What we learned today, Sunday 15 June
This is where we’ll leave the blog today. We’ll be back with more live news for you tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here were the top stories from today so far:
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, described the situation in Iran and Israel as “perilous” and “risky” and told Australians in the region to shelter in place. Wong spoke on Insiders this morning, as both nations launched more military strikes.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he didn’t expect Australia to have any military role in the growing Middle East conflict. During a visit to Seattle on his way to the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, Albanese said officials were monitoring the situation but there had been no request for defence involvement.
In more G7-related news, Albanese also managed to shore up a meeting with the US president, Donald Trump. They’ll catch up on the sidelines of the summit in Canada on Tuesday. Tariffs are top of the agenda, but the Aukus deal is now looking shaky so that is likely to feature as well.
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Second boy charged over ‘unprovoked’ stabbing and assault
A second boy has been charged over a violent assault and “unprovoked” stabbing that left a 70-year-old good Samaritan and a 16-year-old boy seriously injured, AAP reports.
The 70-year-old man was set upon by two teenagers at a chemist in Melbourne’s south-east after he intervened when they tried to leave with stolen items on Friday evening.
The Dandenong North man suffered serious upper body injuries in the altercation and was taken to hospital.
Police say the youths then approached a 16-year-old teenager waiting at a bus stop in nearby Dingley Village about two hours later and allegedly stabbed the boy in an “unprovoked attack” and assaulted him as he tried to escape.
The boy was taken to the Alfred hospital with serious lower body injuries and remains in a stable condition.
Officers arrested a 16-year-old boy who handed himself in on Saturday and charged him with armed robbery, two counts of intentionally causing injury and theft from a shop, theft and common law assault.
He will face a children’s court on Sunday.
The teen’s 19-year-old alleged accomplice was arrested at a Bonbeach home and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries sustained from one of the incidents and expected to be interviewed once released.
Victoria police say they seized a record number of knives following a series of high-profile stabbings and a shopping centre fight that prompted the state government to fast-track a proposed ban on the sale of machetes.
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NSW toll claims cutoff looms
$130m in toll relief is up for grabs in NSW, and the state government is urging people to get their claims in before 30 June.
The $60-a-week toll cap was brought in as a cost-of-living support measure on 1 January 2024.
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Hello, I hope you’ve had a great Sunday morning, wherever you are. I’ll be with you on the blog until this afternoon.
I’m going to swan off to other duties now, and leave you in the capable hands of Catie McLeod, and with a pic of the PM and Kevin Rudd. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!
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There was hope cooler weather, rain and wind would disperse this monstrous algal bloom in SA, but it seems to have just spread. Petra Stock has the latest:
Pharmacists call for greater role in bowel cancer screenings
As Australia falls short of its national cancer bowel screening targets, pharmacists are calling for a revamped approach, AAP reports.
The latest National Bowel Cancer Program monitoring report found of the 6.28 million Australians invited to take part, nearly six in 10 aged between 50 and 74 did not return their free bowel cancer screening test.
Despite a target participation rate of 55%, only 41.7% of people have taken up the opportunity to take a free bowel cancer screening test.
The lack of take-up is surprising, given it’s Australia’s deadliest cancer.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia national president, Trent Twomey, says the current approach of sending tests to eligible Australians through the mail “isn’t working” and it’s time to try something new. He said:
Australia needs to make the most of all its health professionals to increase early screening.
On average, people visit a community pharmacy every three weeks. Community pharmacies are open into the evenings and weekends, making them the most accessible frontline health service.
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Between floods and droughts, farmers are really getting slammed – Sandra Godwin takes a look at the specific issues facing the dairy industry:
Fancy some female rage, interspersed with humour? Tegan Bennett Daylight on the bloke that pushed her over the edge:
No military role for Australia in Middle East conflict – PM
Anthony Albanese says he doesn’t expect Australia to have any military role in the growing Middle East conflict.
Israel and Iran have traded missiles in recent days after the bombing of nuclear sites late last week. Missiles have been fired at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and at least two Iranian oil facilities are on fire.
The UK government has moved jets and other military assets to the Middle East over the weekend.
During a visit to Seattle on his way to the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, Albanese was asked about any request for support from Australia. The PM said officials were monitoring the situation but there had been no request for defence involvement. “Australia does not play a role in this military conflict,” he said.
I wouldn’t expect that there would be a request for Australia to play a military role, but we will continue to play a role in terms of looking after Australian citizens.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing assistance to Australians on the ground.
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Jonathan Barrett and Patrick Commins have talked to experts about alternatives to Aukus, and introduced me to the excellent term “echidna strategy”:
Aukus and tariffs key themes of Albanese-Trump talks, Wong predicts
Penny Wong says she anticipates the Aukus deal and trade tariffs will be on the agenda when Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday.
