’t, it probably is a machete and I think you’d be safe to remove it from sale.
Six images of banned machetes have been provided to retailers.
Updated
PM says Labor has its largest caucus ever
Anthony Albanese has cheered the election of the biggest-ever Labor caucus, after Senate seat results were finalised this morning, and taken a shot at the gender representation in the soon-to-be-reunited Coalition.
Labor secured a previously uncertain extra Senate seat in Victoria this morning. Speaking to reporters in Brisbane, the prime minister said:
Now that we have a caucus which is 124 strong, the largest ALP caucus that has ever existed in the federal parliament, it’s fantastic, that is truly representative.
A fun fact that has been drawn to my attention is that there are more women whose name begins with A in the Labor party caucus in the House of Representatives – 10 – and there will be nine Coalition women on the floor of the House of Representatives.
And he counts them off: Anika Wells, Anne Aly, Ali France, Alicia Payne, Alice Jordan-Baird, Anne Stanley, Alison Byrnes, Anne Urquhart and Amanda Rishworth.
Updated
Victorian ban on machetes comes into effect
The Victorian consumer affairs minister, Nick Staikos, has just held a press conference at parliament with the executive director of Consumer Affairs Victoria, Nicole Rich, as the state’s ban on the sale of machetes came into effect at midday.
Staikos says the fast-tracked ban will remain in place until a permanent law takes effect on 1 September:
Retailers must remove machetes from sale and store them in a safe, secure place until such time as the amnesty commences. We are doing this to dry up the supply of machetes in this state until the Allan Labor government’s nation-leading ban on possession and sale of machetes commences on 1 September.
But he confirmed he only has the power available under commonwealth consumer laws to enact the interim ban for 90 days. This means it will expire five days before 1 September.
That is what I can do as the Victorian minister for consumer affairs. Anything beyond that is a matter for the commonwealth.
Updated
While egg prices have spiked, Australia’s dairy producers are also struggling amid droughts in South Australia which are straining water resources and pushing up hay prices.
Floods destroying farms on the east coast but droughts are drying them out in the south, according to Robert Brokenshire, president of the SA Dairy Farmers Association. He told the ABC:
Those of us with water allocations are topping out and may have to turn off our irrigation. For the other farmers, it is really tough and it’s the most scary time in all my years in farming.
Hay and freight costs have soared to $720 a tonne and some dairy farmers in South Australia are spending $40,000 each week to keep their animals fed, Brokenshire said.
He called for more government support to ensure farmers could hold onto their staff and keep feeding their cows. Brokenshire said:
Those staff are experienced. We need them on farm when the drought breaks and if they are put off, they will go on to unemployment benefit.
Tim Wilson expected to be elevated to shadow cabinet
Incoming Goldstein MP Tim Wilson is expected to be named the shadow industrial relations and small business minister in today’s opposition frontbench announcement.
Liberal sources have told Guardian Australia the returning MP will be promoted straight to the shadow ministry, after defeating teal independent Zoe Daniel after one term.
Wilson has impressed colleagues for winning back a teal seat. He was the assistant minister to the minister for industry, energy and emissions reduction in the Morrison government.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, will hold a press conference this afternoon.
Updated
Report reveals eggs cost almost 20% more than a year ago
Eggs cost nearly 20% more than they did a year ago, this morning’s consumer price report has revealed, as bird flu outbreaks led to empty supermarket shelves.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly figures showed that while inflation has been flat for three months now at 2.4%, below the surface there have been some wild price swings.
The 18.6% jump in egg prices was the bad news, but there was better news at the bowser. Petrol prices dropped 12% in the year to April, and 2.6% in the month, the ABS data showed.
Electricity rebates courtesy of state and federal governments helped drive electricity costs down 6.5% in the year – they would have climbed 1.5% were it not for that support.
Back to the bad news, and rents are still climbing at a fair clip, up 5% over the 12 months. Still, the trajectory is improving as the rental vacancy rate lifts from their record lows – it was the weakest annual growth in rental prices since February 2023, the ABS said.
No wonder that cost of living is still front of mind: fruit and vegetable prices climbed by 6% in the year.
