What we learned: Wednesday 17 September
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Here are the main stories from the day:
Anthony Albanese’s strategy of pushing back against China in the Pacific has been dealt another blow, with a major defence treaty with Papua New Guinea delayed amid concerns about sovereignty.
Pat Conroy, the minister for Pacific affairs, has tried to tamp down any suggestions the failure to sign a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea is a backward step for Australia’s strategic plans in the region.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said the cost of net zero “looks too high” as she sidestepped questions on climate ructions within the Coalition after delivering her first major economic speech.
The push to build a $1bn home for the first AFL team in Tasmania has hit a major hurdle, with the proposed stadium condemned by the state’s planning commission as a “monolithic” blot on Hobart’s landscape and cultural heritage.
Australia’s politicians have thrown their support behind an ABC journalist who was berated by Donald Trump after asking questions about the US president’s personal business dealings in Washington DC on Tuesday.
Alan Jones faces nine new counts of indecent assault. Jones, 84, had previously indicated he will plead not guilty to 35 historical offences. He was charged with another nine counts of indecent assault on Monday, bringing the total to 44.
One of the wettest winters on record has firefighters worried about a potentially deadly NSW bushfire season; and
The wet season in north Queensland usually begins in October, but areas around Cairns have seen “quite incredible rainfall totals” this week, with some recording five times their average monthly rain.
We will see you here again for more news tomorrow.
Updated
Measles alert in NSW
NSW Health is advising people to be alert for signs of measles after being notified of a confirmed case who was infectious while visiting several locations in Northern NSW and Sydney, including flights from Perth to Sydney and Sydney to Gold Coast.
The person recently returned from Western Australia, where there is an active outbreak of measles.
Passengers and crew on board the flights or people who attended the following locations should watch for the development of symptoms. These locations do not pose an ongoing risk:
Friday 12 September 2025
Virgin Australia flight VA572 from Perth to Sydney Kingsford Smith airport.
Sydney Kingsford Smith airport (T2) from 6:30-7:00am.
Virgin Australia flight VA505 from Sydney domestic airport (T2) to Gold Coast.
Gold Coast airport main terminal baggage and arrival area, 8:30 to 9:20am.
Monday 15 September 2025
Tweed Valley hospital emergency department, 9:30am to 11am.
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Subject cuts at UTS a ‘disgrace’, Greens say
The Greens have called a proposal by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to cut 30% of its subjects an “absolute disgrace” amid a renewed push for university governance to be overhauled.
The deputy leader and spokesperson for higher education, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, said the university’s decision to close the School of Education and International Studies and School of Public Health would be “disastrous” for staff, students and the community.
This decision flies in the face of all that universities should stand for – public institutions for public good. Overhauling university governance is absolutely urgent. Staff and students deserve to be key decision-makers at their universities, not overpaid executives or corporate appointees.
The vice-chancellor of UTS, Prof Andrew Parfitt, said the university was focused on achieving a “sustainable future” where it could “continue to deliver research outcomes for the communities that benefit from our work” and its commitment to public education was “paramount”.
An ongoing Senate inquiry into university governance is due to hand down its interim report on Friday.
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Defence spending ‘like other areas of government’, finance minister says
Katy Gallagher, the finance minister, was speaking shortly after the shadow finance minister, James Paterson, elaborated on plans to raise the defence spending to 3% of GDP. She told the ABC:
I think we approach defence like other areas of government. Where there is a capability needed, and the prime minister has been clear on this, where a capability is required to keep Australians safe, we will fund that and that is what we have done with all decisions.
But there has to be discipline across the board. No area of government gets a get-out-of-jail-free card. We have to make sure the rules are applied consistently across the government and apply to defence. That does not mean that budget will not increase.
I expect it will, we are living in uncertain times, the demands on defence are very high and continuing to grow, why it is in one of those top programs that is growing faster than other areas of government.
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Finance minister says opposition economic plan shows it’s the ‘same old Liberal party’
Katy Gallagher, the finance minister, said the speech given by the Coalition leader, Sussan Ley, on Wednesday that outlined her economic agenda showed a reliance on policies taken to the last election.
Gallagher told the ABC:
I looked at her speech and what it said to me is it is the same old Liberal party, similar themes to what they took to the election, punching down on people relying on public services, having free range in areas they want to prioritise, talk about savings. I guess the thing for me is if you had not learned the lessons of the last election, that is a concern.
We have fiscal guardrails, we have done a lot of cleaning up of the budget, getting rid of waste and rorts we inherited, paying down debt, getting the bottom line in better shape and the reason we do that is so we can deal with some of the big challenges we are seeing across our economy.
We can deal with the pressures in aged care, in Medicare and play a useful and constructive role in the transition to net zero, the biggest economic transition we have seen for decades.
Updated
Queensland Museum partnership with Shell ‘illegal’, according to correspondence tabled in parliament
A Greens MP tabled legal correspondence in parliament today suggesting that a Queensland Museum partnership with fossil fuel company Shell is illegal.
The museum’s Future Makers program aims to encourage students to take part in Stem-related subjects. It is run in partnership with the company, which operates coal seam gas mining projects in Queensland.
According to legal correspondence by the state’s Environmental Defenders Office – tabled in parliament on Wednesday – the arrangement may put the museum in contravention of the legislation which established it. Under the Queensland Museum Act 1970, the institution must show leadership “in the preservation, research and communication of Queensland’s cultural and natural heritage”.
