What we learned today, Friday 11 July
It’s time to wind down our live news coverage for the day. Here’s what’s been keeping us busy this Friday:
A key architect of the National Anti-Corruption Commission has called for a public update on the investigation into the illegal robodebt scheme, warning community confidence in the watchdog and its commissioner, Paul Brereton, is on the line.
The international human rights advocacy group Amnesty International has expressed concerns that Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism may undermine “fundamental civil and political rights, stifle protest, and risk deepening community division”.
The Victorian government is considering increasing testing for elderly drivers after a 91-year-old woman lost control of her car near a playground and struck three pedestrians, killing one.
Western Australia police are ruling out foul play as they continue searching for the missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga, saying they believe she may have walked into inhospitable bush after her van broke down.
The Australian government has secured the backing of at least eight members of the 21-country World Heritage committee as it lobbies to quell concerns about the impacts of industrial emissions on Indigenous rock art at Murujuga and have the Western Australian site inscribed on the world heritage list.
A Palestinian woman who arrived in Australia from Gaza has been detained by immigration authorities after a pre-dawn raid in Sydney.
Australia and the UK potentially face months of more uncertainty over the future of the Aukus agreement, amid expectations a snap Trump administration review of the nuclear submarines deal will extend well beyond its initial 30-day timeframe.
Thanks for unpacking the day with us.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce vows to wind back 'lunatic crusade' of net zero
The Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has vowed to wind back the “lunatic crusade” of net zero in a private member’s bill once parliament resumes later this month.
Joyce, who now sits as a backbencher within the Nationals, described the policy to reduce carbon emissions by 2050 to net zero as “treacherous” to Australia’s security in a post on Facebook this afternoon.
Private members’ bills are often not considered or debated and Joyce is certainly no stranger to climate change and net zero scepticism.
In 2023, Joyce labelled the estimated cost of net zero “utterly untenable” ahead of a Nationals motion to ditch the policy at the party conference. In 2015, Joyce teamed up with his now-retired colleague Keith Pitt to urge the Coalition to walk away from the Paris agreement and its associated climate targets.
In this afternoon’s post, Joyce claimed committing to net zero was akin to self-immolation unless the majority of countries “authentically” participated in it:
There is no more time to assess, to ponder, to nuance or to amend. Net Zero must be repealed and as such, I will, at my first opportunity bring forward a bill to do that.
Updated
Melbourne man accused of stealing van struck by police car before arrest
Victoria police has described the moment a man accused of stealing a car and evading officers jumped from the vehicle, before being struck by a police car.
According to police, the accused stole a vehicle on St Kilda Road in Melbourne while a man was washing it at a car wash. The vehicle was later spotted in Footscray and followed by a police helicopter.
A police spokesperson has alleged the man was driving erratically through several suburbs including Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Spotswood, Carnegie, Sunshine, Dandenong and Point Cook:
The van was involved in collisions with several parked and moving vehicles. At this stage, it is understood there are no serious injuries.
The spokesperson said the vehicle came to a stop after crashing into a street sign at an intersection in Point Cook.
The force said the man then leaped from the vehicle and was “struck by an unmarked police car”:
Looking at what happened, I don’t think anyone would have expected [him] to bail out of the window like he did when he did.
The 36-year-old Point Cook man sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Police say he was arrested and transported to hospital under police guard.
Updated
Democracy in Colour urges government to tackle all forms of racism
Democracy in Colour, an advocacy organisation led by people from racial and ethnic minorities, has urged the federal government to combat all forms of racism with equivalent urgency.
The group has raised concerns that the antisemitism’s envoy Jillian Segal’s recommendations to the federal government may be “ineffective in tackling racism comprehensively”.
Here’s the group’s national director, Noura Mansour:
Democracy in Colour stands firmly against all forms of discrimination: from systemic racism against First Nations people, to antisemitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Palestinian racism.
We also stand resolutely in defence of our civil rights as individuals, groups and communities to exercise our freedoms without fear of defunding, smearing, demonisation, or physical harm.
We call upon all marginalised communities to reject draconian measures designed to protect the powerful while suppressing dissent. Instead, we must work together to build bridges and unite behind the principles of human rights, equality, and justice for all.
Updated
Antisemitism plan goes ‘too far in some ways, and not far enough in others’, UN rapporteur says
Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, says Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism goes “too far in some ways, and not far enough in others”.
Saul believes the antisemitism envoy’s call for the widespread adoption of the definition of antisemitism prepared by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in 2016 is problematic:
Firstly, it was intended to be a non-binding monitoring and awareness raising tool, not an operational definition for disciplining staff or students, cutting funding to universities or arts institutions, censoring the media or excluding immigrants – strategies which appear similar to the Trump Administration’s.
Secondly, the IHRA approach is not consistent with human rights and excessively infringes on legitimate freedom of expression.
The IHRA approach is divisive and controversial, including among Jews.
This alone makes its adoption counter-productive, because it can never build the consensus necessary to unify national efforts to effectively combat antisemitism.
You can read the full piece from Saul here:
Updated
Nacc architect calls for public update on robodebt investigation
A key architect of the National Anti-Corruption Commission has called for a public update on the investigation into the illegal robodebt scheme, warning community confidence in the watchdog and its commissioner, Paul Brereton, is on the line.
The independent MP Helen Haines, who helped craft legislation to establish the Nacc and has sat as a member of a parliamentary oversight committee, said it had been “too secretive” in the first two years of operations, including over its investigation into the Coalition’s welfare payment recovery scheme.
