What we learned: Friday, 4 July
This is where we’ll leave the blog for the evening. I hope you have a great night, wherever you are. Here were today’s top stories:
Police were investigating after two men were found dead in a house in inner-city Sydney. The men, yet to be identified, were believed to be in their 70s and 80s. Detectives had spoken to a 63-year-old woman who lives at the same house.
The jury deliberations in the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson will continue into a sixth day. The jury will meet again tomorrow to consider a verdict on Saturday at the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell.
The deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, appeared before the NSW inquiry into antisemitism, where he was asked about 14 incidents over the summer in Sydney, which included arson attacks on a childcare centre and a synagogue, and which the Australian federal police subsequently revealed they believed to be a “con job” by organised crime to influence prosecutions.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese made a veiled criticism of Trump’s America First policies in the US. In a keynote speech at News Corp’s Economic Outlook event earlier today, Albanese said Australia “does not need to go looking overseas”.
The federal education minister, Jason Clare, said federal childcare centre investigators would have the ability to do spot checks and unannounced visits as part of new laws to be introduced in response to shocking allegations of child sexual abuse this week.
A man was shot dead at a rural Victorian property during a siege after police said he fired at them with an alleged “homemade firearm”. Police said they were called to Menzies Drive in Daisy Hill, near the town of Maryborough, following a report that a man discharged a firearm.
Qantas said it would soon finish informing 6 million customers whose data was stolen by cyber criminals exactly what type of personal information was harvested. The airline said it remained unclear who was responsible for the cyber-attack and that it had not receive a ransom request.
And two teenagers were charged over the alleged fatal stabbing of a man in western Sydney last week, New South Wales police said. Police said they believed 21-year-old Luke Manassa may have allegedly been killed in a case of mistaken identity.
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Patterson jury deliberations to continue into a sixth day
The jury in the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson have finished their deliberations for today, but will meet again tomorrow to consider a verdict on Saturday at the Latrobe Valley law courts in Morwell.
Patterson, 50, is charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder over the alleged poisoning of four lunch guests with beef wellingtons served at her house in Leongatha on 29 July 2023.
Patterson has pleaded not guilty to murdering the relatives of her estranged husband, Simon Patterson – his parents, Don and Gail Patterson, and aunt, Heather Wilkinson – and attempting to murder his uncle, Ian Wilkinson, Heather’s husband.
The jury retired to consider its verdict on Monday after a 10-week trial.
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NSW police deputy quizzed about first major pro-Palestine protest in 2023
Circling back to the NSW inquiry into antisemitism, the deputy police commissioner has spoken about the first major pro-Palestine protest that took place on 9 October 2023 at the Opera House, and which received fierce backlash by the state government.
David Hudson said “if we’d known what we know [now]” police still would have facilitated the protesters’ free movement to the Opera House because police “don’t have powers to prevent people from attending the Opera House”.
He said the only thing police would change is they would not have let people on to the Opera House steps.
Hudson said:
We would have prevented them from getting to the steps, but … we can’t prevent the free movement of people throughout the city just because you’re in a protest. You can walk down the street, the footpath.
Bearing in mind, at that particular protest at the Town Hall, there was a lot of women, children, women pushing prams. It’s not like we were going to put walls up and start boxing on with these people who have a right to protest.
Hudson said the Palestine Action Group had flagged with police their intention to hold the protest at Town Hall. They also later notified police of their intention to then walk to the Opera House.
Hudson said there was “nothing violent exhibited” by the protesters. He said the issue was an “influx of individuals” who weren’t involved in the protest at Town Hall.
He told the inquiry:
It was posted on social media that that group was moving to the Opera House, and there was an influx of individuals from south-western Sydney and carloads that attended the opera house that weren’t at the Town Hall.
And that certainly turned into an undesirable event for us and for the Jewish community, and probably the state of NSW, but we talk about lessons learned from that, we need to scrape social media better than we do to get the temperature of the community.
Updated
Hello, I hope you’ve had a good day so far. I’ll take you through the rest of the afternoon’s news.
I’m going to hand you over to my colleague Catie McLeod now, who’ll carry you through the rest of this afternoon.
Qantas adds new protections to frequent flyer accounts after cyber-attack
In the latest update to customers, Qantas has said it has put in additional protections on frequent flyer accounts as a precautionary measure after the data breach affecting up to 6 million customers earlier this week.
To log into your frequent flyer account you need the number, your surname and a pin, and then either SMS multi-factor authentication or the authentication app if used.
But the company said it would now require additional ID requirements for account changes.
Qantas said the investigation into the breach had so far shown there had been no further threat activity in the system, and it remained secure.
The airline said it had still not been contacted by anyone claiming to have the data.
Qantas urged customers to be wary of scammers trying to exploit concern over the attack, saying it had become aware of such scams already being attempted:
This is unfortunately common after incidents like this. We recommend customers remain alert for unusual communications claiming to be from Qantas or requesting personal information or passwords.