“Our client therefore believes that your partnership with Shell is inconsistent with the objectives of the Queensland Museum as it will put at risk the Queensland’s cultural and natural heritage,” the Environmental Defenders Office managing lawyer, Kirsty Ruddock, wrote.
“We therefore ask that you reconsider the partnership with Shell QRC.”
The arts minister, John-Paul Langbroek, told parliament that he had not been previously aware of the correspondence, which had been sent to his ministerial office.
I think that it’s a long bow between what’s being suggested in terms of what the member has asked in his question, and then asking me, as the minister responsible, to make some policy decision based on a letter that I have not seen.
Updated
Defence spending jump would be funded by economic growth, Coalition says
The shadow finance minister, James Paterson, says he does not believe an increase in defence spending would require funding to be stripped from other priorities.
Paterson is speaking after the opposition leader, Sussan Ley, outlined her economic agenda in a speech earlier today.
He told the ABC that economic growth would be relied upon to increase the defence spend to 3% GDP:
We think that is an increase which is necessary for Australia’s national security needs and they are imminent and serious, and we are not going to wait to deliver that increased spending on defence to secure our country to find other savings, but that will require discipline elsewhere in the budget to make sure that we are on a sustainable trajectory, which we are clearly not right now.
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Conroy says Labor unconcerned by PNG-China discussions
Pat Conroy, the minister for Pacific affairs, has tried to tamp down any suggestions the failure to sign a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea is a backward step for Australia’s strategic plans in the region.
His comments largely mirrored those of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, about the treaty.
Conroy told the ABC:
We have been open and transparent. We hit a logistical delay. The cabinet of PNG was scheduled to consider the treaty on Monday. Unfortunately most of their ministers had left Port Moresby to go to their home provinces to celebrate Independence Day and that meant they did not have a quorum to consider the treaty.
So this is a process delay rather than anything else and we had both prime ministers standing up today saying the words are agreed and first alliance in over 70 years will be soon signed and coming into force, which will bring the people of PNG and Australia closer with a shared security future.
Today is a good day for Australia’s security and a good day for the Pacific.
Conroy added that he was “not at all” concerned that the PNG defence minister would be meeting with defence officials in China who could undermine the agreement.
We go through our process of briefing countries close to us about agreements like this, so I think it is an entirely sensible course of action for Defence Minister Joseph to brief other countries about why PNG is entering into this treaty.
Updated
Hobart stadium cost blows out by $185m but premier vows he won’t give up
The Tasmanian premier has confirmed the price tag for Hobart’s new stadium has blown out by $185m, while claiming the state’s planning commission also underestimated the social and economic benefits of the development.
Jeremy Rockliff was speaking to reporters after the Tasmanian Planning Commission concluded that the benefits of the stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart were outweighed by its social, environmental and financial costs. According to AAP, he said:
I am not going to give up on this project.
You cannot put a value on keeping young people in Tasmania and building hope and aspiration.
Updated
North Queensland towns receive up to five times their average rain for September in one week
The wet season in North Queensland usually begins in October, but areas around Cairns have seen “quite incredible rainfall totals” this week, with some recording five times their average monthly rain.
Jonathan How, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday there had been extensive falls of between 50 and 150mm across the coast between Daintree and Tully, including Cairns.
Significant falls in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday included:
Topaz, just inland from Innisfail: 379mm
Daintree Village, up the road from Cairns: 279mm
Bairds, just south of the Daintree: 235mm
Cairns racecourse: 96mm
In the week to Wednesday, some places had already received five times their average monthly totals for September, How said.
In the seven days to 9am Wednesday, Topaz had received 569mm (compared to an average of 106mm), Daintree Village 382mm, Innisfail 224mm and Cairns 122mm. September averages usually range between 20 and 100mm, How said.
We are still stuck in this weather pattern where we’re still seeing these south-easterly winds push a lot of moisture on to the coast.
We will still see plenty of showers sticking around the region over the next few days. Still can’t rule out the possibility of heavy falls, but things do start to dry out over the weekend.
But these sort of rainfall figures have, not surprisingly, led to some river rises.
Minor flood warnings were in place for the Daintree, Mossman, Mulgrave and Russell rivers.
Updated
Jimmy Barnes and other musicians urge ANU to save music school
Jimmy Barnes is among around three dozen high-profile musicians who have signed an open letter urging the Australian National University (ANU) to save its School of Music.
Under a draft plan released in July, ANU revealed plans to absorb the six-decade-old institution into the School of Creative and Cultural Practice and axe one-on-one instrumental lessons as part of the university’s restructure to cut $250m in costs.
Students at the music school have been holding continued protests against the flagged cuts, including overnight jam sessions.
Members of the newly formed School of Music Advocacy Roundtable penned the open letter on Wednesday in opposition to the decision. Excerpts of the letter read:
“If the proposed changes to the School of Music and the curriculum proceed, none of the students graduating will be employable as professional musicians.”
Cold Chisel frontman Barnes, You Am I’s Tim Rogers and Genesis Owusu were among the signatories.
An all-staff town hall will be held on Thursday by the interim vice-chancellor, Prof Rebekah Brown, to discuss the future of the university’s restructure.
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BHP ‘unAustralian’, Queensland deputy premier says
Queensland’s deputy premier has labelled BHP “unAustralian” and defended the state’s mining royalties scheme after the mining giant blamed it for its decision to mothball a coalmine and cut hundreds of jobs while also reviewing the future of its training academy.
