What we learned today, Wednesday 11 June
This is where we’ll wrap the blog up for the day. Let’s recap the day’s main events:
Tasmania will go to the polls on 19 July after the state’s governor agreed to a request from the Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, for an early election.
Australia has joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
The Labor MP Ed Husic has said the targeted sanctions against two Israeli ministers “should have the flexibility to go further” if nothing changes.
Anthony Albanese did not answer if Australia would impose harsher sanctions if there was no change.
The Coalition wants to know more about why the Labor government enacted the sanctions, saying the government should be clearer on what basis the decision was made.
The Greens welcomed the sanctions but said they were “extremely late”.
More Australian journalists have been harmed by LA police while covering protests against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The ABC program Q+A has been cancelled after 18 years.
Qantas says it will close Jetstar Asia, an offshoot of its low-cost carrier that flies 16 intra-Asia routes.
Police shot a 17-year-old girl at a pub in Townsville yesterday evening after she allegedly moved towards officers with a knife.
The Queensland government looks unlikely to bail out a Brisbane psychiatric hospital which is set to close its doors.
Thank you for joining us today. We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.
Updated
The Tasmanian governor, Barbara Baker, has issued a statement confirming the 19 July election. She said:
Notwithstanding the recent 2024 election, the public interest in avoiding the cost of another election and the prevailing public mood against holding an election, I have granted Premier Rockliff a dissolution.
I make this grant because I am satisfied that there is no real possibility that an alternative government can be formed.
Tasmanian governor grants Rockliff’s request for early election on 19 July
Tasmania will hold an early election on 19 July after the state’s governor agreed to a request from the Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff.
Rockliff has been at Government House meeting with the governor, Barbara Baker.
It will be the state’s fourth election in seven years. The last election was in March 2024.
The next poll was not due until 2028, but has been called early after parliament passed a vote of no confidence in Rockliff last week. The motion was moved by the Labor leader, Dean Winter.
Liberal has 14 seats in the 35-member parliament and Labor 10. The Greens have five and there are six other crossbenchers.
Updated
Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff called back to Government House
We have some news on Tasmanian election watch.
The premier, Jeremy Rockliff, is on his way to Government House in Hobart after being called back by the governor, Barbara Baker.
Rockliff visited Baker last night to recommend the state hold an early election. It followed parliament passing a vote of no confidence in him last week.
Baker said she would take some time to consider her decision before calling Rockliff back.
She met with the opposition leader, Dean Winter, earlier today. Winter told her Labor would not work with the Greens to form a minority government.
We will keep this blog open to update you when we know more.
Updated
‘Poor management’: WA regulator in the dark over water use
Authorities are not monitoring how much water is being pumped from the ground in one of Australia’s driest states or if it’s taken legally, a report says.
Western Australia’s auditor general found that the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) was not enforcing the conditions on the more than 12,000 water licences.
Often handed out for free, the licences allow more than 4tn litres of water to be extracted annually – enough to fill more than 1.7m Olympic swimming pools.
The auditor general, Caroline Spencer, said:
DWER is not doing anywhere near enough to adequately protect our water resources, with compliance activities in recent years reactive and ad hoc.
Poor management, over extraction and illegal taking of water all threaten the long-term sustainability of our groundwater supplies and create an uneven playing field for operators who are doing the right thing.
The report, tabled in state parliament today, said the department’s compliance checking activities have decreased over the past three years.
Australian Associated Press
Updated
NDIS to cut fees for podiatrists, dieticians and physiotherapists
The NDIA has said it will slash the fees for health workers such as podiatrists, dieticians and physiotherapists, after a review found participants were being charged more than the market rate.
In a statement this afternoon, the NDIA said it would adjust the price limits for supports determined by the NDIS Disability Support Worker Cost Model, effective 1 July 2025 by 3.95%.
It said the annual pricing review found costs were much higher for participants.
The statement said:
This improved data showed many of the NDIS therapy pricing limits are now out of step with broader market rates, in some cases exceeding them by up to 68%.
Therapy supports represent a significant proportion of NDIS funding. With $2.4 billion in payments in the six months to December 2024, nearly 413,000 participants access therapy supports which account for more than 10% of total Scheme spend.
At the same time, the number of unregistered therapy providers in the market increased around 6%.
Updated
EU ambassador says ‘incredible’ changes in geopolitics put FTA back on track
Returning briefly to earlier today, the European Union ambassador, Gabriele Visentin, shared an update on how negotiations between Australia and the EU on a free trade agreement are going.
In case you haven’t been reading every development since discussions first began in 2018, the two have been considering how a free trade agreement might be reached but have faced a number of setbacks with talks suspended in 2023.
The main points of contention were on geographic indicators – whether Australian-produced prosecco, for example, should be allowed to be marketed as such in Europe – as well as Australia’s agricultural exports.
But it’s now 2025 and the US president, Donald Trump, has re-entered the chat. With the US doubling its steel and aluminium import tariffs to 50%, and applying a broader 10% “baseline” tariff on all over imported goods, US trading partners are looking to diversify their exports to other markets.
So on that note, Visentin was asked at his National Press Club address what has changed between Australia and the EU since 2023 regarding the negotiations.
He responded:
Nothing has changed in terms of content. The differences are still there and are still difficult to resolve and to address … what has changed, of course, is the willingness and the readiness to try to strike a deal. We have seen incredible change in the geopolitics and in the world trade. And this means that an FTA would allow the EU and Australia to team up and defend free trade, the principles of free trade. So on one side, the geopolitical situation has been, let’s say, instrumental to bring us back to the talks after one-and-a-half years that these talks have been suspended, but these issues remain.
