What we learned - Friday 15 August
That’s where we’ll wrap the blog up for today, but first: a quick recap of the big events:
The University of Technology Sydney has announced a plan to “temporarily suspend” 140 courses across six faculties.
The Business Council of Australia has proposed a plan to cut $110bn red tape.
Mike Huckabee said he was ‘disgusted’ by Australia’s recognition of a Palestinian state.
Israel’s deputy foreign affairs minister said the people who marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of ending the Israel-Gaza war were “naive” and “useful idiots”.
Investment in new wind and solar has fallen well short of the pace required to hit Australia’s 2030 renewable energy target.
Katy Gallagher identified a ‘worrying trend’ of young men believing there’s ‘too much focus on women’.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, announced the states have agreed to toughen the Working With Children Checks.
Anthony Albanese has declared receiving a gift of a terracotta plaque from Pope Leo and a white felt hat from the Canadian prime minister in his latest update to the parliamentary register of interests.
An NT man has died during a police search of his home.
About 30 writers and authors have withdrawn from Bendigo writers festival over a code of conduct that requires ‘self-censorship’ over Israel and Gaza.
Take care and enjoy your weekend.
Updated
Greens push for Senate inquiry into early childcare safety
The Greens have announced they want a Senate Inquiry into the quality and safety of early childhood education and care as soon as Parliament resumes.
Senator Steph Hodgins-May, the Greens spokesperson for early childhood education and care, said in a statement:
A national Working With Children Check is long overdue. Whilst its reassuring to know that this will be in place by the end of the year, frankly, this is a decade after it was recommended by the royal commission.
Real action means more than introducing a check a decade after it was recommended. It means tackling for-profit cowboys sidelining quality and care in favour of profit, and a workforce in crisis.
The Greens are today announcing our intention to establish a Senate inquiry into the quality and safety of early childhood education and care as soon as parliament resumes. We recognise that we cannot keep waiting for these horrific headlines of abuse to take meaningful action.
The government must do more than Band-aids. It must sit down with everyone in the parliament willing to prioritise the safety and care of our children and enact meaningful reform to keep our kids safe.
Updated
Death of NT man who stabbed himself during police search of home being treated as death in custody
A man who died during a police search of his home in the Northern Territory is being investigated as a death in custody.
The police officers executing the search warrant in the suburb of Rosebery south-east of Darwin were part of the joint anti-child exploitation team.
A 62-year-old man and his wife were at the residence when the search began at 7am, police said in a statement:
At approximately 8am, the man obtained a knife from within the residence and stabbed himself multiple times in the chest.
Police deployed a taser in an attempt to prevent the man from further harming himself. An officer also received a laceration to his hand while trying to disarm him.
Officers provided immediate first aid to the 62-year-old. St John Ambulance also arrived at the scene soon after but the man succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased at the scene.
… Major Crime Investigators remain on scene and the incident is being treated as a death in custody.
Updated
Lesser welcomes childcare working check reforms and says opposition will hold government to their timetable
The shadow attorney general, Julian Leeser, also appeared on Afternoon Briefing. He welcomed Rowland’s change in the timeline, giving assurance it would be in place before the end of the year:
This morning the federal attorney general gave an interview on radio national, where she said this would take a year. We put out a release because we just felt that that was much too long and so, I was very pleased to see the attorneys general across the country saying that they would get this done by the end of the year.
…we’ve chosen not to play politics with this and the reason is because I think people are sick of the finger-pointing exercise in relation to these sorts of issues.
We have given the government support to do this. We just want to see it get done and we will hold the government to the timetable there.
Updated
Commissioner says working with children checks need to be stronger
Hollonds was asked if she was confident there will be reforms of who can get a Working with Children Check:
I think the announcement today does not make this particular screening tool any stronger. It does need to be stronger. It is very basic still. It is mostly about police convictions in the past. And I think the name itself, Working with Children Check kind of gives the impression that it is assessing your suitability to care for children, which it is clearly not. It is just checking whether you have police convictions, in most cases.
So you know we really need to do a lot more to be able to assess the suitability of people who want to care for children and so that employers can have the confidence that they are employing the right people and so, the national register of educators that is being proposed is also really, really important.
We need to be doing proper referee checks, we need mandatory child safety training on top of their basic early childhood educator training. All of these things will help to strengthen the safeguarding scaffolding that we need, not just in the early childhood sector but beyond.
Updated
Children’s commissioner welcomes agreement to working with children reforms
The national children’s commissioner, Anne Hollonds, says she is “hugely relieved” the national Working With Children Check reforms have been committed to by states and territories. Appearing on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Hollonds was asked if the plan that they have come up will make children safer.
I am hugely relieved at this announcement today and I’m really grateful to the attorney general for her decisive action and her commitment to get this job done and, yes, if this happens, it will absolutely make a difference to the safety of children.