Updated
Burrup Peninsula traditional owners head to Paris to campaign for ancient rock art
Traditional owners from Murujuga, also known as the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, will travel to Paris next week to advocate to Unesco for the protection of ancient rock art and cultural heritage.
Raelene Cooper, the former chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, will lead a delegation to Paris as the 21-country Unesco world heritage committee is scheduled to meet on 6 July.
The Murujuga Cultural Landscape in north-west WA is home to more than a million petroglyphs, some almost 50,000 years old. It met the requirements for world heritage nomination – except for the emissions from a nearby Woodside gas plant. Traditional owners are concerned about the threat posed by the fossil fuel industry to the site.
Scientists expressed concern that emissions of nitrous oxide and sulphur oxide were working to slowly dissolve the top layers of the petroglyph rocks. Unesco advisers said the world heritage nomination should be referred back to Australia until nearby “degrading acidic emissions” were halted.
Woodside’s Karratha gas plant has been conditionally awarded a 40-year extension by the environment minister, Murray Watt, to operate until 2070. The Albanese government has been lobbying Unesco to reverse its recommendation.
Read more about the background to this story:
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NSW police deputy tells inquiry the volume of antisemitic incidents is still increasing
The deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, is appearing before the NSW inquiry into antisemitism.
He was asked about the 14 incidents over the summer in Sydney, which included arson attacks on a childcare centre and a synagogue, and which the Australian federal police subsequently revealed they believed to be a “con job” by organised crime to influence prosecutions.
Hudson said:
We certainly believe that they were antisemitic in nature. The Jewish community was targeted … I don’t think we would consider it anything but antisemitic in nature.
The Liberal MP Scott Glynn Farlow asked Hudson to confirm if the alleged mastermind behind the incident held antisemitic views “that were shown previous to those incidents”.
Hudson said:
There’s an individual of interest to us that we haven’t publicly identified, has been suggested through media outlets and has actually engaged in interviews in relation to it. I believe that individual certainly posted material on social media sites a few years ago, which one would consider having an antisemitic ideology.
Hudson was asked about the frequency of antisemitic incidents. He said:
Whilst I think the volume is increasing still. I think there are still a large number of antisemitic incidents, but they’re of a lower level than we’ve previously seen through the last summer.
Updated
More on comments by Jillian Segal, who was appointed by the Albanese government as Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, and has just appeared before the NSW inquiry into antisemitism.
She told the inquiry that the state should define antisemitism according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism.
Jewish advocacy groups have said the statement, which has been adopted by Australian universities, would help stop hate speech and violence. However, others argue the broad definition could be used to shut down legitimate criticism of the state of Israel.
Segal said:
If you call for the destruction of the state of Israel and the abolition of all Jews, it’s antisemitic. If you want to criticise policies of the state of Israel, it’s not antisemitic.
Segal was questioned if her advocacy had mostly focused on anti-Israel sentiment, rather than antisemitism.
Segal said:
I think my work has been focused more on antisemitism generally, if I could put it that way, rather than any particular … there’s been terrible antisemitism on the right and, of course, we see – have seen that in lots, lots of graffiti and signs and posters, but also antisemitism on the left. So I’ve been focused on both ends of the spectrum.
I see it rather as a horseshoe, if I could use it that way, that it covers the full spectrum of traditional antisemitism … and the antisemitism on the left is that that’s more associated with anti-Zionism, or a misplaced view of Zionism and matters in the Middle East.
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Jillian Segal defends calling for weekly pro-Palestine protests to be banned
Jillian Segal has not accepted allegations that her calls for the weekly pro-Palestine protests to be banned in the streets of Sydney’s CBD were “pernicious” because it would be “impossible and unlawful” to do so.
On Friday, Segal – who was appointed by the Albanese government as Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism – appeared before the NSW inquiry into antisemitism.
The Labor MP Stephen Lawrence asked Segal if her calls for protests to be banned in the streets of the CBD were pernicious “because it can feed a view in the Jewish community that the community is not being properly protected, when actually what you’re calling for is impossible and unlawful”.
Segal responded:
Well, I don’t think it was unlawful, with respect, to call for it, and I don’t accept what you said. I think that there are limits, and for example, they have been recognised by the government in NSW in saying that people should not gather outside synagogues and intimidate people who were praying there.
I think that it’s quite a complex issue as to where people exercise their rights and how they do and that that area of freedom around synagogues has now been recognised as it is around health reproduction clinics. So I think it was perfectly consistent with the thinking of the law to allow demonstrations, but at the same time to respect the rights of other people, to utilise their city and their freedoms, certainly, but your call was not for a particular limitation in respect of a protest outside of synagogues.
In February, the Minns government passed laws which gave police powers to issue move on orders to protesters demonstrating near a place of worship, regardless of what the protest is about.
The legislation, which is facing a legal challenge that alleges the laws are unconstitutional, does not define how “near” the protest must be to the place of worship; that’s at the police’s discretion.
