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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Josh Taylor and Caitlin Cassidy (earlier)

Nation records 59 Covid deaths as NT announces closure of quarantine facility – as it happened

Chris Bowen Australia Christopher Wilson Anthony Albanese Police
Covid quarantine facility
The Centre for National Resilience Covid-19 quarantine facility in the Northern Territory is set to close on June 16. Photograph: Glenn Campbell/AAP

The day that was, Thursday 9 June

That’s where we will leave the live blog for Thursday.

Here’s what made the news today:

  • The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the Coalition’s attempt to push nuclear power as an option to address the energy crisis is a “complete joke”.
  • The federal government will renew the gas security mechanism beyond its due expiry date of 1 January next year and will also review how it works.
  • The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, confirmed that before the election, defence was working on a plan to purchase two Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US by 2030, as a stop-gap before nuclear submarines could be made in Australia.
  • The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, accused Dutton of playing “rank politics” in making the statements.
  • Covid booster doses will be recommended for at-risk children between 12 and 15 years old.
  • The Victorian government will offer payments of $3,000 to all staff working in public hospitals and ambulance services in recognition of the challenging circumstances they’ve faced.
  • The NT will close its Covid-19 quarantine facility on 16 June.
  • There were 59 reported Covid-19 deaths across Australia.

Until tomorrow, I hope you keep warm.

Updated

Google cracks down on scam ads

In a bid to tackle the meteoric rise of financial scam ads, Google will require advertisers of financial services in Australia to demonstrate they are authorised by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (Asic) and have gone through Google’s advertiser verification program to promote products and services.

The same policy of regulator verification is already in place in the UK, and the new regime will be rolled out in Australia from 30 August, 2022.

Google’s government affairs and public policy senior manager Samantha Yorke said:

We work tirelessly to make sure the ads we serve are safe and trustworthy, and we know that partnering and collaborating with government regulators is critical to our success. That’s why we’re closely coordinating with the appropriate Australian regulators to make sure this program is effective at scale. In the coming months, we plan to further expand these verification requirements to advertisers in additional countries and regions.

In 2021, the company blocked or removed over 58.9m ads for violating the financial services policy.

The ACCC reported that Australians lost more than $205m in the first four months of 2022 with the majority of losses coming from “crypto-investment scams” which increased by over 300%.

Updated

A staffer of former One Nation senator Brian Burston has accused him of regular sexual harassment, saying his behaviour, including allegedly shoving money down her breasts, left her feeling degraded, humiliated and disgusted.

AAP reports Terri-lea Vairy was called to give evidence in the federal court on Thursday on behalf of Pauline Hanson, who is being sued for defamation by Burston.

Burston says the One Nation leader accused him of sexual harassment on social media, via a text message to his wife, Rosalyn Burston, and during a television interview.

The 74-year-old denies all allegations as entirely fabricated.

Mirvac seeks to evict lessee of 10 Travelodge hotels

Property developer Mirvac has launched urgent court proceedings against the lessee of 10 Travelodge hotels, seeking to evict them ahead of a scheduled sale of the properties.

AAP reports that in the NSW Supreme Court lawsuit, Mirvac seeks orders that leases with Value Lodging be terminated so an acquisition of the hotels by fund manager Salter Brothers can go ahead.

The leases, which began in June 2020, relate to properties in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Mirvac sought to terminate the contracts after the sale to the Salter Brothers was confirmed in July 2021.

Despite being served with the notices of termination in March this year, Value Lodging refused to vacate the premises, claiming the notices were invalid and disputing the notice period given to move out.

Mirvac has sought urgent declarations from the court, claiming the acquisition of the properties by Salter Brothers depends on the hotels being vacant.

“(If) vacant possession of the properties is not delivered by Mirvac by 30 June 2022, Mirvac will incur financing costs, time value of money costs, direct interest costs, and opportunity costs,” wrote Mirvac’s solicitor Jonathan Light in an affidavit.

As well as the declarations, Mirvac is also seeking its legal costs.

The case is being heard by Justice Rowan Darke.

Updated

Clive Palmer’s United Australia party spent nearly $1.5m on Google advertising on the last day of the election alone, as political parties poured millions into social media posts in the dying days of the federal campaign despite the advertising “blackout” period.

Queensland coalminers in the dark about royalties increase

Coalminers still don’t know how much tax they will be paying in Queensland in three weeks’ time, AAP reports.

State treasurer Cameron Dick says miners will pay more tax on each tonne of coal sold, known as royalties, next financial year.

He is yet to reveal the size of the hike coming in the June 21 budget.

“It’ll be fair for the industry, but very importantly it’ll be fair for the people of our state,” Dick told reporters on Thursday.

The Queensland Resources Council said the treasurer refused to reveal the new royalty rates in meeting with miners on Wednesday.

“(That) flies in the face of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s promise to be an open and transparent government,” the QRC told AAP in a statement on Thursday.

“The coal industry is facing a rate rise in two weeks, and does not know what to expect.”

Trainload of black coal heads to port
‘The truth is that these companies have been making very significant amounts of money,’ Queensland treasurer Cameron Dick says. Photograph: BeyondImages/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The QRC has warned that a royalty hike will scare away foreign investors, but Mr Dick denies that will happen.

The treasurer also insists he is still a friend of the mining industry.

“But the point of being a friend, and the value of friendship, is being able to tell the truth,” Dick said.

“And the truth is that these companies have been making very significant amounts of money.”

Updated

Nine's 60 Minutes defeats surgeon's bid to obtain copy of program

The New South Wales supreme court has dismissed an application from cosmetic surgeon Joseph Ajaka for Nine’s 60 Minutes to hand over copies of a program about him.

In a brief hearing Justice Stephen Rothman handed down his decision on Thursday afternoon with the words “submission dismissed” and ordered that Ajaka pay Nine’s costs. He has not yet published his reasons.

On Wednesday the NSW court of appeal ruled that the supreme court did not have power to make its initial document discovery order on 13 May which said 60 Minutes should hand over a draft copy of the story.

Chief Justice Andrew Bell said that legal counsel for Ajaka had conceded the orders “made by Justice Rothman on the afternoon of 13th May 2022 were not sustained by any jurisdiction in the court. Those orders must therefore be set aside”.

Last month Ajaka won a court order at the eleventh hour preventing the broadcast of the program, reported by award-winning investigative journalist Adele Ferguson, and the publication of any subsequent articles in the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.

In case you missed how definitive the energy minister, Chris Bowen, was about a nuclear energy debate.

Tasmania expedites inquest into deaths of children in jumping castle tragedy

A joint public inquest into the deaths of six children in a freak jumping castle mishap in Tasmania has been given priority by the state coroner, AAP reports.

The Hillcrest primary school students were enjoying end-of-year celebrations in December when a gust of wind flung the castle and several inflatable Zorb balls about 10 metres into the air.

Three other students suffered serious injuries and spent time in hospital.

Tasmania’s coronial division on Thursday indicated a joint inquest would be held into the tragedy and a “large amount” of investigative work had already taken place.

“The coroner (Olivia McTaggart) wishes to advise that she will give priority to scheduling the inquest as soon as reasonably possible,” a statement from the division said.

Evidence from Tasmania Police, including witness statements, has been provided to the coroner.