While the EU ambassador was hesitant to name any names, it appears Trump remains the big elephant in the room.
Updated
Coalition and Greens clash over Australia’s sanctions on two Israeli ministers
The Liberal MP Andrew Wallace has said the Coalition is against the Labor government’s decision to sanction two Israeli ministers because it hasn’t been clear how that would “bring an end to the war”.
Speaking on the ABC’s Background Briefing, Wallace said this position reflected the US’s view, pointing to comments by Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, who said the sanctions were not conducive to the peace process.
Australia has joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what Penny Wong described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
Wallace argued that the Magnitsky-style sanctions used by the government were designed to be used for “for egregious human rights violations, not because of what someone has said”.
Wallace said the Coalition needed a briefing from the government to understand the “charges the government is levelling at these two ministers”.
This is a very serious change in direction from the government. And we want to understand why.
The Greens senator David Shoebridge, who also appeared on the ABC alongside Wallace, said the Coalition was defending two ministers who had “engaged in some of the most hateful urgency for ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, dehumanising of Palestinian people, aggressive illegal expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank”. He added:
I can’t understand how it is that the Coalition in a country which … is meant to defend fundamental human rights is going out of their way to defend these two extremist members of the Netanyahu government and say without any proper basis the Magnitsky regime is not designed to deal with this matter. It absolutely is.
Updated
State government unlikely to bail out Brisbane psychiatric hospital which is set to close
The Queensland government looks unlikely to bail out a Brisbane psychiatric hospital which is set to close its doors.
The Toowong private hospital, boasting 58 mental health beds, has cared for thousands of patients in Brisbane’s west for nearly 50 years. It was taken over by administrators last month and scheduled to close on Wednesday.
The state treasurer, David Janetzki, was challenged in questions time by the opposition leader to use his budget later this month to save the hospital from closing. He said:
I acknowledge that it is a troubling time for that health service and that private hospital, because we know that private health institutions and private listed companies involved in the health services sector are facing challenging times.
Janetzki said the department was watching carefully and “ready to help as necessary” and that “all” all health patients would be successfully transferred into a public health bed.
We must have the capacity in our health system to stand by and step in as necessary, to support facilities under duress, as we are observing right now in Toowong in the western suburbs of Brisbane.
Updated
Husic says sanctions must target ‘decisionmakers’ and not general Israeli public
Staying with Husic’s appearance on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing a little earlier; the Labor MP said that he is not yet in support of government-wide sanctions:
I want us to be careful about targeting the people that are making the decisions that are impacting innocent civilians in Gaza, innocent Palestinians.
We shouldn’t necessarily have an impact on people who are not calling the shots in terms of the way the operations have been conducted by the Netanyahu government and the IDF in Gaza. So, in terms of broader impacts on the Israeli public, I don’t think we’re at that point.
I want us to be able to destiningish clearly between decisionmakers and the general public.
Updated
Ed Husic calls for sanctions against Israeli ministers to go further if Netanyahu government does not ‘respond’ to concerns over Gaza
Labor MP Ed Husic has said the targeted sanctions against two Israeli ministers “should have the flexibility to go further” if the Netanyahu government does not “respond to the growing concerns internationally about its approach”.
Speaking on ABC’S Afternoon Briefing, Husic who was dumped as a cabinet minister after the election, said:
I believe if the Israeli government doesn’t respond, we should be prepared to target sanctions further on those who could take the steps to free up the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to frankly stop seeing … it is unacceptable [that] 36 out of 38 hospitals in Gaza have been bombed. How is that right [for] the population of innocent people in that part of the world?
Earlier today, Anthony Albanese was asked if he would take the sanctions further if it did not prompt a change, however he would not speculate if he would do so. Despite Huric’s calls, he said it was appropriate for the prime minster to not speculate on this:
I think there’s a signal being sent here by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. Like-minded nations. That have said in various forms they cannot stomach what they’re seeing.
Husic said the sanctions were an important step forward.
It’s important we work with like-minded countries to send a signal to the Netanyahu government that we need to see better in that part of the world. What we’re seeing at the moment is a humanitarian catastrophe, it’s not an accident, it’s not a series of unfortunate incidents joined up with each other, it reflects deliberate decisions made by the Netanyahu government in Gaza and in the West Bank.
Updated
NSW Police are still grappling with high levels of psychological injury despite programs introduced in 2024 to report psychological harm due to trauma in the workplace, a NSW Audit office report has found.
In 2024 20% of police were unavailable for duty and 13% of positions were vacant, with 7% of the force on long term sick leave. 93% of medical separations were due to psychological injury.
The auditor found:
The NSW Police Force monitors and reports on psychological injuries to the workforce using broad classifications, but does not monitor, analyse or report on the root causes of these injuries.
As a result, the NSW Police Force is not efficiently or effectively preventing future psychological injuries to the police workforce.
The auditor noted that in 2023, the NSW Police Force introduced an expanded suite of wellbeing initiatives including counselling and support for police after traumatic incidents. But it said these do not address other psychological risk factors such as role overload, fatigue or burnout.
It said the cost of psychological injury which was trending upward was $1.75bn over a five year period, during which the force had spent $34m on well-being programs and a further $60m on costs associated with running the Health Safety and Wellbeing Command.
It said that programs introduced since 2023 had not been evaluated.
“The NSW Police Force has limited information about the causes of police psychological injuries, and could do more to align preventative measures with evidence that describes the risks,” the auditor concluded.
Updated
The wait for a decision on whether Tasmanians will hold an early election continues - and may for some time yet.
For those catching up, the parliament passed a no confidence motion in the Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff. Last night he advised the governor, Barbara Baker, to call an early election.