Segal was asked by the Greens MP Amanda Cohn about her comments that the protests were “intimidatory and sinister”.
Segal responded:
I’m not in any way objecting to freedom of speech or assembly or anything like that. I was just trying to convey that they were taking over the city, and ordinary non-Jewish members of the public were feeling intimidated.
These comments come from people who were trying to get into the city … carry on with their shopping in the middle of last year.
They were being jostled. They weren’t allowed to cross. There was shouting. They felt just intimidated … And they were angry that they could not access the shops that they wished to. And indeed, they left the city.
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Court sets date to hear arguments on whether ABC should pay penalties in Lattouf case
The federal court has set a date to hear arguments over whether the ABC should be ordered to pay up to $460,000 in pecuniary penalties for breaching the Fair Work Act when it terminated Antoinette Lattouf.
Last month the court found the ABC breached the act when it removed the casual broadcaster from air in December 2023 for reasons including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Lattouf’s lawyer, Josh Bornstein, has foreshadowed he will ask the court to award any pecuniary penalties to Lattouf.
Justice Darryl Rangiah has set down 14 July for the interlocutory hearing.
Updated
Thanks for joining us on the blog today. Handing over now to Stephanie Convery, who will keep you posted into the evening.
PM stresses need ‘to be responsible’ on NDIS reform
Anthony Albanese says reform to the NDIS needs to be responsible to ensure those supported by the disability insurance system don’t feel threatened about their support being taken away.
The NDIS supports more than 700,000 participants and is expected to cost $58bn a year by 2028.
The prime minister was asked by the Sky News host Andrew Clennell whether it was “time to take kids with mild autism off the NDIS”.
Albanese said:
The vision of the NDIS wasn’t that every, that those sort of numbers that you just quoted go on the system, and when you have, you know, well over half a million Australians on the NDIS, you’ve got to be responsible about how you do it and work through with the sector, because it’s very easy for vulnerable people to feel like their support is threatened.
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Two men found dead in Sydney house
Police are investigating after two men were found dead in a house in inner-city Sydney.
Officers responded to concern for welfare reports at a house in Cleveland Street, Surry Hills about 2pm yesterday.
The body of a man was found inside the house, and officers established a crime scene, NSW police said in a statement. The body of a second man was found in another room a short time later.
Police believe both men died in the house at different times within the past month.
The men, yet to be identified, are believed to be in their 70s and 80s.
Detectives have spoken to a 63-year-old woman who lives at the same house.
Investigations continue, and police ask anyone with information to contact Surry Hills police station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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Qantas will notify customers of exact data taken next week
Qantas has told customers who had their personal information compromised in this week’s cyber-attack that they will be informed of the exact data that was taken next week.
The personal information of up to 6 million customers was stolen this week after cybercriminals were able to access a third-party system after targeting a call centre in what is believed to be a social-engineering attack where they impersonated a Qantas employee in order to gain access to the system.
Qantas has alerted customers over email of the initial breach, stating the information taken would likely include names, email addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, and frequent flyer numbers, but in an update on Friday afternoon, the company said it would tell customers individually what information of theirs had been taken:
Next week, we will be in a position to update impacted customers on the types of their personal data that was contained in the system. This will confirm specific data fields for each individual, which will vary from customer to customer.
The company has not received a ransom demand from the alleged hackers, and the data has not yet been posted on the dark web.
The airline has yet to announce whether customers can expect to be compensated for the breach.
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PM declines to play ‘rule in, rule out’ game on tax reform
Anthony Albanese is not playing the “rule in, rule out” game on tax reform, just as his treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has done recently.
The Sky News host Andrew Clennell asks the prime minister whether there’s consideration for lowering income tax and raising the GST and there’s a bit of back-and-forth.
Albanese: “We’re going to do interviews between now and August, where we get asked by you and others to rule things in or out.”
Clennell: “We’re not asking you to rule it out.”
Albanese: “Yes, you’re asking if you’ll consider it …
Clennell: “What’s your instinct about it?”
Albanese: “Well, you can ask it different ways, but it’s the same question, Andrew, and it’s the same headline that you’re looking for. And what I want is a mature –”
Clennell: “I’m actually curious, as is the audience, I’m sure, to what your view is about increasing the GST and lowering income tax.”
Albanese: “Well, no, it’s not something that, that we have given any consideration to. But if people want to put forward ideas, we’re not saying these are the conditions, you know, you can put them up. We, of course, will take into account the response, and I’m a supporter of progressive taxation.”
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Rudd no barrier to Australia’s relations with Trump, says PM
Anthony Albanese says Kevin Rudd has not been a barrier to Australia’s relations with the Trump administration, adding he’s only had “very positive” feedback about the former prime minister turned US ambassador.
