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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Stephanie Convery and Royce Kurmelovs (earlier)

Defence minister rubbishes Coalition claims on France compensation deal – as it happened

China Australia Singapore United States Wei Fenghe
Deputy prime minister Richard Marles
Deputy prime minister Richard Marles (left) met with the Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore on Sunday. Photograph: Office of deputy prime minister Richard Marles

What we learned, Sunday 12 June

And that’s where we’ll leave you on this brisk Sunday. Here’s what we learned today:

• Tharnicaa Nadesalingam has celebrated her fifth birthday at home in Biloela after her family returned to the central Queensland town on Friday. It’s her first birthday since being detained in 2018 under the previous Coalition government.

• Eight people have been rescued from blizzard conditions on the summit of Tasmania’s Mount Wellington on Saturday, and a woman died after being struck by a falling tree in Beulah, as stormy weather lashed the state. A search was under way for another woman lost on Mount Wellington on Sunday afternoon.

• The cold weather is set to continue across much of eastern Australia on Monday and further into the coming week.

• Defence Minister Richard Marles met with his Chinese counterpart at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, but observers believe it is likely too soon to say it signals a post-election easing of tensions.

• The NDIS minister Bill Shorten has said he wants to “restore trust” in the program, which he says has become “a maze of red tape” and an “administrative nightmare” for people with disabilities.

• NSW will modernise its paid parental leave scheme for public service workers, with up to 14 weeks of paid leave available for the second parent from October and a distinction between “primary” and “secondary” carers scrapped.

• Services Australia has embarked on a massive shake-up of its call centre operations, slashing the work it sends to labour hire firms by about 30%, in a move that is expected to result in job losses and could mean people will wait longer for Centrelink services.

• The United States has scrapped Covid-19 tests for incoming travellers, including those from Australia, following heavy lobbying from airlines and tour operators.

• And Australia recorded at least 24 Covid-19 deaths and more than 20,000 new cases nationally.

We’ll be back with you on Monday morning for all your Queen’s birthday holiday news needs. Stay well.

Updated

Fog and frost for everyone in Victoria for the next couple of mornings. It’s going to (continue to be) cold, with more rain coming on Wednesday.

And if you’re in Tasmania, here’s your official warning about ice on the roads. Frosts are likely on Monday morning, so please be careful if you’re out and about tomorrow.

It’s going to be a windy night in WA. Batten down the hatches if you’re that side of the Nullarbor, folks.

Disaster management funding boost for NSW’s bushfire-affected communities

Rural communities devastated by the black summer fires two years ago can expect a significant financial boost for disaster management when the NSW state budget is handed down on 21 June, AAP reports.

NSW treasurer and energy minister Matt Kean said on Sunday nearly $600m will be committed over the next decade to manage national parks, including the employment of 200 firefighters.

An extra $93.7m will go towards a climate change adaptation strategy.

Kean said:

Climate change is happening now. Adaptation helps protect the things we value most from floods, drought and bushfires. It can save lives, livelihoods, homes and ecosystems.

The government will also commit more than $315m over the next four years to fireproof homes, as recommended in the NSW bushfire inquiry findings.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet said the investment will help more than 1.3m properties on bushfire-prone land to prepare for future fire seasons.

Firefighters can also look forward to better frontline equipment, with more than $105m to be spent on new trucks and refitting old ones.

The inquiry was commissioned by former premier Gladys Berejiklian to examine the causes, preparation and response to the bushfires which tore through millions of acres and destroyed nearly 2,500 properties.

The budget will also include $401m over four years for Closing the Gap projects, including a $30m community grants program and funding for housing and health services.

Cultural initiatives like the Aboriginal Languages Trust and memorials to the Stolen Generations will also get a funding boost.

Updated

NSW modernises paid parental leave for public service workers

More parents working in the NSW public sector can look forward to spending quality time with their newborns, with up to 14 weeks of paid leave available for the second parent, AAP reports.

A distinction between “primary” and “secondary” carers will be removed in an overhaul of parental leave entitlements for public sector workers starting in October, with both mothers and fathers entitled to the provision.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Sunday that while most parents across Australia are entitled to paid primary parental leave, only 12% of those who take it are men:

Supporting all parents to spend more precious days with their newborn children helps them form bonds that last a lifetime.