Baker met this afternoon with the opposition leader, Dean Winter, as part of a process that her office described as “giving due consideration to all available options” and “considering advice from a number of sources”. She is yet to make a decision and has said she would meet again with Rockliff before the end of the week.
Winter has issued a statement saying he told Baker what he has been saying publicly – that he “will not be doing a deal with the Greens” to form a minority government.
Labor has just 10 seats in the state’s 35-member lower house. It cannot form government without support on confidence and supply from eight crossbenchers, including five Greens.
The Liberals, who have 14 seats, may avoid an immediate election and keep governing in minority if they replaced Rockliff. Potential alternative leaders include former federal minister Eric Abetz, ex-state treasurer Michael Ferguson and police minister Felix Ellis.
But it is unclear whether a Liberal government under a different premier could secure a durable deal with the crossbench.
So far the parliamentary party has backed Rockliff.
Updated
ABC correspondent and camera operator again teargassed and hit by ‘less lethal’ rounds while covering LA protests
Lauren Day, the ABC North America correspondent who was teargassed and whose camera operator was shot in the chest with a “less lethal” bullet while covering the LA immigration protests yesterday, says she and her camera operator have been caught in the crossfire yet again today.
Day told Guardian Australia that she and her camera operator had endured a “scary and stressful night and we’ve had some more issues today with getting caught in the crossfire – this time with pepper pellets.”
Pepper pellets are projectiles which burst open on impact, releasing powdered oleoresin capsicum (capsicum spray).
Day said:
It certainly puts you on edge knowing things can turn at any moment and the fact that you’re press is no protection to getting caught up in the chaos.
Day and her camera operator, a freelancer, were hit with teargas while reporting yesterday. Her camera operator was also hit in the chest with a less lethal bullet, but has escaped injury.
He was thankfully wearing a Kevlar vest at the time so was totally uninjured and didn’t even wake up with a bruise. We didn’t see what he was hit by but I’m just grateful whatever it was didn’t strike his neck or face where it might have really done some damage.
“Less than lethal” bullets can cause fatal injuries if they hit people in the neck or face and LAPD officers are instructed not to fire at certain parts of people’s body or at people from too close a range.
After the incidents last night, Day says she was “far more on edge” going back out for another night of reporting.
I’ve reported from the Middle East five times since October 7 and also from Myanmar during the civil war there, so I’m not unfamiliar with risk and conflict in my work, but I never expected the kinds of scenes we’re witnessing in the United States in 2025.
Updated
More from Penny Wong on the decision to sanction two Israeli ministers
Wong called the two Israeli cabinet ministers “the most extreme proponents of the unlawful and violent settlement enterprise” this morning. Watch her remarks below:
Victoria man dies from significant burns five months after alleged arson attack
Victoria Police said a man has died after an alleged arson attack in Melbourne in January, five months after he sustained significant burns to his body.
Officials said emergency services responded to a business that was on fire on 15 January about 4.15am, where witnesses said multiple people allegedly poured an accelerant inside before setting it alight. The group then fled the address, with one member “visibly on fire”, police said.
Emergency services later responded to a home where a man, 52, was treated for the burns and taken to the hospital. He spent the past five months receiving medical treatment for the injuries before his death. No one has been arrested in relation to the fire, or another at the same store police believe is linked. Chris Murray, a detective inspector with Victoria Police, said:
This is an incredibly sad turn of events for this man’s family, however it’s important that we are clear that this was a completely avoidable situation.
Over the past two years in particular we have issued repeated warnings about the dangers of fire and the potential for someone to be killed as a direct result of these arson attacks.
That’s all for me. Jordyn Beazley will be with you later to guide you through the afternoon’s news. Take care.
Victoria orders enough desalinated water to fill MCG ‘320 times’ to help amid drought conditions
Victoria’s water minister, Gayle Tierney, told budget estimates today the government has ordered 50 gigalitres of water from the state’s desalination plant amid the drought in the regions.
Tierney says the order – enough to fill the MCG “320 times” – has cost $34.3m. But the government will subsidise bills, so it will only lead to an increase of about “$1 a month” for an average water customer.
Updated
More on the growing number of Australian journalists hit by US law enforcement
The number of Australian journalists hit by law enforcement while covering ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles has climbed, with reporters for Nine, the ABC and the New York Times affected.
Lauren Day, the North America correspondent for the ABC, said she and her crew were teargassed when the protests escalated following a long standoff with police on Monday night local time. The experience was “extremely unpleasant”, she said. She described her experience for the ABC:
All of a sudden, we heard large bangs and the crowd started running. I then felt the unmistakable burn of tear gas – first in my eyes, then in my nose, lips and throat.
It really stings your entire face and makes it difficult to breathe until the point you almost want to throw up.
Read more here:
Fewer strikes in Labor’s first term compared to pre-pandemic predecessors
Anthony Albanese’s government has overseen fewer workplace strikes which affected fewer people than his Labor and Liberal predecessors did before the pandemic, new data suggests.
There have been fewer workplace disputes since Labor was elected in 2022 than there were in the first two terms of the preceding Coalition government, while the disputes that occurred involved fewer employees, on a quarterly average.
The Covid pandemic saw disputes fall steeply during the Coalition’s third term under Scott Morrison, though, so the three-month average number of disputes and affected workers was lower overall through the 2013-2022 period of Liberal prime ministers than it has been under Labor so far.
From July 2022 to March 2025, there have been about 47 disputes involving 16 workers on average each quarter, compared to nearly 48 disputes affecting 19 workers during the Coalition’s first two terms. It’s a slight drop, but still significantly lower than the figures seen under the Rudd-Gillard government of 50 disputes affecting nearly 30 workers on the same quarterly measure.