As many as 440,000 Centrelink recipients were hounded over alleged incorrect payments, based on faulty income averaging algorithms.
Haines, the MP for the Victorian seat of Indi, said it was disappointing the commission had not provided transparency over its U-turn on a decision to investigate six individuals referred by the robodebt royal commission, after an independent review into its initial refusal.
Updated
We need more women in our party, Kovacic says
The Liberal senator Maria Kovacic says the party must consider whether its base reflects modern Australia and consider changes.
Here’s what she told the ABC a few moments ago:
One of the issues we need to look at is how our broader party base reflects modern Australia and then how that then leads into our parliamentary representation.
We need more women in our party. That’s an absolute fact. We only have six women in the lower house of our federal parliament.
Updated
Government has recognised stronger regulation of childcare is needed, Thistlethwaite says
Matt Thistlethwaite has also told the ABC the federal government has recognised that stronger regulation of the childcare sector is needed to protect children:
Obviously we’re going to have to do more. We’ve realised that as a government.
The education minister, Jason Clare, has convened a meeting of state education ministers. That was the major topic of discussion.
We know we need to strengthen the regulations [and] look at things like a register of childcare workers, greater checks on their backgrounds and the like. We’ll do what it takes to ensure the safety of children and the welfare of parents.
Updated
‘PBS is off the table’ in Trump trade talks, Thistlethwaite says
The assistant foreign minister, Matt Thistlethwaite, has continued to outline the federal government’s commitment to safeguarding the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Donald Trump has threatened to impose 200% tariffs on drug imports to the US, amid growing warnings the president’s growing trade war will seriously damage the global economy.
Thistlethwaite says Australian diplomats will try to negotiate to remove those tariffs, but will not negotiate on the operations of the PBS, which he described as “off the table”. Here’s what he told the ABC:
When you look at the Australian healthcare system, there’s two fundamental foundations: Medicare and the PBS.
They have produced one of the best healthcare systems in the world, where Australians enjoy relatively high living standards and healthier outcomes compared to the rest of the world.
We’re not going to jeopardise that in any way. So we’ve said we’re happy to negotiate on other issues, but the PBS is off the table.
Updated
Police rule out foul play in search for missing German backpacker
Western Australia police are ruling out foul play as they continue searching for the missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga, saying they believe she may have walked into inhospitable bush after her van broke down.
Police on Thursday found Wilga’s abandoned Mitsubishi van about 150km from Beacon in the Karroun Hill area, which has been described as remote and inhospitable country.
The van is believed to have suffered mechanical issues, and police believe Wilga may have walked away from her vehicle.
The 26-year-old last had contact with friends on 29 June after travelling through the towns of Toodyay and Dowerin, south-west of Beacon, earlier in the day.
Acting Insp Jessica Securo said that an inexperienced person could easily become lost in the remote location.
Securo told ABC News:
The terrain is outback country and there are large, rocky outcrops.
So although there’s a number of tracks, you can see how it would be easy to become lost or disoriented in that area if you didn’t know it well.
Updated
Amnesty International expresses concerns about antisemitism plan
The international human rights advocacy group Amnesty International has expressed concerns that Jillian Segal’s plan to combat antisemitism may undermine “fundamental civil and political rights, stifle protest, and risk deepening community division”.
The antisemitism envoy’s recommendations to the federal government, released on Thursday, include a series of sweeping recommendations, such as launching a “university report card” and withholding government funding from universities, cultural institutions and festivals that “facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism” – a move she later clarified was a “last resort”.
Mohamed Duar from Amnesty International Australia has outlined the group’s opposition:
Restricting freedom of expression and assembly is not a plan to combat antisemitism – it is an outrageous and blatant act of repression designed to stifle demands for human rights for Palestinians enduring genocide, occupation and apartheid. This dangerous plan is designed not to protect communities, but to shield Israel from criticism.
There is a real risk this plan will be weaponised to censor protest and dissent, particularly against the atrocities unfolding in Gaza. Far from addressing antisemitism, it threatens activism and shuts down calls for accountability and justice.
Conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism not only undermines freedom of expression but weakens the fight against genuine antisemitism, and further fuels racial division and fear.
Updated
Court reveals why mushroom trial was held in Morwell, not Melbourne
Victoria’s supreme court has provided some clarity as to why the trial of Erin Patterson was held in Morwell, not in Melbourne as initially proposed by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Criminal Procedure Act states a trial “is to be held in the court sitting at the place that is nearest to the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed, unless an order is made under Section 192”.
In July last year, an application was made to hold the trial in Melbourne as Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died at Austin hospital, in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg.
But information provided by the supreme court on Friday reveals Justice Jane Dixon believed the place of death should not determine where the trial would be held.
Her decision considered whether holding the trial in Melbourne, rather than closer to Leongatha, would lead to the local community being “disenfranchised from the trial process”:
Whilst not disputing the director [of prosecutions] entitlement to frame the offence date and location based on date and place of death, I do not regard this fact as leading to the interpretation that that is where the offence is alleged to have been committed.
In fact, as a matter of common sense (…) the Crown will submit to the jury that by the time [Erin Patterson] had administered the luncheon food to the three deceased, she had, on their case, committed the actus reus for murder.”
The term actus reus refers to the conduct or action that is a constituent element of the crime.
The offending will be alleged in the Crown’s opening statements to have been committed in Leongatha notwithstanding that the offence was allegedly completed by the death of the three alleged victims in Heidelberg.”
Updated
Mental health advocate calls for police apology for attack on woman
The peak body representing people with mental health challenges in NSW has called for the state’s top cop to issue a public apology after revelations two officers pepper-sprayed and dragged a schizophrenic woman by her hair in Sydney in 2023.