Information from a Work Safe Tasmania investigation concerning the involved business, equipment and set-up will soon be provided.

The coroner will likely consider evidence from engineering and scientific experts, as well as meteorology experts in relation to weather conditions.

Jalailah Jayne-Marie Jones, Addison Stewart, Jye Sheehan, Zane Mellor, Peter Dodt and Chace Harrison were remembered at funerals in the northwest city of Devonport.

Tributes left outside the school were collected by the Devonport City Council for the creation of a permanent memorial.

Flowers, soft toys and tributes are seen outside Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport, Tasmania,
Tributes left outside Hillcrest primary school after six children died in the jumping castle tragedy. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Updated

Jones accuses Dutton of leaking sensitive information

Jones accuses the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, of leaking confidential information in revealing he was in discussions to buy stop-gap submarines from the United States before the election.

Jones:

I’d have thought that Peter Dutton might have learned from the mistakes of Scott Morrison about disclosing confidential information between world leaders. In that case, Emmanuel Macron by text message. This isn’t the way a grown-up conducts international relations, let alone sensitive military negotiations with a partner, a defence partner. Grown-ups don’t do that.

He didn’t say whether the information was classified or not:

Whether it was classified or not, it was certainly sensitive and it certainly compromised our defence partners and our allies and the United States. You don’t do this stuff.

Updated

Stephen Jones: We must make it easier for super funds to invest locally

The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, is on ABC’s afternoon briefing.

He says he wants to make it easier for superannuation funds to invest locally, arguing the changes made by the former government made it more attractive for the funds to invest overseas.

Jones:

Funds want to invest in Australia, these are patriotic institutions and members want to see their funds making Australia stronger, better, wealthy and we can do all of those things without compromising returns so we will level the playing field and ensure, unlike the last government, we don’t put in place adverse incentives where crazily it is easier to invest overseas than to invest in Australia.

He says the government won’t be like the former government in raiding superannuation to fund home deposits:

We don’t think Australians should have to choose between having a retirement savings nest, a nest egg for their retirement savings, and buy a house. They should do both.

Updated

Rio Tinto to power Queensland aluminium operations with renewables

Rio Tinto will invest in large-scale wind and solar farms in central and southern Queensland to power its aluminium operations in the Gladstone region, AAP reports.

The resources giant’s aluminium chief Ivan Vella on Thursday announced a call-out for proposals to meet the energy needs of the Boyne smelter, the Yarwun alumina refinery and the Queensland alumina refinery.

“It is early in the process, but this is an important step towards meeting our group climate change target of halving our emissions by the end of the decade (from 2018 levels),” Vella said.

At least 4000 megawatts of wind and solar power will be needed to run the facilities, roughly the equivalent of two coal-fired power plants.

Rio Tinto’s Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) alumina refinery in Gladstone.
Rio Tinto’s Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) alumina refinery in Gladstone. Photograph: Dan Peled/AAP

“This is an important moment for Queensland,” Australian Conservation Foundation Gladstone campaigner Jaclyn McCosker said.

“Coupled with the news that energy ministers have agreed to come up with a national transition plan to phase out fossil fuels, this marks a significant moment in Australian action to tackle climate change.”

Rio Tinto’s pitch to renewable energy developers follows the signing last October of a statement of cooperation with the Queensland government to establish more renewable energy sources in the regions.

The new wind and solar projects will have to start supplying power to Rio Tinto’s Gladstone operations through the Queensland grid by 2030, but there are concerns transmission infrastructure is falling short.

“In Central and Northern Queensland there’s currently a cap on how much clean energy can be developed locally because there’s a dire need to upgrade grid infrastructure,” Solar Citizens spokeswoman Stephanie Gray said.

Queensland Minister for Energy Mick de Brenni has been contacted for comment on grid stress.

Work has also begun on the $2bn state-owned MacIntyre wind farm in the Southern Downs, which will be one of the largest in the southern hemisphere.

The federal Labor government has pledged $20bn to finance more grid infrastructure, and plans to accelerate new renewable energy, battery storage and transmission nationwide.

Updated

Bill allowing Labor to cost policies in lead-up to NSW election passes lower house

The NSW parliament is closer to passing legislation allowing the Labor party to cost its policies in the lead-up to next year’s state election, AAP reports.

A Labor bill passed in the lower house on Thursday allowing all promises made in the lead-up to the March election to be scrutinised from an earlier date.

The legislation would see the parliamentary budget office (PBO) begin operating from 1 July, two months earlier than the usual 1 September.

The PBO is an apolitical team of professionals which provides costings of all election promises.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer Amendment Bill 2022 passed the lower house by division on Thursday, 43 to 39 and will be sent to the upper house for debate.

Shadow treasurer Daniel Mookhey said on Tuesday the legislation would ensure all promises made in the lead-up to the 2023 state election could be delivered.

Mookhey told media on Thursday Labor had since received advice there was a possibility the PBO could not come online until August – giving staff just one extra month to audit election promises.

“This isn’t an opportunity for the government to play politics,” he said.

“We want to get a mandate for change for our policies that we will be taking to the election next year.”

Updated

New trade ministers head to WTO in Geneva

The trade minister, Don Farrell and the assistant trade minister, Tim Ayres, have announced they will attend the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference in Geneva from 12 to 15 June.

Prior to that, Ayres will be leading Australia’s delegation to the OECD annual ministerial council meeting in Paris on 9 and 10 June.

The focus will be supporting governments dealing with Covid-19 challenges, Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, vaccine access, digital trade and food security.

Farrell:

We will also seek to tackle important longer-term challenges, including by agreeing new rules to limit subsidies that undermine fish stocks, and reinvigorating discussions to reform global agriculture markets.

Ayres:

In Paris, I will convene a meeting of key WTO Ministers which I will use to press for a package that will address the challenges facing the global trading system, including a response to the pandemic.

Updated

Weekly NSW Covid update: 460 people admitted to hospital and 39 to ICU

Some stats from the weekly NSW Health surveillance report on Covid and the flu (via the NSW Health Twitter account):

  • PCR testing decreased, with 170,195 PCR tests reported this week, a 10% decrease since the previous week. The proportion of PCR tests that were positive for Covid-19 decreased to 11%.
  • 460 people with Covid-19 were admitted to hospital and 39 were admitted to ICU this week, which is a decrease on the previous week.
  • There were 86 Covid-19 deaths reported this week. Of these, all were eligible for a third dose of a vaccine but only 54 (63%) had received a third dose. Five of the deaths reported were in people aged under 65 years.
  • The Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) is currently the dominant Covid-19 variant circulating in the NSW community, with BA.2 the predominant sub-lineage. The proportion of specimens identified as the BA.5 sub-lineage has been increasing in recent weeks.
  • Of the 53,271 tests conducted for flu at sentinel laboratories, the proportion of positive tests remained relatively stable at around 16-17%.
  • Emergency department presentations for “influenza-like illness” (ILI) requiring an admission have increased to 220 compared to 198 admissions in the previous week. This represents 15% of all ILI emergency department presentations this week.
  • The proportion of presentations that were admitted to hospital was highest for people aged 65 years and over (51%), 35-64 years (18%) and children aged 0-4 years (16%).

Updated

Pauline Hanson reappears

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has been spotted in public for the first time since she was struck down with Covid-19 just before the election.