You can read more on that story here:
Updated
Tasmanian premier ‘disappointed’ at school closures
Tasmania’s premier has said he is “very disappointed” after staff strikes closed 14 schools across the state on Wednesday.
School cleaners, grounds staff and kitchen assistants left work and rallied outside Parliament House in Hobart today, calling for improved working conditions, after years of rising workloads without an increase in staffing. The stop-work action forced about schools across the state to close their doors.
Amy Brumby, the Tasmania coordinator for the United Workers Union, said in a statement:
Members are rallying today to call for the immediate investment in [more] roles to match the reality of modern school operations and ensure student safety and educational standards can be maintained.
Tasmania’s premier, Jeremy Rockliff, told reporters:
I’m very disappointed at the school closures today. Parents and families are being disrupted and our young people are there to go to school and to learn.
Rockliff rejected responsibility for the closures and said he was confident continued negotiations would resolve the disputes, describing the government’s recent offer of a 3% pay rise to all state employees as “very strong”:
I’m a very big believer in supporting our facility attendants to be rewarded for the work that they do.
The Tasmanian government confirmed there was no indication that further school closures were expected. Negotiations are ongoing.
This post was amended shortly after publication to correct an error in the number of schools that were closed.
Updated
That’s all from me, Nino Bucci will take it from here. Take care, and enjoy your arvo.
UTS’s teacher education program set to close as university reveals plan to slash more than 1,000 subjects
The University of Technology Sydney will close its teacher education program and public health school as part of a sweeping restructure that would remove more than 1,100 subjects to return the institution to surplus.
The proposed cuts, released on Wednesday, are part of the debt-ridden university’s strategy to reduce expenditure by $100m annually.
Under the proposal, the school of professional practice and leadership would be closed as part of a plan to reduce the total number of schools from 24 to 15, and the faculty of law, business school and transdisciplinary school would be combined.
Read more here:
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Last squad of NSW RFS deployed in Canada return home after devastating wildfire season
The last contingent of NSW Rural Fire Service personnel arrived back in Australia after a long deployment aiding Canada with its wildfire season.
The agency said the returning personnel were now planning to enjoy “well deserved rest before the official start of bush fire danger period”.
This morning, the final contingent of #RFS personnel arrived home reuniting with their families after a long deployment assisting the Canadians with their wildfire season.
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) September 17, 2025
The returning personnel will enjoy well-deserved rest before the official start of bush fire danger period pic.twitter.com/r3fqxHKW9O
Canada saw one of its worst fire seasons on record, with scientists warning climate change was prolonging and exacerbating the burning. Thousands of fires across the country scorched more than 8.7m hectares of land, with officials warning last month the figures were Canada’s “new reality”.
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Ley says cost of net zero ‘looks too high’ as she sidesteps question on climate ructions
Kieran Rooney from the Age asks: “How does net zero fit into your economic vision and does it undermine your leadership when your Coalition colleagues come out with such a strong position on the issue?
Ley replies:
I’m pleased to get a question on energy, because it is one of the factors of productivity in this country that is dragging our economy backwards. And that’s something that my colleagues and I agree with wholeheartedly, which is what I’ve said, and others have said, we will not have net zero at any cost, because the cost can be too high. And right now it looks like the cost is too high when you consider what this government is about to do with its Paris targets. Let’s hold that conversation until they actually make their announcement.
She says the party’s policy is being led by Dan Tehan, with input from Ted O’Brien and others:
So our energy policy, more broadly, will be underpinned by two fundamental themes: that we must have a stable, reliable energy grid to deliver affordable energy for households and businesses, and that we will play our role in reducing emissions in a responsible and transparent way.
Lily McCaffrey from the Australian asks if Andrew Hastie crosses the floor on Barnaby Joyce’s net zero repeal deal, what’s going to happen? She also asks if it’s becoming clear that she’ll have to ditch or modify net zero by 2050.
Ley replies:
Every day, I get another different set of hypotheticals about a whole range of discussions that you might see in the media. So I’ll simply say this, the shadow cabinet when we meet and discuss energy will do so with the passion and the determination that I described in my previous answer about backing in Australians, their industries and their future, and I can extend that to the broader party room.
And note too that all of my colleagues are participating in the discussion on energy right now, as they should. And I love it when people have strong views and express them, because they’re coming from the people they’re listening to from all corners of this country, you get the best possible outcome in decision-making, when you harness those ideas and you listen closely.
Updated
Ley is asked why politicians are struggling with big ideas to handle the big problems in the country. She quips that she’s not going to make a “political hit here about what I see on the government benches” as it would be “gratuitous”. She adds:
But I love big ideas. We all do – our party members do, my colleagues in the room do … obviously there are challenges around the political cycle. We all know that if you’ve got three-year elections, then that bumps into a lot of ongoing funding.
She says her colleagues are in the “policy process” stage with meetings every week:
As the term goes on, you’ll hear from them.
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Ley says government’s energy policy is a ‘train wreck’
Ley is asked how she would improve business confidence in Australia. She says she wants to see further domestic and international investment.
Ley goes on:
One thing I want to mention is environmental approvals, because we are lagging incredibly badly. For a typical gas project, I think the approval time has blown out to 500 days from 100 days … investors are going somewhere else, or they’re not extending where they are, or they’re downsizing. They’re not putting on those extra workers. So this government has completely taken its eye off the ball.
