What we learned: Monday, 3 March
We’re going to call it a day. Here’s a look back at today’s major stories:
All CityCat and ferry services in Brisbane will be suspended from tonight “until further notice” so the vessels can be moved to safety ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred. BoM forecasts suggest the cyclone could make landfall near Brisbane.
The federal government is not considering sending troops to Ukraine to support a “coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force as suggested by British prime minister Keir Starmer.
Peter Dutton said he was “disappointed” by Donald Trump’s treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and said he would lobby the US president to change his view on Ukraine, if the Coalition won the coming federal election.
A Perth-bound plane made an emergency landing in Sydney shortly after take-off due to a technical issue.
Lawyers for David McBride have argued their client’s lengthy prison sentence failed to take into account he was motivated by “bravely and selflessly” attempting to right what he saw as a “serious wrong”.
A Lithuanian rower has been rescued off the Queensland coast after he was caught in a tropical cyclone’s 130km/h winds and monster waves.
Thanks so much for your company. We will be back, bright and early, with you tomorrow.
Updated
New Zealand leader says he still trusts President Trump despite volatile Ukraine conference
New Zealand’s prime minister, Chris Luxon, says he still trusts Donald Trump, even as the US leader backflips on support for Ukraine.
New Zealand is not a formal ally of the United States – unlike Australia – but has long-standing security and intelligence links such as the Five Eyes network.
In Wellington on Monday, Luxon admitted a fractious joint press conference between Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “tough watch”:
I see our current intelligence reports, not ones from 20 years ago, and I’d just say to you that it is right that we are very much part of the Five Eyes network.
I trust the president, and I trust the American system, and that we can work well with the American system.
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Beaches closed on Bribie Island as Cyclone Alfred bears down
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David McBride’s lengthy prison sentence failed to take into account ‘brave and selfless’ motivations, lawyers argue
Lawyers for David McBride have argued their client’s lengthy prison sentence failed to take into account he was motivated by “bravely and selflessly” attempting to right what he saw as a “serious wrong”.
McBride, a former military lawyer, on Monday argued against both his conviction and his five-year, eight-month prison sentence for taking and leaking classified material to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
That material was subsequently used by the ABC as part of an exposé on alleged war crimes by Australian troops in Afghanistan.
Flanked by two corrections officers, McBride entered the ACT court of appeal on Monday to a standing ovation from his supporters. They had packed out the public gallery after earlier hearing a speech outside court by Bernard Collaery, who was charged over disclosures about Australia’s bugging of Timor-Leste, an impoverished ally, during oil and gas negotiations.
Business outlook brighter but red tape chafes operators
Businesses feel optimistic about their growth prospects after the Reserve Bank’s first rate cut in more than four years, while a lift in profit and inventories shows modest signs of a rebound.
Buoyed up by the prospect of lower interest rates, small and medium enterprises plan to expand operations, buy new equipment and boost marketing budgets in 2025, a survey by business lender Judo Bank has found.
Sentiment has surged, with 68% of the 517 surveyed business owners confident about their growth outlook this year, said the bank’s managing director of relationships, Ben Tuszynski.
More than four in five respondents reported stable or strong business health, despite almost half of employers finding it hard to secure staff amid heavy competition for workers.
– AAP
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On the scene: Bribie Island prepares for Cyclone Alfred
Our reporter Joe Hinchliffe is on Queensland’s Bribie Island, as residents prepare for Cyclone Alfred.
He’s observed supermarket shelves with no produce as families stock up on essentials before the worst of the weather.
People are also sandbagging areas of the island and preparing barriers, in anticipation of possible flooding.
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Property prices rebound after rate cut
Australia’s short-lived housing price downturn appears to be over as a modest interest rate cut fuels expectations for those seeking to get on or move up the property ladder, as AAP reports.
Property values rose 0.3% across the country in February, bringing prices back near record highs after a 0.4% drop over the previous three months, CoreLogic’s monthly home value index showed on Monday.
The first weekend of March had the most auctions of 2025 at 2,773, more than 4% higher than the same week 12 months earlier.
Even before homebuyers feel the effect of the Reserve Bank’s February rate cut, rising confidence was contributing to a surge in demand, CoreLogic’s research director, Tim Lawless, said:
It’s been quite an abrupt change of pace.
This is probably a signal that there’s been a boost to confidence, that buyers are probably starting to position themselves in the marketplace (ahead of future growth).
Updated
Nicky Winmar asks to co-lead AFL racism class action
AFL great Nicky Winmar has asked to “courageously” co-lead a landmark racism class action brought by retired Indigenous players, lawyers say.
The action was lodged in the Supreme Court by Phil Krakouer, who played 141 games for North Melbourne, in September 2023, alleging senior AFL management did nothing to prevent racism within the sport.
Former players claim they experienced racism, racial vilification, racial discrimination, racial abuse, racial violence or victimisation between 1975 and 2022 while participating in the AFL competition.
Krakouer, who was formally leading the case, may be joined by another leading plaintiff, the court was told on Monday afternoon.
The AFL is fighting the allegations and its barrister, Mark Costello KC, questioned whether that plaintiff could be involved in the action when he was also involved in a separation case about concussions.
– AAP
Updated
ABC argues Antoinette Lattouf’s social media activity affected perception of ABC’s impartiality in closing submissions
Antoinette Lattouf’s social media activity adversely affected perceptions of the ABC’s impartiality because it did not reflect an Israeli perspective on the conflict, the ABC has told the federal court in closing submissions.
Here’s part of its submission:
The Human Rights Watch story was immediately preceded by a story quoting Ms Lattouf talking critically of the Israeli Defence Force.
The ABC, which is defending the unlawful termination case, said Lattouf’s sharing of the Human Rights Watch post on Instagram was fundamentally different to the ABC News report on the same topic:
The ABC has an obligation to report the news, whereas someone like Ms Lattouf is reasonably taken to have made choices about what to post.
The ABC accepts Lattouf’s race and background “were a factor in the decision to engage her”, but it denies it was motivated to take her off air “to any degree by her race or national extraction”.
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Creditors told Whyalla steelworks was losing $1.5m a day
The Whyalla steelworks was losing $1.5m a day leading up to the appointment of administrators, attenders of the first creditors meeting of the collapsed South Australian project heard today.
The steelworks was put into administration last month after the South Australian government, which is also a creditor, lost confidence in the entity operating the steelworks, ultimately headed by UK billionaire Sanjeev Gupta.
Accounts from the project’s former owner, OneSteel Manufacturing, show that the company lost $319.1m in the seven months to the end of January, equating to a pre-tax loss of $1.5m a day. Attenders were told:
This loss was driven by a combination of factors, including the blast furnace shutdowns, working capital constraints and shipping restrictions.
The accounts have not been verified by administrators KordaMentha.
Creditors have claimed debts in excess of $1bn, with entities linked to Gupta’s GFG Alliance claiming debts of $536m.
GFG’s representatives, which did not attend the meeting today, said in a statement read out by the administrators:
While we are saddened by the decision of the South Australian government, we continue to believe in the strategic importance of Whyalla, and will fully support a viable long-term solution for the future of the Whyalla steelworks.
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Gallagher reaffirms Labor’s commitment to Ukraine but refrains from commenting on Trump’s behaviour
The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, has declined to comment directly on the US president Donald Trump’s treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the oval office.