Single parents will be entitled to 16 weeks of paid parental leave. Parents, including those employed outside the public sector, will also be eligible for a “bonus leave” scheme.

The arrangement is the first in Australia allowing each parent to take at least 12 weeks’ leave, and exhaust any paid parental leave offered by their employers.

The NSW government heralded the initiative as part of its upcoming state budget.

Updated

Movie lovers, video game fanatics and classical music buffs have voted in the ABC’s Classic 100 countdown and the Top 10 are:

10. Ramin Djawadi, Game of Thrones
9. John Barrie, Out of Africa
8. John Williams, Jurassic Park
7. Vangelis - Chariots of Fire
6. Klaus Badelt - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
5. John Williams - Schindler’s List
4. John Williams+ - Harry Potter Series
3. Ennio Moroconi - The Mission
2. Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
1. Star Wars.

Now let the nostalgia flow.

Updated

Here’s the full quote as I have it from Marles, who says Australia supports the status quo and does not want to see an escalation of any conflict.

“Australia does not support Taiwanese independence. We have good relations with the people of Taiwan. What we don’t want to see is any unilateral action on either side of the Taiwan Strait, which changes the status quo. And what we do want to see is that the situation for the people of Taiwan is resolved through peaceful negotiation. That’s our position in relation to Taiwan and in truth that’s been a long-standing bipartisan position within Australia for decades, and it will remain there.”

Updated

Marles is asked a question about what Australia’s role would be if the dispute over Taiwanese independence escalates into a war. I believe he said, “Australia does not support Taiwanese independence” but I am just checking the recording now.

Will have the full quote in a moment.

Marles hits back at Dutton for using state secrets for ‘political gain’

On the nuclear submarines Marles says that Australia will not be able to retire its current generation of Collins class submarines as anticipated and that long-range nuclear submarines are “completely essential” to building Australia’s defence capability.

On comments from Peter Dutton, Marles takes a swipe at the use of state secrets for political gain.

The leader of the opposition was sitting in my chair just a few weeks ago, and as such he was privy to the nation’s most important secrets ... those secrets should not be used for political gain. Those secrets should not be used in a partisan way.

What we are seeing from the leader of the opposition is just not consistent with his statements when he was the minister for defence and they are certainly not based on the facts as I now understand them.

Updated

Australia will take relationship with China ‘step by step’, Marles says

Marles says this morning’s meeting was an “important step” especially as the meeting was the first in “almost” three years. He says Australia will take its relationship with China, its biggest trading partner, “step by step”.

China’s our largest trading and we value a productive relationship with China. That’s a point we’ve made for a long time. That said we have a whole lot of national interests. And we’re not going to waver from asserting those in the strongest possible terms described today. The rules-based order is a range of areas but particularly the way the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea applies freedom of navigation to the South China Sea.

While there is a change in tone, there is no change in the substance of Australia’s national interest.

Updated

'Full and frank exchange' during meeting with China: Marles

Defence minister Richard Marles is speaking now in Singapore following the address of the Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe this morning.

He says he met with Wei earlier today for a “full and frank exchange” – the first meeting between defence ministers of the two nations in “almost” three years.

Marles said his concern was to ensure the Indo-Pacific countries were “not put in a position of increased militarisation”.

Australia’s China relationship is complex. And it’s precisely because of this complexity that it really is important that we are engaging right now.

Updated

No Covid-19 deaths in South Australia

South Australia has recorded no new Covid-19 deaths. The state recorded 2,134 new cases on Sunday with 246 people hospitalised and five people in ICU.

Updated

Caroline Kennedy has been officially sworn in as US ambassador to Australia.

The former ambassador to Japan and daughter of the late President John F Kennedy had been confirmed in May but the ceremony only took place on Friday.

Kennedy replaces Arthur Culvahouse, who left the position in early 2021 after having taken up the role in 2019.

Rescue operation under way to find missing Tasmanian woman

Another woman is missing on Mount Wellington according to the Tasmanian SES, with a rescue operation under way to locate her.

Authorities said the woman had been “caught short” in the wintry conditions and had made contact with emergency service workers.

Eight people were rescued on the mountain yesterday after becoming caught in a storm overnight that killed one person and caused another severe injuries in Sheffield.

