Australia’s ‘most progressive’ census comes at personal cost to April – but it means their family will finally be counted
Self-professed “data nerd” April Long was excited to fill in their first census after welcoming their son, Kai, to the world. But as they opened the 2021 survey, they quickly realised it wasn’t made for them.
It excluded Long’s role as a parent, made assumptions about their gender and asked where Kai’s mother and father were born, when he has two mums.
Many “rainbow families” echoed similar experiences of the census being unable to fully capture the LGBTQ+ community.
But for this census on 11 August, Australians over the age of 16 will be asked to identify their sexual orientation and given separate questions on their sex at birth and gender for the first time. The 2026 iteration also introduces non-gendered terms to questions on household and family relationships, among other changes.
Read the full story here:
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Police launch investigation after Jewish teenager allegedly assaulted in Melbourne
Victoria police have launched an investigation into an alleged knife assault in Melbourne’s south-east.
In a statement, they said officers were stationed to Bentleigh just after 2pm on Friday where an 18-year-old man reported that he had been assaulted by a man he’d approached on the street while performing his door-to-door Jewish outreach work:
He reported being threatened with a knife and punched in the stomach. Police spoke to a 69-year-old man who was subsequently searched, and two pocketknives were located and seized. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
Jewish organisation the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADF) said the man who was allegedly assaulted was studying at a Melbourne yeshiva and spent every week doing Jewish outreach. They alleged he was “menaced with a knife, told he would be killed, and punched in the stomach in broad daylight”.
Dvir Abramovich, chair of the ADF, thanked Victoria police for their “swift response” but said the man had faced a “knife for a question”:
That is the going rate in Melbourne for being openly Jewish … If prejudice drove this alleged attack, the charges must say so.
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AusAlert warning system ‘another tool in the toolkit’, minister says
The emergency management minister, Kristy McBain, has said the AusAlert system that will be tested this afternoon is “much more accurate than the current system”, following several outages from major telco companies in recent months that saw hundreds of people unable to access triple zero.
McBain told ABC News Breakfast today:
[AusAlert] doesn’t rely on any one telco provider, it’s not subject to network congestion, and we can geolocate an alert down to 160 metres of where an incident is actually occurring.
In an actual emergency event (not a test, like today), the alert would explain what the type of emergency is, where it’s located, how serious it is, the emergency organisation that sent it, and where to get more information.
McBain emphasised the system would work alongside existing warning channels such as websites, radio, social media, television, and community outreach, and that it was “another tool in the toolkit”.
McBain also said on Monday the government had “done a lot of work” with domestic violence groups to limit harm, and that anyone with a concealed or hidden phone should place it in flight mode or keep it switched off before the alert sounds and for at least 24 hours.
– with AAP
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Emergency warning siren to blare across most phones today at 2pm AEST
A reminder that today’s the long-awaited AusAlert day! The day when every phone in the country (except for those who take specific precautions) will – or should, at any rate – blare an emergency siren at 2pm AEST as part of the first Australia-wide test of a new national warning system.
A recap: this afternoon, most phones, and some smartwatches and tablets, will receive a pop-up notification and an alert sound that cannot be silenced – even if your device is on “do not disturb” or silent mode. The warning system will be deployed to prepare Australians for fires, floods, terrorist incidents or health emergencies.
Here’s a backgrounder we prepared earlier on the nationwide test:
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Man charged with murder after woman fatally injured at home in Melbourne
A man has been charged with the murder of a woman in Melbourne’s outer south-east last night, according to police.
Emergency services were called to a home in Clyde North on Sunday evening at about 6.30pm after reports a woman had been seriously injured.
The woman was found critically injured in the home and was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries, where she later died.
Police arrested a 32-year-old man at the property. They believe he was known to the woman. He was charged with one count of murder and will appear in the Melbourne magistrates court today.
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Paterson again hoses down possibility of Liberal-One Nation coalition
Paterson also sought to hose down the possibility of a Liberal coalition with One Nation, after Liberal senator Andrew Bragg appeared to leave the door open to it, in some roundabout comments on the Today Show.
Paterson said:
I think Angus Taylor’s made the position of the Liberal party very clear. My assessment is it’s widely supported by colleagues. We have one coalition partner already, which is the National party, our traditional coalition partner, and we are not in the market for any other coalition partners …
I’d be surprised if Andrew Bragg is advocating for a coalition with One Nation. That’s not my understanding of his views. I think he made a sensible point that we’ll work out our preferences in the normal time, in the normal way, closer to the election.