She also describes the government’s energy policy as a “train wreck”.
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Ley says she wants to bring Australians ‘with us’ on economic plans
The federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has concluded her first major economic speech at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia event in Melbourne and is now taking questions from the crowd.
Her first questions, though, are from the Ceda chief executive, Melinda Cilento, who asks her how she would balance her economic plans with the social compact.
Ley says she wants to “bring Australians with us on this journey”. She goes on:
It just seems like a whole lot of numbers and statistics but everyone [including] millennials or gen Z, they understand debt. They’ve got a student debt. They understand household debt when they can’t make that payment by the end of the fortnight.
They understand that perhaps they’re never going to be able to scrape up enough money for a deposit on the first home or any home.
So we need to frame the conversation so that we tell them that we understand what their lives are like, and we reassure them that the social compact about responsible budget management is about intergenerational equity.
Right now, every minute, $50,000 is spent on interest on the nation’s debt. And obviously people have got a lot of good ideas, but they all know that putting things on the credit card and then more things on the credit card is not the answer.
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Jim Chalmers says Liberals run by ‘weird collection of cookers and crackpots’
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said earlier the “worst possible” thing for Australia to do would be to walk away from net zero commitments, adding a ding against the Liberal party amid the Coalition’s infighting over the emissions targets:
The Liberal party is run now by this weird collection of cookers and crackpots, and nowhere is that more obvious than when it comes to net zero …
These Liberals haven’t learned a thing. They haven’t changed a bit, they are as divided and divisive as they have ever been. You see that in their approach to net zero.
Read more here:
Updated
Police officer charged after Sydney ‘fare evasion’ arrest
A NSW police officer has been charged with assault after the arrest of a man who was reportedly seen jumping ticket barriers at Sydney’s Central station.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, NSW police said that officers were patrolling the station on 27 May 2024 when a man was reportedly seen jumping ticket barriers.
The man ran from police and was chased, the force said, before he was arrested at Broadway.
Police said in the statement:
During the arrest, an officer deployed OC spray before further police attended and restrained the man.
Police commenced an internal investigation in relation to the incident.
A 36-year-old senior constable attached to a specialist command was issued with a court attendance notice for common assault, police said.
He is due to appear before Downing Centre local court on 23 October.
Police said “the officer is being managed in the workplace and his employment status is under review”.
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Ley says Coalition would undertake an audit of government spending where ‘every dollar would be tested’
Ley is outlining the Coalition’s economic priorities, including reining in spending and accounting for every dollar going out of the government coffers.
She says:
Spending should only grow where it delivers real value, not just because the economy has grown. Every new dollar of spending would require a saving, a re-prioritisation or a reform that makes government leaner …
Every dollar would be tested. Is it delivering results? Does it reflect the core responsibilities of government? Can it be done more efficiently or not at all? This is not about mindless cuts, it is about smart choices and hard priorities.
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‘Discipline is now essential,’ Ley says
Ley is calling for re-establishing “fundamental principles” that used to be “broadly accepted across politics”, saying the default should be about balanced budgets and restraining spending growth.
She says:
Discipline now is essential to ensure the economic legacy we hand to the next generation is stronger, not weaker.
She says part of that plan would be winding back welfare payments and creating a system of “targeted welfare to those who truly need it”.
Universal free everything might sound nice, but it drains resources from everyone.
Updated
Sussan Ley is delivering first major economic speech as opposition leader
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is delivering her first major economic speech in Melbourne after signalling the Coalition plans to ramp up means-testing for welfare payments.
Read more from our preview here and follow along:
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News Corp to run Jewish Council ads calling for sanctions on Israel
News Corp says it is inaccurate to say a pro-Palestinian advertisement was pulled from its newspapers and has agreed to publish a progressive Jewish group’s call for sanctions on Israel.
The Jewish Council of Australia claimed on Tuesday evening its ads in Wednesday’s Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun had been pulled at the 11th hour after being legally approved and paid for.
The quarter-page ads feature the photos of hundreds of Australian Jews to mark the start of a national campaign and a petition calling for sanctions on the Israeli government, a two-way arms embargo and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Australia in response to the atrocities committed in Gaza.
A News Corp spokesperson said it was inaccurate to say the ads had been pulled and that the delay was due to “normal internal processes”.
The JCA said it was told on Wednesday morning an amended version of the ad could run on Thursday with the inclusion of the word “advertisement” in the image.
Sarah Schwartz, the executive officer of the JCA, said:
Our ad really disrupts the message that all Jews support Israel and the message frequently put forward in News Corp newspapers that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic.
We have to keep persevering to have our voices heard in spaces where they otherwise wouldn’t be heard. We can’t give up on News Corp’s readership – this is a human issue.
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First 2032 Olympics contractor picked, but no location or timeline
Queensland’s deputy premier has announced the first successful contractor for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics – but there’s not yet a location or timeline for the project.
Jarrod Bleijie announced that international engineering consultancy firm Arup had won the bid to become principal contractor for the Victoria Park precinct master plan on Wednesday – planning how people get to and from venues, a process that will take about 12 months, he said. But despite announcing in July that geotechnical work on the project was already under way, he admitted it hadn’t yet begun.
“There is so much work that’s been happening, and you’ll physically see people digging holes here within a matter of weeks, I suspect,” Bleijie said.