Speaking to the ABC, Gallagher said:
I’m not sure there is much use in me commenting on President Trump and his behaviour. People can see the vision and make their own decision about that. We have been absolutely clear that our support is for Ukraine and against the illegal invasion of their country and we are standing strong with Ukraine.
People can make their own decisions about Donald Trump and the way he conducted that meeting, but our commitment and support for President Zelenskiy and the people of Ukraine remains strong.
Earlier today, Peter Dutton said he was “disappointed by the scenes at the White House”.
Updated
Brisbane CityCat and ferries suspended as city prepares for Tropical Cyclone Alfred
All CityCat and ferry services in Brisbane will be suspended from tonight “until further notice” so the vessels can be moved to safety ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
On Monday afternoon, the Brisbane city council announced the last CityCat services will depart Northshore Hamilton and the University of Queensland stops at 10.15pm. The last KittyCat ferry services will leave at 11.40pm. After that time, they will be laid up for protection against the storm, which is expected to hit south-east Queensland later this week.
The council will remove 11 of its CityCats from the water to be placed on hardstands and dock the other 16 inside protected berths. The five smaller KittyCats will be moored at a marina.
The lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said:
I understand this decision will inconvenience people, but the safety of our passengers, crew and vessels must be a top priority.
Schrinner said the combination of high tides, flash flooding, dangerous high winds and intense rainfall creates a serious safety hazard for boats on the Brisbane River:
The decision comes after [the] maritime safety Queensland chief officer, Tony Wulff, this afternoon advised vessels on the water should be made safe and secure.
Other elements of the city’s public transport system are still operating.
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Antoinette Lattouf should be awarded between $100,000 to $150,000 for non-economic loss should she win the unlawful termination case against the ABC, according to closing submissions filed in the federal court.
The amount should be on top of any penalty for breaching the Fair Work Act, which can be up to $65,000 per breach.
Lattouf’s case is that the ABC contravened sections 50 and 772 of the Fair Work Act, which relate to rights under an enterprise agreement and protected attributes of political opinion and race.
The Act “protects employees from dismissal because of any political opinion – not only those political opinions which are endorsed by their employer or anyone else,” Lattouf’s submission said.
“There was no attempt by the ABC to comply with the requirements of the [enterprise] agreement. The decision was delivered as a fait accompli, and Ms Lattouf was not invited or permitted to defend herself.”
A casual broadcaster, Lattouf was dismissed from hosting ABC’s Sydney Mornings program in December 2023 and later brought an unlawful termination case before the federal court.
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South Australian police seize $2.38m haul of illegal tabacco
Police in South Australia say they have seized $2.38m worth of illicit tobacco after raids on 14 locations across the state last week.
According to police, the venues included “tobacconists, candy and gift shops, mini marts, commercial storage facilities, vehicles and residential premises”.
The raids were part of the force’s Eclipse operation, which has for far seized around $12m in illicit tobacco and searched more than 130 premises. Here’s SA Police’s Brett Featherby, who leads the operation:
We seek to continue to disrupt their financial operations and criminal activity and pursue criminal charges where evidence exists.
SA police will continue to investigate organised crime syndicates operating statewide through a whole of SA police-response. We will also target people supporting them as they evolve to prevent and suppress serious criminal activity and ensure community safety.
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Equality Australia says Victorian anti-vilification laws long overdue
Continuing from our last post: Equality Australia’s chief executive, Anna Brown, said in a statement the reforms were long overdue:
LGBTIQ+ people are no strangers to hate – including brutal bashings, verbal slurs and online bullying – and we know full well what it’s like to fear for our safety.
These protections, which are long overdue, recognise that all Victorians deserve to be protected from hate and bigotry and that preventing acts of violence starts with stopping words of hate. Any community or vulnerable minority that is being targeted by hate and violence should be protected under our law.
The chief executive of Women’s Health Victoria, Sally Hasler, said women and gender diverse people were the “main targets of gender-based violence” yet “don’t have sufficient protection from hate speech under Victorian law”.
This important new bill will protect some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people from hate speech – recognising that all Victorians deserve to feel safe and respected in society.
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Groups urge Victorian MPs to support government’s anti-vilification bill
Groups representing women, LGBTIQ+ people and people with a disability have written an open letter to Victorian MPs urging them to support the government’s anti-vilification bill when it goes to a vote in the upper house later this week.
The justice legislation amendment (anti-vilification and social cohesion) bill, if passed, will expand Victoria’s existing legal protections against vilification – which currently only cover race and religion – to cover disability, gender identity, sex and sexual orientation. It would also make serious vilification – such as incitement of hatred or physical threats – offences punishable by up to five years’ jail.
But the Coalition opposition said they will not support the bill in its current form, meaning the government will have to negotiate with the crossbench to get it over the line.
In the letter to MPs, signed by organisations including Gender Equity Victoria, Disability Advocacy Network Australia, Equality Australia, Rainbow Families, Switchboard Victoria and Transgender Victoria urged support for the bill. It reads:
This bill is critical for so many communities – particularly those of us who currently have no protections at all – and we urge you to pass it in its current form. Our state has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen protections against hate speech and ensure that every Victorian can finally live free from fear.
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Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, I’ll hand over to Henry Belot for the afternoon – take care.
Crisafulli says all three levels of government should work together in cyclone response
Let’s circle back to the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, who has just wrapped up questions from reporters about Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The premier said he had spoken with the PM, opposition leader and federal emergency management minister – who was “one of the first people on the phone.”
She dialled into the meeting yesterday and we genuinely have a desire to work across all three levels of government. It is important that that happens, and if that does, it gives people the knowledge that things are well-planned [and are] being dealt with in a calm and methodical manner.
Crisafulli said that no matter what the recovery phase looked like, it was important that all three levels of government were on the same page.
My view is, post-disaster, whatever it looks like, what the community want to see is everybody taking it seriously and everybody doing their bit … If you do the preparation, you minimise the need for your recovery. But whatever occurs, we will be there for the long haul and I’m very confident Queenslanders will get through it. I genuinely am.
Updated
Final decisions on planning scheme to be completed next year
Continuing from our last post: Community consultation on the plans will begin from 17 March and, once completed, an advisory panel will be formed and hold public hearings later this year.
Final decisions on the planning scheme will be completed in 2026.
It comes just days after the government announced the final locations of its activity centres earmarked for development.
Early works have begun on the $34.5bn SRL East line with tunnel boring set to commence in 2026. This stage of project is expected to be completed by 2035, according to a business case released in 2021.
Jacinta Allan said:
Building world-class public transport and building affordable homes around it – it just makes sense. This is the vision that the Suburban Rail Loop delivers. This benefits our whole city, because building enough homes for young people near transport and jobs in established suburbs will take pressure off the outer suburbs.
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Victoria pares back plans for high-rise units near future SRL stations
The Victorian government has pared back its plans for high-rise apartments near the future stations along the Suburban Rail Loop.
Following the release of draft vision papers in late 2023 for the first six areas along the SRL East line – Cheltenham, Clayton, Monash, Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill – the government has released structure plans it says respond to feedback. A statement, released by the premier, Jacinta Allan, read:
In some of the more commercial areas where people told us they’d like to see more concentrated development, these limits have increased, while in some of the more residential areas they have been reduced. It’s about striking the right balance.