It has also called for the independent police watchdog to launch a critical incident investigation.
A naked woman suffering a mental health episode was punched, kicked, dragged by her hair and pepper-sprayed by two NSW police officers who have admitted using unlawful force.
Sen Const Nathan Black and Const Timothy John Trautsch were in plainclothes when they made a welfare check on a 48-year-old schizophrenic woman at Emu Plains on 22 January 2023.
Video footage played at a sentence hearing at Penrith district court on Thursday shows the pair’s violence escalating during an 18-minute assault against the woman.
Mental health organisation Being urged the NSW acting police commissioner, Peter Thurtell, to issue an apology.
It also urged action from the NSW government to implement alternatives to police-led mental health crisis responses.
The chief executive of Being, Giancarlo de Vera, said:
This case highlights another example of systemic discrimination against mental health consumers and reinforces the urgent need for a NSW Human Rights Act, so that basic human rights of NSW citizens are enshrined in law.
Updated
Vulnerable sea eagle egg joy captured on camera
A 16-year project to observe sea eagle breeding has spotted the first pair of eggs laid for the 2025 season.
A project called Sea-EagleCAM monitors the nest and its resident pair of white-bellied sea eagles, and captured two eggs laid in an 80-hour period starting on 4 July.
The sea eagle nest is in Sydney Olympic Park, more than 20km from the home of the namesake rugby league team on the city’s northern beaches.
The eggs are expected to hatch in about 40 days.
Bird lovers tuning in to Sea-EagleCAM for the incubation period can expect to see both the male and female birds sharing time incubating the eggs and bringing food back to the nest for each other.
Once the chicks start to poke their way through, they come into the world with no help from mum and dad.
Sea-EagleCAM operator Birdlife Southern NSW monitors the nation’s second-largest raptor, which has a wingspan of more than 2 metres, to gain insight into how the birds operate in the wild.
– AAP
Updated
Fire ants found in central Queensland as advocates condemn government ‘dithering’
Fire ants have been found for the first time in central Queensland, according to the Invasive Species Council, raising fears Australia is losing its chance to eradicate the pest amid government “dithering” on funding.
The council said a major fire ant outbreak had been confirmed at BHP’s Broadmeadow coalmine, about 150km inland from Mackay.
The invasive species can kill people and livestock, and damage infrastructure and ecosystems. Fire ants were found in New South Wales in 2023.
The advocacy manager at the Invasive Species Council, Reece Pianta, said:
I am incredibly angry about this. This is not bad luck, it’s a spectacular failure because of known gaps in funding, enforcement and surveillance.
Australia’s last chance to eradicate deadly fire ants is being destroyed because Australia’s governments are dithering and delaying critical funding increases.
We have warned for 2 years that there is a major gap in funding for suppression, with nest densities off the charts south of Brisbane.
The Senate inquiry found this. The independent program review found this. The Queensland Government has raised this. The federal biosecurity department knows this.
Pianta said every time the issues have been raised “the message we get back is that new funding is just around the corner if only we will be patient”.
Well, the time is up. If Australia’s governments do not immediately step in with extra suppression funding, then they are condemning huge parts of Australia to a permanent fire ant future.
Eradication requires a $2bn commitment, and experts warned those costs pale in comparison to the impacts of a nationwide infestation.
More here:
Updated
More on the review of corporate governance at the University of Canberra.
The National Tertiary Education Union said there were “still a lot of unanswered questions” in the review, including why UC had five vice-chancellors in 14 months.
The NTEU ACT division secretary, Dr Lachlan Clohesy, said the recommendations did speak to assessing the performance of university executives, but oversight of conduct was also important:
Notwithstanding the recommendation on the size of Council, we have been engaged in constructive discussions with UC and the ACT government on increasing staff representation. We are encouraged that Bill Shorten has previously expressed his support for more staff representation in UC staff Town Halls.
We hope UC seizes this opportunity to go beyond the recommendations and become an exemplar of good governance in higher education.
Updated
University of Canberra review finds staff feel ‘shut down’
A review into corporate governance at the University of Canberra (UC) has found staff felt “shut down” and feared speaking up lest it have negative consequences on their careers, warning greater transparency and trust is needed to restore the institution’s reputation.
The review was initiated by the newly installed vice-chancellor, Bill Shorten, earlier this year and led by the former chief scientist and ANU vice-chancellor Prof Ian Chubb and former deputy chancellor at the University of Wollongong Sue Chapman.
It followed a “significant deterioration” in the university’s operating position, UC noted, “with the impact of financial challenges amplified by instability in university leadership”. About 150 staff have been let go as part of its redundancy program.
The review found a culture of confidence and trust needed to be improved among staff:
Faculty and management staff in faculties said they felt they were ‘shut down’, invalidated or told to put up with things … Staff feel reticent to speak up for fear of being shut down or negative consequences for their careers … If this continues, the university runs the risk of losing good staff.
Shorten said the review would “shape the way” UC approached governance and leadership:
The University needs to be agile and responsive to the dynamic environment we operate in. We will need to operate effectively with a reduced workforce, embrace change in the way we work, and trust our staff to make decisions supported by appropriate accountability measures. This will ensure our success.
Updated
Man charged over allegedly stalking radio host Jackie O
A man faced court today after he was charged over allegedly stalking the KIIS FM radio host Jackie O Henderson.
David Gourlay, 38, was arrested on 4 July and later charged with four counts of stalk/intimidate with intent to cause fear or physical harm.