Senator Pauline Hanson is seen during a lunch break at The Federal Court of Australia, in Sydney, Thursday, June 9, 2022. Former One Nation senator Brian Burston’s defamation case against Pauline Hanson is set to be heard.
Senator Pauline Hanson is seen during a lunch break at the federal court of Australia, in Sydney. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Hanson had not been seen publicly even after the Covid isolation period, lying low as the election results came in.

Hanson looks likely to be re-elected to the Senate again following the May election, but it has been a closely fought contest between her and LNP senator Amanda Stoker over the last Queensland Senate spot.

The senator appeared outside the federal court hearing a defamation case between her and former Senate and party colleague Brian Burston.

You can read more about that case here:

Updated

Interest rate rises expected to curtail growth in new home sales

Growth in new homes sales declined in May and further falls are anticipated as rising interest rates begin to bite, AAP reports.

The Housing Industry Association monthly new home sales report – a survey of the nation’s largest home builders in the five largest states – showed a decline of 5.5% in May compared to a month earlier.

HIA economist Tom Devitt said the result was not surprising in a month containing both a federal election and an interest rate hike.

He said while sales were strong during the first months of 2022, ongoing increases in interest rates are expected to bring this boom cycle to an end.

“The impact of rising rates will be compounded by the ongoing increases in the cost of construction and land, forcing up the cost of a new house and land package,” Devitt said.

But he said there is a significant volume of work under construction and elevated levels of work approved but not yet commenced.

This will see a significant lag before the rise in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s cash rate adversely impacts on the number of new homes commencing construction.

“The lag from when a rate rise results in a decline in starts can be as short as six months, but in this cycle, it could be more than 12 months before the volume of starts fall due to the rise in rates,” he said.

The RBA followed up on its 25 basis point increase in May this week with a further 50 basis point hike in the cash rate, taking it to 0.85%.

Victoria led the decline in new home sales in May, dropping by 12.7%, followed by NSW and Western Australia, down 12.2% and 0.8% respectively.

However, sales rose 8.8% on Queensland and were up 12% in South Australia.

Updated

Peter Dutton on deportations to New Zealand

Dutton also commented on the possibility Labor could water down visa cancellations due to New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s upcoming trip and representations about the policy:

The New Zealand government’s been clear in that position for a long time, and I understand that, but we’ve made a decision that we would deport criminals, particularly the most serious people that have committed sexual offences against women and children ... drug dealers, traffickers, people who’ve committed murder, people who weren’t Australian citizens but who committed crimes against Australian citizens and it was right to deport them and we’re safer because of having done so.

I don’t want to see the Albanese government walk it back as, you know, we tried to strengthen the laws. They wouldn’t support that and in opposition they were very weak on these deportations, in fact, they were weak in government. Between Scott Morrison, myself, Karen Andrews, we deported about 10,100 of these criminals. And we know that when Labor was in government over the same period they did about 1,100. Now the numbers will drop off again, no doubt, under this government ... yes, I understand why New Zealand wouldn’t want them back but they’re citizens of New Zealand as UK and elsewhere and that’s where they should go back to, so I think we’ve acted in our best interest. If Anthony Albanese tries to wind that back, I think that would be a devastating outcome.

Peter Dutton
Peter Dutton: ‘Between Scott Morrison, myself, Karen Andrews, we deported about 10,100 of these criminals.’ Photograph: Russell Freeman/AAP

Updated

Peter Dutton on high court judgement on stripping citizenship

Earlier, Peter Dutton also weighed in on the high court’s decision that the home affairs minister’s power to strip dual nationals of Australian citizenship for engaging in suspected terrorist activities are invalid.

Duton told 2GB Radio:

The government needs to take the advice, to look at the judgment and to work out what the legislative response needs to be, and this needs to happen as a matter of urgency because we don’t want these people paroled and back out on the street and having the opportunity to commit a terrorist offence. The threat of terrorism hasn’t gone away. I mean we, pray God, haven’t seen an attack in London or Paris or in our own country. That doesn’t mean that these people have given up their ideology or that they’re not a threat to to Australians, and we will do whatever we can to support the government to pass legislation.

The government is not bringing parliament back till the 26th of July. But if parliament needs to resume next week, or the week after, we will be there and we’ll support them doing that because there is an urgency to this and we need to hear from the attorney general Mark Dreyfus. As to what the answer is, what the legislation response needs to be, and, and we will support any sensible proposal that they put forward.

Labor has played down the need for any changes, as only two people will get their citizenship back as a result of the decision – the plaintiff Delil Alexander, and one other.

There are also other powers to prevent risks from Australian citizens suspected of terrorism including temporary exclusion orders and control orders.

Updated

Northern Territory's Covid quarantine facility to close

The Centre for National Resilience Covid-19 quarantine facility in the Northern Territory is set to close, chief minister Natasha Fyles says.

AAP reports the closure is scheduled for 16 June, and will happen when the territory’s public health emergency ends, along with the vaccine mandate for workers.

“The Centre for National Resilience will cease operations, but it will be ready to stand up if we as a territory or Australia need it,” Fyles told reporters on Thursday.

“It was that facility that when Covid first appeared in the world got Australians out of situations when they were stuck overseas.

“We saw thousands be able to come home through that facility, and it was something Territorians should be proud of.”

Fyles acknowledged the hundreds of AUSMAT and NT health staff who worked at the Howard Springs facility since it opened in late 2020.

At the centre’s busiest, staff cared for up to 2,000 people per fortnight, but it is currently empty.

Fyles said the NT was working with the commonwealth, and the centre would remain on standby for the next 12 months.

The Centre for National Resilience quarantine facility in Darwin.
The Centre for National Resilience quarantine facility in Darwin. Photograph: Glenn Campbell/AAP

Also set to end on June 16 are the NT’s virus exclusion zones, rules for high-risk settings, such as aged-care facilities, and safety measures for businesses, with further details set to be released over the next week.

Major-event and cruise-ship limits and lock-in areas will also cease, along with the controversial vaccine mandate that required most workers to have three jabs.

Fyles said workplaces would now be able to implement their own vaccination policies and decide whether they allowed staff who had lost their jobs for failing to comply with the mandate to return.

Darwin’s Covid-19 vaccination and testing centres will close on 30 June.

Virus reporting and isolation rules stay, along with face mask requirements for some settings.

The chief health officer will also retain the power to issue directions for up to two years, including mandating masks and vaccines, under recently passed legislation.

“We must remember as we step forward the threat does remain,’’ Fyles said.

The territory’s high vaccination rate and the slowing spread of the virus and its prevalence in the community are behind the decision.

Updated

Peter Dutton confirms pre-election plan to purchase stop-gap submarines by 2030

The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, has confirmed a report in the Australian that before the election defence was working on a plan to purchase two Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines from the US by 2030, as a stop-gap before nuclear submarines could be made in Australia.

Dutton told 2GB Radio:

I thought we could be in a position to make an announcement around July or August. So it was always our intention to not get to the end of the 18 month consultation but to get part way through it, make a decision on which submarine we’re going to go with and then use the balance of the 18 months to work out the detail of that ...

I really worried how Labor are walking away from Aukus, from the submarine deal. And that is clearly not in our national interest ... Nuclear powered submarines, particularly with the vertical launch capabilities, provide a great deterrent. So I hope that they can reconsider, because they’re making all sorts of excuses at the moment ... defence is never a priority for them. And that’s what we saw in the last few years.