In Box Hill, in the direct vicinity of the station, towers of up to 40 storeys will be allowed, while in Burwood and Clayton the maximum height will be 20 storeys.
The Cheltenham structure plan, which includes Southland and Highett stations, shows two locations along the Nepean Highway, where the maximum height limit will be lifted to 18 storeys.
In Glen Waverley and Monash, developments near the stations will be able to go to 25 storeys. The new plans also depict new open spaces, pedestrian crossings and cycling paths.
Updated
Dramatic drop in feral horse numbers in Kosciuszko National Park
Efforts to control feral horse populations in Kosciuszko National Park are finally on track, with the NSW government close to hitting its target to reduce the number of horses in the park to 3,000.
The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, has told an estimates hearing that recent counts – which are still under peer review – put the number of horses in the park at 3,000 to 4,000.
It’s a dramatic reduction on the 17,000 horses the 2023 count estimated were in the park and suggests the government could reach the 3,000 target two years early.
Feral horses trampling through the park cause significant damage to its fragile ecosystems. Sharpe said:
We’re very close to reaching the target that was legislated … it’s a really important milestone.
Control measures, such as ground shooting and trapping and rehoming, to maintain the population at the lower number will remain in place. Sharpe said this might include some aerial shooting, though it was likely to be less necessary because of the success of the culling program.
The Invasive Species Council’s interim chief executive, Jack Gough, said the vastly improved numbers were welcome news.
The control program will clearly need to continue to reach the legal requirement of no more than 3,000 feral horses in 32% of the national park by June 2027.
Natural population growth of feral horses is about 18% per year, meaning that the government will need to get below the 3,000 target in order to ensure they don’t overshoot it by 2027.
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Marine Rescue has 22 vessels ready for response
Marine Rescue Queensland chief officer Tony Wulff was next up, and said it had 22 vessels ready across 13 coastal bases to support the emergency response.
Eighteen of the vessels were specialist medical transport vessels, he said.
We urge vulnerable people living in coastal or island communities, or on vessels, to consider their location and move early. Anyone living on the vessels, please consider your safety and make decisions about that early.
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Queensland SES has received hundreds of requests for help
The chief officer of the SES, Mark Armstrong, said the agency had already received more than 450 requests for assistance since last Thursday – most of which being in the past 24 hours.
He told communities that sandbagging earlier was “better than doing it when the rain is falling and the wind is blowing”, directing people to local council website’s for more information on how to access these.
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Chelepy says island residents should decide whether to stay or evacuate
Shane Chelepy said for those living on islands, there would come a point when it would be too late to leave.
He said residents should consider their own risk and health conditions to determine whether they should leave or stay.
There will come a point when it will be too late to leave those islands. We are told at this stage within the next 24 to 36 hours we will start to see those ferry and barge services cease to those islands. So if you are making the decision to leave and stay with family and friends, please do so. If you stay, we will make sure we are there to support you.
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Police chief tells communities to ready for cyclone
The acting commissioner, Shane Chelepy, is next up, encouraging communities to prepare their homes by securing lose items, clearing gutters and gathering important items and documents in the case of evacuation.
He is also encouraging people to stock up on non-perishables, and obtain battery-operated lights and radio.
We are working with every local council to deeply understand the impact that storm tides could have … especially around those foreshore areas between Noosa and the Gold Coast. We are really focusing [to] understand those at-risk areas which could be significantly impacted …
From Wednesday, we are also expecting to see heavy rain, which will start to cause flash flooding and potentially riverine flooding … This poses a separate risk [to] the storm surge and the heavy winds we are expecting to see.
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Alfred’s destructive winds possible ‘through Thursday and into Friday’, BoM says
Sue Oates from the Bureau of Meteorology is also providing an update on the tropical cyclone situation, as things currently stand.
She said the system weakened this morning to category 1, and is moving south-east from the coast. However, it’s expected to turn westward towards the Queensland coast tomorrow morning.
The bureau is expecting a coastal crossing to occur on Thursday or Friday, with the system re-intensifying.
This of course is resulting in treacherous conditions for beachside recreational activities, significant coastal erosion, and inundation of foreshore areas. In addition to the coastal conditions, Tropical Cyclone Alfred will bring damaging wind, with the expectation that there are likely destructive wind. The damaging winds will commence later on the day on Wednesday …
As the system moves closer towards the coast … those destructive winds are possible through Thursday and into Friday.
She added that southern Queensland would experience intense rainfall, with an increased risk of flash flooding and “the likelihood of minor to widespread major flooding”. A flood watch is in place from Bundaberg to south of the border.
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Premier says not unprecedented for cyclones to threaten south-east Queensland
David Crisafulli said Tropical Cyclone Alfred wasn’t unprecedented, with history showing cyclones could occur in this part of the state.
We had a category 1 cyclone in 1990, that was Zoe, that came very close to the coast, near the Gold Coast. In 1974 we had [one] which was a category 2 which crossed over Coolangatta, and in 1954 what’s known as “the great Gold Coast cyclone” predated the categories, but long-term residents know how severe that system was.
So we are asking people to do all you can to prepare in the knowledge that we are doing the same … If you do heed the warnings, if you do stay connected, have every confidence that we will get through the event.
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Queensland premier updates on transport, schools and supermarkets
David Crisafulli has been outlining the Queensland government’s response to the tropical cyclone in regards to supermarkets, transport and schools.
He said schools would be open tomorrow, and families would be updated each afternoon on what was happening the following day.
On transport, Crisafulli said there were three cruise ships off the coast and “we are assisting them”.
Two of those are looking for alternative ports and we will assist them in that. One will be endeavouring to come into the port of Brisbane and offloading those passages. We will do everything we can to assist them in that regard.
In terms of groceries and supermarket stock, the premier said the government was urging them to “resupply multiple times a day [and] give everyone the opportunity to get the essentials”.
Finally, Crisafulli said he was aware of sporting events scheduled for the second half of the week, and “we are working with all of those sporting groups and clubs and venues to allow them to make those communications”.
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Alfred set to bring erosion, damaging winds and flooding – Crisafulli
David Crisafulli said Tropical Cyclone Alfred would begin moving towards the Queensland coast between K’gari island and the border with NSW in the next 24 hours.
He outlined three phases of the weather event: big surf and erosion, damaging winds and, finally, “the complexity that comes with that flooding”.
All three of those present a challenge and, therefore, we are asking people to stay connected throughout this process.
The premier said the early stages of the waves and erosion were occurring currently, with waves over 4m expected off the coast of Brisbane today.
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Tropical Cyclone Alfred risk of crossing Queensland coast has increased – premier
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, has been providing an update about Tropical Cyclone Alfred from Brisbane.
He said all the modelling indicated the likelihood of a cyclone crossing at the Queensland coast had increased.
My message to Queenslanders today is please be prepared. We are putting all the preparations in place and we are asking Queenslanders to do the same … We are dealing with a very heavily populated part of the state, a state that hasn’t seen a cyclone for many, many years – in fact, many decades.
He said Alfred was currently 450km east of Brisbane. It had recently gone back down to a category 1 system but was expected to re-intensify to category 2.
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Updated
The latest on Tropical Cyclone Alfred
For almost two weeks, Tropical Cyclone Alfred has ambled about the Coral Sea. Early yesterday the cyclone passed below the Tropic of Capricorn, way off-track for the typical path a cyclone might take to the north Queensland coast.