Remembering that this is just the first step of a whole range of actions that need to be taken, but it is a very important first step.
Updated
About 30 writers and authors withdraw from Bendigo writers festival over code of conduct
Around 30 authors and academics have now withdrawn from this weekend’s Bendigo writer’s festival over a speaker code that one says requires “complete self-censorship” over Israel’s war in Gaza.
The festival’s code, viewed by Guardian Australia, says speakers should uphold respectful engagements which involves avoiding language or topics that “could be considered inflammatory, divisive, or disrespectful”. A source told Guardian Australia Bendigo writers’ festival (BWF) sent some speakers the code of conduct on Wednesday – two days before the opening day.
The code says that for “La Trobe Presents” panels, speakers must comply with the principles espoused in La Trobe University’s anti-racism plan, including the plan’s definitions of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Academic and author Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, First Nations poet Dr Evelyn Araluen and Wiradjuri writer and poet Jeanine Leane were among the first to have withdrawn from the festival over the code.
An updated list of withdrawals, updated by the group Readers and Writers against Genocide, now includes 30 names including Thomas Mayo, Jock Serong, Jess Hill, and Kirstin Ferguson. In a social media post, Ferguson said her decision to withdraw was based on freedom of expression:
My decision is not about my personal position on any specific political or social issue, which I have never shared publicly. However, I do hold firm views about the importance of protecting any person’s right to speak on topics important to them - even those topics that may be considered inflammatory, divisive or even disrespectful by some.
A spokesperson for the Bendigo writers’ festival said it was “committed to holding an event that engages in respectful debate, open minded discussion, and explores topical and complex issues.”
“The festival and presenting partner La Trobe University felt it was necessary to emphasise the importance of safety and wellbeing for all participants by introducing a code of conduct,” the spokesperson said.
Updated
Academic welcomes ‘powerful statement’ from attorneys general on working with children check
Prof Daryl Higgins, the director of Australian Catholic University’s Institute of Child Protection Studies who has long advocated for a national Working With Children Check system, says today’s announcement is a “powerful statement from our attorneys general” but adds that it is a shame it took such “horrific incidents” for the action to be taken.
It’s been a long time coming, but it’s pleasing to see the national approach to the Working With Children Check system announced today. The banned in one jurisdiction, banned in all commitment is a powerful statement from our attorneys general that all Australian children deserve the same level of safeguarding.
I welcome the commitment to greater information sharing between jurisdictions, but caution that this needs to be carefully implemented to ensure important intelligence does not fall through the cracks.
It’s a shame it took such horrific incidents against our most vulnerable members of society, our children, for this action to be taken. We can’t become complacent.
We need all governments to continue to work in a bipartisan way to further strengthen systems and hold those who would do our children harm to account. We also need to refocus our attention on primary prevention through better systems of design and improved professional development for childcare educators to empower them to call out anything untoward and to confidently make safeguarding their number one priority.
Updated
Thanks Daisy for taking us through another big day of news. I’ll be with you for the rest of the afternoon!
That’s all from Ima Caldwell and me today – thanks for joining us. I’ll leave you in the hands of the lovely Natasha May for the rest of the day’s breaking news.
Updated
Wet season forecast shows earlier onset in the east, later in the west
The Bureau of Meteorology has released its forecast for Northern Australia’s 2025-26 wet season, starting 1 September.
In Queensland rainfall onset is likely to be earlier than normal for most of the state, with an even higher chance in parts of the central interior.
The wet season is also forecast to arrive earlier than usual in the Northern Territory, except for parts of its western interior.
In Western Australia the rainy season will arrive later than normal for much of the north and west of the state.
There is a roughly equal chance of an earlier, later or near-normal onset for areas along the Western Australia–Northern Territory border.
Melbourne cinema to pay tribute to ‘one of a kind’ David Stratton
Cinema Nova in Melbourne will pay tribute to the late film critic David Stratton, with two free screenings of 1952 classic, Singin’ In The Rain.
A statement from David’s family suggested his devotees “celebrate David’s remarkable life and legacy by watching his favourite movie — Singin’ In the Rain.”
Speaking about this weekend’s screenings in Stratton’s memory, Cinema Nova co-director, Natalie Miller said in a statement:
David was one of a kind. His incredible knowledge of films leaves me in awe. His support of the Australian film industry was amazing, and I am thankful that I knew him professionally and as a friend.
And, Australia’s most underrated native animal is …
The rakali, or native water rat, has been voted Australia’s most underrated native animal in a poll by ABC Radio National, as part of Science Week 2025.
Gathering more than 20% of the 65,000 votes cast, the rakali beat nine other finalists, including the giant cuttlefish, dugong, turtle frog and palm cockatoo.