He said the state government’s timeline for the stadium is “to have it done before 2032; we’re working backwards. That’s the timeline.”
I know Queenslanders are now excited about the prospect of this, and Queenslanders are not getting hung up on the detail in terms of, can it be done in time? It can be done in time, it has to be done in time, and it will be done in time, and this is part of the process of making sure it can be done in time.
Asked if the government would press ahead if the response during its consultation process was that the local community didn’t want a stadium, Bleijie said “yes”.
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‘Spring is record season for electricity’: Victoria sets record low 24 hours for brown coal
Wild winds in Victoria have helped deliver the state its lowest 24-hour period of brown coal generation on record.
Dylan McConnell, an energy systems expert at the University of New South Wales, said from about 5am Sunday to 5am Monday, renewable energy met about 77% of the state’s electricity demand.
At the time, some coal units were offline at Loy Yang B and Yallourn, demand was mild and there was more than enough wind to fill the gap.
“Spring is record season for electricity,” McConnell said. It’s the season when lower demand – after heating demand in winter, before air conditioning in summer – combines with generation from new solar and wind capacity that has come online during the year as the power grid transitions to renewable energy.
He said:
One the one level, we expect these records to be broken and there will be a lot of them broken in the next couple of weeks.
But on another level, they are important markers of the transition. It’s a signpost of progress that should be celebrated.
Clean Energy Council reports show the share of renewable energy in Victoria has grown from about 10% in 2014 to 40% last year.
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Chalmers says John Lyons ‘just doing his job’ after Trump rebukes reporter
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, speaking at a refinery in Brisbane, was also asked about the clash between ABC reporter John Lyons and the US president, Donald Trump.
When it comes to the ABC – I respect the ABC and I respect its independence and that extends to not second-guessing the questions asked legitimately by journalists at press conferences.
Journalists have a job to do and as far as I can tell, that journalist was just doing his job in Washington, DC. I don’t second-guess the decisions taken – the questions asked by journalists whether it is in DC or elsewhere. I respect the independence of the ABC.
Updated
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, have been speaking at a refinery in Brisbane about the previously announced $1.1bn cleaner fuels fund.
Chalmers said low-carbon fuels represented a “very big” economic opportunity for Ausralia that would maximise the benefits of the shift to net zero.
From the farm to the refinery, primary production to processing, this will create more jobs and more opportunities for more Australians right around the country.
We know that cleaner and cheaper energy is one of the most important ways we can build a stronger economy and lift living standards into the future … this is also all about making sure that we maximise the benefits of the net zero transformation in our economy.
Bowen said he wanted to see the refinery the ministers were speaking from – and other refineries across the country including in the Victorian city of Geelong – continue to operate for decades more:
We want to see more Australian jobs across the country taking great Australian products like canola, tallow, and other agricultural products and waste products and turning it into cleaner fuels …
Things like aviation and shipping and [to] some degree heavy transport are hard to decarbonise. A big part of the answer is lower-carbon fuels. Cleaner fuels. And as … every worker here knows that places like this are very important but will need to change. Consumers, investors, everyone is demanding lower-carbon fuels.
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SBS resists calls to join EU boycott of Eurovision 2026 if Israel allowed to compete
SBS has indicated it will not follow the lead of a growing number of European Union countries and boycott next year’s Eurovision song contest if Israel is permitted to compete.
The decision on Israel’s inclusion will be made by the contest’s governing body in December, but SBS told the Guardian on Tuesday it intended to participate in the 2026 event in Vienna, regardless of December’s decision.
The deadline for broadcasters to file their applications for participation was initially to expire on Monday, followed by a 28-day grace period during which a country could subsequently withdraw its application without incurring a financial penalty.
But earlier this month the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced the Eurovision song contest reference group had decided to extend the deadline to mid-December.
Read more here:
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NSW government to establish ‘single front door’ for development applications
The NSW government will introduce legislation to parliament today which it says will deliver more homes through an overhaul of the state’s planning system.
The Minns government’s planning system reforms bill will establish a new development coordination authority, which will act as a “single front door” for development applications and planning proposals on behalf of all state government agencies.
The government says the changes will see fewer development applications going through regional planning panels and environment agencies. It will also reform the existing environmental planning act, under which every decision about development is currently determined, to include housing delivery in its objects.
Under the changes, councils will be given 10 days to approve small variations on a development application, or have it deemed approved. The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said the change will remove councils’ ability to “sit on a development application forever”:
What this will mean is that councils will have to make an active decision to put resources into blocking complying developments. Our suspicion is they won’t. That’ll free up more time for them to look at strategic plans, how they want to make amenable, good communities.
The reforms follow the government’s establishment of the transport-oriented development zones, and low and mid-rise housing reforms, and of the housing delivery authority (HDA), which fast-tracks state significant developments by removing councils’ powers to block development. The changes will also see the HDA permanently enshrined in legislation.
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Pet owners can now book their cats and (small) dogs on some Virgin Australia flights
Pet owners are now able to book flights for their dogs and cats on some Virgin Australia routes, with the airline set to become the first in the country to allow pets in the main cabin.
The new policy will start as a trial on flights between Melbourne and the Gold Coast (cats won’t be allowed on this route at first) and Melbourne and the Sunshine Coast, with the first planes taking off from 16 October. Tickets for small dogs and cats (they’re the only pets allowed at the moment) will be available for $149 an animal, per flight.