I just think there’s a lot of the language, which is either ill informed, [Albanese] either hasn’t had the briefings yet or is rejecting the advice because the advice was pretty clear and specific to us. And that is that you couldn’t have diesel powered submarine really working in some parts where it needs to work in the shores of our country ... beyond 2035. And if Labor thinks there’s a cheap option here to build a new diesel electric submarine ... then I think that’s folly and it just worries me.

Dutton said he “always had [his] suspicions” that Labor “was never truly supportive of Aukus”.

“I just get a feeling that they’re preparing the ground to walk away from it and that really concerns me,” he said.

A feeling in your waters and a regular Thursday slot on 2GB is all you need, really.

Updated

Resources minister on security mechanism changes

The press conference has now ended with Madeleine King saying she’s not worried about upsetting gas companies with changes to the security mechanism:

I’m not worried about putting anyone’s noses out of joint. My priority is to make sure there’s affordable and adequate supply of gas for the eastern states of Australia.

Updated

Bowen can’t say yet when AEMO might begin to have gas storage up and running

He says:

We’ll work that through with AEMO. There’s a process. Ministers have agreed so it’s endorsed but now there’s a process of rule making. I’d like to see that happen as quickly as possible. I’m sure that AEMO will make the decisions waiting for the rule making. We met last night. There’s some issues that need to be worked through.

He says it won’t happen overnight, and criticises the Coalition for complaining it isn’t being fixed so quickly after just being kicked out of government:

We won’t be able to purchase and install gas overnight. That’s true. There’s some rule making changes. If we had this capacity last week it could’ve helped. If AEMO and ministers had this last week, this crisis started to break on Tuesday and Wednesday, we were sworn in on Wednesday, here we are a week later, endorsing the rule change.

The Liberal party are saying this isn’t happening quick enough, the Liberal party is like the rock band that trashes the hotel room and complains it’s not cleaned up before breakfast. They created the mess and the new government is fixing the mess. We’re going back to the room.

Updated

National Covid-19 update

Here are the latest coronavirus case numbers from around Australia on Thursday, as the country records at least 59 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 775
  • In hospital: 87 (with no one in ICU)

NSW

  • Deaths: 21
  • Cases: 8,201
  • In hospital: 1,263 (with 40 people in ICU)

Northern Territory

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 250
  • In hospital: 16 (with no one in ICU)

Queensland

  • Deaths: 9
  • Cases: 3,861
  • In hospital: 297 (with 11 people in ICU)

South Australia

  • Deaths: 0
  • Cases: 2,801
  • In hospital: 234 (with 5 people in ICU)

Tasmania

  • Deaths: 1
  • Cases: 624
  • In hospital: 37 (with 1 person in ICU)

Victoria

  • Deaths: 22
  • Cases: 8,903
  • In hospital: 517 (with 29 people in ICU)

Western Australia

  • Deaths: 5
  • Cases: 7,871
  • In hospital: 293 (with 16 people in ICU)

Updated

'A complete joke', Chris Bowen says of Coalition nuclear push

When asked about the Coalition pushing Labor to explore nuclear as a fuel option, energy minister Chris Bowen says “Bring it on! It’s just a complete joke”.

Bowen:

Seriously? A couple of points. Nine years in office and then coming up with bright ideas on the other side of the election is point one. No credibility. Point two – nuclear is the most expensive form of energy.

We have a cost of living crisis. Energy prices going through the roof. And what’s the big bright idea? They say “let’s have the most expensive form of energy we can possibly think of? Let’s come up with the most expensive form of energy and put that in there because that will make the power prices cheaper?”

They want that debate? Bring it on! It’s just a complete joke.

Updated

Question: Would you consider cash payments for those in dire straits due to [energy prices]?

Bowen: The treasurer said that we went to the election with a considerable cost of living package which will be in the October budget. We will sensibly look at anything else that we can do. But we’ll concentrating on that cost relief, cost of living relief, that we went to the election with.

Updated

Government to renew gas security mechanism

Now we are hearing from the resources minister, Madeleine King.

King says the Australian domestic gas security mechanism is due to expire on 1 January next year, and the cabinet resolved today to make sure that tool remains so that the government can ensure future supplies of gas in Australia, so the mechanism will be renewed through regulation.

The government will also conduct an urgent review of the domestic gas security mechanism. She said:

As Minister Bowen has pointed out, it is a long and complicated and convoluted, ineffective mechanism, that takes a very long time to produce results. We are determined to change that and we’re determined to make sure that this mechanism, as well as the other tools available to us, are all on the table so that we can ensure that gas supplies are appropriate, adequate and affordable for Australians right across the country.

Chris Bowen and Madeleine King, address the media.
Chris Bowen and Madeleine King, address the media. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

She said cabinet also agreed to renegotiate the heads of government agreement between the gas companies and the prime minister, with a “distinctive edge” to respond to the gas crisis.

We need to have this heads of agreement renewed so that we can again, along with the Domestic Gas Security, ensure that there are gas supplies that are affordable and adequate for the southern Australian states.

Updated

Energy minister Chris Bowen speaks at Sydney press conference

Bowen says he is pleased with the progress made at last night’s state and territory energy ministers’ meeting.

He says the most important thing to emerge from the meeting is giving AEMO the power to store and buy gas.

He says:

Most importantly from my point of view, working now to give AEMO the power to buy and store gas so that it is kept for a crisis situation and can be released at AEMO’s discretion is something that would have been useful in recent times, and something that will be useful in coming times.

Secondly, the state and territory ministers agreeing with me to progress the capacity mechanism process. The previous government had said that they would work towards it coming into place in 2025.

We need to do better than that. But we also need to make sure that we get it right, and that includes ensuring that it supports new technologies, renewable energy and storage. And that is the instructions that ministers gave last night. As I’ve said, I am encouraging the Energy Security Board to expedite their work and get it out for further consultation as soon as possible. There will be a lot of detailed work for people to see. There’s been a lot of work done by the Energy Security Board. I look forward to seeing their work being made public in the coming days.

Updated

Union on ABC ‘knifing’ library services jobs

The Community and Public Sector Union has slammed the ABC’s plans to abolish 58 positions and make journalists research and archive their own stories.

The CPSU said the ABC cannot continue to sack its world class specialist staff and expect to remain the nation’s most trusted storyteller.

CPSU ABC section secretary Sinddy Ealy:

This proposal will see over 1,200 hours a week of archival work fall by the wayside, potentially jeopardising national archival footage, music and work. The ABC has developed this proposal before it has even consulted with program makers about what they need from the ABC Archives in order to do their work.

This proposal is an unfortunate example of ambitious and future-focused management being out of touch with the day to day running of the organisation, frontline workers are best place to know that automated workflows are not up and running to the level needed to be to avoid catastrophic loss of archival materials and the hasty decision to sack specialist staff will absolutely risk breaking new stories making it to air. This proposal is tech driven not content driven which is highly problematic when it does not have a realistic take on where the organisation is at presently.

The last time the ABC took a knife to its library services in 2019, it promised there would no more loss of specialist work, yet here we are. ABC staff are at the frontline of digitisation and the early uptake of technology, they always have been but not at the expense of dumbing down content or quality like this change could see.