Dr Ann Jones, host of Radio National’s What the Duck?!, said in a statement:
The rakali is the quintessential underrated Australian animal – it’s widespread but secretive, it’s fluffy but a kick-arse fighter, it surprises and delights observers and its very presence repels introduced black rats out of its territory. It can travel great distances over land, but swims better than Kieren Perkins (sorry Kieren). The rakali is worthy of this crown. It is more than a rat – it is the Ruler of ALL the Rats.
Updated
Football fans to set alarms for return of Premier League
It’s that time of the year again when diehard football fans prepare for late nights or set their alarm clocks to go off at ungodly hours: the Premier League is back, full of thrills but facing a threat to its superpower, as Barney Ronay writes.
The new season kicks off this weekend, with champions Liverpool beginning the defence of their title against Bournemouth in the curtain raiser at 5am AEST on Saturday morning. For the first time, the most-watched league in the world will be broadcast by Nine Entertainment-owned Stan Sports, after Optus Sport transferred its sports streaming rights for a sum of about $300m.
Even without Ange Postecoglou, who was sacked by Tottenham despite the Australian coach’s success in the Europa League final, Nine has recognised the broader appeal of the Premier League and will show one game from each of the first three rounds this season on its main free-to-air station Channel Nine.
Read more here:
Updated
Albanese’s latest gifts: a plaque, a felt hat and a vase
Anthony Albanese has declared receiving a gift of a terracotta plaque from Pope Leo and a white felt hat from the Canadian prime minister in his latest update to the parliamentary register of interests.
The start of the new parliamentary term, after the election, means all MPs and senators are nearing the deadline to lodge their register of interests, which includes properties, bank accounts, stock holdings and gifts they’ve received. Many have already done so ahead of the deadline, but a number still have their list outstanding. We’ll be bringing you more reporting on those declarations soon.
Albanese’s register, published online this week, notes two investment properties - his former home in Marrickville and the Central Coast beach house he purchased with his fiancé, Jodie Haydon, last year, as well as the rental income from both.
The prime minister declared he had received gifts including a wooden carving of the famous Indonesian Garuda statue from President Prabowo Subianto, which is displayed in Australia’s embassy in Jakarta.
Albanese, who visited Rome for the Pope’s inauguration and met the new pontiff, also received: a carved terracotta plaque; a white felt stetson hat from Mark Carney, Canada’s leader; and a vase and bowl from “Sky News / The Australian”.
The PM also noted he’d received tickets to the first and third game of the State of Origin rugby league series from the NRL in May and July.
Updated
Attorney general promises no standards in child protection scheme will drop as a result of harmonisation
Rowland also said the scheme won’t be exactly the same in all states and territories but the government will be aiming to achieve a consistency in standards:
When we talk about harmonisation, we are not looking at a scheme to make every single state exactly the same. We are not looking to redo individual state systems. We are looking for consistency.
And one of the key points that came about from today’s agreement in SCAG is that no state and territory would be required to lower the ... standards that they have. Now, they are different in between each state and territory and I’m happy for my colleagues, individually, to speak towards that.
But the key issue here is that we have agreed that no jurisdiction will be required to lower their standards. To the contrary – we want all standards to lift – to lift across the commonwealth so that we have the most robust scheme.
Updated
Rowland says working with children reforms have been accelerated
Rowland said all states and territories have agreed to “pull out all stops” to ensure the reforms are implemented as soon as possible, bringing forward the the timeline:
We took this urgent reform to SCAG [the Standing Council of Attorneys General] as a priority, initially expecting that this could take up to 12 months as a feasible time frame that the commonwealth, states and territories could agree to for implementation. So I’m extremely pleased to accelerate delivery of the reform with states and territories agreeing to working towards implementation by the end of this year.
There is a firm commitment from all states and territories to pull out all stops, and we are working together as a team.
… This is not a set and forget exercise. We will continue to work together, including in future meet[ings] of SCAG to help keep our young people safe.
Updated
Rowland announces states have agreed to toughen working with children checks
The attorney general Michelle Rowland is addressing the media after discussing national reforms to Working With Children Checks with state attorney generals:
The foremost priority of any government is to keep Australians safe and that particularly extends to the most vulnerable in our community - our young people.
And that’s why today, all jurisdictions have agreed to deliver ambitious reforms to address systemic gaps in the Working With Children Checks regime to improve the safety of children across Australia.
Attorney generals-today agreed to toughening the system, by ensuring that if you’re banned from holding a working with children check in one jurisdiction, you’re banned in all of them. Banned in one - banned in all.
Updated
Aussie shares make history with record-breaking streak
Australia’s key benchmark index has spiked above 8,900 points for the first time, making five record resets in five sessions for the local bourse, AAP reports.
The S&P/ASX200 spiked to a fresh high of 9,177.3, before easing to 8,882.6 points by midday, up 8.8 points, or 0.12%, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 11.9 points, or 0.13%, to 9161.
Tony Sycamore, an analyst for IG Markets, said it was a feat “unprecedented over the past decade”.