The slide could seem counterintuitive for a government that has protected and created new rights for workers, though Albanese’s first term also strained federal Labor’s relationships with prominent trade unions.
More working days were lost to disputes during Albanese’s prime ministership than under the Coalition on average, whether or not the 2019-2022 Morrison term is excluded, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Updated
EU ambassador says any effort that addresses Palestinian suffering ‘welcome’ after Israeli sanctions
Gabriele Visentin, the European Union’s ambassador to Australia, was asked about the new joint sanctions unveiled against two top Israeli cabinet minister this morning. He told the National Press Club:
Any effort leading to a relief of the human suffering of the Palestinian population is welcome. The EU position is that humanitarian aid should be allowed in, and to help to overcome the current dire situation of the Palestinian population has to be solved. …
Our position has always been through the years, and continues to be, that the only valuable solution, long-term, lasting solution, is the 2-state solution. This is what we continue to work on and to insist upon.
We have to consider the absolute right of Israel not only to exist, but to defend itself from terrorism – but we also have to guarantee a dignified life to the Palestinians.
Shadow foreign minister wants more information on thought process behind Israeli sanctions
The shadow foreign minister, Michaelia Cash, says the Coalition wants to know more about why the Labor government enacted sanctions on two Israeli ministers, saying the sanctioning of a key ally was a “very serious development”. Cash said in a statement:
We have not received a briefing about this matter but would expect there to be a very high threshold for this decision. Labor should be clear who initiated this process, on what basis they have done so and who made the decision.
I note the United States, who is leading the ceasefire process, has said this will not help to achieve a ceasefire. It is for the government to explain how this action contributes to the safe return of all remaining hostages held by Hamas, and a lasting peace in the Middle East.
Cash claimed the government had “seemingly lowered the threshold” for imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions, and called for an explanation as to whether a similar standard would be applied to “comments made by officials from other countries”.
This may have serious implications for our international relationships.
Updated
EU ambassador says Europe and Australia ‘can and must team up’ to protect democracy
Gabriele Visentin, the EU’s ambassador to Australia, is speaking about trade and the ongoing relationship between Europe and Australia at the National Press Club. Visentin stressed the EU believes “Europe and Australia are more than markets to each other”, adding:
We are more than a set of institutions. Our relationship is about more than the economy. It’s about prosperity. It’s about security. And it’s about democracy. And this is the very moment to stand up for our strengths and values. …
Europe and Australia can and must team up to protect our own rules and values and our democracies, which are strong but should never be taken for granted.
Albanese says he understands flight paths ‘as a Marrickville resident’
The prime minister was speaking from the site of the new airport in western Sydney earlier. He addressed the recent announcements of the airport’s new flight paths, responding to a question about their impacts on some communities by saying they are “fair” and the subject of “enormous community consultation”. Albanese said:
We want to make sure that we maximise the economic opportunity that comes from this airport while minimising any impact of aircraft noise that occurs. That is what we have put forward with these plans.
… As a Marrickville resident, I’m very conscious about these issues. But we have gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure that there is minimum disruption and minimum impact of aircraft noise.
Sydney’s Marrickville, parts of which sit beneath the flight paths for the current airport, is known for loud aircraft noise. Read more about the city’s second airport here:
ABC confirms Q+A will be axed after 18 years, with scores of redundancies across public broadcaster
The ABC’s Q+A program has been cancelled after 18 years, the broadcaster has confirmed, amid wider changes that will result in scores of redundancies across the public broadcaster.
The round of changes will fund new programming at the ABC under reforms yet to be announced by the new managing director, Hugh Marks.
Marks, who joined the ABC in March, is set to unveil his first round of reforms at the public broadcaster, which Guardian Australia understands will include at least 80 redundancies.
Read more here:
IVF on the agenda at national meeting of health ministers
The Victorian health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, confirmed the regulation of private fertility services will be on the agenda when federal and state health ministers meet in Melbourne on Friday.
It follows reports of a second botched embryo implantation by Monash IVF in Victoria, which is now being investigated by the state regulator. Two months earlier, the same company confirmed a similar incident in Queensland where a woman unknowingly gave birth to another couple’s baby due to a similar error.
Thomas says she was looking forward to hearing from the federal health minister, Mark Butler, on a possible national regulator. She said:
I’m always open to ways in which we can improve the quality of care that so many Victorians rely on. When we’re thinking about fertility care, it’s such an emotional rollercoaster for so many families … and I want to ensure that we’ve got regulation that’s fit for purpose and people can have confidence in these private fertility services in which they invest so much money.
Updated
‘Sometimes, friends have to be clear with each other’, Albanese says of decision to sanction Israeli ministers
Anthony Albanese has said “Australia makes their own decisions” after being asked if he was concerned about the American response to his decision to sanction two Israeli ministers.
While holding a press conference a little earlier in Sydney, the prime minister was also asked if Australia would go further if the sanctions do not prompt change. Albanese responded:
What we’ve done here is make a specific decision based upon the positions that have been put forward by these two Israeli ministers. Based upon our concerns about the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. Based upon our concerns about violence in the area being promoted, including by the actions and rhetoric of these ministers.
We support a clear resolution in the Middle East. We have been outspoken about calling for, firstly, for a ceasefire, for the hostages to be released. We have made it clear we see that Hamas should have no role in the future of the region. We support Israel’s right to live and to exist in secure borders. But we also support the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians.
Now, sometimes, friends have to be clear with each other. We’ve been clear with the Israeli government about our concerns, which we’ve raised continuously, both privately and through previous statements that have been made by Australia, New Zealand and Canada, in particular, with joint statements. And this statement we have made clear – that makes our position very clear about these two ministers.