Those looking to go bushwalking in “majestic” conditions were advised to let people know where they were going, wear warm clothing and to avoid taking “unnecessary risks”.

Updated

And No 8 on the ABC’s Classic 100 – Music for the Screen is ... Jurassic Park:

10. Ramin Djawadi, Game of Thrones
9. John Barrie, Out of Africa
8. John Williams, Jurassic Park

The wonder, the awe, the sheer raw excitement - these are notes that will bring tears to those who always wanted to play with dinosaurs.

Updated

The ABC’s Classic 100 is counting down the greatest films scores of all time and is about to enter the final 10.

The dulcet notes of the Game of Thrones intro theme is now playing – ranked 10, following Indian Jones at #11.

Updated

‘Not true’ that Coalition was close to signing compensation deal with France, Marles says

Defence minister Richard Marles has brushed off suggestions from the Coalition that the former government was close to signing its own compensation deal with France during an appearance on Sky News this morning.

“That’s just not true,” Marles said. “What we are seeing from the Coalition weeks into their time in opposition is that they are just making stuff up now.”

On Saturday, prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Australia will pay French company Naval Group about $830m to settle the scrapped $90bn defence contract.

Instead, Australia is now pursuing a nuclear-powered submarine agreement with the US and UK under the Aukus partnership, which had caused a diplomatic stoush and saw France recall ambassadors from Canberra and Washington.

“The speed with which we have moved to settle this matter, put a line underneath it, and to move forward was very much welcomed by the French minister [for defence Sébastien Lecornu],” Marles said.

Opposition defence spokesperson Andrew Hastie attacked the government over the size of the payment saying the Morrison was in the process of negotiating a lower figure.

With AAP

Updated

It is said that elite athletes have to be incredibly selfish to succeed. I was thinking about that as I wheeled my bike out the door and said goodbye to my pregnant partner, who was due in a few days, and our two-year-old son, who was screaming “I want Daddy”.

It was early Friday morning and I was driving one hour south of Sydney to Helensburgh, where the elite women’s and men’s road races will start on the weekend of 24-25 September. The women will cover 164.3km with 2,433 metres of climbing while the men will do 266.9km with 3,945 vertical metres. The route includes the tough Mount Keira climb which is 8.7km long with an average gradient of 5% but pinches at 15%.

I am not an elite athlete, of course, and was just hoping to get up the mountain without climbing off my bike.

Read the full story:

More on the wild weather in Tassie overnight.

Severe weather warning for WA

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for lower west coast WA, including the Perth metro area, with damaging wind gusts possible today.

Updated

Man survives alligator attack in US

A man from the US state of Florida has survived an attack from a seven-foot alligator which he mistook for a dog.

The attacked occur just after midnight on Tuesday when the man “noticed a dark figure moving along the bushes” which he believed to be a “dog with a long leash”.

Local authorities said the reptile bit the man’s leg and attempted to drag him down.

Though crocodile attacks in Australia are very rare, averaging about two a year, the story serves as a reminder to act with caution in areas which serve as the animals’ natural habitat.

In May a man was airlifted to hospital after wrestling himself free from a crocodile that latched on to his arm at a waterfall in remote north-west Queensland.

Meanwhile saltwater crocodile populations in the Northern Territory have been growing exponentially after the reptiles discovered a taste for wild pigs.

Updated

National Covid summary

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 24 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 643
  • In hospital: 80 (with 2 people in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 5
  • Cases: 5,387
  • In hospital: 1,255 (with 45 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 163
  • In hospital: 17 (with no people in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 2,383
  • In hospital: 329 (with 7 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 2,134
  • In hospital: 246 (with 5 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 489
  • In hospital: 39 (with 3 people in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 16
  • Cases: 4,766
  • In hospital: 454 (with 27 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 2
  • Cases: 4,900
  • In hospital: 261 (with 7 people in ICU)

Updated

Hikers rescued from Mount Wellington after being stranded by wild weather

Eight people have been retrieved from the summit of Mount Wellington, overlooking Hobart, after becoming stranded in blizzard-like conditions, AAP reports.

Two of the walkers are lucky to have survived the ordeal, police say.

News of the rescues follows the death of a woman struck by a falling tree in stormy weather on Tasmania’s north-west coast.