This week’s gains have followed a rally on Wall Street, the Reserve Bank’s recent 25-basis-point rate cut to 3.6% and July’s in-line labour force report, reinforcing the RBA’s cautious 2025 rate cut strategy and teasing further cuts ahead, most likely in November and February.
Friday’s relatively steady start came after a flat US session overnight, after producer price growth in the world’s largest economy weighed on expectations of the timing and magnitude of future interest rate cuts.
Updated
Katy Gallagher identifies ‘worrying trend’ of young men believing there’s ‘too much focus on women’
The minister for women, Katy Gallagher, said it is a “worrying trend” that some young men believe women are receiving all the opportunities in a way that is impacting male rights, AAP reports.
Gallagher told the Women in Media national conference today:
In Australia, our ethos of everyone having a fair go and treating people equally is really strong - certainly across business, community and government.
…There is a worrying trend emerging ... particularly with young men thinking that women are getting too much and that their rights are going backwards, and there’s too much focus on women.
Updated
Sydney Ukrainian community plans to rally ahead of US-Russia meeting
Members of Ukraine’s diaspora community are rallying outside the US Consulate in North Sydney Friday afternoon, concerned at the US president’s meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, without the Ukrainian president present.
Organiser Anton Bogdanovych told the Guardian the message of the rally is “appeasement doesn’t bring peace”.
“Ukrainians and supporters are deeply concerned with the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that is about to happen in Alaska today. The fact that Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, is not invited to this meeting is very disturbing, as it violates the principle: ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine’.
“The meeting in Alaska reminds us of the meeting in Munich between the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler that took place in September 1938. The Munich meeting determined the fate of Czechoslovakia - without the leaders of this country being invited - which resulted in the agreement that ceded the Sudetenland to Germany.
“We all remember that soon after the Munich agreement Germany, emboldened by it, started World War II.”
Ukrainians in Sydney are rallying outside the US Consulate in Miller Street, North Sydney from 4:30pm, Bogdanovych said, “to warn US officials and the world about the dangers of repeating the mistakes of the past”.
Can Labor jumpstart the economy?
Next week the Albanese government will bring together business leaders, unions and interest groups at an economic roundtable to discuss how to best jumpstart the economy.
Big ideas such as a four-day work week and limiting negative gearing have been put forward, but the prime minister has been quick to dampen expectations.
In today’s Full Story podcast, Bridie Jabour talks with the head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, and Guardian Australia’s economics editor, Patrick Commins, about whether the Albanese government has the ambition for big reform.
Listen here:
Updated
Wait goes on for family of alleged DV murder victim
Prosecutors have been told to speak to the bereaved family of Molly Ticehurst to explain the situation as the case against the man accused of her domestic violence murder drags on, 16 months after her death.
Daniel Billings, 30, is charged with murdering Ticehurst at her home in Forbes, central western NSW, in the early hours of April 22, 2024, reports AAP.
During a brief mention in Parkes local court this morning, Billings’ Legal Aid solicitor, Diane Elston, asked for the case to be adjourned, saying negotiations between the lawyers were continuing. There would still be “some work to do” after the prosecution and defence teams meet later in August, she said.
Magistrate Brett Thomas agreed to a seven-week adjournment, but acknowledged the delay for Ticehurst’s family, who have attended each of Billings’ court dates.
Prosecutors should “be in contact with them today and just explain the situation to them,” Thomas said.
Updated
PM speaks on 80th anniversary of WWII victory in the Pacific
Anthony Albanese has honoured veterans of the second world war, 80 years on from victory in the Pacific.
“Part of the debt that we owe to all who served our nation is to remind ourselves how close history came to taking a very different path,” the prime minister said at a commemorative ceremony in Sydney just now.
We think of all the stories of courage, of resilience and exhaustion, of fear and elation and an endless longing for the home that so many never saw again. These are not stories rendered in bronze or marble, but written in flesh and blood, stories of ordinary people facing the extraordinary.
He continued:
They showed us what it is to remain true to ourselves no matter what, they showed us what it means to stand shoulder to shoulder with friends and allies and together, they turned the tide.
Read more here:
Updated
Australian property investors squeezing out first-time buyers
Property investors borrowed a record sum, nearly $130bn, to buy homes over the year to June, supported by interest rate cuts but squeezing out first-time buyers.
Banks made almost 200,000 new loans to landlords over the year, the most since 2022, while the number of new first-home mortgages slipped to 116,000, writes Guardian Australia’s Luca Ittimani.
Cameron Kusher, an independent property expert, said falling interest rates have made borrowing easier for mortgage-holding homeowners and investors than for first home buyers.
“They’re going to get relief on those mortgages in terms of their repayments, and they’re going to be the ones that are probably going to capitalise on this most,” Kusher said. Read more here:
Updated
Compliance actions for childcare centres as new federal powers enforced
Thirty childcare centres have been hit with compliance actions over quality and safety issues, as the federal government uses its new enforcement powers for the first time, threatening to pull commonwealth funding if the providers don’t shape up.