He was also charged with one count of using a carriage service to menace/harass/offend, one count of being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, and one count of possessing an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence.
Police said Gourlay was arrested at Clovelly at about 10.30am on Friday 4 July, and was taken to hospital for assessment.
Yesterday he was discharged from hospital and placed back in police custody.
He was refused bail and was set to appear before to Waverley local court today.
Updated
Search intensifies for missing German backpacker
The search for a missing German backpacker has ramped up after her abandoned van was found in remote outback bushland. Carolina Wilga was last seen in the general store in the Western Australian Wheatbelt town of Beacon about noon on 29 June, some 300km north-east of Perth.
The 26-year-old, who had been travelling and working in Australia for about two years, told friends she intended to explore regional WA. Her disappearance triggered a nationwide search after a desperate plea for help from her mother amid concerns for her daughter’s safety.
Police on Thursday found Wilga’s Mitsubishi van about 150km from Beacon in the Karroun Hill area. The van is believed to have suffered mechanical issues. The area has been described as remote and inhospitable.
WA police Acting Insp Jessica Securo said an inexperienced person could easily become lost in the remote location. Police are using aircraft to search for Wilga due to the difficult terrain.
– AAP
Updated
Bluey coin bandits wait to learn fate over coin theft
Two men will spend months behind bars before learning their fate after stealing more than 60,000 unreleased coins celebrating a popular Australian cartoon.
Steven John Neilson, 47, and Nassar Kanj, 45, stole a 500kg pallet of 63,000 limited edition Bluey coins from a western Sydney warehouse in June 2024.
Both have pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter, and committing an indictable offence in company to steal more than $60,000.
The pair were given an 8 October date for sentencing in Parramatta District Court on Friday. The prosecutors will have until 26 September to file submissions with the defence to respond by 3 October.
The stolen coins were created by the Australian Mint for a special release in September 2024. Imprinted were characters of the popular Logie-winning kids’ television show Bluey.
Updated
AMA welcomes new guidelines for prescribing medicinal cannabis
The Australian Medical Association has welcomed updated guidelines that aim to address poor prescribing practices of medicinal cannabis.
The updated guidelines were released by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) in the wake of a surge in prescriptions for the Schedule 8 medicine and increasing reports of patient harm, including psychosis.
The AMA president, Dr Danielle McMullen, said the surge had been driven by new direct-to-consumer, single-issue telehealth models. She said:
Current regulatory schemes were designed for a different healthcare system, built around in-person consultations and community pharmacy dispensing, but the landscape has changed significantly.
The rise of the telehealth phenomenon has led to certain models that bypass traditional regulatory frameworks, posing risks to individual patients and the health system more broadly.
These direct-to-consumer, single-issue telehealth models lack clear referral pathways or a feedback loop to GPs and other referrers.
Updated
A Jewish community group in Sydney has called out Jillian Segal’s proposal to tackle antisemitism as “Trumpian” and said it “strongly rejects” the recommendations.
Jewish Voices of Inner Sydney said in a statement that it urged the government to reject Jillian Segal’s recommendation to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism and “her extraordinary proposal to be empowered to unilaterally defund our universities and cultural institutions”.
The group also argued that Segal is “formally linking Australian Jews to Israel” and that this action “may increase antisemitism in the community”.
The group wrote:
Segal’s plan is similar to the actions by the Trump administration. She proposes to use the IHRA definition to force universities and cultural institutions to pull back from discussion about Israel and Palestine by threatening to withdraw government funding.
Without evidence or any specific examples, Segal insists that Australians are being fed biased and distorted narratives about Israel. It seems clear that Segal feels that reporting and discussion that is critical of Israel is inherently biased against Israel.
At the same time she is promoting a definition of antisemitism that overtly links Australian Jews to Israel. Australians are broadly aware that Israel is active in a what the International Court of Justice described as a plausible genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. In this context, Segal formally linking Australian Jews to Israel may increase antisemitism in the community.
‘It is not as simple as just putting up cameras’
Lizzie Blandthorn has been asked why the Victorian government has not committed to making CCTV surveillance cameras in childcare centres mandatory, given her belief they would improve child safety.
Blandthorn says it is important the installation, use and storage of surveillance footage be carefully considered before being mandated. This is currently under consideration.
We want the review to look at questions about how you would safely store the information.
CCTV would act as a deterrent, but there are questions that need to be answered about how you safely install it and store the information and where that information goes.
It is not as simple as just putting up cameras. There are questions that need to be answered about the best way to do that. But we are absolutely interested in those questions because the police have told us that CCTV would be a deterrent.
Updated
Victorian minister for children backs CCTV cameras in childcare centres
The Victorian minister for children, Lizzie Blandthorn, has said she personally supports CCTV surveillance cameras being installed in childcare centres to act as a deterrent to protect children.
Blandthorn said the mandatory installation of surveillance cameras was being considered at a national level and that it was important for a uniform approach to be adopted across the country.
The Victorian government has announced a rapid review of the childcare sector designed to improve child safety in the wake of sexual abuse allegations.
Blandthorn has told reporters that CCTV would help keep children safe in childcare centres.
I personally think that CCTV would act as a deterrent and police have told me that it will act as a deterrent.
It is part of a national reform work and I am interested in ways we could bring CCTV forward so that we can keep children safe.
Updated
Anti-Islamophobia envoy to send ‘comprehensive’ list of recommendations to Albanese
The federal Islamophobia envoy has announced he will “imminently” share recommendations to address anti-Muslim hate, a day after the antisemitism envoy shared her own list.