Authorities say a group of four walkers became exposed to wild winds and heavy snow at kunanyi observation point, also known as The Pinnacle, on Mount Wellington, shortly after midday on Saturday.

The party sought help from two other people in the area and the six took refuge in a toilet block until help arrived.

Police, ambulance and Wellington park rangers trekked through the storm to reach the group and walk them to safety.

Two more walkers also became disorientated in the wind and snow on Saturday evening on the Zig Zag track, just below the peak, and contacted emergency services.

Police tracked their phones and, along with paramedics, found the pair sheltering behind rocks near a snow-covered track about 10.30pm.

The group was treated at the scene for exposure and assisted down the mountain before being taken to hospital with cold-related injuries and hypothermia.

Senior Constable Callum Herbert said:

All the people involved started with the best intentions but ultimately some were not prepared for the extreme and variable conditions.

People should heed warnings about walking on the mountain and in alpine areas as both rescues ... put themselves and their rescuers at significant risk.

Const Herbert said had the pair lost at night on the mountain not found shelter, they would “almost certainly have perished if it wasn’t for the tenacity of the rescuers”.

They were very lucky.

Police say the 54-year-old woman killed at Beulah late on Saturday afternoon was one of two people trapped under the fallen tree.

Both were treated at the scene.

A 54-year-old man was taken to Launceston General hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

A snow-topped kunanyi / Mount Wellington seen from across the Derwent River in September 25, 2021.
A snow-topped kunanyi / Mount Wellington seen from across the Derwent River in September 25, 2021. Photograph: Ethan James/AAP

Updated

WA records two Covid deaths

Two people with Covid-19 have died in Western Australia. The state recorded 4,900 new cases on Sunday, 261 hospitalisations and seven people in ICU.

The deaths reported on Sunday occurred in preceding dates but were only reported to WA Health on Saturday.

Updated

Deputy PM hopes for meeting with Chinese counterpart

Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, sat near China’s defence minister as they participated in broader ministerial talks in Singapore yesterday.

It is believed to mark the highest level in-person contact between the countries in more than two years.

The event is notable because China has not allowed phone calls or meetings between Australian ministers and their direct counterparts since early 2020. Chinese officials have repeatedly argued Canberra must provide a “better mood” as a precondition for high-level dialogue resuming.

Marles, the defence minister, has confirmed to Sky News that he also shook hands with his Chinese counterpart during at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. But observers believe it is likely too soon to say it signals a post-election easing of tensions given that the contact occurred in a group setting.

Marles was among 27 visiting ministers to attend a “roundtable discussion” at lunchtime on Saturday, immediately after he delivered a speech calling on China to be transparent about its military buildup and criticising its actions in the South China Sea.

Photos from the event show Marles was seated next to Singapore’s defence minister, Ng Eng Hen, who was directly across from China’s minister of national defence, Wei Fenghe.

A statement issued later by Singapore’s defence ministry said the meeting had discussed the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while “several ministers exchanged their views on how the situation would affect the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the world.”

Marles was also seated opposite Wei on Friday night during the opening of the conference, sharing a table with nine international dignitaries including Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida; Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong; the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin; and China’s Wei.

Marles’ office was contacted on Saturday asking for comment on the content of any discussions with Wei.

But in an interview broadcast on Sky News on Sunday, Marles confirmed the handshake and said he believed talks with China were possible.

“The more complex the times, the more important that there is dialogue and proper diplomacy,” Marles said.

Updated

Victoria records 16 Covid deaths

Sixteen people with Covid-19 have died in Victoria overnight, with the state recording 4,766 new cases on Sunday morning, 454 people in hospital, 27 in ICU, 5 on ventilation.

Updated

Queensland records one Covid death

Queensland has recorded one new Covid-19 death on Sunday with 2,383 new tests overnight, 329 people hospitalised, seven people in ICU.

Updated

ACT records zero Covid deaths, two people in ICU

No lives have been lost in the ACT overnight as the territory records 643 new cases, with 80 people in hospital and two in ICU.

Updated

China ‘does not want to see war on the Korean peninsula’, Wei says

On questions of tensions with India, Wei says there has been provocations on the Chinese side of the border.

Turning to North Korea, Wei says China is paying attention to what occurs in North Korea and that it “does not want to see war on the Korean peninsula”.