Updated

ACCC report on NBN download speeds

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said 14% of fibre-to-the-node NBN connections struggle to get speeds over 75% of what they’re paying for.

The data is contained in the latest measuring broadband report from the ACCC, which is released every three months looking at how the national broadband network is performing.

The 14% is up 1% on the previous report, the ACCC said.

“The ACCC has consistently called for NBN Co and retailers to improve these physical connections so that consumers on fibre to the node technology achieve speeds closer to their plan speed,” ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said.

The report found that download speeds in urban areas had improved, from 85.7% of the promised speed in 2018 to 98.2% in February this year. Regional areas have improved from 83.7% to 95.2%

The report found people in urban areas on fixed NBN connections still have better speeds than those on fixed connections in regional areas.

“Regional fixed-line services have improved over the last four years, but still have some way to go to be on par with urban connections,” Brakey said.

Overall, the average download and upload speeds dropped between December last year and February this year.

“Speeds are generally holding up well, however most retailers experienced a small drop in speed in February during the busy evening hours,” Brakey said.

NBN Co is already in the process of offering full fibre-to-the-home upgrades to up to 2m homes, and the new Labor government’s policy will see that upgrade offered to a further 1.5m.

Updated

South Australia records zero Covid-19 deaths

South Australia has reported zero Covid-19 deaths today, with 2,801 new cases, 234 in hospital and five of those in intensive care.

Updated

With that, I will pass you on to the sterling Josh Taylor who will be with you for the rest of the day.

WA records five deaths, 7,871 new Covid cases

Western Australia’s premier Mark McGowan has released today’s Covid update.

There have been 7,871 new cases reported and five further deaths to 8pm last night.

The state’s deaths may date back to previous days and weeks but were reported to WA Health yesterday.

There are 293 people being treated in hospital with the virus including 16 people in ICU.

Marles to meet defence counterparts from Japan and US

Deputy prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles will attend a three-way meeting with Japanese minister of defence Kishi Nobuo and US secretary of defense Lloyd Austin while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore this month.

The high level security conference, to take place from 10 June to 12 June, will be his first overseas engagement as defence minister.

Senior defence officials from more than 30 nations will be in attendance for speeches and talks on key strategic issues.

Marles:

I am honoured to represent Australia at such an important forum to discuss security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region in complex and challenging times.

The Indo-Pacific is in the midst of the most consequential strategic alignment of our time. I welcome the role this Dialogue plays in shaping robust conversation on strategic challenges and regional security dynamics.

Australia remains committed to working with our partners across the region to promote our shared interests of a peaceful, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific.

I look forward to sharing Australia’s strategic outlook at the Dialogue, and outlining our regional priorities.

The three-way meeting with Japan and the US will be the 10th trilateral defence ministers meeting to take place.

Updated

ABC chief questioned over archivist jobs

The ABC managing director, David Anderson, has been door-stopped at Parliament House in Canberra about the proposal to slash 58 archivist and librarian jobs at the public broadcaster.

Anderson told reporters:

The archives initiative is something the ABC has had in train for a while, we’ve been digitising the archives, making it more accessible for our content makers. That’s all I have to say about it. We’re in consultation, so when we launch these initiatives ... we consult with staff and their representatives, and that will take place over the next six weeks.

Asked if it will compromise the ability to tell Australian stories if only flagship programs have access to library staff, Anderson replied:

No, we don’t believe that it will compromise our ability to tell local stories. We do value our archives. We work closely with the National Archives Australia. We don’t believe it will. It’s a change we’re putting in place, a transformation for the future - certainly, to allow our content makers to access more easily the archive that we have.

Anderson said the ABC is “always there for all Australians, telling stories is what we do”.

It’s an initiative we’ve thought through carefully, we will take feedback from people and answer people’s concerns that they might have in this period of time.

Anderson said the ABC will meet its legislative obligations in the Archives Act and its charter.

Updated

Two charged after remains found on Glass House Mountains

In Queensland, detectives have charged two people following the discovery of human remains at the Glass House Mountains on Tuesday.

Forensic testing is under way to determine the identity of the remains, however police say they are believed to be those of Donna Howe, a 57-year-old Caboolture woman, who was last seen in late April.

Yesterday police executed a search warrant.

Two men from Caboolture have both been charged with one count each of murder and misconduct with a corpse.

They will appear at Caboolture magistrates court today.

Updated

Remember the election?

Declarations are continuing until next week, while the latest date of the return of writs is 28 June.

The AEC has warned for some contests “the entire allowable period” may be needed to complete the count and formally declare the result.

Updated

'It must have been absolutely freezing': NSW police give update on boy found after being missing overnight

NSW superintendent Darrin Batchelor has provided an update on the 11-year-old boy discovered this morning after going missing yesterday afternoon.

Christopher was found close to home by a member of the public driving along a road near his house around 9.15am.

Batchelor says the woman saw a person matching his description walking along the road, asked him who he was and he said his name was Chris. She gave him some water and a muesli bar and he was “happy to be in some warmth”.

It’s fantastic ... we haven’t filled in all the pieces of the puzzle yet but it looks like Christopher went on a little bit of an adventure yesterday afternoon and overnight he put his head down somewhere, we think in some bushland and this morning he was located heading back towards home so it’s a fantastic outcome.

He’s been transported to ... hospital for a thorough examination and there’s no visible injuries ... so it looks like at this stage possible mild hypothermia but ... it must’ve been absolutely freezing for him out there.

Batchelor said the family was “extremely relieved” and had been distraught with worry overnight.

Police asked him a few questions but he was quiet this morning and it hasn’t been confirmed why he left.

Updated

Bullets fired into home of boxer Justis Huni

Australian heavyweight boxing champion Justis Huni’s home has been shot up in a drive-by attack in southern Brisbane, AAP reports.

Five bullets were fired into the 23-year-old’s property on Goorong Street in Sunnybank Hills about 4am on Thursday.

No one was hurt by the hail of gunfire, but it is understood there were 10 people home at the time of the attack, including children.

Despite the terrifying ordeal, the boxing champ stuck to his rigorous training schedule in the lead-up to his heavyweight bout against Joe Goodall at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena next week, with the winner touted for a potential world title shot.

Huni’s promoter Sean Lawson told AAP:

He actually still went training this morning – got to keep it normal.

Ironically enough, they usually wake up at four o’clock ... this morning was a different wake-up call with five bullets through the windows.

The gunshots shattered windows in the home’s front lounge room.

Lawson insisted Huni remained unrattled by the incident and his preparations had not been derailed for the upcoming contest with Goodall.

The undefeated Australian pair were initially due to fight in February before a second Covid-19 infection for Huni put the event on hold.

Updated

Queensland siege ends

A Queensland siege has concluded after more than 18 hours following the arrest of two men.

The emergency declaration has been lifted in Nerang, allowing people to return to their homes.

The men were under police pursuit in relation to return to prison warrants.

The emergency situation was declared shortly after 3.00 yesterday afternoon when a standoff ensued between the police and the two men.

Updated

ACT moves on drug decriminalisation bill

The ACT government has just moved to pass a bill decriminalising possession of small quantities of some illicit drugs.

Under territory law enacted a year ago, Canberrans are already able to possess up to 50 grams of dried cannabis and 150 grams of wet cannabis.