Speaking at News Corp’s Economic Outlook, Albanese said:
As much as people might have had a view about Kevin [Rudd] over a period of time, no one could doubt his capacity, his hard work, his ability to work strongly. The discussions that I’ve had have been very positive, nothing but positive in comments that have been made to me. So he’s not a bar to any phone call, any meeting.
In 2020, Rudd, before being appointed ambassador, described Donald Trump as “the most destructive president in history” in a now-deleted tweet.
Trump, when asked about Rudd’s comments in a British TV interview in March last year, said Rudd was “not the brightest bulb” and “nasty”.
“He won’t be there long if that’s the case,” Trump said.
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PM quizzed about a possible face-to-face meeting with Trump
Following his keynote address, Anthony Albanese is answering questions from the Sky News host Andrew Clennell.
To no one’s surprise, the first question is on Donald Trump.
Clennell asks the prime minister whether he’s more confident his face-to-face meeting with Trump will happen after Penny Wong’s visit to Washington DC this week.
Albanese says:
I’m confident as well that we will be constructive, but we know that no country has a better tariff, if you like, level than 10% now. We’ll continue to put our case [forward] …
Clennell then asks Albanese about Trump’s consideration of exempting Australia from the tariffs in March but later deciding not to.
The prime minister responds:
You know, when you know, well, when you negotiate with someone – he did say that, but he has also said that ‘there’s no more beautiful word in the English language than tariff’. Now we have, we have a different view. That wouldn’t be that, that wouldn’t even be, not in my, to quote, top 10 lists of all the things at the moment in the Oz [The Australian newspaper] this morning, that wouldn’t be in my top million of words.
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Prime minister addresses News Corp’s Economic Outlook event
Anthony Albanese says Australia “does not need to go looking overseas” for its economic model in a veiled reference to Trump’s America First policies in the US.
In a keynote speech at News Corp’s Economic Outlook event on Friday, the prime minister mirrored language in his election victory speech in May as he outlined his vision for Australia in his second term of government.
Albanese said:
In all of this, our nation does not need to go looking overseas for an economic model to copy. There is nothing for us to gain from a race to the bottom on wages and conditions. Or the economic self-harm of tariffs. We want to do this the Australian way. Not talking Australia down. Holding true to our values of fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all. Investing in our people, their ability to adapt to new technology and to develop it. And drawing out the potential of our whole country.
It comes as Donald Trump’s global tariffs placed on US imports are expected to resume next week. Australia has yet to lock in an exemption from the 10% baseline tariffs on Australian goods.
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Greens urge Labor to take more action on price gouging
The Greens senator Nick McKim has called the prime minister’s economic agenda “a love letter to the Liberal party’s economic worldview”.
In a statement, McKim invites Labor to join a Greens push to make price gouging illegal and make big companies pay their fair share of tax:
The PM has today offered up a future where he cosies up to price gouging corporations to the detriment of ordinary people, climate and the environment.
Unlike the PM the Greens believe governments need to do more, not less, to address growing economic inequality and climate and environmental destruction. These challenges will not be solved by big corporations whose only agenda is to increase their profits.
The Greens will keep fighting to make price gouging illegal and make big corporations pay their fair share of tax so we can invest into social supports. We invite Labor to join us.
The prime minister is addressing the Australia’s Economic Outlook forum today, hosted by Sky News and the Australian.
Guardian Australia understands McKim’s comments were made before the prime minister’s speech took place.
Updated
Australian shares rise and edge toward new record high
The local share market has been edging higher after a stronger-than-expected US jobs report reaffirmed the strength of the world’s largest economy.
At noon today, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 14.2 points, or 0.17%, to 8,610.0 – less than 30 points from its all-time intraday high set three weeks ago, and on track to finish the week 1.1% higher than where it began.
The broader All Ordinaries was up 13.7 points, or 0.16%, to 8,847.3.
The gains follow another record-setting day on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit new records after the June non-farm payrolls report showed US employment rising more than expected.
– Australian Associated Press
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Government pushes for federal childcare centre investigators to have authority to do spot checks
Jason Clare has said federal childcare centre investigators will have the ability to do spot checks and unannounced visits as part of new laws to be introduced in response to shocking allegations of child sexual abuse this week.
The education minister told Sky News on Friday that a new bill to be introduced in the upcoming sitting weeks will also allow the government to pull funding from centres who consistently fail to meet safety and quality standards.
The bill will also make sure that centres that aren’t meeting those minimum standards can’t expand and open another centre. But there’s another thing that the bill will do as well, and that gives the sort of people who work in my department, who investigate fraud in childcare centres, the ability to do spot checks, unannounced visits.
They won’t need a warrant. They won’t need the police to come with them when they’re investigating fraud in childcare centres.
Clare also flagged attorney generals around the country would meet to ensure criminal records are shared between jurisdictions in real-time but cautioned there was “no silver bullet”.
The truth is here there’s no silver bullet. There’s a whole bunch of things that we need to do, and this work will never end. There are always going to be more things that we need to do here, because there’s always going to be people who are going to try and break through the net to try to do the dastardly things that we’ve seen other people do.