A limit of four pets in the cabin will be allowed on each eligible flight, and all animals must weigh less than 8kgs. The change does not impact service animals, and Virgin will continue to allow pets to be transported as cargo.
Dave Emerson, the chief executive officer of Virgin Australia, said:
With almost 70% of households owning a pet, we expect the service to be embraced by pet lovers all around the country. Beyond convenience for pet owners, the service is also set to boost the pet-friendly travel sector, including hotels and tourism operators.
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More on Hastie, net zero and Ley
On Tuesday, Hastie’s senior colleague Jonno Duniam warned of a “mass exodus” from the Liberal frontbench if it adopted net zero at “any cost”, raising the spectre of a net zero rebellion against Ley.
Hastie played down suggestions that a potential move to the backbench could prompt a leadership challenge, conceding the majority of colleagues didn’t share his view on net zero.
Most of my colleagues, in fact, don’t support my position so I’m in the minority here. If you pulled out a spreadsheet … you’d find that a lot of people don’t support my energy position. So I am in the minority here, and I know that.
On his relationship with Ley, Hastie said:
It’s fine. We’re doing well. It’s perfectly fine. We’re in communication. We’re not besties on the phone every day, as you’d expect. I’m not talking to all my colleagues every day. We’re all back in our electorates at the moment doing our jobs.
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Hastie concedes most of his colleagues don’t support his anti-net zero stance
The Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie says the majority of his colleagues don’t share his strident opposition to net zero but he won’t back down even if it costs him his job.
In an interview on Sky News on Wednesday morning, Hastie also said his relationship with Sussan Ley was “perfectly fine” but admitted the pair weren’t “besties” amid ongoing speculation of a future leadership challenge.
The Western Australian MP reignited the Liberals’ climate wars – and set up a fresh test of Ley’s authority – after signalling on Monday he would quit his frontbench position if the party recommitted to net zero by 2050.
Hastie reaffirmed that position on Wednesday:
Energy policy is something I care very deeply about. It’s a hypothetical question, but fundamentally, I wouldn’t be much use to the Coalition if I’m out the front trying to sell a policy I don’t believe in.
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‘Hurting Australia’: Trump threatens ABC journalist and hints at Albanese meeting – video
Alan Jones faces nine new counts of indecent assault
Broadcaster Alan Jones has been hit with another batch of historical sexual abuse charges, AAP reports.
The shock jock and one-time Wallabies coach had previously been accused of sexually touching 11 victims, the youngest of whom was 17 at the time.
Jones, 84, had previously indicated he will plead not guilty to 35 historical offences. He was charged with another nine counts of indecent assault on Monday, bringing the total to 44.
The allegations span nearly two decades, when Jones dominated the airwaves on Sydney radio. Jones has vowed to fight the charges, with his lawyer questioning the strength of the evidence against him.
Jones’ arrest in November came after an eight-month police investigation into a number of alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019.
The new charges will be mentioned in court for the first time on Thursday.
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The commission’s report found that:
The ratio of economic benefits to costs from the new stadium being built is less than 0.5 (that is, costs will be worth twice the benefits).
The cost to construct the stadium equates to about $5,900 for every Tasmanian household.
In addition to economic impacts, there are social, cultural and community benefits and costs. However it is highly unlikely that any unquantifiable social and cultural impacts – both positive and negative – will significantly change the excess of costs over benefits.
The stated costs of the stadium are “optimistic” and there is a “significant risk they will be much higher”. They will have to be funded either by $1bn in debt or higher taxes.
The size, shape and location of the site is ill-suited to a building like the stadium – a “singular, large, bulky monolith which will overwhelm those surrounding buildings and the setting”.
Tasmanian planning commission recommends against Hobart stadium
Tasmania’s planning commission has thrown a spanner in the works of the AFL’s expansion plans, by recommending against a new stadium proposed for Hobart.
The commission has this morning released an expert panel’s assessment of the Macquarie Point stadium project. It said:
The panel recommends that the project should not proceed.
The IAR [Integrated Assessment Report] identifies a number of benefits and disbenefits that would accrue if the project proceeds. The panel has concluded that the benefits are outweighed by the disbenefits.
The final decision on the stadium is due to be made by the state’s parliament later this year.
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Australia and PNG the ‘truest of friends’, Albanese says
Albanese stressed the tight-knit relationship between Australia and PNG during his remarks, saying:
Australia and PNG are the closest of the neighbours … and we are the truest of friends. We’re there for each other when times are tough, but we take pleasure and joy in each other’s achievements. …
Australia and PNG will keep walking together. Side by side, step by step, towards the future. And I very much value my friendship with the prime minister. But importantly as well, I value the friendship between our two peoples. This at the end of the day is a people to people relationship. And it will be strengthened in the years ahead
Albanese says communique with PNG start of partnership to ‘shape the future’
Albanese said the communique as the start of a “partnership that will shape the future”, expressing optimism the document will lead to a defence treaty following cabinet discussions in both PNG and Australia.
Albanese told reporters:
The text of this treaty has been agreed and it will be signed following cabinet processes in both countries. This treaty will elevate our relationship to the status of an alliance. It will be Australia’s first new alliance in more than 70 years. …
It contains a mutual defence commitment under which both countries recognise that both Australia and PNG have a mutual interest in our security. It also will be a reflection of our shared commitment to regional security, our shared values and the depth of our partnership.