Updated
Footage shows moment ABC camera operator is struck with non-lethal round in LA protests
Greens say sanctions on Israeli officials welcome but ‘extremely late’
The Greens say Australia’s decision to join the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers is welcome but “extremely late”.
The sanctions announced overnight are for Israel’s national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, in response to serious human rights violations and abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank, including Israeli settlements considered illegal under international law.
The Greens’ foreign affairs spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said:
Sanctions against two extremist Israeli cabinet ministers who incite appalling violence against Palestinians are extremely late, but welcome. However they will not stop the genocide.
The world must now urgently sanction the Israeli war industry and end the two-way weapons trade.
The US condemnation of these modest sanctions is another clear demonstration of how far our two countries’ values are diverging. The Australian government must start listening to the growing groundswell of public opinion and end Aukus as part of a comprehensive review of our military dependency on the US.
Millions of people around the world have come together to force their governments to do this. Global solidarity is daily confronting power and entitlement to demand a Free Palestine.
Updated
‘Less lethal’ munitions are designed to cause pain and disperse crowds – but they can still be deadly
There’s been a lot of chatter about the “less lethal” munitions deployed by police officers in Los Angeles. Here is a list of the less lethal weapons that have been deployed in the city in recent days, according to Reuters witnesses, the Los Angeles police department, and a police expert who has been monitoring the protests. Reuters reports:
Sponge rounds: The LAPD says it does not use rubber bullets. Instead, the LAPD uses foam rounds, a condensed sponge projectile. They resemble a hard Nerf ball, said Spencer Fomby, a retired police captain and less lethal weapons instructor.
Bean bag rounds: Bean bag rounds are normally 37mm cloth bags filled with 1.4 oz of lead or rubber pellets. They are fired from shotguns and spread out as they fly toward the intended target.
Flash bangs: Flash bangs, otherwise known as “distraction devices” or “noise flash diversionary devices,” produce an ear-piercing bang and bright light to disorient targets by temporarily disrupting their sight and hearing.
Teargas: teargas, one of the most common riot control tools, is designed to temporarily incapacitate people by causing excessive irritation to the eyes, nose, lungs, and skin.
The LAPD also uses pepper spray, pepper balls and batons. Less lethal weapons have caused serious injury and death in the past.
In 2023, a 47-year-old woman was killed after being hit by beanbag rounds fired by NSW police.
Updated
At least five journalists hit by crowd-control weapons covering LA protests
Nine correspondent Lauren Tomasi was hit in the leg on-camera with a projectile.
ABC correspondent Lauren Day said she was hit by teargas during her coverage.
An ABC camera operator was filming a group of protesters when officers opened fire with less lethal rounds. He was hit in the chest with “what may have been a rubber or foam round” but was wearing a Kevlar vest. He described the pain as like “being punched in the chest”, Day reported.
Nick Stern, a British photographer based in LA, underwent emergency surgery after being hit with a non-lethal round. He said he was covering the events when he looked down and saw “something hard sticking out the back of my leg”.
The New York Times’ Livia Albeck-Ripka said she was hit by crowd-control munitions just below her ribcage. She said she was not seriously injured, but had a “nasty” bruise.
Updated
Important information if you have a Jetstar Asia booking
Qantas said any customers with existing bookings for a cancelled flight on a Jetstar Asia plane will be offered a full refund, with the company looking to reaccommodate people on other airlines “where possible”.
Qantas to close Jetstar Asia, cutting 500 jobs
Qantas says it will close Jetstar Asia, an offshoot of its low-cost carrier that flies 16 intra-Asia routes. The airline will continue to operate flights for the next seven weeks on a progressively reduced schedule, before ending altogether on 31 July.
Five hundred jobs will be cut in Singapore, with about 100 to open up in Australia and New Zealand.
Qantas issued a media release on Wednesday morning:
Jetstar Asia … has faced growing challenges in recent years and the decision has been made … to close the airline.
Despite delivering exceptional customer service and operational reliability; Jetstar Asia has been impacted by rising supplier costs, high airport fees, and intensified competition in the region.
Qantas will redeploy 13 aircraft from those Asian routes to Australia and New Zealand. The company is working to redeploy affected workers in Singapore to other roles or airlines. It’s unclear how many of those are Australians based overseas, but most are believed to be Singaporean.
Updated
Three retailers fined by ACCC for misleading Black Friday sales
Major retailers Michael Hill, MyHouse and Hairhouse Online have been fined nearly $20,000 each over alleged misleading Black Friday sales advertising.
The businesses had falsely described discounts as applying “sitewide,” giving customers the incorrect impression that sales applied to all goods or at higher rates than was actually the case, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged. ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said:
Advertisements that talk about ‘sitewide’ or ‘storewide’ sales or promise discounts ‘off everything’ should deliver what customers expect, and not be used by retailers to hook consumers under false pretences.
Jewellery retailer Michael Hill paid a $19,800 penalty after the ACCC issued an infringement notice over advertising a “Member Event 25% off Sitewide” sale despite offering no discount on some products online, Lowe said.
Beauty business Hairhouse and homewares retailer MyHouse paid the same penalty after receiving one infringement notice each for Black Friday advertising. Hairhouse’s website advertised customers could “SAVE 20% to 50% SITEWIDE,” though the ACCC said at least a quarter of the products onsite were not included in the sale offer.
MyHouse displayed online graphics telling shoppers they could save “Up to 60% Off Sitewide + EXTRA 20% off,” which the watchdog said was misleading because the extra 20% discount was not available on all products.
