Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update.
The Northern Territory chief minister, Eva Lawler, has announced there will be a curfew enacted in Alice Springs for young people from tonight. The curfew, which will run from 6pm to 6am, comes after chaos descended on the town CBD on Tuesday when up to 70 people attacked a local pub, the Todd Tavern. The NT police commissioner, Michael Murphy, told a press conference yesterday’s incident followed the death of an 18-year-old last week. “That’s led to family feuds and that’s what erupted in Alice Springs yesterday,” he said.
Lawler said an additional 50 or so police and liquor inspectors will also be deployed in the town.
Top news
Baltimore bridge collapse: six missing people now presumed dead | Authorities said two people were rescued on Tuesday, but a senior executive at Brawner Builders, the employer of the construction workers, said the other six were presumed dead, given the water’s depth and the length of time since the crash.
Vote on Labor’s urgent deportation bill delayed | The bill won’t pass the Senate today after the Coalition and the Greens teamed up to establish an inquiry. The controversial proposal threatens non-citizens with prison if they don’t cooperate with their deportation. Despite voting with the government to pass the bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, the opposition announced on Wednesday morning that Labor had failed to make the case for the bill’s urgency.
NSW coroner calls for overhaul of firefighting systems | New rules for the use of firefighting aircraft, better alert systems and remodelling risk classifications are among the recommendations from a coronial inquiry into the black summer bushfires in NSW.
Splendour In The Grass cancelled for 2024 | The festival, due to be headlined this year by Kylie Minogue and G-Flip, will not be going ahead in July. It is not yet clear why the event has been cancelled, although the 2023 festival recorded a 30% drop in tickets sales.
AFL players who have illicit drugs in their system pulled from games | The league’s statement follows allegations raised in federal parliament of secret illicit drug tests conducted to enable AFL players to avoid detection on game days.
Abortion officially removed from WA criminal code | WA was the last state with abortion sitting as a criminal act, so the removal marks a national milestone. From today, accessing abortion healthcare is no longer a criminal act in Australia.
Lego tells California police: stop putting our heads on your mugshots | A southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego after the toy company asked the agency to stop adding Lego heads to cover the faces of suspects in images it shares on social media.
Jen didn’t fit the profile for a heart attack – then she had three of them | New Australian centre will research how sex and gender affect the detection and treatment of many health conditions. The Centre for Sex and Gender Equity in Health and Medicine will launch on Wednesday at the University of NSW.
Ronna McDaniel axed by NBC after intense backlash | The former Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel is on her way out of NBC less than a week after joining the network, NBC announced in a memo from NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde.
In pictures
Richard Serra – a life in pictures
The famed artist, who has died of pneumonia aged 85, was once described as “the best sculptor alive” and known for his monumental steel works.
What they said …
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“This was meant to be a government that’s now run by adults. But this was like some sort of kiddies crayon drawing being brought into parliament and then defended by embarrassed officials and half-briefed ministers. That’s what we got last night”. – Greens senator David Shoebridge used a speech in parliament to criticise what he says is the rushed process for Labor’s new immigration bill.
In numbers
Inflation has held steady for the second month in a row, as cheaper meat and seafood helped offset increases in rents and automotive fuel. The figure was slightly lower than the 3.5% economists had previously predicted.
Before bed read
Australian supermarket veggie chip taste test: my notes on the aroma are “rancid oil” and “farts”
Jess Ho crunched through nine grain, corn, chickpea, broccoli and sweet potato chips that are readily available in Australian supermarkets – and picked a surprise winner.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: HOO . You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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