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Jewish school security resemble ‘counter-terrorism’ squads
Jewish school principals say their security teams resemble counter-terrorism squads in an effort to keep students safe after a rise in antisemitism, AAP reports.
Giving evidence to a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining antisemitism in the state, leaders revealed schools had dealt with a barrage of incidents including frequent verbal abuse laden with Nazi references.
The inquiry was set up in February after a swathe of incidents in Sydney, including the firebombing of a non-religious childcare centre located near a synagogue and Jewish primary school in the city’s east.
That the centre was targeted for simply being near Jewish institutions highlighted the scope of the issue, Moriah College principal Miriam Hasofer said.
She said her school was spending $3.9m a year on security, an 86% increase compared with before 7 October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel. Moriah College has dealt with one security incident per week in 2025, Hasofer said:
Education is constantly disrupted, our teachers are drained, our wellbeing team is overstretched, our leaders are operating like a counter-terrorism unit, and this has become our normal.
A spate of high-profile attacks over summer included the targeting of a Jewish community leader’s former home and the spray-painting of antisemitic slurs in various prominent locations.
At a previous hearing, Jewish Australians labelled the inquiry “troubling” because it risks exacerbating antisemitism by focusing on just one form of racism.
Updated
Albanese government to commit $432m towards Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub
The federal government will provide $432m towards Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub after Origin Energy backed out of plans for a hydrogen hub in the region.
In a joint statement, the minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, and the member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon, said the project would secure the future of ammonia and explosives manufacturing at Kooragang Island by reducing its reliance on gas.
Located on Kooragang Island in the heart of the Hunter region, they said the project would deploy a 50 MW electrolyser powered by renewable energy, producing around 4,700 tonnes of green hydrogen each year.
Delivered through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena), they said the funding would bring down costs and accelerate the uptake of renewable hydrogen in heavy industry.
This announcement follows the $814m awarded to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Murchison Green Hydrogen Project in Western Australia earlier this year.
Bowen:
This investment shows we can secure existing industries such as ammonia and fertiliser production by transforming how they’re powered – creating new clean-tech jobs and future-proofing the Hunter’s economic base.
Regional communities like the Hunter will lead the way in Australia’s transformation into a renewable energy superpower – and this project is a great example of what that looks like in practice.
Updated
Labor’s super tax plan ‘troubling’, says Philip Ruddock
Former attorney general Philip Ruddock has called Labor’s plan to increase tax on superannuation over $3m “troubling”.
The former federal Liberal minister told the Saturday Telegraph:
It’s a contributory scheme and people are required to pay a substantial part of their earnings.
The idea when people have been making those contributions over such a long period of time that you’d suddenly be stripped of those benefits is troubling.
If you’re then looking at trying to tax gains in value in assets that the fund might hold … the principle in my view is what’s flawed.
Updated
Man shot dead during siege after firing at police with alleged ‘homemade firearm’
Police were called to Menzies Drive in Daisy Hill following a report that a man discharged a firearm. There was a siege in the shed for several hours before the man discharged shots towards police, who returned fire, just before 10pm, the police statement said.
Watch the police update here:
Updated
Victoria will legislate for permanent First Peoples’ Assembly later this year
The Victorian government will introduce a bill to parliament later this year to make the First Peoples’ Assembly permanent, giving it authority to make decisions and set rules on issues directly affecting Aboriginal people in the state.
As first reported by Guardian Australia earlier this week, the Victorian government and the First Peoples’ Assembly have confirmed the statewide treaty bill will establish the assembly as an ongoing representative body to provide advice to government.
In a joint update to treaty negotiations, released on Friday morning, the two parties said the bill, if passed, would allow the assembly to “make decisions and rules about specific matters that directly impact First Peoples in the state”.
Read the full story here:
Alleged victims of Melbourne childcare worker face ‘years of trauma’, says Sophie Scamps
Independent MP Sophie Scamps says the children who are the alleged victims of a Melbourne childcare worker charged with sexually abusing infants and children in his care will have “years of trauma”.
Scamps, who is a general practitioner, spoke on Nine’s Today program earlier this morning:
It’s going to have a huge impact for the children … There will be years of trauma that needs to be worked on. And for the families as well. Going forward, it will have a lifelong impact unless it’s dealt with now.
Updated
Police ‘attempted to negotiate’ with alleged gunman in Victorian siege before fatal police shooting
Victoria police are giving an update on a fatal police shooting in Daisy Hill last night.
Police were called to Menzies Drive following a report that a man discharged a firearm just before 3pm yesterday, police said in a statement.
Officers attended and ascertained shots had been fired inside a shed, police said in a live update.
A 39-year-old man “hid inside the shed when police attended, making threats to shoot those police and also indicating that he had a knife and bomb/explosives at his disposal,” police said. “He wasn’t keen at all on engaging with police, who attempted to negotiate with him but unfortunately could not.”