The education minister, Jason Clare, announced today that his department had initiated compliance actions against 30 early childhood education and care services after the federal government’s new laws, which passed parliament last month.
The centres had been identified by the department as having failed to meet national quality standards “over seven or more years”, Clare’s office said.
The enforcement actions don’t relate to child abuse or criminal allegations - but go to issues including play area safety, hygiene, staff training and supervision. The 30 centres have 48 hours to tell parents about the actions, and the names of the centres will be published by the department on Tuesday. The centres have six months to improve their standards, or risk having their access to the childcare subsidy suspended or cancelled.
This comes before education ministers meeting next Friday to discuss further safety measures, such as a national register of childcare workers and the role of CCTV. State and federal attorneys general are also meeting today, with the working with children checks system on the agenda.
“We have taken action swiftly under the new legislation to begin rebuilding confidence in a system that parents need to have confidence in. This is not about closing centres down, it’s about lifting standards up,” Clare said.
“Over the next six months, these centres will need to lift their game or they will face further consequences including the cutting off of funding.”
The early childhood education minister, Jess Walsh, added: “We make no apologies for putting [child] safety and wellbeing first and foremost.”
Updated
Sydney restaurant faces human rights complaint after keffiyeh incident
The Racial Justice Centre is preparing to file a group complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission after a Sydney restaurant denied dine-in service to people wearing Palestinian keffiyehs during a 20-minute period last weekend.
The legal centre will file the complaint to Australia’s national anti-discrimination body on behalf of six Palestinian complainants, regarding an incident that took place on 3 August at the Merivale-owned Jimmy’s Falafel in the Sydney CBD after the Sydney Harbour Bridge march, first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Guardian Australia has spoken to four people, not part of the complaint, who report being told they would be barred from eating inside at Jimmy’s Falafel unless they removed their keffiyehs.
Read more here:
Updated
Investment in new wind and solar falls short of 2030 target pace
For the second consecutive quarter in 2025, investment in new wind and solar has fallen well short of the pace required to hit Australia’s 2030 renewable energy target.
Only four projects – totalling 615MW capacity – reached financial close between April and June, according to data released today by the Clean Energy Council.
That brought total new investment in 2025 to 1.17GW – about a third of the rate required (6-7 GW per year) for Australia to replace its ageing coal power and stay on track for 82% renewables by 2030.
Political and policy uncertainty during the federal election contributed to the weaker result, the report said.
The CEC chief policy and impact officer, Anna Freeman, said:
While we now have renewed confidence in the direction of travel, many chronic and structural issues remain unresolved – significant delays in the transmission rollout, lengthy and unpredictable environmental and planning processes, workforce bottlenecks and a lack of certainty about long-term revenue for new projects.
This morning, the environment minister, Murray Watt, announced he had approved a 135MW solar farm with battery storage in New South Wales, at a site adjacent to the Muswellbrook coalmine. Watt said it was the 97th renewable project approved under the Albanese government.
In late July, the federal government announced plans to expand its underwriting scheme to help accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
Updated
Council orders Sydney shop to remove signage after allegedly using Labubus to promote vapes
Sydney’s Inner West council has ordered a shop to remove its signage after allegedly using a children’s toy to promote vapes.
In a social media post, the council said it had yesterday sent compliance officers to the Marrickville business premises.
“Labubye, Marrickville! This sign is gone for good,” the council wrote beside before and after photos of the signage.
The sign referred to Labubus, a hugely popular doll marketed to children.
Updated
PM praises ‘first dog’ Toto when asked about Victorian law preventing people being buried with pets
Ending on a lighter note on ABC radio this morning, Anthony Albanese says common sense should apply when asked about a Victorian law that prevents people from being buried alongside their pets.
Albanese often talks about his dog, Toto, a cavoodle he refers to as Australia’s first dog and who often accompanies him on his prime ministerial jet around the country.
While not often one to wade into topics he’s presumably not been briefed on, the prime minister let loose on the subject:
If people feel close to their pets and they want to be buried with them, why would you, why would you stop it?
Albanese then offered a little bit of insight into how Toto reacts when he gets home to The Lodge.
The thing about our pets is they give us unconditional love and, no matter how difficult my day is, when I come in, there is a little furry friend who is absolutely ecstatic and excited to see me. And it takes about 10 minutes to settle [her] down and that just lifts you up. So, I think that’s part of the human condition. So, for goodness sake, whatever that law is, should be, a bit of common sense should apply surely.
Updated
Anthony Albanese says he is not in a position to judge whether Israel is directly killing journalists in Gaza but said too many innocent lives have been lost.
Speaking to ABC radio this morning, the prime minister was asked whether he was OK with Israel’s killing of Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif and four of his camera crew earlier this week.