But we should accomodate the concerns of all parties. Security on the peninsula cannot be solved with maximum pressure. With the DPRK, we need to help them solve their problems. I don’t know whether you understand the conditions of the DPRK. I travelled through the border of the DPRK and people of the DPRK do not live a very good life and living standards are not good due to the international sanctions. Their concerns have not been addressed by the international community.

On supersonic weapons, Wei says “many countries are testing weapons” and it should be no surprise that China is developing its military.

It is only natural.

On a question from Vietnam about whether China is making a promise not to invade other countries in the future, Wei advises the questioner to “read history”.

I suggest you read the relationship between China and Vietnam. The relationship is very good. I am a good brother and good friend with the minister of Vietnam. Therefore as for what happened in the past, I think you need to read history.

Updated

Wei questions the ‘root cause’ of Ukraine war

Wei on Ukraine:

People are very interested in Russia and the Ukraine crisis. Let me say that on Ukraine, like the points I’ve made in the opening remarks, I want to emphasise that neither Russia, Ukraine or Europe wants such a war. Who really wants this war? The crisis will bring tremendous damage to Ukraine, Russia and Europe, and also it affects China tremendously, also Singapore. Food and energy crises. Yesterday a Singaporean military officer told me gas price is rising. Nobody wants to see a war like this. But why is there a war? What is the root cause?

Providing weapons, imposing maximum pressure does not help solve the problem. The crisis is still escalating. The war is continuing, so these measures won’t work. China’s position is consistent. We believe it is necessary to facilitate peace talks to restore peace.

Worth reminding people that it was, in point of fact, Russia that launched an attack on Ukraine.

Updated

New questions now, on whether China is promising to never occupy another country, its position on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, tensions with India, how it will address the North Korean nuclear program and the purpose of China’s development of hypersonic weaponry.

(Things are moving too quick for me to get the names and nation of origin of those asking the questions.)

Updated

‘China has never provided military support to Russia,’ Wei says

On China’s defence development:

We will not be the bully. We are all clear on who is the bully. We have not attacked or invaded other countries.

On military cooperation with Russia:

China and Russia are close neighbours, important partners. The China-Russia relationship develops on the right and correct path. The relationship is a partnership not an alliance. It does not target any third party. Our relationship with Russia will continue to grow. That is what China will continue to do.

You asked about whether China has provided material support to the Russian military. Let me make this clear. The Ukrainian crisis: China has never provided military support to Russia.

Updated

South China Sea issues should be solved by countries in the region, Wei says

On South China Sea:

South China Sea issue should be solved by countries in the region. The problem is there are countries not in the South China Sea region stirring up trouble.

Wei says differences should be handled together.

On China’s construction of nuclear weapons:

Since the building of China’s nuclear force, China has developed its capabilities over five decades. It’s fair to say there has been impressive projects. That is a fact. You asked for the purpose of China’s nuclear capabilities.

Let me be frank, that China’s policy on nuclear power is consistent. We use it for self defence. We will not be the first to use nuclear power.

Updated

‘Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,’ Wei says

Some serious questions being asked now on the Ukraine conflict, Taiwanese independence, nuclear armament and regional tensions. Wei offers very brief answers – first on Taiwan and whether China will respect the status quo if there is no change.

Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. It is a province of China. China is working for peaceful reunification. In the case of secession, China reserves other options.

Updated

China ‘saddened’ by Ukraine war, Wei says

On Ukraine, Wei says the “crisis” is the “top focus of the international community” and that China “deeply regrets and is saddened” by the situation.

Wei says the historical context is important – but does not specify what he means by that.

Who is the mastermind behind it? Who loses the most and who stands to gain the most? Who is promoting peace and who is adding fuel to the fire? I think we all know the answers to these questions and all countries need to reflect on the role they have played.

China is for peaceful negotiations and supports talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Updated

Stable China-US relations ‘vital for global peace’, Wei says

Wei says China-US relations are at a “critical and crucial juncture” and that a stable relationship is “vital for global peace and development.”

Confrontation will benefit neither country. We call on the US side to stop smearing and containing China. Stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop harming China’s interests. The vital relationship unless the US side can do that.

Updated

'We will fight at all costs': China on Taiwanese independence

Wei:

Countries in the region should accomodate the core interests and major concerns of each other. China fully appreciates and respects the legitimate concerns of other countries. Likewise we expect our core and legitimate interests to be respected.