Updated
Further drama for troubled new Bass Strait ferries
Two new Bass Strait ferries plagued by delivery delays and cost blowouts have hit further trouble, with technical issues identified on both ships, AAP reports.
Delivery of the two larger vessels, which cost more than $900m, has been dubbed one of the greatest infrastructure stuff-ups in Australia’s history.
The Spirit of Tasmania vessels already were not expected to be in service until late 2026, two years behind schedule because of a failure to build a berth for the ships.
Now issues with both ships’ liquefied natural gas systems have been identified, the Tasmanian government said on Wednesday.
Spirit IV had been sitting in Scotland since December and was due to leave on Monday, to undergo its final fit-out, but it will now remain there indefinitely for further assessment and repairs.
The issue was discovered as part of Spirit V’s sea trials by its Finnish-based shipbuilder, the transport minister, Eric Abetz, said.
The saga forced Tasmania’s deputy premier, Michael Ferguson, to relinquish his portfolios and prompted resignations at government businesses in charge of the ships.
Projected costs for the ship berth at Devonport in May rose from $375m to $493m, well beyond the initial $90m estimate.
Updated
Full opposition frontbench lineup expected soon
We expect the full opposition frontbench line up to be announced within the next couple of hours, after the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, and the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, signed on to a new Coalition agreement.
Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce is joining his successor, Michael McCormack, on the backbench as part of the changes, signals that both parties are pushing renewal in their ranks. Joyce had the shadow veterans affairs’ portfolio in the last parliament.
We expect Nationals including Bridget McKenzie, Kevin Hogan, Darren Chester and Pat Conaghan to be among the winners, with Victorian Sam Birrell tipped for the outer ministry. Ross Cadell and Anne Webster could also get new jobs.
Queensland Liberal-National party senator Matt Canavan has confirmed he is staying on the backbench.
Nationals MPs are flagging a renewed fight on net zero by 2050 policies, and we can expect Joyce and Canavan to be very vocal about the decision.
Updated
Inflation steady at 2.4%
Consumer price rises stayed stable in April, holding at 2.4% annually as in February and March.
On the less volatile “core” measure, inflation ticked up a little from 2.7% to 2.8%. Both the headline and core number are sitting within the Reserve Bank’s target of 2-3% range for price increase.
Easing inflation saw the RBA cut interest rates a week ago. Financial markets were this morning predicting a 78% chance another rate cut would come at the bank’s next board meeting in just over a month.
Updated
Michael McCormack dropped from new Coalition shadow cabinet
As Sussan Ley prepares to unveil her new shadow cabinet on Wednesday, some details about the makeup of the frontbench are starting to emerge.
Guardian Australia has confirmed former Nationals leader Michael McCormack – who was in the outer shadow ministry under Peter Dutton – has been dropped to the backbench.
McCormack was one of several Nationals MPs to speak out against his party’s initial decision to split with the Liberals, and worked behind-the-scenes with Ley to broker a peace deal.
The Riverina MP was the shadow minister for the Pacific and international development under Dutton.
Updated
Australian sharemarket update
The Australian sharemarket picked up on Wednesday morning, continuing gains yesterday after a week hardly moving.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose by about 0.4% to 8,440 points, with most companies picking up in price. The market closed yesterday at its highest point in three months, rising above 8,400 points for the first time since 19 February and a further lift would put the index within a percentage point of its record high recorded on 14 February.
Web Travel Group, the hotel aggregator broken off from WebJet, was the biggest mover, jumping 13% after reporting the value of transactions jumped nearly a quarter higher in the year to March. Block Inc, owner of payment tech platforms Square and Cash App, also picked up 5%.
Mineral Resources slid 8% after it told investors it would ship nearly 1m fewer tonnes of iron ore than it had expected to this financial year.
The Australian dollar was hovering at about US64.5c. It has not dropped below US64c for a week, as investors sell out of American and the US dollar weakens.
We’ll see how the market reacts to new inflation data when the monthly consumer price index is released this morning.