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Latest US tariffs on Australia ‘unjustified’, James Paterson says
The 12.5% tariff imposed on Australia by the US government is “unjustified” and should be reconsidered, the shadow defence spokesperson, James Paterson, has said.
The tariffs were imposed after a US trade investigation into forced labour and international supply chains. Speaking to ABC RN, Paterson said:
It’s unjustified. Australia is not a haven of slave labour-produced goods and it’s inconsistent with the spirit and the letter, in my view, of our free trade agreement and the partnership that we have with the United States, which is very deep and very sincere and very important. And I’d really hope that the administration reconsiders applying tariffs like these to countries like Australia.
Paterson, who has recently been in the US and met with Pentagon officials, said the US sentiment towards Australia on Aukus, however, was “very positive”:
[The US has] had their very well-publicised review about Aukus and they’ve made an active decision to proceed with Aukus. And so the focus is now delivering … Everybody acknowledges there is more work to be done on increasing those submarine production rates to make them where we all want them to be.
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Culture of debate ‘not valued as it should be’ within Labor, Husic says
Labor’s Ed Husic has said there was “an extraordinary amount of energy expended” at Labor’s national conference last week on stopping his motion to recognise Israel’s campaign in Gaza as a genocide from even reaching the floor, rather than allowing it to be debated.
Husic told ABC’s RN this morning:
I am concerned … the climate that exists in the party at the moment about having a different view is one that’s not valued as it should be. We bring perspectives from constituencies we represent on issues we feel strongly about, and that you want to be able to have those voices represented, particularly at the floor of conference.
He said there’s a large constituency that want this issue to be “ventilated and importantly, responded to”.
There’s a lot of support. I have to say, I’ve been really grateful for the support that I’ve received from rank-and-file members, from our supporters, from people in the public who believe it’s right to be able to have – you may not agree with the issue but believe it’s important to speak about. But a lot of party members feel strongly on this issue about what’s happened in Gaza, what’s happening in the West Bank, and they do want the government to be part of a process to stand up to that.
He continued:
I’ve been forward about the ideas that I believe strongly in, and on this issue in particular, that when Israel undertook a campaign in Gaza during our last term of government in the Rudd Gillard years, my son had just been born and I saw a father in Gaza taking a two-year-old out of rubble. And I rang the Israeli ambassador at that point and said, where do you think this ends? Like, my view is there’s got to be space for both Israelis and Palestinians.
It’s something I’ve spoken about for ages. It’s something I’ve spoken about as a minister. And while I don’t necessarily ascribe my faith to all the things that I do in public life, on this, as Australia’s first minister of Muslim faith, and where I express views early on, and where I come from a Bosnian Muslim background, where we have witnessed genocide – that took 10 years to establish as a genocide. Like, I am going to have views about it. And I think it’s only fair that I be able to express them.
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Barnaby Joyce suggests One Nation could accept some refugees while barring other migrants
It’s also well worth watching this video of Guardian Australia’s community affairs reporter Adeshola Ore’s interview with Barnaby Joyce about Armidale’s refugee resettlement program and One Nation’s policy positions on immigration.
One Nation’s policy is that immigrants who do not speak English should “under no circumstances … be able to settle in Australia”.
However, Joyce told the Guardian there could be an exemption for refugees under a One Nation government because they are a different cohort than “general immigration”.
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Nine years ago, as deputy prime minister and Nationals MP for New England, Barnaby Joyce was instrumental in supporting a resident-backed campaign for Armidale to be a site for resettling refugees, spruiking its benefits for reducing regional skills shortages.
Last December, the area’s federal MP, Barnaby Joyce, defected from the Nationals to One Nation, saying he was “philosophically aligned” with the rightwing party.
On a national level, One Nation is pushing a vision of a “monocultural” Australia alongside an anti-immigration agenda. But in the electorate of the party’s most high-profile recruit, a different story is playing out.
Read the full story here:
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Key figure in Icac NSW Liberal inquiry will not appear
A key figure at the centre of an anti-corruption inquiry involving the New South Wales Liberal party has moved to the UK and is not expected to give evidence during eight weeks of public hearings.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) will start its Operation Rosny hearings on Monday. The first witness will be hotelier Michael O’Hara, followed later in the week by former Liberal staffer Dylan Whitelaw and consultant Robert Assaf.
O’Hara and Assaf are among 10 individuals Icac has said it is investigating. Whitelaw is not named in the Icac allegations.
Christian Ellis, a former registered lobbyist and Liberal powerbroker who once received a glowing endorsement from the federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, is named in two Icac allegations but is not expected to appear.