The ACCC said it had investigated dozens of Black Friday and Boxing Day sales advertisements from 2024 that may have misrepresented the size and scope of discounts on offer.
Updated
Australian NY Times reporter describes ‘intense’ pain of being hit by non-lethal weapon in LA
Livia Albeck-Ripka, an Australian reporter working for the New York Times, said she was hit by a crowd-control munition while covering the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles. She said she was covering the events earlier this week, where she witnessed many measures deployed by police officers, saying in a video for the Times:
I myself … witnessed massive, loud flash-bangs, teargas being released, munitions being fired, a number of people injured. And I happened to be one of them.
Around midnight during a night of coverage, Albeck-Ripka said officers quickly began deploying munitions as soon as she arrived on scene:
Officers began firing crowd-control munitions in our direction, and I was hit below my ribcage. It was a pretty intense instant pain, I felt winded. I was really lucky because I was not seriously injured, I just have a nasty bruise.
Albeck-Ripka noted she did see some protesters throwing rocks and rental scooters over an overpass and noted some did light autonomous vehicles on fire, “so there was some threat of violence.”
At the same time the vast majority of protesters were acting peacefully.
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Search continues for man near Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain
Crews will resume their search for 52-year-old Christopher Inwood in the Cradle Mountain area. Concerns for his welfare began on Tuesday after the man’s white Toyota van was found at the car park of a ranger station in the area. Officials later found a backpack they believe belonged to him about 500 metres away in the direction of Dove Lake.
Emergency crews involving ground patrols and helicopters will search the area today.
Inwood was last seen about 8.30pm on Monday in Kindred, Tasmania, and officials believe he drove to Cradle Mountain later that night.
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Official defends new, empty law courts in Victoria
The head of Victoria’s court services defended Wyndham Law Courts in Werribee remaining unused since construction was completed in March, insisting the multimillion-dollar facility is not “sitting idle”.
During a tense exchange at the state’s budget estimates, Liberal MP Nick McGowan pressed Court Services Victoria chief executive Louise Anderson on why the state-of-the-art court complex in Melbourne’s booming western suburbs remains unused. Anderson said while the building reached “practical completion” at the end of 2024, work on landscaping and accessibility was carried out between December and March.
She says the building was then officially handed over to Court Services Victoria in March, with funding to begin operations only allocated in the May budget. Anderson said it would begin operations this calendar year:
It hasn’t been sitting idle. The court was built on time and on budget.
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ABC camera operator hit by rubber bullet in LA protests, reporter says
The Los Angeles police department confirmed it’s aware a second Australian journalist, the ABC’s North America correspondent Lauren Day, was affected by police deployment of non-lethal weapons during the protests.
The LAPD said overnight it is “aware of less-lethal deployment use during the protests” amid reports Day was hit by teargas during her coverage.
Earlier, on 9 June (LA time), the LAPD said it was investigating the use of excessive force by officers, in an apparent reference to Nine correspondent Lauren Tomasi who was hit by a rubber bullet in the leg.
“In addition the LAPD Professional Standards Bureau will be investigating allegations of excessive force and other actions related to LAPD actions during the protests,” the force said in a media statement posted on social media.
There has been a third incident involving Australian media crews overnight. The ABC has reported an ABC camera operator was later hit with a rubber bullet in the chest but was not injured. Day reported:
An ABC camera operator was filming a group of protesters in the neighbourhood of Little Tokyo, who were pushing a large bin towards police when officers opened fire with less lethal rounds. He was hit in the chest with what may have been a rubber or foam round but was thankfully wearing a Kevlar vest at the time.
He described the pain as ‘like being punched in the chest’.
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Job cuts at Victorian children’s court
Good morning from Victorian budget estimates, which is now into its second week. We’ve heard from the Victorian attorney general, Sonya Kilkenny, and senior officials from her department.
Under questioning from the Liberal MP Richard Welch, Court Services Victoria chief executive Louise Anderson has confirmed there were 34 specialist workers in the children’s court conciliation unit who were made redundant before Christmas.
Kilkenny says the job cuts were a result of a “return to the pre-Covid approach of using pre-trial readiness hearings and judicial resolution conferences to assist with managing child protection matters”. She added it was “not a consequence of funding issues”.
Guardian Australia has reported Court Services Victoria has made plans to slash dozens of staff amid government efforts to rein in the public service budget. This includes 24 jobs from the magistrates court’s corporate services department and 48 roles across the court’s programs, services and support teams, to be replaced with just 35 new roles – a net loss of 13 staff.
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Wong says Israel’s aid blockade ‘unacceptable’
Penny Wong was asked by our colleague Josh Butler, about whether Australia would provide more aid for Gaza, including a call by British-Australian doctor Mohammed Mustafa for money for a children’s hospital in Gaza.
Wong said she spoke at length with Mustafa during the federal election campaign, and called him an “impressive individual”. She said:
He [Mustafa] spoke very personally about what he had seen, and it accords with what we’ve all not only seen in media, but also the reports that come through, particularly during the period in which Israel blockaded all aid entering.
What occurred in Gaza for children and for civilians was unacceptable.
The foreign minister said the first thing that must happen is for Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza “unimpeded”, and said the statement from Australia and other countries to impose sanctions does that.
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Wong won’t say if Australia considering sanctions against Netanyahu
Penny Wong says the latest sanctions “send a message” to Israel that it must allow more aid into Gaza. Speaking to reporters in Canberra after a round of morning media interviews, the foreign minister wouldn’t rule out further sanctions.
But when asked whether the government was considering targeted sanctions on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she wouldn’t say:
I’m sending a message to the Israel government, alongside the overwhelming majority of the international community, that you are obliged to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza for civilians unhindered, and that is an expression of international law and obligations under international humanitarian law.