Updated
Moira Deeming’s lawyers indicate they will try and recoup costs from former premiers if John Pesutto bankrupted
Lawyers for Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming have indicated they will seek to recoup costs from former premiers Ted Baillieu, Denis Napthine and Jeff Kennett, as well as her party room colleagues in the event former leader John Pesutto is bankrupted as a result of his defamation loss.
Earlier this month, Pesutto was ordered to pay $2.3m of Deeming’s legal costs after it was found he repeatedly defamed Deeming by falsely implying she sympathised with neo-Nazis and white supremacists in December.
While Pesutto has paid Deeming $300,000 in damages, plus interest, he is yet to pay Deeming’s legal costs or his own, and is trying to raise about $3m, including through a GoFundMe campaign.
Deeming has flagged she intends to serve a bankruptcy notice on Friday if her costs remain outstanding, leaving Pesutto three weeks to pay.
If he misses the deadline, Deeming’s solicitor, Patrick George, has indicated they will seek to recover costs from third parties – and will apply for subpoenas to compel Pesutto to disclose communications with his donors.
In a letter, first reported by The Australian, George names Baillieu, Napthine and Kennett, as well as Charles Gillies, the former chair of the Liberal party’s fundraising arm Enterprise Victoria, Liberal MPs David Southwick and Georgie Crozier, former MP Margaret Fitzherbert, developer Jason Yeap and Pesutto’s former staffer Xavier Boffa.
The letter, seen by Guardian Australia, reads:
We request that Mr Pesutto retain, and confirm he has retained, all records relating to these donations including, without being exhaustive, the agreement of these persons to donate to or fund his defence of the proceedings, and all records relating to the information he provided to them about the proceedings, including any information about his prospects of success in the proceedings and the progress of the proceedings to and including trial, and all records relating to donations for the recent costs assessment, including any information provided to the donors about his prospects of the assessment.
Updated
Police search for man, 50, after fatal house fire in Sydney’s inner west
Police are looking for a 50-year-old man after a suspicious fire in Sydney’s inner west that burnt through his home and killed an 80-year-old man related to him.
The deceased is believed to be the 80-year-old fellow resident of the burnt home though he has not been formally identified. Police did not confirm whether the person of interest was his son.
An elderly woman related to both men had left the home at 1am today before the fire= and was assisting police with inquiries, as were other family members, a police spokesperson told reporters.
Police had not previously visited the home but the 50-year-old was known to police, who have concerns for his welfare. He is believed to still be in Sydney and was last known to be in the nearby Leichhardt area but may have sought to travel to Circular Quay in the city’s CBD, using public transport, police said.
The police spokesperson did not say whether the man was a threat to the public but police asked Sydney locals to contact CrimeStoppers if they had any information. He was described as 190cm tall and of medium to large build with brown, short hair.
The spokesperson said:
We are speaking with family members back at the police station … To live such a full life and pass away like this is an absolute tragedy.
Updated
Labor’s super tax plan backed by Greens leader
Labor’s plan to trim tax concessions for Australians with super balances over $3m looks to have a clear path through the Senate after the Greens leader, Larissa Waters, signalled her party would likely back the policy.
In an interview with The Australian, Waters said she had “no difficulties” with taxing unrealised gains – an aspect of the bill that has attracted fierce criticism from some quarters.
Waters said she still wanted the threshold to be lowered to $2m, saying it “would raise more revenue and would be a fairer approach”.
The policy would put an additional 15% tax on the earnings on balances over $3m, payable annually from either inside or outside the super fund.
Tax policy and superannuation experts have called out the “confected outrage” over the proposal, saying overly generous concessions have allowed wealthy Australians to turn the super system into a taxpayer-funded inheritance scheme, rather than a vehicle to provide a comfortable retirement.
Updated
Culinary celebrity Nigella Lawson has been in Australia this month and – to the delight of Guardian Australia’s Sydney team – she’s taken Michael Sun’s restaurant recommendation.
The staff list of Sydney’s best included Japanese-ish joint Ante, which caught Sun’s eye for its potato mochi, “equal parts piquant and pinguid”. So what did Nigella think?