Aftab Malik, Australia’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia, announced he would soon share a “comprehensive” list of recommendations to prime minister Anthony Albanese – a submission he said was “imminent”:
My recommendations have been informed by conversations with more than 100 Muslim leaders and representatives including; experts on Islamophobia, youth, women, religious leaders, community leaders, Islamic societies and peak bodies from across Australia.
Through this engagement, I listened firsthand to the painful, often raw experiences, of Islamophobia that many Muslim Australians face as part of their daily life. My recommendations are built from extensive dialogue with academics and specialists from diverse disciplines, including social cohesion, hate crime prevention, and public policy.
Malik said he would call for a “whole-of-government approach”, adding that tackling Islamophobia would need a coordinated effort across and all levels of society.
My goal is to ensure that Islamophobia is understood and is actioned by Australian society as a collective priority. Action that results in education, community engagement, law enforcement and policy reform.
It comes a day after antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal announced her own list of 49 recommendations to the federal government. Albanese said his government would consider the list and provide a response in due course.
Updated
Eight countries back Australia’s push to add WA rock art to World Heritage list
The Australian government has secured the backing of at least eight members of the 21-country World Heritage committee as it lobbies to quell concerns about the impacts of industrial emissions on Indigenous rock art at Murujuga and have the Western Australia site inscribed on the World Heritage list.
The federal environment minister, Murray Watt, has been in Paris for the meeting since Wednesday, alongside a delegation from the WA state government and the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, which has led the nomination.
The committee is due to make a decision on the inscription of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape on Friday night or early Saturday, Australia time. Indigenous groups have been pushing for the nomination for two decades.
UN advisers, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), has said the site is deserving of world heritage status but in May recommended the committee refer the nomination back to Australia over concerns the site is “extremely vulnerable to industrial pollution”.
Updated
Bob Brown praises 'courage, integrity and advocacy' of Hannah Thomas in newspaper ad wishing her full recovery
More on Hannah Thomas and the injury she sustained to her eye during an interaction with police at a pro-Palestine protest:
The former Greens leader Bob Brown took out an ad in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning wishing Thomas a “speedy and full recovery”.
Brown, the co-founder of the Bob Brown Foundation, wrote:
You also stood against PM Albanese as the Greens candidate for Grayndler, offering voters options including Australia acting more assertively to end the death toll and human misery in Gaza. You did not win, but well done.
I salute your courage, integrity and advocacy of a fair go.
I trust Anthony Albanese will have the ordinary Aussie decency to also contact you soon and wish you well.
Updated
Hannah Thomas says 'long road ahead' for eye injured during Sydney protest
The former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas, who was injured during an interaction with police at a pro-Palestine protest, has said it could be months before she knows how much sight she will recover in her right eye.
Police arrested and later charged Thomas after the 35-year-old attended a protest in Sydney on 27 June that was attended by about 60 people. She was subsequently taken to hospital and expressed fears she could lose sight in her right eye.
Thomas was a Greens candidate who ran against Anthony Albanese at the federal election.
Thomas told Guardian Australia she underwent a second surgery yesterday and was recovering well. However, she said it could be months before she knows how much of her sight she will recover.
“It’s a long road ahead,” Thomas said.
Last week, New South Wales police dropped a charge against Thomas that relied on a rarely used emergency power introduced in the wake of the 2005 Cronulla riots. Police said Thomas would instead face an additional charge of refusing or failing to comply with a direction – alongside her charge of resisting police.
Updated
Victoria’s acting premier addresses fatal crash involving elderly driver
Victoria’s acting premier Ben Carroll held a press conference earlier this morning to spruik the government’s neighbourhood battery program. He was also asked about a fatal crash in Wantirna South yesterday, which involved a 91-year-old driver.
Police say the 91-year-old woman lost control of her Toyota Yaris hatchback on Coleman Road, Wantirna South, about 12.20pm on Thursday, which struck three pedestrians before driving through a fence. A woman died and a two-year-old boy and a man were seriously injured.
Asked generally if elderly Victorians should have to prove their fitness to drive, Carroll replied:
My heart, as every Victorians, just breaks for this family and what they’re going through, and our thoughts are with them.
In relation to people that are elderly and driving, I think it is a valid question that you raise around testing. I will work with the road safety minister on this.
There are a range of initiatives in place through our general practitioners right around Victoria when it comes to making sure that Victorians continue to get tested for their driver’s license.
But I think this, no doubt this tragedy has brought it into focus. Having said that there will be a thorough investigation underway, and we’ll wait for that to run its course, but our thoughts are with all involved at the moment.
Updated
‘We keep Australians safe. That is what we do’
Staying with the prime minister’s press conference. Anthony Albanese was also asked about the Jillian Segal’s report and the recommendation to screen visa applicants for antisemitism.
Albanese was asked if agreed with Segal that “if someone who suggests that the state of Israel should be eliminated, that is an antisemitic view, and they should be deported”. He responded:
We have our system which goes through security clearances, and that’s a condition that with that, we make across the board, we examine whether someone’s an appropriate person to be granted a visa to Australia. We we assess people on the basis of our national security assessments. We do that across the board. We keep Australians safe. That is what we do.
Albanese also said that the government already screens for antisemitic views, and pointed to US rapper and artist Kanye West was recently barred from travelling to Australia after the release of his widely condemned song Heil Hitler.
Updated
Albanese asked about Palestinian woman detained in Sydney raid
Anthony Albanese was asked during the press conference about the Palestinian who was detained by immigration authorities after a pre-dawn raid in Sydney this morning.