Marape says Australia has ‘never abandoned’ PNG, adding defence strategy in mutual interest
PNG prime minister James Marape is speaking in Port Moresby alongside Anthony Albanese after the pair signed a joint communique.
Marape said:
Australia has never abandoned us, true to the words of Gough Whitlam, Australia will find its purpose and meaning in the construction of a modern Papua New Guinea that is vibrant, prosperous and democratic. …
It is in our mutual interest to have a defence focus and strategy that’s mutual for two nations working side by side.
Albanese to leave PNG without signing major defence treaty
Albanese will leave Papua New Guinea without signing a major defence treaty on Wednesday, instead securing a joint communique with his counterpart James Marape.
Albanese will speak from Port Moresby in the next few minutes.
The treaty is considered “a work in progress”, despite months of negotiations and Albanese downplaying an earlier delay during commemorations of PNG’s independence from Australia on Tuesday.
There are concerns within the PNG government about the country’s sovereignty under the deal. Australia governed PNG until 50 years ago.
It is the second such delay in as many weeks. Ahead of the Pacific Islands Forum last week, Vanuatu’s government paused the signing of a joint agreement with Australia, saying more work was needed on the question of critical minerals funding from China.
PNG’s cabinet is going to meet next week to discuss the deal with Australia. It had been due to sign off on the deal on Monday night but fell short of the required quorum of members due to independence celebrations.
The treaty will allow PNG citizens to join the Australian Defence Force, and for Australians to serve with PNG troops, promote interoperability between the two countries and integrate responses to a military attack.
Joint military training and defence exercises are planned, as well as new cooperation on cybersecurity preparedness.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese is set to speak from Papua New Guinea in a few minutes. The two countries have been negotiating the details behind a landmark military defence agreement.
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Queensland coalminer blames state royalties regime on decision to slash 750 jobs
The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance has blamed Queensland’s “world’s highest” coal royalties regime for a decision to mothball its Saraji South coalmine and slash 750 roles across the state.
The metallurgical open cut coalmine, about 300km north west of Rockhampton, opened in 1979. The company announced it will be put into care and maintenance in November and that it is also conducting a strategic review of the BHP FutureFit Academy in Mackay.
Saraji South is part of the country’s fourth-largest mining complex, with the remaining mines to continue operating. The company said maintaining operations in lower margin areas of BMA’s mine footprint is not sustainable under current conditions in Queensland. BMA’s asset president, Adam Lancey, said:
As joint owners of BMA, BHP and Mitsubishi Development do not want to see operations paused or jobs lost, but these are necessary decisions in the face of the combined impact of the Queensland government’s unsustainable coal royalties and market conditions.
The simple fact is the Queensland coal industry is approaching a crisis point.
This is now having real impacts on regional jobs, communities and small businesses.
The uncertainty this creates for our people and our communities is not taken lightly, and we will do everything we can to support them.
Some of the staff are based in Brisbane, but it is understood most of the economic impact will be felt locally.
The company is the largest private sector employer in central Queensland.
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Coalition question remain despite more detail on plans for social media companies to block under-16s
Melissa McIntosh, the shadow minister for communications, said the Coalition has questions after the eSafety commissioner detailed how social media giants will be expected to handle the ban on users under 16.
Yesterday, the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said social media platforms from 10 December will be expected to take a “multilayered waterfall approach” for age checking to make sure that government ID is never the sole or final choice for people to verify their ages.
But McIntosh said the Coalition still has questions about how the age checks will take place. She told RN Breakfast:
I’ve got some question marks around some of the measures that the eSafety commissioner is implementing. When this legislation was passed, there was going to be no digital ID, and this has crept into the guidance material now. It’s not a first step, but it’s a backup step that people may need to use digital ID. So there’s some shifts, there’s some changes.
Families are telling me they don’t feel like parents, schools, and kids are being educated, that this is coming.
… I think Australians have a right to question that being as an option if all other proofs of identity, you know, age verification fail in this process.
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Two charged in Victoria after $14m in cocaine allegedly found inside car driven from NSW
Victoria police charged two men overnight after seizing 40kg of cocaine allegedly found inside a vehicle they were driving from the NSW border back to the state.
Police said the car was intercepted on the Hume Highway around 6.20am on Tuesday morning. A search of the vehicle allegedly found a substance believed to be cocaine with an estimated street value of $14m.
The two men, aged 19 and 20, have both been charged with trafficking large commercial quantities of cocaine and possessing large commercial quantities of cocaine. The will appear in court today.
Police said they will allege in court the transport was part of a wider syndicate.
Heatwaves caused more than 1,000 deaths in Australia over four-year period, study finds
Heatwaves caused 1,009 deaths in Australia from 2016 to 2019 according to a new analysis led by researchers at Monash University.
As the national climate risk assessment identified heatwaves as the climate hazard causing the most deaths, the newly published study found Queensland and New South Wales were the states with the highest mortality rates attributable to heatwaves.
Lead author Prof Yuming Guo said the study was the first to take a granular look at the risk of heat-related deaths in local communities across Australia.
The researchers analysed 249,546 death records from 2016 to the end of 2019 – the country’s hottest year on record.
Read more here:
Lyons says spat feeds into Trump’s history of attacks on the media
Lyons added more to ABC News this morning, saying:
I think all this feeds into President Trump’s sort of war on the media. It was just a perfectly sort of normal thing to do, to ask questions that I don’t think are provocative, I think are fair, are based on research.