In an expansive Instagram post caption, the food icon gives the sake bar (and its potatos) a glowing review:
Ante is ostensibly a sleek, dark sake bar of uberchic hipness ... [but] beyond all else, Ante is really a site of sensational food. Fried Potato Mochi were light as puffs and as meltingly dense as fondants (how that is possible, I don’t know).
Nigella also rated the “robust and exquisite” beef tartare, the baby leeks “in a bright, spiced sauce that made their smoky sweetness sing”, the casarecce and tagliatelle – “then came the deep thrill of the pasta,” she writes – as well he pork neck and an Australian seafood special:
The Murray cod with chicken fat (yes!) and spinach was so tenderly succulent (can’t avoid the word) contrasting with the almost austere, brittle crispness of its skin.
How’s that for cultural impact? Hopefully she gets the chance to check out a few of our other favourites – but even if she doesn’t, you should. Check out the full list here (Homebush’s New Shakthi gets this blog’s stamp of approval):
Labor secures three Senate seats in Victoria
Labor has won three Senate spots in Victoria for the first time since 2007, with the Australian Electoral Commission declaring the senate results for the state this morning.
Raff Ciccone and Jess Walsh were re-elected for Labor, James Paterson and Jane Hume were re-elected for the Liberals, and Steph Hodgins-May was reelected for the Greens.
The sixth spot, which was previously held by Liberal turned independent David Van, was taken by Michelle Ananda-Rajah.
Ananda-Rajah was the MP for Higgins in the last parliament but that seat was abolished by the AEC in a redistribution.
Updated
Final charges laid over youth gangs’ machete brawl
All seven people, including four teenagers, allegedly involved in a wild machete brawl at a busy shopping centre have now been charged, AAP reports.
The final arrest was made on Tuesday night when a man, 18, was charged with affray and weapons offences over the melee at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s north.
Shoppers and workers ran for their lives when a wild fight broke out between rival gangs on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
The incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of Victoria’s bail laws, after it was revealed that at least four persons charged over the incident were already out on bail.
The Thornhill Park man arrested on Tuesday night has been remanded to appear in Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The other arrests made by police this week include an 18-year-old man from Derrimut and a 21-year-old man from Kew, who suffered head injuries during the clash.
Police have also arrested and charged two boys, aged 15 and 16, from Darebin and Melton, and two men, aged 20, and 21, from Thornbury and Bundoora. All were already on bail.
Police at first believed there were eight people involved in the fight, which lasted about two minutes, before narrowing it down to seven. Victoria Police said in a statement:
Police will allege this was a planned fight between two rival youth gangs. Those arrested were all known gang members and known to police.
Police have also seized three edged weapons. The violence prompted the state government to announce an immediate ban on the sale of machetes longer than 20 centimetres in Victoria from noon on Wednesday.
Victoria Police Superintendent Kelly Lawson said the brawl did not happen at random, telling reporters rival gangs had arranged a meeting at the centre’s food court before the fight erupted.
Hospital locked down and schools asked to close after gunshots
Police locked down access to a hospital in regional Queensland after shots were fired this morning.
Gunshots were fired in Kingaroy at a property about one kilometre from the town’s hospital early this morning, police said.
A 25-year-old man, believed to be armed, was still at large and believed to be travelling in a black Suzuki Swift, with allegedly false number plates displaying 551 GE9. The man was described as about 175cm tall, slim build, Caucasian with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police restricted access to the Kingaroy Hospital by 6.15am and advised schools, businesses and other facilities in the area to close due to the incident.
Other businesses and facilities in the area, including some schools, have been advised to close as police respond to the incident.
Police are appealing to the public for information and urging them not to approach the man or his vehicle and instead to call police.
Updated
Liberals and Nationals reach deal to reunite the Coalition
The Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, will unveil her shadow cabinet on Wednesday after clinching a deal to reunite the Coalition.
Liberal sources have confirmed Ley has started contacting MPs to inform them of their roles in her new frontbench.
It comes after the Nationals met early on Wednesday morning to endorse a deal to rejoin the Liberals a week after the dramatic split.