Speaking about Taiwan, Wei says:

Taiwan is first and foremost, China’s Taiwan.

Wei says that reunification is a force “no one can stop” and that China’s preference is for “peaceful reunification”.

However Wei says China will “resolutely crush any effort to pursue Taiwan independence” and will not tolerate efforts to support Taiwanese independence.

We will fight at all costs and we will fight until the very end. This is the only choice for China.

Updated

US targeting China in the Pacific, Chinese defence minister says

Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe has rejected “smearing accusations” from the US during his address at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday and says China is being targeted.

Wei stressed China’s commitment to peaceful development saying the country did not seek to establish “hegemony, military expansion or an arms race”.

“China is rock solid in its commitment to achieve peaceful development,” he said.

However Wei struck a note of caution, saying that while China’s would not engage in hostilities it would act to defend itself.

We do not provoke trouble, but we will not flinch in the face of provocation. But we will not allow others to bully us.

The comments follow the address by US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin on Saturday.

Updated

When Adelaide-based artist Elyas Alavi, a refugee from Afghanistan, started researching the lives of camel drivers working in outback Australia more than a century ago, he discovered an important connection.

Thousands of men known as Afghan cameleers travelled to Australia to carry goods in an often harsh climate before the development of railways and roads.

Alavi, 38, says he connected to cameleers through their music, language and scripts, and the notebooks they left behind.

The cameleers were a very diverse [group of people]. Among them, they were artists and musicians.

It’s important [for] me to project these historical connections with Australia. I want to show we are not the ‘others’ or strangers. We have been here for a long time.

He says the cameleers were not able to bring family members to Australia, an issue that current asylum seekers also face.

Originally from Afghanistan, Alavi spent many years in Iran as a refugee before resettling in Australia in 2007 through a United Nations program.

As a Hazara refugee having fled my homeland as a child, if I were to describe my sense of self in one word, it would be ‘uprooted’.

Alavi, a published poet in Farsi, turned to visual arts because he could not find an audience in Australia for his poems.

He addresses issues of displacement, trauma and war through his work.

The camel drivers – widely referred to as Afghan cameleers even though many also came from the provinces of modern-day Pakistan and India – helped outback communities and industry to survive by transporting goods from cities to inland areas.

From AAP.

Updated

Scaly-tailed possum caught in the NT for the first time

A rare scaly-tailed possum has been caught in the Northern Territory for the first time in what scientists say is a sign that private land conservation is having a positive effect.

The scaly-tailed possum, also known as the Wyulda, is a rock-dwelling marsupial with stout limbs and a “grippy” tail it uses to hang from branches and rock ledges to reach for seeds, fruits and flowers.

Ecologists from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) working on Bullo River Station in the Northern Territory’s Victoria River region captured a possum during animal-trapping surveys in April and May.

Eridani Mulder, the senior ecologist who led the surveys, described scaly-tailed possums as “secretive, adorable weirdos” with an amazing ability to adapt to whatever habitat they live in.

For the whole story about the vital conservation work to protect at risk species, read the full story from Lisa Cox.

Updated

US scraps Covid test requirement for incoming international travelers

Australians looking to travel to the US can now do so without having to get a Covid-19 test after the requirement is set to be scrapped from Sunday.

The requirement was introduced 17 months ago and will be scrapped ahead of tourist season in the northern hemisphere following heavy lobbying from airlines and tour operators.

With the decision to be implemented from Sunday, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention will review the policy in 90 days and said it could chose to reintroduce the requirement for a test in the future.

The move removes a barrier for Australians who have been looking to head overseas for a holiday – if they can afford the cost of international flights and survive long wait times to get hold of a passport.

Updated

Nadesalingam family celebrates daughter's fifth birthday in Biloela

We go now to Guardian Australia’s intrepid Eden Gillespie who is on the ground in Biloela, where she has spotted a very large birthday cake remains untouched at a five-year-old’s birthday party.

Updated

NDIS scheme is ‘sustainable’, Shorten says

The final question turns to the cost and sustainability of the scheme. Shorten: “I think the scheme is sustainable.”

Some scenarios paint a very high-cost growth which we would like to restrain the rate of growth of the cost of the scheme.