Israel claimed responsibility for the killings, alleging al-Sharif was the leader of a Hamas cell responsible for rocket attacks against Israel – an allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif had previously dismissed as baseless.
Albanese responded:
Well, the Israeli government themselves say, in this case, there’s one person they say there are allegations against. I’m not in a position, obviously, to ascertain the veracity of those allegations, but the camera crew killed … with that journalist – and there’s been too much loss of innocent lives across the board.
And that’s why Australia has come to the position that we have, but taking a step back as well, if you argue, as Australia has, for a long period of time, that there needs to be a two-state solution ... I want to see Palestinians and Israelis live in peace and security, and I want to see an end to the killing of innocent lives, whether they be Israelis or Palestinians.
Updated
Albanese dismisses US criticism over intention to recognise Palestinian statehood
Anthony Albanese has dismissed criticism from the US ambassador to Israel about Australia’s intention to recognise Palestinian statehood at an upcoming UN meeting.
The US ambassador, Mike Huckabee, told the ABC’s 7.30 last night that Australia’s announcement came as a surprise to the US administration, adding there had been “an enormous level of disappointment and some disgust”.
Asked to respond, Albanese told ABC radio his job was to represent the interests of Australia and Australians who had been disgusted by the deaths of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza:
[Australians] were disgusted by the terrorist actions of Hamas on October 7, the slaughter of innocent Israelis, taking of hostages and the ongoing holding of those hostages have outraged Australians, but Australians have also seen the death of tens of thousands of people. When you have children starving, when you have children losing their lives, with families queuing for food and water, then that provokes, not surprisingly, a human reaction.
The prime minister continued:
I’m concerned about Australia’s position, and that is what my role is. We’re a sovereign nation, and he’s entitled to put his views, but we’re also entitled to put our views. We didn’t do it shyly. I noticed, I saw the interview last night. He suggested that this came as a surprise. I spoke with prime minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu last Thursday night. I asked him, ‘What are, you know, what’s the end point here?’ And the end point is the same as the end point that he had put to me more than a year ago, which was, ‘We’re going to get rid of Hamas militarily’. There was no political solution there. And the idea that you just continue to do more of the same, that you occupy Gaza City, that you foreshadowed the conflict which has been opposed by the Israeli Defence Force themselves.
Updated
PM says working with children check system is ‘hopeless’
Anthony Albanese has described the existing working with children check systems as “hopeless” before a meeting between attorney generals this morning to implement a national system.
On ABC radio this morning, the prime minister was asked why media reports on Tuesday about a male childcare worker alleged to have been grooming children, and subsequently banned from working in childcare, hadn’t been enough to trigger the removal of his working with children check.
Albanese said establishing a national system and strengthening the screening requirements was a priority at today’s attorney generals’ meeting:
[The system is] hopeless and we need to do better. Quite clearly, and these revelations are a wake-up call for state and territory governments in terms of the regulations but also the commonwealth.
The federal attorney general, Michelle Rowland, is meeting with her counterparts this morning to discuss how to harmonise the state and territory systems but earlier flagged on ABC radio the process could still take 12 months.
Updated
Mark Butler says Penny Wong spoke to Marco Rubio before Palestinian statehood announcement
The Australian government advised US counterparts of its intention to recognise Palestinian statehood before making the decision public, Mark Butler has reiterated.
The health minister’s comments contradict those of the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who last night told the ABC the “unilateral” move had been unexpected, ill-timed and had caused an “enormous level of disappointment and some disgust”.
Butler told Sunrise this morning: “There was a discussion between our foreign minister, Penny Wong, and Secretary of State Rubio before the announcement … It wasn’t just about the situation in Israel and Gaza but also importantly about the main focus of our relationship, which of course is security and stability in our own region.”
He added:
The State Department [was] pretty disciplined publishing a read-out …that was published very soon after the conversation.
So, I am not quite sure why the ambassador to Israel says that. There was a conversation.
On Monday, Wong also said she had spoken “to Secretary Rubio ahead of the announcement and, as a matter of diplomatic courtesy, advised him of our intention to announce”.
Updated
Police bust theft ring that targeted major supermarkets
Nineteen people have been arrested for allegedly shoplifting more than $10m worth of goods, after police claimed to have busted one of the largest theft syndicates seen in Australia.
Victoria police allege the syndicate targeted major supermarkets, taking items such as baby formula, medicines, vitamins, skincare products, electric toothbrushes and toiletries, reports AAP.
“Those arrested are predominantly Indian nationals on temporary, student, or bridging visas,” the force said this morning.
They are alleged to be working in a coordinated network to supply stolen goods to ‘receivers’, who then on-sell the products to end users for profit.
The operation to smash the syndicate was led by the Box Hill divisional response unit, which worked with retailers and the Australian Border Force.