As reported in the Guardian, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, sought party room approval for several safeguards the Liberals wanted attached to the country party’s policy priorities.
There’s more to come – stay with us.
Updated
WA premier says expert criticism over potential for North West Shelf to damage ancient rock art is a ‘political frolic’
The Western Australian premier has scorned as a “political frolic” expert warnings over the potential for North West Shelf gas project to damage Indigenous heritage sites.
Critics including Indigenous leaders and archaeologists have said the government has potentially underplayed the damage the gas project could cause to the Murujuga area, home to as many as 1m rock carvings and art, some of which could be nearly 50,000 years old.
Roger Cook has stood by his government’s report, which he said was the “the science,” and dismissed expert intervention:
If some scientists want to go on a political frolic as part of that process, we have to strip away the background noise and rely upon the reports to make good decisions on behalf of the people of Western Australia ...
What we often find, particularly when it comes to environmental issues, is that … the scientists tend to unhitch themselves from some of … the rigor of science.
Cook also hit back at a question about concerns raised from traditional owners of the land surrounding the sites and project:
I will challenge the comment that you made earlier, that this is opposed by traditional owners. That’s the sort of sweeping claims we get from commentators, which distorts the importance and complexity of this debate.
The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, made up of members from five traditional language groups, coreleased a summary of the report last week, suggesting there was little to worry about.
But Aboriginal advocates were among the hundreds of people who have appealed against the North West Shelf extension.
As Adam Morton writes, a decision is soon expected from the federal environment minister, Murray Watt, on the application by Woodside Energy to extend the life of the gas export processing facility in Western Australia’s Pilbara region:
Updated
Tesla factory passes Adelaide suburban council's vote hurdle despite overwhelming community opposition
Elon Musk’s Tesla is one step closer to opening a factory in an Adelaide suburb despite overwhelming community opposition from “anti-Tesla and anti-Elon Musk sentiment”.
Environmental concerns and worries the site would draw protestors were also cited.
Overall, about 95% of people who made submissions to the City of Marion were opposed to the plan to allow a battery factory to be built. Many of them voiced their opposition with words that were apparently unfit to print in the city’s records, such as:
Elon Musk and Tesla are a [redacted] on humanity.
Tesla sales have slumped amid a backlash against Musk for his work with the Trump administration, such as slashing funding for government departments through his department of government efficiency, as well as his ideology and actions such as what some saw as an apparent fascist salute.
But Marion’s mayor, Kris Hanna, said blocking the sale of the site would have no impact on Musk and would have cost 100 local jobs.
On Tuesday night the council voted to seek state government approval to sell the site to a developer who will build the factory. Hanna said the soil on the site was contaminated and not safe for recreation, so “it makes sense to have it sealed over with a renewable technology facility”. He said:
If we didn’t proceed, it would have cost 100 jobs to local residents, but it would have had no impact on Elon Musk. Tesla would almost certainly find somewhere else in Australia to build their factory.
Read more about the Adelaide backlash here:
Updated
Nationals meet over revised Coalition negotiations
The Nationals are holding a party room meeting on Wednesday morning to decide whether to reunite the Coalition a week after the dramatic split.
As reported in the Guardian, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, is asking colleagues to accept some tweaks to the country party’s policy demands as part of a new coalition agreement.
If the agreement is endorsed, the Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, is expected to unveil her shadow cabinet later today.
The shadow cabinet would be made up of 14 Liberals and six Nationals.
Updated
Crisafulli says he has ‘faith’ that nurses deal will happen despite strike vote
The day after Queensland nurses overwhelmingly voted to strike, the state premier, David Crisafulli, remains optimistic a deal is not far off.
It’s the first enterprise agreement negotiated by the Liberal National Party government since it won power last October and negotiations are stuck on pay, guarantees on parental leave arrangements, flexible working arrangements and consultation rights among others. Crisafulli told Channel Seven’s Sunrise:
My commitment is to make sure that they do have nation-leading wages and conditions. They do an amazing job and I do believe they need to be well paid and their pay does need to increase. …
Whilst there is a disagreement at the back end of these negotiations, I do have faith that we will be able to do a deal and I want them to know we’re deeply thankful for what they do and they deserve every penny they get/
The government had previously threatened to strip nurses and midwives of back pay should they enact their legal right to strike:
Updated
Canavan throws support behind Littleproud for Nationals leadership weeks after failed run
Nationals senator Matt Canavan has ruled himself out of challenging for his party’s leadership, throwing his weight behind David Littleproud.