Forecasters predict Alfred will continue to linger, moving slowly south until tomorrow, then take an erratic sharp turn back towards the heavily-populated south-east Queensland coast.
You can read all the latest detail on this below:
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Tyrrell calls for longer opening times at urgent care clinics before new ones open
Independent Tasmanian senator Tammy Tyrrell wants to see the opening hours of existing Medicare urgent care clinics expanded before new ones are opened.
In a post to X, she noted that new clinics had been announced for Burnie, Kingston and Sorell and said she wasn’t against them but wanted the existing clinics to be open for the promised hours first:
Labor went to 2022 election promising UCC’s open from 8am-10pm. No [Tasmanian] UCC’s are open these hours and only one is close (Launnie). Devonport UCC is only open from 1pm/2pm each day!
Labor told me in 2023 [that Devonport hours] would be expanded. They haven’t. Labor says workforce shortages are an issue in extending hours. So how will they staff a new UCC in Burnie if they can’t find the doctors to open [Devonport] UCC full time? …
UCC’s are a good idea, but the operating hours are a broken promise from Labor. This should be fixed before opening new UCC’s.
Yesterday, Labor vowed to open an extra 50 bulk-billing urgent care clinics by mid-2026 if it secures a second term at the upcoming election.
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Sending troops to Ukraine for new coalition of the willing 'not under consideration' – Labor
The federal government is not considering sending troops to Ukraine to support a “coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force as suggested by British prime minister Keir Starmer.
As we brought you a little earlier, Peter Dutton said he didn’t see the need for Australian troops to join any such future mission. We’ve just got a statement back from an Albanese government spokesperson, giving a similar response when we asked for Labor’s response to Starmer’s proposal:
Australia has been unwavering in our support for Ukraine. We have long called for Russia to end its illegal, immoral war. And we have long supported Ukraine’s war effort, including through the provision of equipment and training of Ukrainian forces.
We will consider the details of any proposal, but the deployment of Australian troops to support peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is not under consideration at this time.
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Stock market lifts after fall
The Australian share market has started the week with a modest rebound, AAP reports, after February wiped most of the year’s gains so far.
The benchmark ASX 200 was around 0.34% higher by midday on Monday, as the broader All Ordinaries climbed 0.26%. Here’s IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore:
With reporting season now in the rear-view mirror, the main drivers of the ASX200 in the months ahead will be developments around US tariffs and trade policy and the rapidly approaching federal election.
US president Donald Trump’s planned 25% tariffs for Mexico and Canada and a 10% tariff on Chinese goods are set to kick in tomorrow, but US markets on Friday were buoyed by in-line inflation figures.
Trump also sent cryptocurrencies higher, after he reaffirmed his support for a US strategic reserve for digital currencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano.
Bitcoin surged more than 10% on the news.
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Qantas flight makes emergency landing after smoke in cockpit
A Perth-bound plane has made an emergency landing in Sydney shortly after take-off due to a technical issue.
Smoke was seen in the cockpit of Qantas flight QF643 shortly after takeoff, with the captain requesting a priority landing. The smoke did not enter the cabin.
The aircraft was met by emergency services and landed normally, before being taxied back to the gate.
A Qantas spokesperson said the aircraft “landed safely after the appropriate procedures were conducted”.
We understand this would have been an unsettling experience for customers and apologise for the inconvenience. Our engineers will be checking the aircraft today and we will be conducting an investigation into what caused the issue.
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Dutton accuses Albanese of lying over Chinese ships off Australian coast when Coalition in government
Taking a final question, Peter Dutton accused Anthony Albanese of “lacking in the ability to stand up for our country”. The opposition leader told reporters:
What he has tried to do is suggest that when the Coalition was last in government that warships turned up into Sydney Harbour unannounced – that is a complete lie. The fact is the Chinese notified the then-government in April that year, and there was planning in relation to the ships turning up into Sydney.
This prime minister had no idea about the presence, he didn’t know what to do, he had to rely on the Virgin pilot and other sources to inform them about the training exercise that was taking place. I think the prime minister has demonstrated to Australians that he is completely out of his depth.
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No one knows ‘what threats will come our way over next century’ – Dutton
Peter Dutton stressed the importance of “functioning relationships with allies”, and told reporters:
Ultimately Australia is an island nation [with] 27 million people effectively in the middle of nowhere, and we need to make sure we have strong defences and we need to make sure we have functioning relationships with allies – like the US – because nobody can really predict what will happen, what threats will come our way over the next century.
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Dutton says he would lobby Trump to change US position on Ukraine
On the Australia-US relationship, Peter Dutton said the US was an “incredibly important ally for us” and that “historical relationships are important”.
Whatever happens in the future, Australia is best served by strong relationships with the US and the UK with our other Five Eyes partners and allies, including Japan and India.
Dutton said “tough decisions” needed to be made, and “sometimes that means standing up to your friends and the traditional allies because our views have diverged”.
In relation to Ukraine, the Australian view at the moment is different to the US, and my job as prime minister will be to lobby the president of the United States to reconsider his position in relation to Ukraine because I think it is in all of our collective best interest if we are able to provide support to Ukraine
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Dutton ‘disappointed’ by Trump-Zelenskyy clash, he says
Asked about the explosive clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Peter Dutton described it as “disappointing”.
He told reporters he was “disappointed by the scenes at the White House” and that Zelenskyy required support.
People have got short memories and is not that long ago since the second world war, and when the prime minister says we live in the most precarious period since then, he is right.
And what we know is that bullies do not respect weakness, and we will stand up with like-minded countries in support of peace in Europe and make sure that Russia can feel the pressure of having to settle a deal quickly so that Ukraine and her people can get on with a normal life as quickly as possible.
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Dutton says Trump has made it clear Europe needs to ‘step up’ on Ukraine
Peter Dutton has been speaking to reporters in Queensland, where the opposition leader said he would receive a briefing on Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Taking questions, he is asked about Ukraine – specifically, Australia should send troops?
Dutton said the “short answer is no”, but “we should continue our support for Ukraine”.
Everyone wants peace – across the world, but in Europe – and we want Putin to retreat from Ukraine and to stop the attacks.
He described President Zelenskyy as a “modern-day hero” and “war hero” who deserves support.
I think one thing that we have seen out of the current debate is an escalation in the minds of many European nations about the threat that is obvious – [that] the European nations, particularly the bigger nations, can’t continue to rely for financial support or military support from the United States. They need to chip in themselves, and I think President Trump has made this clear … the US has an incredibly important role to play in the world, but it can’t be everywhere at once, and it’s important for Europe to step up. It seems that’s what’s happening at the moment.
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Adam Elliot misses out on Oscar
Not a great run so far for the Australian nominees at the Oscars. Moments after Guy Pearce lost out to Kieran Culkin in the best supporting actor category, Melbourne film-maker Adam Elliot missed out on the Oscar for best animated feature, having been nominated for his stop-motion film Memoir of a Snail.
The Oscar went to the animated film Flow, which was the first Latvian film ever to be nominated for an Oscar. Flow beat out competition from Pixar’s Inside Out 2 – the highest-grossing film of 2024 – and sci-fi adventure The Wild Robot.