There was a siege in the shed for several hours before the man discharged shots towards police, who returned fire, just before 10pm, the police statement said.
“Unfortunately, a confrontation occurred just prior to 10pm, where the male exited the shed, produced a firearm and shot at police,” police said in the update. “Sadly, they were forced to respond, exchange gun fire with him and at this time he is deceased.”
No police or other members of community were injured.
Updated
Two teenagers charged over Luke Manassa stabbing ‘known to police’
The two teenagers charged with the fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Luke Manassa in Pemulwuy last week are “known to police”.
A 17-year-old male was arrested in South Penrith, police said in a statement, and charged with murder and failing to comply with a direction for digital evidence access. He was refused bail to appear in a children’s court today.
A 16-year-old male was arrested in Mt Druitt, police said. He was charged with murder and was also refused bail to appear in a children’s court today.
NSW police allege: “Both are linked to western Sydney street gangs.”
Police allege the two teenagers “were contracted by someone to conduct this killing”.
Updated
Police investigating whether fatal stabbing of Luke Manassa was a case of mistaken identity
More on the two teenagers charged with the fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Luke Manassa in Pemulwuy last week.
Investigations have not found a motive “as to why somebody would want to murder Luke,” NSW police said in an update.
“This could well be a case of mistaken identity. However, that is a strong line of inquiry that we continue to pursue and is probably too early at this stage to absolutely confirm that Luke was a mistaken identity,” police continued.
Manassa is not adversely known to NSW police, they said.
Updated
NSW police allege 21-year-old killed in ‘ambush-style’ attack in western Sydney
New South Wales police are giving an update on two teenagers who have been charged with murder over the fatal stabbing of 21-year-old Luke Manassa in Pemulwuy last week.
Police allege Manassa “was a victim of an ambush-style attack where two males dressed in dark clothing and wearing face coverings lay in wait at a location in Pemulwuy that the victim was attending,” they said.
Police further allege the the two males were armed with “machete hunting-style knives”.
Updated
Alleged blessing scam targeting Asian people, NSW police say
An elderly Chinese woman is the latest victim in an alleged spiritual blessing scam defrauding people out of valuables, including jewellery and money.
New South Wales police arrested a 63-year-old woman at Sydney airport on Thursday night.
She is accused of defrauding a 77-year-old woman out of a large sum of money and jewellery at Parramatta last month.
Authorities said it is the latest example of an alleged scam aimed at people of Asian backgrounds, where alleged offenders “exploit cultural fears” and convince women their wealth needs to be blessed to protect their families because they are at risk from spirits.
“The women are deceived and once the scammers are in possession of their money and valuables including jewellery, the items are swapped with items of no value and the women are encouraged not to open the bags for an extended time,” NSW police alleged in a statement.
A police strike force has been running since April, investigating alleged blessing scams across Sydney since 2023. In general, police have received reports of more than 80 incidents in that time and say the scams have netted a cool $3m in cash and valuables.
The woman arrested on Thursday has been charged with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, participating in a criminal group and demanding property in company with menaces with intent to steal in relation to the incident at Parramatta.
She was set to face Parramatta local court on Friday after being denied police bail.
– via Australian Associated Press
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‘I’m heartbroken’: Jürgen Klopp leads tributes after Diogo Jota dies aged 28
Jürgen Klopp and Cristiano Ronaldo led the tributes from across the football world to Diogo Jota after the Liverpool and Portugal forward was killed in a car accident in Spain. Jota’s brother, André, also died in the crash in the province of Zamora.
Jota was 28, a father of three young children and had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, less than a fortnight ago. Klopp, who signed Jota for Liverpool in 2020 and managed him for four seasons, posted on Instagram:
This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose! But I can’t see it!
I’m heartbroken to hear about the passing of Diogo and his brother André. Diogo was not only a fantastic player, but also a great friend, a loving and caring husband and father! We will miss you so much! All my prayers, thoughts and power to Rute, the kids, the family, the friends and everyone who loved them! Rest in peace – Love.
Ronaldo, who played with Jota for Portugal, posted a message on social media in Portuguese which translated said:
Doesn’t make any sense. Just now we were together in the national team, just now you were married. To your family, to your wife, your children, I send my condolences and wish them all the strength in the world. I know you will always be with them. R.I.P Diogo and André. We will all miss you.
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No ransom request received after Qantas cyber-attack, airline says
Qantas will soon finish informing 6 million customers whose data was stolen by cyber criminals exactly what type of personal information was harvested.
In an update today, the airline also said the group believed responsible for the incident remained unclear and that it had not received a ransom request.
The hack, revealed earlier this week, occurred on a third-party system used by a call centre working for Qantas.
Sensitive data such as credit card details, personal financial information, passport details and Qantas Frequent Flyer accounts were not exposed. But millions of customers did have names, dates of birth and email addresses stolen.