Politicians from both ex-Coalition parties have criticised the Nationals leader but Littleproud has delivered results for his party, Canavan said. The Queensland senator unsuccessfully ran against Littleproud for the party’s leadership two weeks ago. He told Channel Nine’s Today:
I think David’s done a great job over the past week. He’s delivered results for the Nationals party and the people we represent. … I’m happy with the leadership.
Pressed on whether he would take another tilt at the top job or back an anti-Littleproud candidate, Canavan said no and repeatedly said Littleproud had done a “great job”:
No, I’m very happy doing what I’m doing … I think David’s doing a good job, so I wish him all the best right now. …
There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Liberal MPs decide the leadership of the Nationals party. That’s a matter for us.
Updated
Bridget McKenzie says Victorian machete ban will not make people safer
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has said Victoria’s ban on machete sales, starting today, will not make people safer. The ban on sales of knives with blades longer than 20cm was fast-tracked after an alleged clash involving the weapon forced Northland shopping centre into lockdown at the weekend.
McKenzie said her fellow Victorians were not feeling safe and the ban would not make a difference. She told Channel Seven’s Sunrise :
I don’t think the Labor government’s retail ban here in Victoria will actually make it safer. … You can purchase [knives] online. It does nothing about the existing stock that’s already here. And [it’s] a government’s job is to keep their citizens safe.
Tim Ayres, a Labor minister, said it would be an overreach for the federal government to take the ban nationwide but the Albanese government supported the state government’s move. He said on the same program:
There’s never a good reason for a young person to have a knife or a tool that can be a weapon like a machete … Cutting down on the availability of these weapons for young people is an important step, and I’m glad that the Victorian government has taken it and we’ll keep watching closely.
Updated
Bridget McKenzie denies reports Nationals discussed shadow cabinet solidarity as part of coalition negotiations
Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie has insisted her party never made free votes for cabinet members a condition of returning to Coalition with the Liberals, as the two parties draw closer to a deal.
McKenzie also took a shot at Liberal MPs who were giving her and her colleagues free advice. She told Channel Seven’s Sunrise:
There are many Liberal MPs who want to give us gratuitous advice about how to run our party room. I’m happy to give them membership forms if they’d like to join it. But a coalition works best when everybody respects the independence of both parties.
Asked repeatedly about whether the Nationals had all agreed to David Littleproud’s reported request that shadow cabinet solidarity not be required, allowing frontbenchers to cross the floor, McKenzie said it had not been discussed:
That wasn’t put to the room.
The Nationals will reconvene as early as Wednesday to debate a revised deal to reunite the Coalition after last week’s brief but damaging split.
You can read the latest from our Dan Jervis-Bardy here:
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Approximately 9,000 people still isolated after NSW floods
About 9,000 people are still isolated after flooding and damage in New South Wales, which has totally destroyed at least 30 homes and more than 1,000 buildings have been deemed uninhabitable.
The State Emergency Service has urged residents to remain patient and await advice that it is safe to return before heading home. Of the 8,400 assessments so far, 632 homes have been deemed uninhabitable but not beyond repair, plus 152 business properties and more than 253 sheds and outbuildings.
Recovery efforts has continued with the help of more than 6,000 personnel on the ground in the mid-north coast of New South Wales. That includes an extra 24 police, sent to boost community confidence and deter looting with additional patrols, the state government said in a statement.
The SES has 2,220 volunteers assisting on the ground and is coordinating teams of community volunteers from councils and electricity and telecommunication companies.
Hundreds of firefighters, including Rural Fire Service volunteers, are also aiding, while agencies in other states have sent 230 people to help and more still have arrived from New Zealand. There are still 70 members of the Australian Defence Force assisting efforts.