“This has been one of the most significant operations we’ve undertaken in recent times to target organised retail theft,” detective acting inspector Rachele Ciavarella said.
Investigations remain ongoing, with further arrests anticipated.
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Sydney Harbour Bridge protesters ‘useful idiots’, says Israel’s deputy foreign affairs minister
Israel’s deputy foreign affairs minister says the 100,000-plus people who marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge almost a fortnight ago in support of ending the Israel-Gaza war were “naive” and “useful idiots”.
Sharren Haskel told ABC’s Radio National a short time ago: “I truly believe that most of this crowd was the same crowd who was gathering together since the 8th of October.”
She continued:
The rest are useful idiots that are being used as tools in the hands of those who are trying to promote those radical jihadist ideas. And unfortunately, many naive people in Australia are falling for a lot of the propaganda of those terrorist organisations and those radical jihadist organisations.
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‘We loved his wit and his sharp insight’: Albanese remembers David Stratton
Tributes are pouring in for the legendary film critic David Stratton his death at age 85.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Stratton had shared his love of cinema with the entire nation while co-hosting the television programs The Movie Show and At The Movies with fellow critic Margaret Pomeranz.
“All of us who tuned in to At the Movies respected him for his deep knowledge and for the gentle and generous way he passed it on,” Albanese said.
We loved his wit and his sharp insight, and the deep love of cinema that underpinned it all. And in his chemistry with Margaret Pomeranz, he helped deliver one of Australia’s truly great TV partnerships.
Read more here:
Plan to extend Queensland coalmine would bulldoze ‘critical’ koala habitat
Habitat for threatened koalas that are part of a population described by one expert as nationally significant would be bulldozed under plans to extend a Queensland coalmine.
The campaign group Lock the Gate used drones with thermal imaging cameras to find 13 koalas in one night in trees earmarked for clearing by mining company Glencore, Graham Readfearn writes.
Glencore wants to clear 680 hectares of land – including 600ha of koala habitat – to expand its Hail Creek mine west of Mackay.
Read more here:
Attorney general says Australia complying with international obligations regarding defence exports to Israel
Michelle Rowland says she is confident that Australia is meeting its obligations regarding defence approvals for exports of parts for F-35 fighter jets bound for Israel.
“This is not a case of the Australian government supplying arms. We have taken advice, of which I’m not at liberty to disclose, but we have solid advice, and we always comply with our international obligations,” the attorney general told Radio National.
On the subject of starvation in Gaza, she said it was a breach of international law to stop food being delivered, “and that’s a decision that was made by the government of Israel in March”.
“We at all times, comply, and we urge compliance with the Geneva convention, with international humanitarian law, and as the prime minister said, a disregard for the international community’s calls and a failure to comply with legal and ethical obligations in this case, cannot be tolerated,” she said.
Certainly Israel is a democracy in the region. We maintain relations, obviously at that level. But as the prime minister himself has clearly said, these were difficult conversations that he needed to have with the government of Israel. We stand by the statements that we’ve made in terms of recognition – it has long been the policy of this government to have a two-state solution.
On a separate subject, when asked whether she conceded that the absence of a national system on working with children checks was placing children at risk right now, she answered that it was a risk, “absolutely”.
She said a “banned in one, banned in all” system for childcare workers would likely be unrolled within 12 months.
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Wastewater reveals Australia’s appetite for illicit drugs at record high
Analysis of wastewater by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, in partnership with universities, has detected a growth in consumption of major illicit drugs around the nation.
Methylamphetamine (ice), cocaine and heroin were all found at record highs in the latest analysis, which began in 2016, reports AAP.
More than 22 tonnes of those three drugs, as well as MDMA (ecstasy), was consumed in Australia in the year to August 2024, according to the wastewater analysis.
It has boosted the illicit drug trade and the profits for organised criminals, with an estimated $11.5bn being spent.
Ice consumption rose to an estimated 12.8 tonnes. Cocaine use increased almost 70%, MDMA almost 50%, and heroin almost 15%.
The commission’s drug specialist Shane Neilson said the market was rebounding after consumption dropped amid tighter border controls and lockdowns during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Mike Huckabee ‘disgusted’ by Australia’s recognition of Palestinian state
The US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, says he is disgusted by Australia joining other key allies in committing to the recognition of a Palestinian state.
“The timing has been very hurtful to any prospects of negotiating some settlement in Gaza with Hamas,” he told the ABC’s 7.30 last night. “There’s an enormous level of disappointment and some disgust.”
He said US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had made it clear the result of the action had “been to completely halt any type of thoughtful negotiations going forward. And, it’s just a very terrible timing for this to come about.”
He said he had spoken with Donald Trump about the move and that in the meeting, there was an “emotional sentiment, a sense of, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. Why would they be doing this, and why would they be doing it now, and why [would] they not be telling the United States or telling Israel, for that matter, but to go out and make a public announcement like this?’ It was unseemly.”