Updated

A (maroon) bridge too far?

The Queensland maroons belted it home in last night’s state of origin.

If rugby isn’t your thing, state rivalries are sure to wet your whistle.

We are still waiting to hear from NSW premier Dominic Perrottet on the loss, with Queensland one step closer to seeing the harbour bridge go maroon.

His last post was this cursed image 22 hours ago:

Updated

New Queensland funding for housing supply

The Queensland government has announced $200 million towards essential infrastructure to free up housing supply as part of this year’s state budget.

Minister for planning Steven Miles said the funding would be directed towards residential lots in new communities:

People and businesses are moving to Queensland in droves to enjoy the economic, job and lifestyle opportunities on offer. This has increased demand for land supply, especially in south-east Queensland.

The funding will be supplemented by property developers, who will be required to make co-investments of at least 20% towards the cost of major infrastructure going into their development projects.

Updated

Victorian opposition criticised for ‘knocking the health system’

In Victoria, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation’s secretary is not impressed by the state opposition’s messaging around healthcare and hospitals throughout the pandemic.

Updated

Covid boosters recommended by Atagi for at-risk children between 12 and 15

The minister for health and aged care, Mark Butler, has announced Covid booster doses will be recommended for at-risk children between 12 and 15 years old.

People most at risk of severe disease are encouraged to receive a dose of the Pfizer vaccine from 14 June following Atagi advice.

To be eligible for a booster dose, the children must have completed a primary course three or more months ago, and meet one or more of these criteria:

  • Be severely immunocompromised.
  • Have a disability with significant or complex health needs.
  • Have complex and/or multiple health conditions that increase the risk of severe Covid.

Atagi is not recommending a booster dose for all children between 12 and 15 years old at this stage, as evidence shows otherwise healthy adolescents who have received two doses remain “well protected” against severe disease.

Butler said:

I welcome Atagi’s advice to make boosters available to around 120,000 vulnerable young Australians who have significant health conditions.

I encourage all those eligible for these boosters to book in.

Atagi recommended all Australians receive an influenza vaccine as soon as possible, because after a few flu seasons with low transmission rates, there is a chance this season could be a difficult one.

Protect yourself and your family this winter by getting boosted and vaccinated for Covid and influenza.

Updated

Police investigate Brisbane shooting

Queensland Police are investigating after multiple shots were fired into a house at Sunnybank Hills in Brisbane’s outer south this morning.

Around 4am, police were called to Goorong Street after reports of loud noises and vehicles driving off at speed.

Three hours later, officers were called back to a property on the same street where at least five shots had been fired into a property.

A number of occupants were home at the time, but nobody was injured.

Updated

US group Blackstone given green light to take over Crown Resorts

Casino regulators in New South Wales and Victoria have given approval to the takeover of Crown Resorts by US private equity group Blackstone.

It’s one of the last hurdles before Blackstone can take control – it now needs approval by the Western Australia regulator to run Crown’s Perth casino, and a tick-off from the federal court.

Shareholders – the largest of which is James Packer – approved the deal last month.

The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority chair, Philip Crawford, said Blackstone had been subject to an extensive probity assessment that focused on its ability to fix the problems identified last year after an inquiry run by former judge Patricia Bergin.

Bergin found that Crown facilitated money laundering at its casinos in Sydney and Melbourne and that junket operators who brought in high rollers from overseas were linked to organised crime.

Crawford said:

As the prospective owner of Crown Resorts, Blackstone has been required to demonstrate the highest standards of probity as well as a commitment to deliver the full suite of operational changes recommended by the Bergin inquiry.

This commitment is vital to ensure Crown Sydney is free from criminal influence and properly manages the risks of harm associated with casino activities.

Updated

Victoria's health workers to receive $3,000 one-off payment

We have more on the one-off payment to health workers from Victoria correspondent Benita Kolovos.

The Victorian government will offer payments of $3,000 to all staff working in public hospitals and ambulance services in recognition of the challenging circumstances they’ve faced.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, this morning announced the payment, as well as free meals for workers who put their hands up to work overnight from July until the end of the year, as part of a $353m package.

He says the initiatives represents a “modest but meaningful way to support and retain healthcare workers within the public system”.

This is all about encouraging people to take up a few extra shifts if they can, to go from being part time to maybe working some further hours.

It’s an investment in making sure that we can get through this most challenging time, winter, but winter during a pandemic.

To be eligible for the full $3,000, workers need to be employed by a public health service by 1 July and still be employed on 30 September.

The payments will be made in two rounds, one after 15 August and one after 30 September.

Those who start between 1 July and 30 September will be eligible for a pro-rata payment.

Earlier this week the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced a similar $3,000 “appreciation payment” for health workers.

Updated

NT to lift Covid vaccine mandate for workers on 16 June

The Northern Territory government will lift the Covid vaccine mandate for workers on 16 June.

Some Covid rules will remain in place, including isolation of close contacts to positive cases, mask wearing in certain locations and the mandatory reporting of positive rapid antigen tests.

Updated

Bill Shorten will appear on Insiders this weekend to discuss how to tackle ‘big lettuce’.

Kidding.

Shorten is serving as minister for government services and minister for the NDIS, so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say about the resignation this week of NDIS chief executive Martin Hoffman.

Updated

Victorian hospital and ambulance workers to receive one-off payments

Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, is following NSW in offering one-off payments to all staff in public hospitals and ambulance services.

The $353m package includes free meals for nightshift workers until the end of the year.

The first $1,500 payment will be made in mid-August and the second at the end of September.

Updated

Missing Sydney boy found safe and well

NSW police have officially confirmed the good news that Christopher Wilson has been found.

Updated

How to deal with mould when renting

A very important conversation in my household is how to deal with mould. To open the windows? To turn on the fan? To dehumidify each room to within an inch of its life?

Just the other week I found myself knee deep in literature, manually wiping down each of my mould-laden books with eucalyptus spray.

Tenants in Sydney have been told by their real estate agency it is “critical” they regularly open windows during winter to restrict the spread of mould, with an agency advising tenants management of mould was their responsibility.

Read the story from Stephanie Tran and Cait Kelly here:

Updated

Missing Sydney boy found

It is being reported 11-year-old boy Christopher Wilson who was reported missing in Sydney’s north-west has been found safe and well.

Wilson got off a school bus at Annangrove about 3pm yesterday to go home but failed to arrive.

A police spokesperson said officers were waiting at the scene and an update on the boy’s status would be provided imminently but they have not released a statement at this time.

Updated

Lettuce prices could ease from next week, producer says

The days of lettuce puns may soon be behind us.

One of Australia’s big lettuce producers expects prices for the in-demand vegetable to ease from next week, AAP reports.

The chief executive of vegetable producer and supplier Fresh Select, John Said, said the recent heavy rains have had a huge impact on the market:

We’ve had two floods. The first one a while ago has saturated our soils and made it very hard for us to plant … A second flood not long ago completely wiped out all the crops we had in the ground.

Said said replanting is causing a massive supply gap, with the only lettuce harvestable being the ones that survived the floods.

We’re seeing these price hikes because of supply pressure.

The farmer has been surprised by the high prices being fetched, with a box of 12 lettuces selling to retailers for up to $100.