Elliot previously won an Oscar in 2016, winning best animated short for his film Harvey Krumpet.
Antipoverty Centre calls for urgent end to mutual obligations amid IT defects
Welfare organisation the Antipoverty Centre has sent a letter to the department of the employment and workplace relations minister, Murray Watt, after it was revealed in Senate estimates last week that $1,233,527 had to be refunded to 1,280 jobseekers after IT defects affected the mutual obligations system.
The department is unsure if the system is operating lawfully. In the letter, research and policy lead Jay Coonan said:
We are frustrated that after many years of advocacy by unemployed people raising the alarm about the damage caused by compulsory activities to us and our peers, we must once again write urging the government in the strongest possible terms to end “mutual” obligations and immediately act to remove the delegated legislation that grants the DEWR secretary the power to cancel a person’s social security payment.
In short, you can urgently stop all payment reductions and cancellations as a first step.
We do not understand how it is possible that there is no one in the government or employment department who is able to immediately pause compulsory requirements, given that this has been done many times, somewhat arbitrarily, and in far less dire circumstances than these.
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Civil liberties council writes to Universities Australia about adoption of new antisemitism definition
The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) has written to Universities Australia (UA) expressing concerns regarding the adoption of a new definition of antisemitism by its 36 member universities.
In a letter to the UA chair, Prof David Lloyd, the body warned the definition conflated “legitimate criticism of the State of Israel with antisemitism”, urging UA to reconsider the definition so it did not “inadvertently suppress legitimate political and academic discourse”.
Timothy Roberts, president of the NSWCCL, said universities should “not be in the business of censoring legitimate views on geopolitics”.
Academics should not be fired for advocating for a single, democratic state in Israel-Palestine in which Palestinians and Israelis have the same rights. That is a legitimate perspective, and obviously not antisemitic.
Academics must have the right to question whether the very structure of Israel legitimates credible accusations of apartheid, occupation, ethnic cleansing and genocide … suggestions that such work is racist goes against basic principles of academic freedom and stifles urgent discussions about serious geopolitical and legal issues.
The adoption of a sector-wide definition emerged as a key recommendation of a report on antisemitism on Australian university campuses, which found there was an “urgent need for reform” to ensure the safety of Jewish students and staff.
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Guy Pearce misses out on Oscar
Over at the Oscars – well, it isn’t exactly unexpected news, given Kieran Culkin’s dominance this whole awards season, but – Guy Pearce has missed out on the best supporting actor gong for his role in The Brutalist.
This was Pearce’s first ever Oscar nomination, for his performance as wealthy industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren.
Culkin, who has just won, was the favourite for the prize, having taken almost all of the equivalent awards in the run-up to the Oscars for his performance in A Real Pain, including a Golden Globe, Bafta and Screen Actors Guild award.
Last week, Pearce told Guardian Australia that he did not think he would win, given Culkin’s dominance throughout the award season:
I’ve been nominated for a few of these awards, and I haven’t won any! I’m not gonna win! Kieran [Culkin] will win, again.
The 97th Academy Awards are taking place in Hollywood. You can follow along live below:
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Rescued rower receiving medical assessment en route to Sydney
The Lithuanian rower who was rescued from Tropical Cyclone Alfred’s damaging winds and monster waves is receiving medical treatment.
As AAP reports, rower Aurimas Mockus called for help on Friday as he was attempting to row 12,000km across the Pacific Ocean from San Diego to Brisbane. He was stranded about 740km east of Mackay off the Queensland coast.
HMAS Choules arrived at Mockus’ remote location at about 6.30am this morning. Vice admiral Justin Jones said in a statement:
The solo sailor has been rescued and is safely on board HMAS Choules undergoing a medical assessment.
The ship is now on its way back to Fleet Base East at HMAS Kuttabul Sydney.
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McBride receives standing ovation from supporters while entering courtroom for appeal
David McBride has received a standing ovation from supporters in the public gallery as he entered a courtroom seeking to overturn his conviction or reduce his sentence for leaking documents used by journalists to expose war crimes.
McBride, a former military lawyer, was sentenced to five years and eight months’ imprisonment last year for handing classified documents to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Those documents were used by the ABC for an exposé on war crimes allegedly committed by Australian troops in Afghanistan.
McBride is now appealing both his conviction and sentence in the ACT court of appeal. Flanked by correctional officers, McBride entered the courtroom to widespread applause and vocal support from a packed public gallery.
He grinned at his supporters and motioned for calm.
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Police offer $1m reward to help solve fatal car bombing
Police have announced a $1m reward in a bid to solve a fatal car bombing that happened almost 30 years ago.
AAP reports that businessman Gianni “John” Furlan, 48, died instantly when his sedan exploded on a Coburg street in Melbourne’s north on 3 August 1998. Just after 8.30am, while still in motion, a bomb in Furlan’s car detonated.
The force of the explosion killed him instantly and catapulted his car 15m down the road. Police said commercial explosives had been attached to the car while Furlan was visiting a friend in Hobart days before the explosion.
Police have today announced a $1m reward in a bid to find those responsible for Furlan’s death. DI Chris Murray said police believed members of the public could hold the missing piece of the puzzle:
It has been almost 30 years since John’s death, but I would like to strongly reinforce that this is both an active investigation and one that we believe is solvable.
John’s death was shocking, brutal and a horrendous act of violence that put the lives of many innocent civilians going about their daily life at risk.
We have every reason to believe someone out there today knows what happened to John and who is responsible.
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Lowe blames lack of productivity growth for cost-of-living challenges
Philip Lowe says it’s a lack of productivity growth, not high interest rates, that is to blame for cost-of-living challenges.
Speaking to The Australian, the former Reserve Bank governor said Australia’s productivity problem is a “political one” rather than an economic one:
That’s the source of the cost-of-living – shall I use the word ‘crisis’? It’s not interest rates. Interest rates have probably suppressed aggregate demand by 1% this year. The lack of productivity growth over that time has suppressed demand now by 9% [today]. So that’s the source of the problem.
And we’ve got to do something about that … We’ve had our living standards rising quickly for decades, and that’s no longer happening, and people are getting unhappy about it. The problem isn’t an economic one, we kind of know broadly what to do. It’s a political one – our society has lost the ability to form coalitions to implement difficult things that in the short run will hurt some people, but are good for our kids. And we’re now seeing the consequences.
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ADF issues update on movement of Chinese ships
The Australian defence force has issued an update on the movement of the Chinese naval flotilla sailing off Australia.
The three ships – possibly unaccompanied by an undetected nuclear submarine – sailed down Australia’s east coast over the past fortnight, and conducted live fire drills in the Tasman Sea.
The ADF has updated this morning:
People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Task Group 107, comprised of the Jiangkai-class frigate Hengyang, the Renhai-class Cruiser Zunyi, and the Fuchi-class replenishment vessel Weishanhu, is operating 305 nautical miles (approx. 550 kilometres) Southeast of Perth.
Defence continues to monitor the Task Group while it remains in the vicinity of Australia’s maritime approaches.