He said the president had “done more than anyone” he knows to stop the war in Gaza.
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Two-week search for light plane and its occupants ongoing
The search for a missing light plane and its two occupants is set to continue off the coast of Tasmania.
Gregory Vaughan, 72, his partner Kim Worner, 66, and their family dog, left George Town airport at about 12.45pm on 2 August but the plane has not been sighted, or the Tasmanian couple heard from, since that day.
Extensive aerial searching yesterday off the state’s north-east coast and Flinders Island has not located any sign of a light plane and was hampered by poor weather and visibility earlier this week, police said.
Improved conditions allowed rescuers to continue their search yesterday and police say no decision has been made to suspend the search, the area of which is being guided by drift modelling.
Inspector Craig Fox said the helicopter sweeps did not reveal any wreckage or debris that could indicate the location of the plane, a small two-seater Bristell S-LSA in distinctive green colour.
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Good morning. Welcome to our lives news coverage this Friday - I’m Daisy Dumas and I’ll be guiding you through the headlines. Let’s get going.
Australian War Memorial to mark 80th anniversary of second world war
Australia’s second world war dead will be honoured in a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial today as the nation marks the 80th anniversary of the conflict, Australian Associated Press reports.
They will include Warrant Officer Class 2 Frederick Balfe Emanuel who died aged 22 weeks before Victory in the Pacific Day on 15 August, when Japan announced its unconditional surrender to the Allies.
Emanuel enlisted in the Australian army serving in Papua New Guinea before joining the Far Eastern liaison office, where he took part in dangerous reconnaissance missions.
“His story is a heartbreaking reminder of how close some came to seeing peace yet never returned home,” memorial director Matt Anderson said.
“This is honouring a country boy who became a Sydneysider yet did not survive to finish his story.”
Other commemorations today include a Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft conducting a flypast over the National War Memorial in Adelaide.
RSL national president, Greg Melick, said the occasion was an important time for Australia to recognise the sacrifices of so many fallen soldiers.
“For Australians, that day meant that the second world war was finally over,” he said.
“As the number of veterans dwindle, it is vital that we commemorate their collective contribution to our liberty and way of life.”
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BCA says report to provide pathway to help drive investment
BCA chief executive, Bran Black, said the report calls for practical reforms to remove unnecessary red tape to boost investor confidence and make it easier to work, trade and do business across Australia.
We have become too complex a country in which to do business, and that’s a massive handbrake on our ability to lift productivity and living standards.
At the upcoming economic reform roundtable, we have an opportunity to address excessive and duplicative rules that impose unnecessary costs on both businesses and consumers.
As our report show, reducing the red tape burden by 1% could unlock an extra $1b a year for the economy.
Black said the report is intended to provide a tangible pathway to help drive investment into Australia, which will support businesses to grow, increase job opportunities and ultimately boost incomes.
In Victoria, a cafe owner needs 36 separate licences and approvals before they can pour the first coffee, while a tradie on the Gold Coast needs to pay hundreds of dollars in permits just to fix a tap over the NSW border, this is the regulation we need to fix.
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Business Council of Australia proposes plan to cut $110bn red tape
Ahead of next week’s productivity summit, the Business Council of Australia has mapped out a blueprint for the government to cut Australia’s “$110bn” red tape burden and out-of-date regulation.
It calls for a 25% reduction in regulatory costs by 2030 and for the government to undertake a national stocktake of red tape and the impact it is having on the economy.
Its recommendations include:
Simplifying compliance and licensing regimes across the country, particularly for tradespeople critical to building more homes.
Streamlining trading hours and practices, and aligning planning and environmental assessments across the country;
Ensuring laws are fit for the future digital economy to allow a faster rollout of AI and cyber innovation.
Creating better regulation frameworks, which include KPIs for regulators to reduce red tape and compliance costs.
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UTS to 'suspend' 140 courses over six faculties
A major university has announced a plan to “temporarily suspend” 140 courses across six faculties.
UTS, in a media release, said the courses being suspended for new intake were those that have low student enrolments.
“We want to make sure our curriculum is relevant to what students and employers need,” it said.
The faculty of design and society appears the hardest hit, though the business school, engineering and IT, health, law and science are also on the list.
This temporary suspension has no impact on current students and is aimed only at prospective new students for 2026.
The university said:
The suspensions will be in place until a decision is made on the future of these courses following consultation with staff and unions through a change proposal process.
UTS is one of several Australian universities that have recently flagged restructures including job cuts.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories to get you started.
Before next week’s economic summit, the Business Council of Australia has outlined a vision to relieve business owners from what it calls the country’s “$110bn red tape burden” as the federal government hunts for a solution to the nation’s withered productivity. More coming up.
The war in the Pacific ended 80 years ago and a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial later today will remember the service personnel who gave their lives fighting the Japanese. We have more coming up.