So far, the Netanyahu government has ignored this international position, just as when we applied those sanctions previously and when we applied sanctions against Hamas for their terrorism. Australia never speculates about possible future sanctions, we apply them without warning, because that makes them harder to evade, and overnight, we have done that.
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Girl, 17, shot by police at pub in Townsville
Police shot a 17-year-old girl at a pub in Townsville yesterday evening after she allegedly moved towards officers with a knife.
Queensland police said they responded to reports of a girl with a knife making threats at the hotel around 5.30pm. Officials alleged the teenager “came at police” and was subsequently shot.
First aid was provided by officers at the scene and she was transported to an area hospital for treatment. A crime scene has been declared and an investigation is ongoing.
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Albanese says message behind sanctions ‘very clear’; calls US response ‘predictable’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said the US response condemning sanctions against two Israeli cabinet ministers was “predictable, frankly”, adding Australia believed rhetoric coming out of Israel was a “serious impediment” to a two-state solution. Albanese told ABC Radio Sydney:
The message is very clear, that the actions that we’re seeing and some of the comments that have been made, by these two ministers … have incited violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The prime minister also responded to US secretary of state Marco Rubio’s condemnation of the sanctions:
I think those responses are predictable, frankly, but we have engaged and put forward in a very clear and direct way to the Israeli government … we have continued to express our concern about humanitarian issues in Gaza.
Albanese added the Australian government wasn’t a participant in the conflict in Gaza, but stressed Canberra “continued to declare that Israel has a right to live within secure borders. But we’ve also declared that Israel must comply with international concerns and international law.”
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Socceroos score World Cup place with 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia
Exciting news in the world of sport this morning: the Socceroos area heading to the 2026 World Cup. The team secured a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah.
As the Guardian’s Joey Lynch writes:
A breathtaking game of football that will go down in the annals of Asian football this was not. But given the stakes involved and the final result, few of a green and gold persuasion will care.
The Socceroos will now head to next year’s championship, which will take place across the US, Canada and Mexico from June 2026.
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US secretary of state Marco Rubio condemns sanctions against Israeli leaders
Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, issued a strong statement condemning the sanctions against two Israeli cabinet members. He said:
These sanctions do not advance U.S.-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war. We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization that committed unspeakable atrocities, continues to hold innocent civilians hostage, and prevents the people of Gaza from living in peace.
We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is. The United States urges the reversal of the sanctions and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel.
Rubio is a staunch ally of US president Donald Trump and has fiercely defended Israel’s campaign against Hamas. In February, he said the group “must be eradicated” and earlier this month he imposed sanctions on four judges on the international criminal court in retaliation for the group issuing arrest warrants for top Israeli officials.
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Lidia Thorpe says every death in custody linked to ‘ongoing trauma and pain and loss’
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe spoke to ABC News this morning about the recent deaths of two Indigenous men in the Northern Territory while in police custody. She said:
It’s just ongoing trauma and pain and loss and fear. With so many deaths in custody … It’s a question on everyone’s mind of when will this end? When will this ongoing trauma and pain and loss end for our people?
It puts fear into parents, particularly about their kids, their boys growing up, and there’s no support for these families. You know, they’re just reeling in loss and pain.
She once again called on the federal government to bring together state and territory leadership to figure out new efforts to address deaths in custody.
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Wong says statement behind sanctions just as important as sanctions themselves
Wong also appeared on ABC News this morning, adding:
The most important thing to note … is that we are acting with others. You’ve heard me speak about the fact that Australia can’t shift the dial on the Middle East by ourselves …
It means that they won’t be able to travel to Australia, and if there are any assets held in Australia, they will be frozen, and people won’t be able to provide them with financial support.
She said the statement behind the sanctions was just as powerful as the sanctions themselves:
But obviously it is the statement that is being made, that is as important as the effect of the sanctions. And I think the fact that the countries who have imposed these sanctions are countries who have historical relationships with the state of Israel, does demonstrate the level of concern that we have about what is occurring.
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Wong says it is important to ‘stand together’ with joint sanctions
Penny Wong said Australian joined four other nations to send a “very clear message” that the bloc strongly opposes Israel’s settlement actions in the West Bank. She told RN Breakfast:
It is important together to send a very clear message that these activities and the impingement on the rights and human rights of Palestinians in the West Bank are not acceptable.
Wong said the sanctions targeted Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich because Australia believes the pair are the “most extreme proponents of what we regard as an unlawful and violent settlement enterprise”.
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NSW commits $23m to reduce overdue surgeries
In response to those NSW health figures earlier, the Minns government has committed $23m to reduce overdue surgeries as part of the 2025-26 budget.
The health minister, Ryan Park, blamed the Liberal governments that ruled before Labor took power in 2023 for presiding over a record 17,000 overdue surgeries.
The minister said the quarterly data showed overdue surgeries increased by 1,745 patients to 8,587, in the past quarter – down from around 14,000 in March 2023 when the state government established the surgical care governance taskforce, but an increase from around 2,000 in mid-2024.
Park’s statement pointed to challenges that have contributed to the recent increase, including Tropical Cyclone Alfred disrupting services in northern NSW and the mid-north coast, and workforce availability challenges that continue in some parts of the state.
Park said:
From day one, tackling overdue surgeries has been our priority. We made significant progress in reducing the overdue surgeries that we inherited, down from 14,000. But we know there’s always more that we can do to improve the accessibility of planned surgeries.