Last week, China’s ambassador Xiao Qian said China didn’t even need to “think” about apologising over the way it notified Australia about its live-fire naval drills:
Australia continuing to monitor Chinese ships in international waters, PM says
Wrapping up his address before a cabinet meeting in Canberra, the prime minister said Australia is continuing to monitor the Chinese ships moving around international waters surrounding Australia. Anthony Albanese said:
HMAS Stuart and HMAS Warramunga … will continue to monitor what is going on there. It stands in stark contrast with what happened prior to 2022 when there [was] a surveillance ship off the Western Australian coast that had no monitoring …
We’ll continue to respond in appropriate way and will continue to monitor there. I have every faith in our Australian Defence Force to make sure they get that done.
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Albanese says supporting Ukraine ‘an issue of doing what is right’
Anthony Albanese also spoke to the media in Canberra just a moment ago.
The PM touted the government’s Medicare pledge, before moving to Tropical Cyclone Alfred. He said he had spoken with Queensland premier David Crisafulli.
[It] is a very real threat in south-east Queensland. We hope of course for the best outcome possible, but we will stand with Queenslanders at this difficult time and we will continue to provide support …
Moving to Ukraine, Albanese said support for the nation is “an issue of doing what is right but also what is in Australia’s national interests”.
The brave people of Ukraine led so extraordinarily by President Zelenskyy are fighting not just for their national sovereignty and for their democracy, they are fighting for the international rule of law. And it is an easy choice that Australia has made – it’s a bipartisan position that Australia has had – we have contributed $1.5bbn of support, $1.3bn of which is military support.
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Dutton due to front press in an hour
We’re expecting a press conference from the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, in Queensland in about an hour’s time.
It will be his first media appearance since Friday, so we’ll expect him to get some questions on the astonishing argument between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House, and the situation in Ukraine.
Dutton spent much of last week fending off questions about his stock market and property investments, and denying he’d done anything wrong. It will be interesting to see whether he faces further questions about his portfolios.
The Coalition announced over the weekend that it would spend $3bn to buy 28 new fighter jets for the Australian military, if elected at the coming election.
That poll could be called as soon as this weekend, so we may be in the final throes of this faux election campaign – before the real action begins, potentially as early as next Monday.
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No timeframe for delivery of NSW koala park
The NSW environment minister Penny Sharpe has refused to give a timeline for when the government will meet its commitment to deliver a great koala national park in the state’s north.
The Minns government has been under pressure to declare the boundaries for the promised park after scientific assessments were completed last year.
Asked at an estimates hearing when the government would announce its decision about the boundaries for the park, Sharpe would only say “soon” and would not elaborate on whether that meant within the next month or within the next six. Sharpe said:
Of course, it will be soon, but I’m not putting a time frame on it because we’ve got issues that we’re working through.
The Greens environment spokesperson Sue Higginson said her office was taking calls every day from members of the public concerned about the amount of time it was taking the government to declare the park. She said communities that were witnessing ongoing logging in native forests within its potential boundaries were particularly anxious.
Sharpe said the process of making a decision was not a simple one. But she said “no one should underestimate the commitment” the government had to getting the park done.
And yes, it’s taking longer than people like but we need to do it properly. It’s not as simple - people just wanted me to say, this is what we’re doing…we’re going to close the industry, and that’s it. It’s all over. That’s not how good government works.
Star shares suspended again as pressure mounts
The embattled casino operator Star Entertainment is one of eight listed companies to have trading in their shares suspended this morning, after failing to lodge financial accounts last week.
Star, which operates casinos in Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast, has been on the brink of collapse for weeks amid declining revenues, licensing headaches and major operational disruptions.
It told shareholders on Friday it was exploring “possible liquidity solutions” required to stay afloat. Its shares briefly traded on Friday after the update, closing down 15% to 11c.
Publicly-traded companies must lodge periodic financial reports to the ASX or risk having share trading suspended. They can also eventually be removed from the stock exchange.
Star, which was unable to lodge accounts because of concerns over its ability to remain solvent, is expected to enter into administration unless it can find a last-minute cash injection.
The other suspended companies tend to be very small, and rarely trade.
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SES commissioner urges communities to prepare homes
The NSW SES commissioner Mike Wassing is also addressing the media.
He said agencies were working with Queensland to pre-position resources and personnel ahead of Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Management personnel are pre-deployed into areas of risk and we also have a range of flood rescue capabilities, specialist communications equipment and a range of capabilities already in the local areas … This is all in addition to acknowledging the significant capacity we have through our local SES units and emergency services already in place and working with communities.
He encouraged the community to get prepared through cleaning loose items around the home, adding that “if you need to be doing some sandbagging, now is time to do it.”
Impact to NSW in coming days outlined
Steven Bernasconi said there were already warnings in place for strong winds from Byron Bay to Coffs Harbour, and abnormally high tides may begin to appear.
He said Lord Howe Island is expected to feel impacts tomorrow, with strong winds and damaging waves. The impact on the mainland would increase from Wednesday, he said.
Winds will start to be noticeable and will be becoming damaging. Waves are likely to be damaging also, and we’d expect a coastal hazard warning around this time. Tides again will be abnormally high and Wednesday is when we should start to see our rainfall increasing into the evening.
Latest updates on Tropical Cyclone Alfred
Steven Bernasconi from the Bureau of Meteorology is providing a status update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred, and said:
It is currently at category two, situated 410km northeast off Maroochydore and 455km northeast of Brisbane
It’s moving around 12km an hour, southeast, away from the Queensland
It is expected to slow and move west tomorrow – when there will be more certainty about its direction and location for a potential crossing
The timing of a crossing is “still up in the air” but is predicted to be around Thursday or Friday
A tropical cyclone watch for NSW will be issued later today, with gale force winds expected within the next 24 to 48 hours
Cyclone watches will be updated every six hours until it moves closer to the coast
He said tropical cyclones are “unusual” for NSW, the last being in 1990, and before that, 1974.
Emergency services in NSW addressing media about Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The NSW emergency services minister, Jihad Dib, is speaking to the media about Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
As we flagged earlier, the tropical cyclone is expected to cross anywhere from Bundaberg in Queensland to northern NSW on Thursday as a category 2 system, bringing up to 600mm of rain a day.
Dib said emergency services were “preparing for a nasty set of weather in the upcoming week” and were doing all they could to be “as best prepared as [they] can be”:
It’s not lost on me that the area of NSW where it will hit, potentially, will be the northern part of NSW and as we know, the Northern Rivers area suffered its own major flooding and quite a difficult situation three years ago. But we will do everything we can in working with that community in making sure our communities are well prepared, well protected and can respond to whatever comes our way. It’s really important all members of public prepare for the event.
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McBride supporters gather outside ACT supreme court ahead of appeal
Supporters for whistleblower David McBride have gathered outside the ACT supreme court, ahead of his appeal.
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Heatwave warning remains over WA, NT and parts of Queensland
In some other weather news, a heatwave is persisting over Western Australia, the Northern Territory and parts of Queensland.
In WA the warning area stretches across the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne and north interior districts, with temperatures reaching the low to mid 40s. The Bureau of Meteorology said severe heatwave conditions are expected to intensify early in the week and peak midweek.
Severe #Heatwave warning for #WA including the #Kimberley #Pilbara #Gascoyne and #NorthInterior Districts.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) March 2, 2025
These conditions are expected to intensify early this week and peak mid-week.
Details: https://t.co/a5dBv0egDD#CoralBay #Exmouth #Kiwirrkurra #Paraburdoo pic.twitter.com/rqTp036Wnc
Coral Bay is set to reach 42C from tomorrow to Thursday, and Exmouth is expected to reach 43C tomorrow.