The prime minister said that had had a briefing about the incident, but would not say more because “we don’t talk about national security issues”.
Maha Almassri left Gaza via Rafah in February 2024 and entered Australia on a tourist visa a short time later, Mohammed said. She has been living with her son since.
This morning after a pre-dawn raid, she was told she had failed a visa character check and taken to Bankstown police station and then transferred to Villawood detention centre.
More on Maha Almassri here:
In a document seen by Guardian Australia, Almassri was told her visa had been cancelled “personally” by the assistant minister for citizenship and cultural affairs and that the minister “reasonably suspects that the person does not pass the character test” and was “satisfied that the cancellation was in the national interest”.
According to the Migration Act, a person does not pass the character test if they have been assessed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) to be a direct or indirect risk to security.
A separate document seen by the Guardian suggested Almassri was granted a bridging visa in June last year after applying for a protection visa.
The grandmother has more than 100 Australian relatives living across the country, her family has said.
Updated
Albanese speaks to reporters ahead of China trip
Anthony Albanese is speaking to media now ahead of his visit to China this weekend.
Asked about expanding trade opportunities with China, he said:
We will engage constructively across a range of issues and a range of potentials that is there. In areas such as green energy, there is a real prospect of further engagement.
There will be a round table in which Australian and Chinese businesses will be interacting.
Updated
Pro-Palestine protest to again be held outside Sydney electroplating business
A pro-Palestine protest will again be held at the site where Hannah Thomas was injured during an interaction with police.
Organisers have said the protest, which will be held today outside SEC Plating in Sydney, will be to demonstrate against the business’s alleged manufacturing of parts in the F-35 jet program. SEC Plating has denied it manufactures parts in the F-35 jet program.
Organisers said they will also be demonstrating against “police powers applied” during the recent protest where Thomas and four others were charged.
Thomas, a former Greens candidate, who ran against Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the federal election, was charged alongside four others after attending a recent protest outside the business.
During an interaction with police, Thomas sustained an injury to her right eye. She recently underwent a second surgery.
NSW police said after a preliminary review of body-worn video of her arrest that there was no information to indicate misconduct. It has launched a critical investigation into the incident which will be overseen by the independent police watchdog.
Updated
Elderly driver still to be questioned over fatal crash in Melbourne
A woman is dead and a child has been seriously injured after an elderly driver allegedly lost control of her car, hitting three pedestrians before ploughing through a fence near a playground.
The Toyota Yaris, driven by the 91-year-old woman, mounted the footpath on Coleman Road at Wantirna South in Melbourne’s east on Thursday afternoon.
Three people – a 59-year-old woman, a man, 60, and a two-year-old boy – were hit by the car after the she lost control.
The woman died at the scene.
Both the boy and the man were taken to hospital with serious or life-threatening injuries.
The driver was treated for minor injuries in hospital and was still to be interviewed by detectives as of Friday morning.
Superintendent Justin Goldsmith said Victoria police were yet to confirm the relationship between the victims but it was believed they were related.
The trio was walking in the same direction as the car was travelling when it struck them.
The out-of-control car continued down the road for another 200 metres, hitting a street sign and smashing through a fence before coming to a stop near a playground.
– via Australian Associated Press
Updated
Sydney man charged with threatening a federal politician on social media
A Sydney man has been charged with threatening a federal politician after allegedly making threats on social media during the election.
The Australian federal police (AFP) said the man would face Downing Centre local court in Sydney today after an investigation began in March 2025. Police said the Kingswood man made the threat against the unnamed parliamentarian on social media before the 2025 federal election.
Police said:
After a forensic examination of the man’s devices, which were seized during the search warrant, the man was issued with a court attendance notice to face one count of threatening to cause harm to Commonwealth public official, contrary to section 147.2(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
The offence carries a maximum penalty of nine years’ imprisonment.
The AFP’s acting commander Mark Baron said:
The AFP supports freedom of speech and political expression, but I want to make it clear we will never tolerate criminal behaviour, including threats and harassment.
Updated
Australian dollar hits nine-month high against USD
The Aussie dollar has reached its strongest against the greenback in nine months, rising about half a penny overnight to just over US65.9 cents in early trade.
Besides a brief plunge coinciding with Donald Trump’s shock tariff announcements in early April, the Australian currency has strengthened by US4 cents through 2025, despite growing alarm around the potential fallout from Trump’s erratic trade policy.
But Joseph Capurso, CBA’s head of international economics, warned that the “complacency” in global financial markets - Wall Street pushed to a new record high overnight - meant that the Aussie was “at risk of sharp falls over the next few months”.
Futures trading suggests the local sharemarket will open 0.3% higher when the ASX opens this morning.
Updated
Civil liberties council says antisemitism plan does not ‘strike the right balance’
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has claimed the recommendations of antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal do not “strike the right balance”, warning some could silence protest.
Segal’s 49 recommendations, handed down yesterday, include calls for stronger hate speech laws; changes to social media algorithms and AI; threatening funding and grants for universities, academics, and arts or cultural bodies; and a plan to “monitor media organisations … to avoid accepting false or distorted narratives”.
Timothy Roberts, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, claimed governments nationwide were seeking to “pass laws and policies repressing legitimate political speech to silence protest and prevent assembly.”
He said:
This is all happening in circumstances where legitimate criticism of the Government of Israel is being conflated with antisemitism. Sometimes wilfully.
This report, made by an unelected envoy, has many recommendations that do not adequately acknowledge this context, nor does it strike the right balance. If the Government does not adequately address these issues our civil liberties will be undermined and our community only further divided.