She told Insiders she was “pleased” the meeting has been scheduled – it was only confirmed earlier this morning. She said:
There [is] a lot going on in the world at the moment but we’re pleased that this has been scheduled. Obviously the prime minister has said already that Aukus and tariffs are things that are on his mind and on the country’s mind. I’d anticipate he will find the opportunity in the meeting to raise these issues.
Asked whether Australia is prepared to put more on the table to keep Aukus alive, as the US prepares to review the defence pact, Wong said it’s a “partnership” that benefits all three nations involved.
She said that under the deal, Australia has sent $2bn to the US to support its shipbuilding capacity and that Australia has already increased its defence spending (despite the US asking it for it to be increased further).
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Iran’s foreign minister confirms Wong’s call for both sides to de-escalate
For his part, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a press release that during the phone call with the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, he outlined the “scope of the Israeli regime’s aggression against Iran, including attacks on military targets and nuclear facilities”. And he confirmed that Wong urged all sides to “refrain from actions that risk escalating tensions”.
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Wong says she urged Iranian foreign minister to ‘exercise restraint’
Penny Wong confirmed on Insiders she’s spoken to her Iranian counterpart since Israel’s pre-emptive strikes hit Tehran on Friday, urging restraint.
The foreign minister said she liaised with partners before directly engaging with Iran’s foreign minister, telling the regime to “return to diplomacy and dialogue”.
I said, after liaising with partners, I directly put to the Iranian foreign minister [Abbas Araghchi], ‘We are saying to you, exercise restraint, return to diplomacy and dialogue’, because continuing to escalate this has consequences for all peoples of the region and I think that is – that is a position that so many countries in the world are putting to not only the Iranians, but also to the Israelis.
Wong said the message from the Australian government to both Israeli and Iranian governments is consistent with what the UK prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and the US president, Donald Trump, have said – that the situation must be de-escalated.
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Wong urges Iran and Israel to seek to 'dialogue and diplomacy'
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says the situation in Iran and Israel is “perilous” and “risky” and has told Australians in the region to shelter in place.
Wong spoke on Insiders this morning, as both nations launch more military strikes.
Asked whether Israel’s pre-emptive strikes on Iran on Friday were justified, Wong said there must be a de-escalation of the situation, and both countries need to “exercise restraint and return to dialogue”:
The world knows that Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program is a threat to international peace and security. And we know that Iran has been found by the UN watchdog to be in breach of its non-proliferation obligations …
What I would say is the key issue is not, you know, is there a threat – there is, we all know that. It’s whether or not in response to it we increase the risk of regional escalation and that would have dire consequences to the people of the region.
So that is why Australia has said we urge de-escalation, we urge restraint, we urge dialogue and diplomacy, and that call has been reflected by like-minded and partners.
Wong said Israel does have a “right to self-defence” but the question is how the world now responds to the threat of Iran’s nuclear program.
She also said she spoke directly to Iran’s foreign minister, urging him to exercise restraint.
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Here’s some cheer! Jo Khan caught up with Henry Young, the 101-year-old who is still playing tennis. He’s preparing for the ITF Masters Championships in Croatia. He’s had two new knees, a new hip, a pacemaker and more (so I guess I should quit whinging about my creaky bones):
Our man Tom McIlroy is travelling with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, (Seattle now, Canada shortly). He writes that in talks with the US president, Donald Trump, Albanese will push for a tariff exemption for Australia, and flagged talks on critical minerals and possible changes to biosecurity rules to allow more US beef to be imported into Australia. And, yes, they’ll talk Aukus (let us remember that time Trump appeared not to know what the $368bn deal was):
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Good morning
Good morning and welcome to today’s blog. And if you were hoping to ease into it, apologies – there’s quite a bit going on.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has managed to shore up a meeting with the US president, Donald Trump. They’ll catch up on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday. Tariffs are top of the agenda, but the Aukus deal is now looking shaky so that is likely to feature as well. Albanese said:
Obviously, there are issues that the US president is dealing with at the moment, but I expect that we will be able to have a constructive engagement.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will be on Insiders shortly, which is excellent timing considering everything that’s going on in the world.
Speaking of which, you can follow the turmoil in the Middle East at our live blog here.
We’re also chasing news that an Australian man has been shot and killed in Bali. The ABC reports that a Melbourne man died and another was injured in an attack at a villa in Munggu, which is about an hour north of Kuta. A second man was injured.
I’m Tory Shepherd and I’ll try to find some lighter news for you throughout the day!
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