In the Northern Territory, maximum temperatures are reaching the high to mid 40s, with conditions also set to peak midweek. Alpurrurulam could reach 45C tomorrow and Wednesday, and Timber Creek 43C tomorrow.
In Queensland, the severe heat is expected to peak earlier in the week, with temperatures also in the high to mid 40s.
Birdsville and Bedourie are forecast to reach 45C today, and Mount Isa 43C.
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David McBride appeal starts today
David McBride’s appeal begins in the ACT supreme court this morning.
The former army lawyer is serving time in Canberra’s Alexander Maconochie Centre after he was sentenced to five years and eight months for pleading guilty to three charges in November 2023 of stealing commonwealth information and passing that to journalists at the ABC.
The material was used as the basis for a 2017 investigative series exposing alleged war crimes by Australian defence force personnel in Afghanistan, titled The Afghan Files.
McBride was given a non-parole period of 27 months and will remain in jail until at least August 2026 if his appeal is unsuccessful.
The Human Rights Law Centre, which has lobbied the Albanese government for years to drop the charges against McBride, said the case demonstrated how Australia’s whistleblowing laws were broken.
Kieran Pender, HRLC’s associate legal director, said:
The Albanese government needs to fix our laws and establish a whistleblower protection authority, to ensure that whistleblowers are protected, not punished and prosecuted.
Peter Greste, executive director of Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom, said McBride’s case was a threat to vital journalism.
As long as he remains behind bars, journalists and their sources will get the message, and vital journalism will remain smothered.
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Ocean rower caught in cyclone Alfred safely rescued
A Lithuanian rower has been rescued off the Queensland coast after he was caught in a tropical cyclone’s 130km/h winds and monster waves.
AAP reports that rower Aurimas Mockus ran into trouble about 740km east of Mackay while attempting a 12,000km Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego to Brisbane in his solo rowing boat.
HMAS Choules, a 16,000-tonne Royal Australian Navy landing ship, rescued Mockus this morning.
He is now on his way back to Australian shores after a two-day wait in the turbulent ocean waters due to Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.
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Queensland premier says it will be matter for football codes on whether this week’s games go ahead
Let’s circle back to the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, who also spoke with ABC News Breakfast about Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
He said the warning area was a heavily populated area and one that doesn’t usually experience cyclones:
It has happened before, though, and I know this part of the state might be not as prone to these kinds of events, but they are resilient and they’ve proven with the way that they’ve handled flooding in recent years, how well-prepared it can be.
As we flagged earlier, the tropical cyclone is expected to cross anywhere from Bundaberg in Queensland and northern NSW on Thursday as a category two system, bringing up to 600mm of rain a day.
Asked when he would make a call about whether or not a number of football games scheduled for this week would go ahead, Crisafulli said it would be a matter for the codes, and he had begun conversations with them.
I spoke with the Lions CEO yesterday. They’re looking at what that might mean for them. You know, it’s early days, they have a little bit of time to make that decision. But, look, we will give them the information as honestly and as openly and as timely as we have it, and then they’ll make that call.
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Coleman asked about prospect of Australian troops in Ukraine, Five Eyes intelligence sharing
Asked if Australia should have boots on the ground in Ukraine to help with a security guarantee, David Coleman said Australia’s support was best provided through “defence, material and humanitarian aid and other forms of support”.
There isn’t a request for Australia to provide support beyond that, and I would think that the form of support that we’ve provided to date will continue to be the right form of support.
He was also asked if Australia should reconsider its intelligence sharing with Five Eyes partners, given its support of Ukraine and the US’s move to “essentially [align] itself with the views and demands of Russia on this issue”.
But Coleman said: “Absolutely not.”
The Five Eyes intelligence partnership is extremely important to Australia and has helped to underpin our security for a very long period of time.
He cautioned against “jumping to conclusions based on a press conference” and again stated that “what matters here is the substance”.
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‘Premature’ to speculate on US involvement in Ukraine’s future as negotiations ongoing, Coleman says
Asked if he regards the United States as a reliable ally, David Coleman said it is “our most important ally” and “has been for many decades and will continue to be”.
That’s, of course, been underpinned by Anzus for about 70 years, and now by Aukus, which takes our relationship to the next level. So absolutely, I think the US, of course, is our most significant ally and will continue to be.
How does the US saying it won’t provide further weapon support to Ukraine show its reliability? The shadow minister said it was “premature to ascribe a particular outcome to negotiations that are ongoing”.
The United States has provided enormous support to Ukraine and has provided some of its most advanced weapons systems to Ukraine – without which Ukraine would not have been able to do such a tremendous job as it has in fighting back against Russia.
We have to focus on the actual outcome, not on the steps along the way, so to speak. And I think that we obviously want to see the US involved in that outcome, we want to see the US with a strong role in the future of Ukraine – but it’s premature to speculate on that, as further negotiations continue.
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Trump-Zelenskyy presser ‘colourful’ but what matters is ‘substance’ of meeting, Coleman says
The shadow foreign minister, David Coleman, has also weighed in on that explosive clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Speaking to ABC RN earlier, he described the press conference as “colourful” but said what matters is the “substance” – and ensuring any peace agreement in Ukraine “respects sovereignty, respects its security, and frankly, honours the sacrifices that the people of Ukraine have made.”
They have fought courageously against a murderous dictator in Putin, and it is crucial that any peace respects them, respects their sovereignty. And in that context, it was pleasing to see the announcements coming out of London this morning, in terms of European support for Ukraine …
There will always be different ups and downs in negotiations and different discussions, but what matters is the outcome.
Asked whether it did not matter how Zelenskyy was treated, Coleman reiterated that “what really matters is securing a peace that both ends the killing of innocent Ukrainians and respects the sovereignty of Ukraine in the future”.
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Butler on government pledge to fund 50 more urgent care clinincs
Mark Butler was also asked about the government’s commitment to fund 50 more urgent care clinics, and whether these will actually take the pressure off hospitals, and said:
We know from the 87 already operating, they are working in two really important ways.
This was by “giving patients access to high-quality urgent care in their own community when they need it, seven days a week, [at] extended hours and completely free of charge”. But also by relieving pressure on the hospital from non-urgent presentations, which “account for about half of all emergency department presentations”.
Getting into the nitty-gritty of the policy while speaking on ABC RN, Butler was also asked if he was confident the clinics are in the places of greatest need, rather than greatest political need? He responded: “Absolutely.”
These are subject to an evaluation that I promised at the last election, that is ongoing and will deliver a report to government in 2026. I’m very confident about these locations, the ones that are operating already are delivering an incredible service.
And on the Today Show, Butler said the government would be rolling the clinics out “over the course of the next financial year if we’re elected”.
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Butler backs Ukraine and says Australia providing ‘whatever assistance we can’
The health minister, Mark Butler, has been making the rounds on breakfast television this morning.
Asked about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and whether Australia would play any role with European nations in putting forward a ceasefire proposal to the US, he told ABC News Breakfast:
Australia, right through this awful war and the more than three years since Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion, has been working very closely with allies in Europe and working directly with the government in Ukraine to ensure that whatever assistance we can provide to the Ukrainian people, we are providing it.
We’ve provided an enormous amount by comparison to other countries not in the European region. And the prime minister said again yesterday we are forthrightly alongside the Ukrainian people’s very courageous resistance against this awful invasion.