Updated
Proposed antisemitism definition could have ‘chilling effect on people who criticise Israeli policies’, expert says
A proposal for the Australia government to adopt a controversial definition on antisemitism could lead to a “chilling effect on people who criticise Israeli policies”, according to Prof Ben Saul.
Saul, a University of Sydney expert and a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, appeared on ABC Radio National a short time ago where he was asked about Jillian Segal’s proposal to tackle antisemitism.
Saul explained that while the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition itself is “pretty bland and doesn’t actually tell you all that much”, there is an issue with the “whole bunch of examples which are given underneath that definition to guide its implementation”.
He continued:
The problem with those is that some of those examples are very vague. They conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, and they lead, in practice, to a kind of real chilling effect on people who criticise Israeli policies.
Certainly there’s been a really disturbing increase in anti semitic acts in Australia and governments and others in society. Need to do more to combat that. The Holocaust Remembrance definition is absolutely not an appropriate way to go about doing that.
It’s not consistent with international human rights law.
Segal appeared earlier on ABC Radio National a little earlier and was asked about claims by Kenneth Stern, the lead drafter of the laws, that the definition was being weaponised and was never intended to be used as a hate speech code.
Segal responded that we had moved on from that debate.
Asked whether we had moved on from it, Saul said:
Well, she obviously has. The rest of the world certainly hasn’t.
And of course, that point is a critical one, because it was designed as a kind of awareness raising and educative tool, but now it’s going to be used as a kind of real world disciplinary tool, to sack academics, to strip money from universities and arts organisations. And if that’s the case, definitions then need to be really precise. I mean, you need lawyers to draft them.
Updated
‘That definition is the globally accepted definition of antisemitism’
Sticking with Jillian Segal, who yesterday released her proposal to tackle antisemitism.
Segal was asked on ABC Radio National about her recommendation for the Australia government to adopt the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.
It was pointed out during the interview that Kenneth Stern, the lead drafter of the definition, has said it is being weaponised and that he never intended it to be a hate speech code. Stern has said he created it so European Data Collectors could know what to include and exclude when collecting data on antisemitism.
Asked if, given Stern’s concerns, Segal had sought his views about the definition before making the recommendation, she responded: “I certainly didn’t.”
She continued:
The train has moved on that way, and Kevin Stern has been left behind. That definition is the globally accepted definition of antisemitism around the world. Of course, there are always criticisms, but there are criticisms of everything.
Here is an opinion piece that Stern wrote for the Guardian about the definition being applied to US university campuses in 2019. In it he says: “It was never intended to be a campus hate speech code” and doing so would “harm not only pro-Palestinian advocates, but also Jewish students and faculty”.
Updated
Jillian Segal questioned on antisemitism measures
The federal government’s expert adviser on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, is speaking on ABC Radio National about her proposal to combat antisemitism.
She was asked about criticism from the Jewish Council of Australia – a group of progressive Jewish academics and teachers and writers and lawyers – that say the document “reads more like a blueprint for silencing dissent rather than building inclusion”.
Segal responded:
That’s not true. OK, the document is a whole of society document which focuses on educating people about what antisemitism is.
There are hot spots where we have some entrenched, I would say antisemitism, but certainly hatred, and we need to tackle those areas specifically, like universities.
Updated
‘Hell or heaven?’: Albanese urged to visit Tibet while in China
The political leader of the central Tibetan administration – Tibet’s government in exile – is visiting Australia this week.
It comes as Anthony Albanese heads to China this weekend.
Sikyong Penpa Tsering appeared on ABC News Breakfast a short time ago, where he urged the prime minister to visit Tibet while in China.
It is not enough to have freedom only in a few countries in this world. Freedom is necessary for every human being in this world.
When prime minister Albanese’s visiting there, I would urge him to also say that he would like to visit Tibet.
China says there is no Tibet problem and that Tibet is a socialist paradise. If that is the case, why don’t you allow prime minister Albanese to see the paradise for himself and check out whether it is hell or heaven?
Tsering said he is in Australia to meet with the Tibetan community, of which there is more than 3,000 living in Australia.
Updated
House prices at record highs in almost half of all suburbs, data shows
Housing market values in almost half of all Australian suburbs are at all-time highs – and plenty more are expected to join them, the Australian Associated Press reports.
In a sure sign the housing market has recovered, property platform Cotality, formerly known as CoreLogic, released data today showing record values in almost 45% of suburbs.
Queensland’s market is booming with almost four-in-five (78%) suburbs in Brisbane at peak dwelling values and regional markets in the state about the same mark.
Three-quarters of Perth’s suburbs have hit record values, as have 61% of Adelaide’s.
“While national indices provide a macro view, suburb-level data shows how widespread this growth phase really is,” Cotality economist Kaytlin Ezzy said.
“The fact that so many suburbs are either at or just shy of their peak shows not only the diverse recovery in markets like Sydney and Melbourne, but also the continued resilience of recent hotspots including Brisbane, Perth and regional Australia.”
The property data firm has predicted the proportion of suburbs at peak value will rise above half in the coming months on the back of national dwelling value growth in June.
In Australia’s most expensive housing market, 37% of Sydney suburbs were at record highs, while just 13% of Melbourne’s reached new highs.
At the other end of the spectrum, only one suburb in Hobart and 8% of suburbs in Canberra reached peak prices.
Updated
Explainer: what is Australia’s proposed antisemitism plan – and why are some parts causing concern?
If you want to understand more about what the federal government’s expert adviser on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, has proposed to tackle antisemitism, my colleague Josh Butler has explained it below.