Teams are working on road repair and clean up, clearing 1,500 tonnes of debris and repairing 5,500 potholes, as well as clearing waterways. More than 10,000 cubic metres of waste has been removed from impacted areas, the government said.
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Insurance ‘catastrophe’ declared for flood-hit NSW
An insurance “catastrophe” has been declared for the flood-devastated mid-north coast of New South Wales, with the total cost of claims still unknown, the Insurance Council of Australia has said.
The council’s chief executive, Andrew Hall, said insurers were on the ground with in-person helpdesks in Taree this morning after the declaration was made yesterday. He told the ABC:
This is the highest declaration the industry makes. It means all our resources are now pointed to the mid-north coast. People who live in declared areas have priority with insurers.
About 800 homes have been declared uninhabitable and 5000 insurance claims have been made, but Hall said more claims could be on the way and the cost was not yet clear.
With a high number of flood-affected properties uninsured due to soaring premiums, Hall said it was a decision for each homeowner but more regular flood events would gradually lift premiums across the country:
These are all choices local communities have to make and they have to weigh up housing prices … [but] if we put all the properties into the pool and spread the cost, it will put everybody’s premiums up.
The emergency services minister, Kristy McBain, told the ABC’s Radio National the assistant treasurer will be speaking to insurers to ensure claims get paid out:
The assistant treasurer, Dan Mulino, will be having some direct discussion with insurance companies and the insurers on the ground in the next couple of days but the message is really clear from us … it needs to get paid out.
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Minns says failure to buy Rosehill racecourse for housing development means losing a ‘one-in-a-generation opportunity’
The New South Wales premier has said he will keep pushing to build more homes but his state missed a “one-in-a-generation opportunity” after an inner-Sydney race club’s rejection of his government’s bid for the Rosehill racecourse.
Chris Minns said he respected the Australian Turf Club’s decision, which blocked his $5bn bid to build 25,000 new homes and a Metro stop, but would keep fighting the backlash against new housing:
Governments have been too scared to take risks on housing because of the backlash from nimby groups. A city pays a price for that kind of timidity. And in Sydney, that price is being paid by our young people. …
We will keep supporting big bold solutions for housing. We will keep our foot on the accelerator.
He also gave special praise to the club’s chair, Peter McGuaran, and the Racing NSW chief executive, Peter V’Landys, both of whom championed the sale:
I didn’t know Peter V’Landys very well before I became premier, but he’s a do-er. He’s someone who grabs initiatives and pursues them. I think Sydney could do with ten Peter V’Landys rather than one.
Read the full report from our Anne Davies here:
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One dead and another missing after Sydney house fire
A person has died after a house fire in Sydney’s inner west early this morning and a second person is unaccounted for, emergency services have said.
Just after 4am today, a number of 000 calls were made alerting firefighters to a blaze on Irrara Street, Croydon, Fire and Rescue NSW’s Supt Adam Dewberry said.
Police said they found the body of a person inside the home and established a crime scene, investigating the circumstances surrounding the fire, which had caused extensive damage to the house. A second person is still yet to be located, Dewberry told Seven News:
A second person is still unaccounted for. We have significant roof collapse which is making getting those hotspots out difficult. …
[Firefighters] were actually forced back due to that intensity of the fire and the roof was starting to collapse.
Firefighters have extinguished the blaze. The body is yet to be formally identified and a report will be prepared for the coroner, police said.
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NSW establishes three-person panel to review Sydney Trains network
The New South Wales government has appointed a three-person panel to conduct its a “short and sharp” review of the Sydney Trains network in the wake of the commuter chaos that swept the city one week ago.
The premier, Chris Minns, said the review would look for improvements to maintenance, punctuality and communication with passengers after a live wire with enough voltage to instantly kill a human fell on top of a train, trapping 300 passengers onboard and grinding nearly all heavy rail lines across the network to a halt.
The expert panel will be made up of Carolyn Walsh, a former chief executive of the NSW Independent Transport Safety and Reliability Regulator; Kerry Schott, a former head of Sydney Water; and Trevor Armstrong, a former Ausgrid CEO.