A 2023 parliamentary inquiry preceded Icac’s current examination of “possible offences under the Electoral Funding Act”. Since that parliamentary inquiry, Ellis has moved to the UK, Guardian Australia can reveal.
Read the full story here:
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Jacinta Allan loses majority caucus support after meeting of state Labor factions
Speculation has been mounting overnight that Victoria’s Labor premier Jacinta Allan will face a leadership challenge this week, just four months from an election.
Factional conveners from Labor’s left and right met on Sunday night to discuss whether Allan still had the support of a majority of the caucus. It is understood the group agreed she did not.
But the pathway to a leadership challenge remains unclear as Allan’s most likely opponent – the deputy premier, Ben Carroll – has indicated to colleagues he would only run if the position was vacant.
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Morning folks, Stephanie Convery with you here to bring you all the live news today. Thanks so much to my colleagues for kicking us off this morning.
Commonwealth Games swimming record for Australian sprint ace
Cam McEvoy has dominated the 50m freestyle final in Glasgow, breaking the Commonwealth Games record, AAP reports.
McEvoy, who broke the world record in March, was the only finalist to crack 21 seconds as he led home an Australian medal sweep.
The 32-year-old dad clocked 20.97 seconds to beat Flynn Southam’s 21.44, while Jamie Jack took bronze in 21.47.
It is McEvoy’s first individual Commonwealth Games gold medal.
Read more about Australia’s overnight medals scoop here:
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Two more bird flu cases confirmed in South Australia
Two local birds in South Australia suspected to have a deadly bird flu, greater crested terns found in Robe and Semaphore, have been confirmed positive for the H5N1 virus by CSIRO.
This takes the total of H5 confirmed or presumed positive detections to 20 nationally, Australia’s acting chief veterinary officer, Dr Sam Hamilton, said in a Sunday statement.
All of these have been individual wild seabirds found in coastal locations.
There remains no evidence of any mass mortality events and there are no detections in poultry or in our agricultural production system.
The risk to human health remains low.
NSW planning minister calls for bill to allow commercial activity around new pool
The planning and public services minister, Paul Scully, said the Callan park upgrades represented a “new era”.
“The new tidal baths and return of 1.6 hectares, or the equivalent of 4,000 large picnic blankets of green open space, to the community will mean more people can enjoy this great parkland,” he said on Monday.
Scully argued Callan park would be further improved by the Parklands bill, which passed the state’s lower house in May and was now before the Legislative Council. Legislation currently prevents any commercial activity in Callan park.
“For the park to be able to host your new favourite café and reach its full potential, we need the … bill to pass parliament,” Scully said.
When opened, the Callan park baths will be the latest of Sydney’s new or re-animated public swimming spots. Marrinawi Cove at Barangaroo was dubbed Sydney’s first city beach in 50 years when it opened in 2023.
Bayview park on the Parramatta River reopened for swimming in 2022 after being closed for more than five decades. The river also boasts Chiswick baths and Cabarita beach, while “Pondi” – Penrith beach – was opened in Castlereagh in 2024.
New Sydney Harbour pool to open this summer
Sydney’s latest harbour swimming pool, on the banks of Callan Park in Lilyfield, will open for swimmers this summer, the state government says, with construction now under way.
The new tidal baths on the Iron Cove foreshore, along the popular Bay Run and close to sports fields like Leichhardt Oval and King George Park, is expected to attract thousands to the southern banks of the Parramatta River.
Demolition work has also started on nine unsafe buildings in Callan park “which were neglected for so long that they have become not only an eyesore but a safety hazard”, the Minns government said on Monday.
“The removal of these long cordoned off buildings will unlock central parts of Callan Park, delivering the equivalent of two football fields of green space back to free community use,” the government said in a statement.
The baths will include a shark net, a fixed jetty, a pontoon, and an accessible pathway and ramp into the water.
Construction of the new tidal baths was expected to take six months, meaning it should open for summer 2026. The building demolition in Callan park was also expected to be completed by the end of this year.
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Good morning
Stephanie Convery will be with you soon to take you through today’s news as it unfolds.
At 2pm AEST today, most phones in the country will blare an emergency siren as part of the first nationwide test of the new AusAlert warning system. People who may have secret “safe phones”, kept hidden for personal safety reasons, have been advised to consider turning off their devices for up to 24 hours after the test and drivers have been warned not to touch their phones during the alert.
The Royal Commission on Anti-semitism and Social Cohesion continues in Sydney.
And Ed Husic is up on ABC Radio soon to talk about fallout from the national Labor conference.