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Wong says Australia remains concerned about ‘unlawful and violent settlement’ in West Bank
Penny Wong spoke to the morning shows just now, saying Australia remains concerned about Israel’s actions in the West Bank and that the sanctions were linked to an “unlawful and violent settlement enterprise”. She said:
We are concerned alongside the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and others about the unlawful and violent settlement enterprise in the West Bank. That is not consistent with two states. We believe, like the international community and our partners, that two states is the best chance for peace in the Middle East and peace and security for Israelis.
Wong also told Seven’s Sunrise the government remained concerned the Netanyahu government was undermining the prospects of a two-state solution.
Ultimately we, along with those other countries and the broader international community, believe we can only see peace in the Middle East when we deal with two states and when both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security.
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100,678 patients on elective surgery wait list in NSW
The elective surgery waiting list in New South Wales public hospitals is nearing the pandemic record high, new data shows.
The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) has today released its latest Healthcare Quarterly report for the period of January to March 2025.
It shows despite the 52,973 elective surgeries representing a rise of 3.6% compared with the same quarter in 2024, the increase in the percentage on the waiting list was even higher.
The 100,678 patients on the elective surgery waiting list was up 7.3% (an additional 6,881 patients) and just short of the record peak during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the BHI said.
Of those patients on the list waiting for surgery at the end of March, 8,587 had waited longer than clinically recommended – a 151.3% increase (an additional 5,170 patients) from the same time a year earlier.
The data was more positive for emergency departments which have seen a decrease in semi-urgent and non-urgent presentations over the past year.
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Nick Visser here to take over for Martin Farrer. Let’s get on with the news.
Sanctions against Israeli ministers made under autonomous sanctions regulations on human rights
The sanctions against the Israeli ministers have been made under the autonomous sanctions regulations on human rights introduced in 2011.
A statement on the Dfat website last night said Penny Wong had imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on the Israeli ministers because of serious violations or serious abuses of human rights.
The regulations state that sanctions can be imposed if the foreign minister “is satisfied” that the person has engaged in, has been responsible for or has been complicit in a serious violation or serious abuse of a person’s right to life; or right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or right not to be held in slavery or servitude or right not to be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
The minister can prevent a person from travelling to, entering or remaining in Australia if they satisfy those criteria.
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Five countries issue joint statement on sanctions for Israeli ministers
The news about the sanctions against the Israeli ministers broke in reports after 11pm Australian time and was confirmed at midnight by a joint statement by the five countries.
The joint statement, issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that “settler violence is incited by extremist rhetoric” against the Palestinian community and “fundamentally rejects the two-state solution”. It said Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have incited “extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights” and these actions were “not acceptable”.
However, it goes on to note the ministers’ “unwavering support for Israel’s security and we continue to condemn the horrific terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas”.
This is the full statement:
Today, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom have announced sanctions and other measures targeting Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Settler violence is incited by extremist rhetoric which calls for Palestinians to be driven from their homes, encourages violence and human rights abuses and fundamentally rejects the two-state solution. Settler violence has led to the deaths of Palestinian civilians and the displacement of whole communities.
We are steadfastly committed to the two-state solution which is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region, but it is imperilled by extremist settler violence and settlement expansion.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights. Extremist rhetoric advocating the forced displacement of Palestinians and the creation of new Israeli settlements is appalling and dangerous. These actions are not acceptable. We have engaged the Israeli Government on this issue extensively, yet violent perpetrators continue to act with encouragement and impunity. This is why we have taken this action now – to hold those responsible to account. The Israeli Government must uphold its obligations under international law and we call on it to take meaningful action to end extremist, violent and expansionist rhetoric.
The measures announced today do not deviate from our unwavering support for Israel’s security and we continue to condemn the horrific terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas. Today’s measures are targeted towards individuals who in our view undermine Israel’s own security and its standing in the world. We continue to want a strong friendship with the people of Israel based on our shared ties, values and commitment to their security and future.
Today’s measures focus on the West Bank, but of course this cannot be seen in isolation from the catastrophe in Gaza. We continue to be appalled by the immense suffering of civilians, including the denial of essential aid. There must be no unlawful transfer of Palestinians from Gaza or within the West Bank, nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza Strip. We will continue to work with the Israeli Government and a range of partners. We will strive to ensure an immediate ceasefire, the release now of the remaining hostages and for the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid including food. We want to see a reconstructed Gaza no longer run by Hamas and a political pathway to a two-state solution.
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Australia sanctions two Israeli ministers
Australia has joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what foreign affairs minister Penny Wong described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”.
In an unexpected move, news of which broke overnight Australian time, the Albanese government joined several allies in levelling targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. The Magnitsky-style sanctions come over concerns from the five governments about serious human rights violations and abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The two ministers were sanctioned in relation to a range of public comments and actions, including marching through Jerusalem’s Muslim Quarter with a group that chanted “death to Arabs” and “may your village burn”.
Ben-Gvir last month said Israel would “occupy the entire territory of the Gaza Strip” and encourage migration of Gazans elsewhere, while Smotrich in February said: “‘With God’s help we will work to permanently bury the dangerous idea of a Palestinian State.”
The sanctions make it an offence to make assets available to a sanctioned person, require the freezing of any assets in Australia, and prevent them from entering Australia.
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you the best of the overnight stories before Nick Visser takes control.
Australia has joined the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in placing financial sanctions and travel bans on two Israeli government ministers, over what foreign affairs minister Penny Wong described as “inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank”. Wong is expected to tour the radio and TV studios this morning to explain the surprise move which was announced overnight in a joint statement with the other nations.
The ABC’s managing director, Hugh Marks, is expected to unveil his first tranche of changes at the public broadcaster on Wednesday morning, including a new round of redundancies and the axing of Q+A after 18 years. We will have more details and reaction.
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