– via Australian Associated Press
Read more from Josh Taylor here:
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Victoria police urge drivers to prepare for snow at alpine resorts after dozens of rescues
Each week during the ski season about 80 cars are turned back from Mt Buller for arriving unprepared for the snow.
And 50 rescues have been made on Mt Hotham so far in the first three weeks of snow season, Victoria police say, “mostly consisting of motorists who needed to be extracted to their cars due to rapidly changing weather conditions”.
“Police are disappointed at the number of motorists arriving at alpine resorts unprepared,” the statement says.
Despite clear laws, signage and repeated safety messages, police and Alpine resort management staff continue to intercept a large number of vehicles without snow chains – equipment that can be the difference between a safe trip and a serious crash.
Commander Karen Nyholm says:
These aren’t small mistakes – we’re seeing vehicles stuck, and people needing to be rescued, after being caught out in rapidly changing weather. In many cases, it comes down to a lack of preparation.
As we move into the school holidays, we’re urging all travellers to take a few simple steps before setting off – pack your chains, check the weather, and ensure your vehicle is suitable for the conditions. It could save your life.
Alpine conditions can change fast – roads that look fine can become icy or dangerous without warning. If you’re not properly equipped, it can quickly turn into a serious situation for you and others.
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Woman trapped in unit fire in Brisbane, prompting police investigation
A woman is in hospital after being trapped in a unit fire in Brisbane’s West End, with police investigating the fire as suspicious.
Emergency services were called to Percy Street about 9.05pm last night to reports a number of units were on fire. Police found a unit well alight and the fire had spread to a second unit, Queensland police said in a statement.
They heard a woman screaming, trapped in the second unit, and “forcibly gained entry to extract” her.
The 54-year-old woman was treated for smoke inhalation and taken to hospital. A number of officers were also treated for smoke inhalation. No one else was injured.
Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing, and a crime scene was declared.
Police are appealing to the public for information, CCTV or dashcam footage.
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Australia must stop treating childcare ‘as a market and a business’, expert says
Alison Gill says there needs to be investment in childcare sector, with appropriate staffing and education on “how predators work”.
The Bravehearts CEO spoke on ABC RN a short moment ago:
I think people who are committed to early childhood education and care have been saying for a really long time: stop treating this as a market and a business and really invest in high-quality early childhood services. And it’s all about that quality.
There just should be no opportunity for abuse to occur in an early childhood setting. There should be no area where an educator can hide with a child, no opportunity for an educator to be alone with a child. And we do need to invest in the appropriate level of staffing, the qualification and knowledge of educators. We need to upskill the sector on sexual abuse and how predators and perpetrators work, and to be looking for that, to be vigilant all the time, to be raising concerns, to be reporting concerns.
We need to back in educators as this front line of child safety. There’s just so much that we can do.
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‘It’s more than just systemic reform’
Societal reform needs to come with systemic reform on child sexual abuse, a child protection expert says.
Alison Gill, the CEO of Bravehearts, encourages parents to “have considered and age-appropriate conversations with your kids that are truthful”.
She spoke on ABC RN a moment ago, after a Melbourne childcare worker was this week charged with allegedly sexually abusing infants and children in his care.
Gill urges parents to talk about personal safety, and create environments “where the children can be open with their parents and trusted adults”.
It’s more than just systemic reform. There’s societal reform that needs to happen too when it comes to child sexual abuse.
Elizabeth Westrupp had more advice yesterday, writing for The Conversation:
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Smoke coming from Sydney tram causes to be suspended on Randwick line
Light rail services on the Randwick line have stopped due to smoke coming from the roof of a tram.
“No light rail services are running between Royal Randwick and Randwick on the L2 Randwick Line due to smoke coming from the roof of a light rail tram,” Transport NSw said in a statement.
Transport NSW encourages passengers allow extra travel time and consider alternate transport. As of around 8am, replacement buses were ordered but not yet on site.
Services continue to run between Royal Randwick and Circular Quay.
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Two teenagers charged with murder over fatal stabbing in western Sydney
Two teenagers have been charged over the fatal stabbing of a man in western Sydney last week, New South Wales police say.
Emergency services were called to Driftway Drive in Pemulwuy about 10.45pm last Thursday after reports that 21-year-old Luke Manassa had been stabbed, NSW police said in a statement.
“Officers were told … two unknown men, dressed in dark clothing and disguises, had set upon the 21-year-old when he and his girlfriend arrived at the address,” the statement said. It continued:
The man managed to get back into his car and drive a short distance before being overcome by his injuries.
NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the man but he could not be revived. He died at the scene.
NSW police established Strike Force Hickety to investigate.
About 6am yesterday, detectives executed search warrants in South Penrith, Mt Druitt and Woodcroft.
A 17-year-old male was arrested in South Penrith, police said, and charged with murder and failing to comply with a direction for digital evidence access. He was refused bail to appear in a children’s court today.