They were not asked in an abusive fashion. And if we’ve reached the point where asking those sort of questions prevents you from going into the White House, then I think it’s a very dark day.
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ABC journalist explains clash with US president Donald Trump
The ABC’s John Lyons explained more about his clash with US president Donald Trump.
Lyons spoke to RN Breakfast after he asked Trump how much wealthier he had become since returning to the White House for his second term. Trump then turned on Lyons, saying he was “hurting Australia very much” and alluded Anthony Albanese was coming to visit him soon.
“I’m going to tell him about you,” Trump said, adding “you set a very bad tone”.
Lyons explained more to RN:
He liked the first half of the question. He didn’t like the second half of the question.
[He] said I was hurting Australia. And he was going to tell on me to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. So I’ve still got to brace myself for what happens when he tells on me.
… A lot of the questions now are almost sickeningly grovelling. And so, when you get a vaguely sort of objective question, then you stand out. I thought my questions were legitimate. It’s about holding truth to power.
Read more here:
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Good morning, and happy Wednesday. Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s jump in.
Trump hints at Albanese meeting 'very soon'
Donald Trump has indicated he is set to meet prime minister Anthony Albanese in the coming weeks.
“Your leader is coming over to see me very soon,” the US president told an Australian reporter while speaking to journalists as he left the White House for a visit to the United Kingdom.
Trump did not mention when he would meet Albanese.
The Australian prime minister is preparing to travel to New York in coming days for the United Nations general assembly, where a meeting on the sidelines with Trump was considered a possibility.
Read our full report:
Nappy pants taken off Woolworths shelves after pest found
Nappy pants have been stripped from supermarket shelves after a serious pest was found inside a haul of imported products, AAP reports.
Khapra beetle larvae were discovered inside Little One’s Ultra Dry Nappy Pants - Walker Size 5 (42pk) earlier in September, a federal agriculture department alert states.
The products were sold nationally by Woolworths and imported through a third company.
No other sizes or products from the same brand are believed to be impacted.
Anyone who bought the nappy pants has been told to seal the nappy pants in a bag to prevent the pest spreading and contact biosecurity authorities immediately.
Anyone who comes across the insects another way has been urged to raise the alarm.
A Woolworths spokesperson said as soon as they were made aware a customer raised the alarm the company removed the product from sale, quarantined it and launched an investigation with importer Ontex.
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Energy efficiency and electrification can play huge role in cutting emissions, analysis finds
Boosting energy efficiency and electrification in homes, businesses, and at major industrial sites could deliver a fifth of the emissions cut needed to reach a 75% emissions reduction target by 2035, according to a new analysis.
The report by the Energy Efficiency Council, using modelling by the Climateworks Centre, has been released as cabinet decides on its 2035 emissions reduction target, expected to be announced late this week.
It found measures including doubling the number of heat pumps installed in homes each year, upgrading thousands of inefficient industrial motors and pumps with more advanced technology, and replacing diesel-power equipment on farms and mines could cut annual pollution by 44m tonnes a year.
The council’s chief executive, Luke Menzel, said making these sorts of improvements were “some of the most cost-effective and fastest actions we can take to cut emissions and reduce the impact of climate change”.
No matter what number the government picks for our 2035 target, if Australia is serious about reaching net zero by 2050 we must up the pace of appliance upgrades, building retrofits and industrial electrification now and not wait until the 2040s.
The best time to get stuck in to this was probably 10 or 15 years ago, The second best time is now.
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Net zero target a 'distraction', says new Liberal shadow minister
Another member of the Liberals’ shadow ministry has defended the party’s internal debate over climate action and rejected net zero targets as a “distraction”.
Simon Kennedy, who Sussan Ley promoted to serve as a shadow assistant minister on Sunday, said Ley would welcome the party’s debate over whether to walk away from committing to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
He told the ABC’s 7.30:
We’re having the debate the Labor Party should be having. ... What [Ley] would welcome is Andrew [Hastie] and our party having a robust debate that Labor should be having on how do we actually reduce emissions and reduce energy [prices].”
A Liberal frontbencher, Andrew Hastie, this week said he would quit the shadow ministry if the party re-adopted the climate target, with colleague Jonno Duniam, suggesting more Liberals could follow suit.
Kennedy, the MP for Scott Morrison’s former seat of Cook, denied the debate was destabilising Ley’s leadership. He said he supported a net zero target but claimed it was “not a policy it’s a distraction” that Labor was using to divert attention from the fact emissions weren’t going down and energy prices were going up.
[Labor] are playing this politics about 2050 because they will do anything to avoid the disaster that’s hitting Australian industry.
The Liberals’ internal debate has come to a head in the same week the government released a landmark climate risk assessment, which Kennedy dismissed as “an alarmist report”.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you the top stories this morning and then my colleague Nick Visser will take the reins.
Donald Trump has indicated he is set to meet Anthony Albanese in the coming weeks. Responding to a question from an Australian ABC reporter at the White House as he left for the UK, Trump said Albanese was coming to see him “very soon”. More coming up.
As the opposition leader prepares to deliver a major speech on the economy, another member of Sussan Ley’s shadow ministry has defended the Coalition’s internal debate over climate action and rejected net zero targets as a “distraction”. More shortly.