In some supermarkets lettuces are costing between $10 and $12 each, with some shelves cleared of lettuce entirely.

The Victorian producer hoped drier weather will see the supply boosted.

Clearly there are just not enough lettuce around, hopefully we will see some reprieve next week.

But the peak body for Australian vegetable growers, AusVeg, is warning consumers that prices are likely to remain high because of production pressures and poor weather.

“Cost of production pressures have been upon us for 12 or 18 months – it’s been on the increase for some time,” AusVeg’s national public affairs manager, Tyson Cattle, said.

Cattle warned consumers that prices are likely to stay high while the cost of production issues continue.

Updated

New study suggests some breast cancer treatments may have been unnecessary

When Jenny* had a mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she believed the major surgery to remove her breast, although traumatic, had saved her life.

She described feeling “rage” when at a follow-up appointment three years later, she said to her surgeon, “I would probably be dead by now” if she had not received the surgery, to which he replied: “Probably not.”

It was only then, after she had already undergone invasive and life-changing treatment, that Jenny learned about “overdiagnosis”.

While breast cancer screening programs are essential and save lives, sometimes they also detect lumps that may never go on to cause harm in a woman’s lifetime, leading to overtreatment, and psychological and financial suffering.

Updated

Man dies in vehicle collision in Melbourne’s west

Detectives are investigating a collision in Sunshine West in Melbourne early this morning that claimed the life of a 69-year-old man.

Police allege a white Audi sedan was travelling north along Links Road when it collided with a gold Honda sedan travelling east on Glengala Road just before 1am.

Both vehicles then crashed into two parked cars on Links Road.

The driver of the Honda, a 69-year-old Sunshine West man and sole occupant, died at the scene.

Police have been told a number of occupants were inside the Audi at the time of the collision and they were seen running from the scene.

One of the occupants, a 22-year-old Wyndham woman, is currently assisting police with their enquiries.

Updated

NSW daily Covid death toll today includes some from May

To clarify, the daily Covid toll in NSW includes 15 deaths that didn’t occur in the latest 24 hour reporting period and date back to mid-May.

Updated

NSW records 21 deaths, 8,201 new Covid cases

NSW Health has released today’s Covid update.

There have been 8,201 new cases reported and 21 further deaths.

There are 1,263 people being treated in hospital with the virus including 40 people in ICU.

Updated

Victoria records 22 deaths, 8,903 new Covid cases

Victoria’s department of health has released today’s Covid update.

There have been 8,903 new cases reported and 22 further deaths.

There are 517 people being treated in hospital with the virus including 29 people in ICU.

* An earlier version of this post incorrectly listed Victoria as having 5,911 new cases.

Updated

Blackstone given green light to take over Crown Casino

Blackstone has been given the signoff from Victoria’s gambling and casino regulator to take over Crown Casino, with extra conditions in place including a majority independent board of directors, additional auditing requirements and improved information sharing.

Updated

Negotiations continuing with men in Gold Coast seige, police say

Queensland police have been providing an update on the Gold Coast siege.

Chris Ahearn, regional crime coordinator for the south-east region said negotiations had continued with two people overnight, who were in police pursuit in relation to return to prison warrants.

Shortly after 3pm yesterday afternoon an emergency situation was declared ... in Nerang. As a result of police attending a residence in that location and attempting to engage with two people at that location who police want in relation to some return-to-prison warrants, a standoff had subsequently ensued and a siege has gone on overnight at that location with restrictions in the area and specialist police on site ... negotiations with these occupants of this residence have been under way overnight.

What we’d ask is that members of the public avoid that area ... and we ask that any residents within that exclusion zone remain indoors until we resolve this situation.

Police are certainly still on the scene there and negotiations are continuing. We are acutely aware of the impact on the local community in that area, with having a situation like this unfolding ... but it’s our intention to resolve it as soon as we can.

Updated

Anthony Albanese confirms he will live at the Lodge in Canberra

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has done a round of FM interviews mainly talking about how he has hit the ground running, including attending the Quad meeting within hours of being sworn in and his recent trip to Indonesia.

On KIIS FM Albanese confirmed he will live at the Lodge in Canberra primarily, but stay at Kirribilli House when he is in Sydney. He knocked back Kyle’s suggestion he put Kirribilli on Airbnb in the meantime, because the AFP probably wouldn’t like that.

Albanese spoke about the Chinese fighter jet intercepting Australia’s surveillance flight in the South China Sea. He explained Australia had to stand up for its interests in making a formal complaint about the dangerous incident, because Australia was in international airspace.

Jackie O claimed that it was a KIIS producer who kept interjecting during Albanese’s victory speech, but the prime minister said it “added a bit of colour” and he didn’t mind.

On WSFM, Albanese spoke about his bamboo bike ride with Joko Widodo.

He said:

The bamboo bike is probably in customs somewhere, we brought it back on the plane. It was a really nice warm gesture from the [Indonesian] president to go on a bike ride where we had our one on one discussion before we sat down ... For him, it was of great significance, it symbolised both of our humble beginnings, given the positions we now hold.

Albanese said Australia’s ambassador had checked if he could ride a bike, and he said yes, because his family didn’t have a car growing up and he only learned to drive in his mid-20s.

Albanese:

It was good fun although I must say we went really slow at the beginning and I said to the president ‘can we maybe speed up a bit?’ It’s really hard to ride a bike at 1km/h.

Updated

OECD Economics forecasts Australia’s growth will slow in 2023

Australia is one of the few countries to avoid a downgrade.

Updated

Gold Coast standoff involves man subject to return-to-prison warrant, police say

Here’s the latest on the Queensland siege from AAP.

Queensland police are negotiating with two men who have been holed up in a Gold Coast home for more than 16 hours.

It is unclear if the pair are armed but parts of Nerang bounded by Riverpark Drive, McLaren Road, Kowhai Place and Inverness Street are locked down on Thursday morning.

Paramedics are on standby at the scene and the nearby St Brigid’s primary school will remain shut.

The siege began when police arrived in the area to arrest one of the men, who they say is subject to a return-to-prison warrant for allegedly breaching bail conditions.

It is believed that man is a high-risk violent offender and connected to two shootings on the Gold Coast in recent days.

In one of those incidents a gun was fired at a family’s car as they drove home from dinner in nearby Coolangatta on Saturday night. The bullet shattered the car’s window and was millimetres from directly hitting a 55-year-old man in the front passenger seat.

He was treated for a graze to his neck, while his wife and son were not physically harmed.

In the early hours of Monday morning multiple shots were fired from a car near the Arundal police beat. No one was injured in the drive-by attack but the bullets hit the building and a police car parked outside.

Police are expected to speak about the siege later this morning.

Updated

Spirit of cooperation among energy ministers, Chris Bowen says

The energy minister, Chris Bowen, has been doing the rounds this morning. He also appeared on the Today Show and Sunrise following the first cabinet meeting with state and territory ministers to discuss rising energy prices.

He told Today ministers took “steps forward” yesterday, some with quick implementation times and some longer-term plans.

I think Australians understand that you don’t undo nine years of policy chaos in one meeting, but Labor, Liberal and Green energy ministers from across the country came together very cooperatively with me in a two-hour meeting.