A 16-year-old male was arrested in Mt Druitt, police said. He was charged with murder and was also refused bail to appear in a children’s court today.
During the search in Woodcroft, police seized what they will allege was used as the getaway car.
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‘There is no reason to let it go extinct’
Staying with the Corroboree frogs, Michael McFadden, a wildlife conservation officer at Taronga Conservation Society Australia, said of the latest release:
This is the largest frog release within this population to date. The 544 frogs aged four months to one year will dramatically bolster the wild population of this critically endangered species.
Dave Hunter, from the NSW government’s Saving Our Species conservation program, said:
The Northern Corroboree frog is one of Australia’s best-known frog species and is culturally significant to the Traditional Owners where it is found.
There is no reason to let it go extinct. We have the capacity to maintain critically endangered frogs in the wild, while research continues into a solution for amphibian chytrid fungus.
The Taronga Conservation Society said some frogs released in past years have been heard calling in the wild which was encouraging as it showed zoo-bred frogs could survive, mature, and contribute to future generations.
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Hundreds of critically endangered frogs released into the wild in NSW
In some good news for your Friday morning, Taronga Zoo says the largest ever release of critically endangered northern corroboree frogs into Brindabella national park has taken place.
The zoo’s conservation society says 544 of the frogs – which it bred in captivity – had been released into the wild in partnership with the New South Wales government.
There are estimated to be fewer than 1,200 mature individuals of the northern corroboree frog in the wild. The zoo says these frogs, which weigh only 2-3g and are “about the size of a paper clip”, are vital for the biodiversity of sub-alpine ranges.
Northern corroboree frogs, known for their black and yellow stripes, are found only within the Brindabella and Fiery Ranges in NSW and the ACT at between 750 and 1,800 metres above sea level.
Their survival is threatened by chytrid fungus, invasive species such as pigs and deer, and catastrophic climate events, including the black summer bushfires, which affected most of the species’ habitat in the Fiery Ranges.
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Man dies after contracting first NSW case of Australian bat lyssavirus
A man from northern New South Wales died on Thursday after contracting the state’s first recorded case of Australian bat lyssavirus – a close relative of the rabies virus.
The man, in his 50s, was bitten by a bat several months ago and received treatment at the time, NSW Health said. On Thursday, the department confirmed the man had died and urged the community to avoid touching or handling bats.
There is no effective treatment for lyssavirus once symptoms have presented, according to NSW Health. Symptoms include fever and loss of consciousness.
You can learn more in this explainer from Daisy Dumas:
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Federal government to fast-track childcare safety legislation as Victoria appoints Jay Weatherill to conduct snap review
The federal government will fast-track legislation in the next sitting week to cut funding to childcare centres that fail to meet safety standards, after shocking allegations of sexual abuse by a worker in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
It comes as the Victorian government announced the former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and senior bureaucrat Pamela White had been appointed to lead an urgent review of childcare safety.
Read the full story from Benita Kolovos and Tom McIlroy:
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Thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started on the blog this morning. I’ll be keeping you posted from here – let’s go.
Boy dies after e-bike crash in Sydney
A teenage boy has died after an e-bike crash in Sydney’s south yesterday afternoon, New South Wales police said last night.
In a statement, police said emergency services had been called to a park on Broe Avenue in Arncliffe at about 2.45pm following reports that a rider had fallen from an e-bike.
Police said officers from the St George police area command found a 14-year-old boy with serious injuries when they arrived.
The boy was treated at the scene by NSW ambulance paramedics before being taken to the Sydney Children’s hospital in a critical condition, police said, but he later died.
He has not yet been formally identified.
Police said they had established a crime scene as they began investigating what caused the incident and that they would prepare a report for the coroner.
Police have asked anyone with information about this incident, including phone footage to assist them in their inquiries by contacting St George police or Crime Stoppers.
Man shot dead by police in siege in Victorian town
A man has died after being shot by police in Daisy Hill last night, police said in a statement.
Police were called following a report that a man discharged a firearm on Thursday afternoon, during which no one was injured.
“Officers attended and attempted to engage with the armed man before there was a siege for several hours,” the statement said.
Specialist units including Critical Incident Response Team, Special Operations Group, and Dog Squad attended to assist.
The man discharged shots towards police, who returned fire just before 10pm.
The man died at the scene, and is yet to be formally identified.
Homicide Squad detectives will now investigate the matter with oversight from Professional Standards Command, as is standard procedure for a fatal police shooting.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog.
Victoria police have confirmed that a man has died after being shot by police in Daisy Hill overnight after “a siege for several hours” – more on that soon.
Police in Sydney have launched an investigation after a boy died after a crash on an e-bike. The incident happened yesterday afternoon in Arncliffe in south Sydney. More coming up.
And Qantas has said it will beef up its security and threat detection after a cyber-attack affecting up to 6 million customers, as Australia’s privacy watchdog has warned attacks using social engineering to gain access to data are on the rise.
I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Rafqa Touma to take the controls.