While parts of the plan have bipartisan political support, others are more contested, with concerns raised by legal groups about impingements on free speech and genuine criticism.
Updated
Antisemitism plan must not override press freedom or artistic expression, union says
Commenting on Jillian Segal’s remarks on 7.30 (see below), the peak union body for media and the arts says the special envoy to antisemitism’s plan must not override press freedom or artistic expression.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) welcomed the prime minister’s willingness to address the issue and the release of the plan, but said laws to deal with racism already existed.
Courts, as well as human rights and anti-discrimination commissions, have the capacity to handle complaints and determine recommended penalties or other remedies.
Under the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics, members have a responsibility to report responsibly on matters of race, religion, culture, and ethnicity ... it is essential that ethical, fair, and public interest reporting is maintained through the
upholding of the Code of Ethics and rigorous journalistic standards, not through external regulation by government bodies, lobby groups, or corporate interests.
When external groups seek to limit or influence the way in which journalism is told, press freedom and democratic discourse come under threat.
Updated
Good morning, I’ll be taking you through our live rolling coverage of the news today.
As always, if you see anything you’d like to draw my attention to, you’re welcome to email me at jordyn.beazley@theguardian.com.
Warmer seas could bring more sharks to popular Australian beaches
Sharks are spending longer than ever off the coast of some popular Australian beaches, increasing the risk of interactions between the apex predators and humans, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Research has found bull sharks are spending 15 more days off Sydney’s coast during summer than they did 15 years ago, due to warmer water temperatures caused by climate change.
The migratory sharks typically spend their winters in Queensland, chasing warming water before heading back to Sydney for some summer sun.
But James Cook University experts have warned the rising water temperatures in New South Wales have increased the potential for human-shark encounters.
With seas continuing to warm, the sharks could have a presence in southern parts of NSW on a year-long basis in the future, researcher Nicolas Lubitz said.
If this trend persists, which it likely will, it just means these animals are going to spend more and more time towards their seasonal distributional limit ... it could be that a few decades from now, maybe bull sharks are present year-round in waters off Sydney.
While the chances of a shark bite, and shark bites in Australia in general, remain low, it just means people have to be more aware of an increased window of bull shark presence.
However, Lubitz added great white shark summer habitats were likely decreasing in northern NSW and Queensland because they prefer cold water.
Updated
Jillian Segal was also asked about new federal government powers proposed in the plan to cancel the funding of universities if they promoted or failed to act against antisemitism.
Segal said “the most important thing is that universities cooperate in a whole-of-sector initiative, which they are doing”.
They are very positive about doing this, OK? And all it says is that that’s what we will work on together. But if universities do not do that, then we also have to look at using funding ... Many people have communicated to me that they do not want their own money – money that comes to the government from their taxes – being used to fund hate.
Updated
Jillian Segal quizzed on media's 'false or distorted narratives'
The government’s special envoy for antisemitism, Jillian Segal, didn’t list any failures of public broadcasters that would require her intervention, after calling for a role monitoring the ABC and the SBS in her plan to combat antisemitism.
Appearing on ABC’s 7.30 on Thursday evening, Segal was asked by the presenter, Sarah Ferguson, about her comments about monitoring “false or distorted narratives” in the media.
What false or distorted narratives do you have in mind?
She replied she didn’t have “anything particular” in mind.
[The] ABC and SBS are very important elements in our society - public broadcasters that many people watch and that are seen as important and trusted sources of news. And I think that they are important elements of communication that need to be looked at and encouraged to look at multiple sources of truth rather than one particular view.
Pressed on what “false and distorted narratives” public broadcasters had peddled, Segal said “there have been lots of complaints that have been made to the ABC about particular programs or particular issues where they’ve only shown one side, let’s say, of the debate in the Middle East, and not the other side of the debate”.
A spokesperson for the ABC told Guardian Australia it had a “strong and transparent system of self-regulation” and “a transparent complaint system available to audiences through an independent ombudsman”.
Updated
Former councillor for Ashfield tapped as new US ambassador to Malaysia
An Australian-born former councillor for Ashfield has been picked by Donald Trump as the new US ambassador to Malaysia.
In a post to X, Nick Adams thanked the US president for the “honor of a lifetime” adding that “In your America, all dreams come true”.
It will be my honor to represent the United States of America in Malaysia.
To the esteemed Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I look forward to a confirmation process that is at the heart of the Constitution that has given me the freedom to pursue the American Dream.
Thank you again to our Greatest President Ever!
God Bless the United States of America!
Adams, who has described himself as an “alpha male”, was cast into the US spotlight after Trump tweeted that his book, “Green Card Warrior: My Quest for Legal Immigration in an Illegals’ System,” was a “must read.”
Adams, who became a US citizen in 2021, was threatened with suspension from the Liberal party after an interaction with a journalist in 2009, but he later reportedly said he had quit the party.
Updated
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you some of the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Jordyn Beazley to pick up the slack.
The antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, faced tough questions about her recommendations for action to tackle the problem when she appeared on the ABC’s 7.30 last night. She was pressed about her claim that the media was guilty of “distorted narratives” and about her suggestion that some universities could see their funding cancelled if they were seen to fail to tackle antisemitism on campuses. More coming up.
In another sign that house prices are recovering quickly, new figures released this morning show that the value of homes in almost half of all Australian suburbs are at all-time highs.
A report from scientists at James Cook University this morning says that sharks are spending longer than ever off the coast of some popular Australian beaches as waters warm up, increasing the chance of encounters with humans. We’ll have more details soon.
Updated