I’m saying to people watching this show, one, we will run the scheme more efficiently and empathetically. Two, we will sit down and look at some of the long-term pressures so not just a lifeboat in the ocean.

But three, I invite Australians, both people who are on the scheme and those who don’t know anything about disability, every dollar that gets spent in the scheme according to one report that was commissioned recently generates $2.25 in economic outcome.

Updated

Litigation against NDIS applicants ‘not the way an empathetic scheme should be run’, Shorten says

On the $40m in legal fees spent fighting applicants to the NDIS, Shorten says he will consult the lawyers who handle this litigation and ask “what are the absolute stupidities you are currently seeing from the commonwealth in the way they do their litigation?”

I think people will be appalled to know that whilst the NDIS is making decisions it has to, some people won’t be happy, what we are seeing is top end of town law firms being charged a lot of money to basically drag out cases so that people give up on their claims. That is not the way an empathetic scheme should be run.

Updated

Shorten flags more regulation of unlicensed NDIS providers

Shorten also flags more regulation of unlicensed providers and better protections for workers who are hired through internet platforms to ensure they have better pay and conditions. He says these regulations will be based on circumstance.

If you are cutting someone’s grass, you don’t have to go through the same sort of check as providing care services.

Updated

Price gouging by NDIS providers will be reviewed, Shorten says

Another issue is price gouging by providers, which Shorten says needs to be addressed, saying “the way prices were set was done in a black box and there was no transparency” and the government is now bringing forward a 10-year review of the scheme to address these sorts of issues. In a follow-up question he confirmed the pricing system will be reviewed.

One of the contributing factors that people are doing whatever they can to get into scheme, is that it is a wasteland outside of it. The NDIS was never meant to be the only way we give people with disability care, services and their carers.

Shorten says he will talk to the states about providing additional support.

Updated

Coalition’s NDIS design enabled organised crime to take advantage of scheme, Shorten says

Shorten on the design of the NDIS enabling organised crime to flourish:

The crazy thing about the old government is they basically put a padlock coming into the scheme and they would argue with a person about their wheelchair or their white cane or hours of speech pathology and turn that into an administrative nightmare, but they left the welcome mat at the backdoor.

Updated

Shorten says he wants to ‘restore trust’ in NDIS

Questions now turn to the NDIS, noting that Shorten was one of the architects.

Shorten says the system is “no longer the original dream”.

In the first quarter of this century, the outstanding public policy is having an NDIS. It now looks after 580,000 people on the scheme. A quarter of a million people are employed in disability. The point is that it is no longer the original dream.

Two words would summarise my approach: restore trust. It is a bureaucratic nightmare for people on the scheme.

Shorten says the scheme is a “maze of red tape” where $40m in legal fees was spent on “lawyers to fight Aussies trying onto the scheme”. And there are concerns organised crime is rorting the system.

I’ve started to read disturbing reports from criminal intelligence analysts that as a government payment scheme, the same people in organised crime who were taking money out of the family day care scheme are now moving across into NDIS, obtaining people’s personal information, false invoices, overpaying of bills, ghost payments.

Updated

Gas market trigger ‘doesn’t work’, Shorten says

Asked about a gas reservation policy, Shorten takes a swipe at Malcolm Turnbull over the trigger to allow gas to be reserved for domestic gas consumption.

The problem is – and no doubt Malcolm will be reading the transcript of this show today wherever he is in the world – the trigger ... it doesn’t quite work. Even if we were to pull the trigger, it doesn’t come into effect until next January.

Updated

Bill Shorten says energy woes due to 'decade of denial and delay'

Interview with minister for NDIS and government services Bill Shorten now. First question is about energy policy.

Shorten says “the real issue about power, in my opinion is for 10 years we’ve had a decade of denial and delay.”

What we are suffering from this winter in the short term is floods of coal mines, outages of a plant which is more than 50 years old, but the real long-term problem is that we haven’t made a plan for transition to renewables, now the chickens have come home to roost.

Updated

A lot of discussion about energy policy now in the opening discussion of the Insiders ABC panel, featuring a lot of talking points from the oil and gas industry.

A reminder that the International Energy Agency’s roadmap to limiting global warming to 1.5C means no more new coal, gas and oil investment as of last year.