While Walsh led a review of the network’s infrastructure and systems in 2023, the NSW transport minister, John Graham, said this review would not be a do-over:
The aim here is not to repeat the previous review of Carolyn Walsh but I am confident her detailed knowledge of this issue and Kerry Schott’s vast experience supported by Trevor Armstrong will ensure valuable new insights are delivered.
Sydney Trains is running its own investigation, including metallurgical analysis of the failed wire, and will report findings to the investigators, the government said in a statement.
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Thanks Martin Farrer for starting us off. I’ll take you through the rest of the day’s news.
Falling fuel costs and more seats drive down prices in Australia and the Asia-Pacific
Cheaper jet fuel and more seat availability have driven down prices for Australian jetsetters and the price relief is expected to continue, AAP report.
Domestic economy air fares were 12% cheaper in the first two months of 2025 than the same time last year, data compiled by corporate travel advisers FCM Consulting shows. That represents $29 off the average ticket price.
The price drop comes despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission claiming limited domestic competition was helping the country’s dominant airline groups – Qantas and Virgin – boost their profit margins.
Globally, jet fuel is down almost 17% compared to the 2024 average, driven in part by economic uncertainty from Donald Trump’s trade war. FCM Consulting’s director, Felicity Burke, said Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region had experienced sharper drops in fares compared with the rest of the world.
“We’ve been saying for a long time now that global capacity increases and other factors like jet barrel cost reductions would go hand-in-hand with air fare price drops in various regions, and this is one of several reasons that we’re now seeing this come to fruition,” she said.
Air fares for the “golden triangle” route between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane remained fairly flat – a consequence of higher demand.
Global capacity in May was 7% higher than 2019 and 5% higher than the same time last year. International economy air fares out of Australia dropped 5% in January and February compared with the same period last year, while business class tickets fell 3%.
Geelong region is country's most popular for internal migration, report claims
The greater Geelong region has become the country’s most popular destination among Australian movers after figures showed that it had taken the biggest share of net internal migration.
The latest regional movers index (RMI) report shows that in the 12 months to the March quarter, the greater Geelong local government area had a 9.3% share of total net internal migration, compared with 8.9% for the Sunshine Coast, which had topped the chart for the previous two years.
The figures reflect an increase in movement out of metropolitan areas to the regions, with capital city to regional relocations increasing by almost 11% on the previous quarter to sit 20.5% above the pre-Covid average.
The RMI is produced by the Regional Australia Institute and the Commonwealth Bank and analyses quarterly and annual trends in people moving to and from Australia’s regional areas.
Liz Ritchie, the chief executive of the RAI, said the data demonstrated the nation’s “love affair” with regional living was showing no signs of abating with 25% more people moving from capital cities to the regions, than back in the opposite direction.
The popularity of the Geelong region comes with a rise in the popularity of regional Victoria as a whole. The state captured 34% of the total net inflows into all of regional Australia during the March 2025 quarter, larger than the 28% share in the March 2024 quarter.
Josh Foster, acting executive general manager of regional and agribusiness banking at Commonwealth Bank, said the figures showed the vitality of Victoria.
It’s pleasing to see annual population growth is continuing to benefit Australia’s regional economy as more people are drawn to the lifestyle and employment opportunities found beyond metropolitan areas.
Greater Geelong has become the star performer due to its idyllic location, established services and range of employment opportunities.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top stories to start the day before Luca Ittimani takes the hot seat.
David Littleproud says he has “comfort” in the tweaks to the policy package that he will present to the Nationals party room, suggesting he expects a deal to reunite the Coalition will get the nod from his MPs and senators.
Pressure is building within Labor’s grassroots membership for the government to impose sanctions on Israel over its blockade of food and aid into Gaza, with an internal pro-Palestine group reporting “a surge in anger and frustration” among members. The issue has loomed large over the Sydney Writers’ festival and we report on how Israeli and Palestinian participants have tried to navigate what one called a “moral crisis”.
Plus: the Sunshine Coast is no longer the most popular destination for internal migrants, and the new city at the top of the list is a very different option. And new data shows that air fares are falling – but will it last?