We’ll be quick to implement ... giving Aemo, the energy market operator, the power to buy gas and store it so it can help us through the current crisis into the more immediate future. But we also agreed on plans it will take longer to work through like a national integrated agreement to have all the investments that are needed for the transition to renewables across the board

Look, there was a real spirit of cooperation. I think Australians around the country appreciate honesty. There’s no easy answer. I can be honest with them saying state and territory ministers are working really well with the new government.

“Thanks minister,” the interview concluded, “he sounds cold doesn’t he?”

Updated

Bill Shorten has weighed in on the lettuce shortage

... and associated bad puns

If you missed this 2016 incident in which Shorten famously asked a shopper what her favourite kind of lettuce was in a truly bizarre supermarket stunt, you’re in for a treat:

Updated

Standoff between two men and police on Gold Coast continues

On the Gold Coast, a standoff between two men and police continues this morning more than 14 hours after it began.

An exclusion zone remains in place in the suburb of Nerang following the issuing of an emergency declaration yesterday evening.

At 8.30am local time, Queensland police acting superintendent Chris Ahearn will provide an update on the ongoing situation.

The exclusion zone encompasses Riverpark Drive, McLaren Road, Kopwhai Place and Inverness Street.

Members of the public have been advised to avoid the area and those within the exclusion zone have been asked to remain indoors until further notice.

Updated

Capacity mechanism is a priority to bring on renewables, energy ministers say

The first meeting of energy ministers yesterday evening indicated there will be a new intensity in federal-state-territory coordination.

As we detailed here, there are 11 agreements although they will mostly take time to have some effect:

Of note from the communique of the meeting was an indication that any plan to build extra capacity of dispatchable electricity is not intended to keep gas and coal in the system.

“Energy ministers agreed to advance the work on a capacity mechanism as a priority to bring on renewables and storage to support stability for the national energy market.”

Still, the design will be critical, and this “capacity mechanism” will be a fault line of sorts for the energy debate, possibly for years to come.

In the meantime, it’s the case of another day and another power price spike, with the highest spot prices this morning in New South Wales. There was another brief “lack of reserve” notice in NSW, since cancelled, but an indication that the market remains tight.

And if you would like a tour of the energy landscape, listen in to this Full Story podcast:

Updated

Allegra Spender says gas companies need to help on energy prices

Independent MP Allegra Spender appeared on the Today Show this morning.

Asked what she wanted to see to address the energy crisis, with people “freezing in their homes,” she replied:

In a country of Australia ... we have the energy in this country, it is absolutely tragic that people are in that situation. I think that the government can do more and what we’re looking at right now is a crisis in fossil fuel prices – you’re seeing gas prices and coal prices across the world spiking because of the war in the Ukraine.

We produce gas and coal, we export that hugely, we need to make sure that Australian consumers are protected from those international price increases that are driven by international circumstances ...

Exactly what the government should be doing is working with the gas companies and saying ‘guys, you know people – Australians, families and businesses expect to be able to access affordable energy, you’re making great profits, you’re not paying a lot of corporate tax on the east coast and you’re making great profits because of this spike in prices, you need to come to the party and make sure that Australian consumers and businesses are protected’.

Updated

Bowen welcomes work on reopening coal-fired plants

Bowen also sidestepped confirmations of whether more coal-fired plants would be fired up to open up energy capacity.

Updated

Government will decide if coal and gas are included – Bowen

The energy security board is set to draft its paper in the coming days.

But Bowen says the ultimate decision as to whether its recommendations are accepted will be up to the government.

Updated

Gas will play role in renewable energy transition – Bowen

Bowen is asked whether gas will play a role in Australia’s transition to renewable energy. He says he’s said “consistently” that gas has a role to play.

There’s been ideology on both sides of this debate, we’ve had the previous government say there is a gas fired recovery, that is a fraud ... we need gas to stabilise while we are building the [renewable] storage and transmission ... we don’t have that infrastructure at the moment.

One of the benefits of gas is gas-fired power stations unlike coal-fired power stations can be turned on and off very quickly ... that’s why gas will play a role.

Updated

Energy retailers support capacity mechanism, Bowen says

Bowen is asked whether the retailers accept the government’s agreements to a capacity mechanism which ensures power plants are available to generate electricity when needed.

He says he’s done “little else” than talk to retailers in the past week.

I’ve been in constant contact with the retailers ... I’ve done little else, and there is support for the capacity mechanism ... we’ll work for a sensible outcome, perhaps not everyone will be happy with the outcome but there’s recognition we need something like this.

This is primarily a coal-fired power crisis ... obviously there’s a lot of issues here but at its core this has been led by outages in coal stations.

Updated

Chris Bowen says Aemo’s new powers will have quickest effect on energy prices

The energy minister, Chris Bowen, is appearing on Radio National. Asked if the 11-point plan agreed to by ministers yesterday would have any meaningful short-term effect on energy prices, he replied:

It is a big step forward, some of the steps will apply very quickly and others are an agreement to work in the medium term.

There was a real spirit of cooperation around the room ... we all agreed we’re in this task together.

Bowen said new powers given to energy regulator Aemo would be the quickest to take effect, while new investments in renewables would also be crucial to provide extra capacity.

Updated

11-year-old boy reported missing in Sydney’s north-west

Fears are held for an 11-year-old boy who’s gone missing in Sydney’s north-west after temperatures plummeted to four degrees overnight, AAP reports.

Christopher Wilson got off a school bus on Annangrove Road, Annangrove, about 3pm on Wednesday to go home but failed to arrive, New South Wales police said.

He was wearing his school uniform – a blue T-shirt with maroon and white trim, grey shorts, and red and black shoes.

He was spotted walking along Annangrove Road towards Rouse Hill about 4.45pm, wearing a black and white jacket and carrying a black backpack.

A search of the area overnight by local police, PolAir, Police Rescue and 15 members of the SES was unsuccessful and will resume on Thursday morning.

Police are concerned for Christopher’s welfare due to his age and because temperatures dropped to just four degrees overnight.

He is described as being of Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander appearance, about 120cm tall, of slim build, with short brown hair and brown eyes.

Updated

New European ambassador to Australia announced

The EU special envoy for the Indo-Pacific, Gabriele Visentin, has been announced as the next European ambassador in Australia.

Updated

Good morning

Australian federal and state governments have reached 11 agreements including prioritising a move to renewable energy following the first meeting of energy ministers to address rising prices hitting the nation.

They include setting up a new gas storage reserve, proceeding with plans to build up spare electricity capacity and developing a national transition plan to reduce greenhouse gases.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has been instructed to procure and store gas supplies while regulators will be given more powers to ensure transparency in the sector.

The energy minister, Chris Bowen, said the crisis meeting was constructive, with “steps forward” taken but “no easy fixes” to lowering energy prices.

It comes as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is poised to hold a cabinet meeting today, considering how best to respond to the cost-of-living crisis facing Australians.

All of the big four banks have passed on the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate hike to mortgage holders.

And the federal government has confirmed a transition in employment services will continue next month as planned.

Workforce Australia will replace the job active network for jobseeker recipients, while an “onerous” points-based system will also be rolled out for recipients to maintain their payments.

There’s much to get to, so let’s get cracking.

Caitlin Cassidy here with you this morning resisting urges to turn on my heater. You can email me at caitlin.cassidy@theguardian.com or I’m on Twitter at @caitecassidy.

Updated

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