Updated

Crime gangs ripping off up to $1.45bn a year from NDIS

Bill Shorten will also be asked about a story in The Herald Sun this morning about organised crime groups ripping off the NDIS for sums up to $1.45bn a year.

The Australian Crime and Intelligence Commission has warned the incoming government that as much as 5% of the $29bn scheme is being stolen annually, with some individual crime gangs ripping off tens of millions.

The ACIC warned the scheme has been hit by similar scams to those allegedly used by the Western Sydney family day care syndicates that led to the arrest of dozens in 2019.

Updated

NSW records five Covid deaths

Five people with Covid-19 have died in New South Wales overnight, with the state recording 5,387 new cases on Sunday morning, 1,255 people in hospital, and 45 in ICU.

Updated

Services Australia slashes call centre contracts

Services Australia has embarked on a massive shake-up of its call centre operations, slashing the work it sends to labour hire firms as it approaches one of its busiest periods of the year.

Guardian Australia has learned the agency last week informed its outsourced “service delivery partners” it was cutting the “workload” sent to these four firms by about 30%.

The move is expected to result in job losses, and insiders and the union warned it could mean customers would wait longer for Centrelink services.

The decision, conveyed to the firms last Friday, begins as soon as 1 July.

Catch up on this exclusive by The Guardian Australia’s social affairs and inequality editor Luke Henriques-Gomes about the outsource of jobs in the country’s social services sector ahead of Bill Shorten’s appearance on ABC’s Insiders.

Updated

Meanwhile, Bill Shorten is promising to spill the tea on the NDIS to tease his upcoming interview on ABC Insiders.

Nadesalingam family’s return to Biloela raises hope for change

The absence of the Nadesalingam family was deeply felt at last year’s Flourish festival – an event that celebrates Biloela’s multicultural community.

But on Saturday, the hole the family left when they were taken from the town four years ago was filled as they appeared on stage at the event.

Sitting alongside a flank of supporters, Priya wears a dark purple sari, Nades white Tamil attire, and the girls, Kopika and Tharnicaa, also don traditional dress.

Priya is softly spoken but radiates strength. The strength of a mother who has watched her children grow up in detention, saw her youngest child, Tharnicaa, rushed to hospital with a blood infection, and fought against all odds to bring her family back to the small country town she calls home.

“I am back in Bilo,” Priya declares as she addresses the packed civic centre.

“I feel fulfilled when I touch this land … I feel like I’m born again … I will dedicate my life to the Biloela community.”

As Tharnicaa Nadesalingam will celebrate her fifth birthday at home in Biloela for the first time since being detained under the previous Coalition government in 2018, The Guardian Australia’s Eden Gillespie explores how their return raises hope for change.

Updated

Private hospitals report spike in fee-paying patients in need of urgent care

Australians are paying to skip the queue in overwhelmed public hospitals after some patients have died after being left waiting for critical care, Fairfax papers report.

Private hospitals have reported a spike in fee-paying patients among people who need urgent care, with some emergency departments reporting a rise of 10%.

Patients pay up to $410 per visit on weekdays with additional tests running up even higher bills that are not covered by private health insurance.

The situation illustrates the incredible pressure on the country’s healthcare system since the start of the pandemic.

Updated

Minister for the NDIS and government services Bill Shorten will be making an appearance on ABC’s Insiders this morning.

We’ll have the details when it happens.

Good morning

And welcome to the live blog on this fine Sunday morning. It has been a chilly start to the day across the country but here is a quick look at what is making headlines.

China’s defence minister will address the Singapore security summit today as the Shangri-La regional security dialogue will enter its final day on Sunday where it will hear from China’s minister of national defence Wei Fenghe. On Saturday it heard from US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin and deputy prime minister Richard Marles who sought a reset of Australia’s relationship with China.

Tharnicaa Nadesalingam will celebrate her fifth birthday at home in Biloela for the first time since being detained under the previous Coalition government in 2018. The family returned to the Queensland outback town where they were greeted by locals, marking an end to the four-year campaign to return the family after the Morrison government attempted to deport them to Sri Lanka.

The New South Wales state government will scrap the distinction between primary and secondary carers with a plan to offer 14 weeks’ paid parental leave, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Under the plan employees will be offered an extra fortnight of paid leave if they evenly split it with their parent.

I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.

With that, let’s get started ...

Updated

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