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Queensland premier says authorities doing ‘everything we can’ to prepare for Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The Queensland premier David Crisafulli has spoken with the Today Show amid Tropical Cyclone Alfred (see our earlier post). He said it had intensified overnight, with the warning area a “heavily populated area”.
I think it’s just important that we let Queenslanders know that we’re doing everything we can to prepare … We’re doing things like pre-positioning generators on some of those island communities, we’re talking with the telco providers to make sure that there’s bandwidth there … But we need individuals to do the same, and we need people to take precautions around your home.
Sarah Scully, a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, provided an update on the tropical cyclone to ABC News Breakfast earlier.
At this stage, our most likely track or scenario is for a coastal crossing somewhere between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast overnight Thursday into Friday morning as either a category one or a category two system.
She said that regardless of the category at the time of crossing, “there’s going to be big impacts”.
There’s the potential for 300-400mm each day with the passage of the system, and even into the weekend – but we can’t rule out daily rainfall totals of 600mm.
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Housing downturn over as rate cut boosts sentiment
Australia’s short-lived housing downturn is already over, AAP reports, with the shallow three-month dip almost wiped out by a single month of growth.
Property values rose 0.3% across the country in February, bringing prices back near record highs following a 0.4% drop over the previous three months, CoreLogic’s monthly Home Value Index has shown.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said he wasn’t expecting prices to pick up again so soon, with interest rates still well above historical averages and price-to-income ratios near record highs.
He reckons the market is unlikely to return to the same astronomical levels of growth seen in the last few years, with economists predicting interest rates to remain elevated for a while yet.
A 0.6% pickup in rents was down from the 0.9% rise the year previously, with the broader trend showing the rental market continued to ease.
Lawless said affordability challenges would persist as long as supply remained constrained and neither major party’s election promises looked likely to make much of a difference.
Regardless of any sort of initiatives aimed at getting more supply into the marketplace, it’s going to be a slow burn. One of the biggest challenges of getting more supply into the market comes back to availability of trades.
That can’t be fixed anytime soon, especially with the competition against big infrastructure. Then you’ve also got the ongoing feasibility challenges of getting supply into the marketplace, especially medium-to-high density supply.
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Oscars 2025: Australians to watch out for
As we flagged earlier, this year’s Oscars will kick off in a few hours. There are a few Australian nominations to keep an eye out for, including:
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist (best supporting actor)
Adam Elliot, Memoir of a Snail (best animated feature)
Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two (best cinematography)
Rodney Burke, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (best visual effects)
Maya Gnyp, I Am Ready, Warden (best documentary short)
Speaking ahead of the awards, Pearce said he believes American actor Kieran Culkin will win:
And you can read the Guardian review for Memoir of a Snail below:
To watch the Oscars in Australia, 7Bravo is carrying E!’s red carpet coverage from 8am AEDT, Channel 7 is picking up Red Carpet Live at 09.30am, and the ceremony show gets under way at 10am.
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Brittany Higgins welcomes baby boy
Brittany Higgins has given birth to a baby boy, AAP reports, announcing the news on Instagram last night.
In the photo Higgins shared, the baby is wrapped in a blanket and a love heart emoji sticker has been added to obscure his face. She wrote:
Last night we welcomed our little boy into the world. We’re both looking forward to getting to dote on the newest member of the family.
Higgins and her husband, David Sharaz, did not share their son’s name or other details of the birth.
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Lambie asked whether Albanese or Dutton better suited to engage with Trump
Jacqui Lambie took a final question on who is better at dealing with Donald Trump – Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton – but suggested this line of questioning was unhelpful:
Look, I don’t think you can – we can run this line [of] ‘who’s going to deal with Trump better’ … I don’t think that putting those men up against each other on who’s going to deal better with Trump is actually helpful this morning.
And quite frankly, both of them are going to try and deal with him as best they can, and that’s all that they can do. They know that. But putting them up against each other over this is just really un-Australian.
He is really difficult to deal with … [and] they’re going to try to deal with Trump the best way that they can, and that’s all you can do when it comes to people like Trump.
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Sharma says Trump-Zelenskyy clash shows Australia needs to do more to look after its own defence and security needs
NSW senator Dave Sharma spoke alongside Lambie on the Today Show, where he too weighed in on that Trump-Zelenskyy clash and said:
Like Barnaby Joyce earlier, he described the interaction as “incredibly unusual”.
Often you’ll have tough, intense conversations behind closed doors. But once the cameras are in, you’ll tend to present a united front and focus on the areas of disagreement.
Sharma said he doesn’t think the US-Ukraine relationship is “irreparable” and that the “US is going to necessarily cease supporting Ukraine altogether”.
There is a risk of that, and that’s why the rest of the world needs to come together. But it’s certainly dangerous times for Ukraine, but also more broadly for any country that relies on a US security guarantee.
Asked whether the US’s 80-year history of military support for Europe is hanging in the balance, Sharma said this has been the case since Trump was re-elected, with his “America first” policy. But where does this leave Australia? He responded:
It leaves us in a position where we need to do a lot more to look after our own defence and security needs.
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Lambie lashes Trump as ‘unstable’ and ‘not good for world order’
Senator Jacqui Lambie has also weighed in on the explosive clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and said the Ukrainian president “has the backing of the western world”.
Speaking on the Today Show, she said:
There’s no doubt about that. If Trump wants to continue with his tantrums and change his mind every hour, then you have to leave him out of the equation because he’s extremely unstable and that is not good for world order. Full stop.
She said Australia needs to back Zelenskyy and Ukraine because “if we let Russia take over … Ukraine, where’s it going next?”
We are really worried about this. And what Trump is doing, and just the instability coming out of that man, is absolutely blind.
Lambie said that Zelenskyy shouldn’t have interrupted Trump because “if he hadn’t have interrupted him, just let him keep going and going and going, I think you would have seen the full nature of this man, and he is a problem”:
What [Trump and JD Vance] have done, they need to go and study history because oh my goodness, they’re completely out of order. The both of them … But we need to stand behind Ukraine.
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Communities urged to prepare for Cyclone Alfred
Residents in two states in the firing line of Tropical Cyclone Alfred have been told to have tinned food ready and prepare their properties before it makes landfall in coming days.
As AAP reports, the tropical cyclone is expected to cross anywhere from Bundaberg in Queensland and northern NSW on Thursday as a category two system, bringing up to 600mm of rain a day.
Authorities urged residents to stay vigilant, pay attention to warnings and prepare for a rare cyclone in that part of Australia. Flood watches and erosion warnings have been issued for coastal areas, with record high 14-metre waves recorded off Wide Bay in Queensland yesterday.
The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, said residents should do “everything they can” including having tinned food, making an emergency kit, gathering up passports and clearing debris from properties.
⚠️Issued 4:51am AEST Monday 3 March 2025⚠️
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 2, 2025
🌀The latest track map for Tropical #CycloneAlfred is available.
Regardless of the track Alfred takes, severe coastal hazards are likely for southern #Qld and north-east #NSW.
Track Map & Cyclone Bulletin: https://t.co/OGEZjBtOPJ pic.twitter.com/hhckFxyQtj
The state government has asked telecommunication companies to increase network capacity to cope with an expected jump in internet usage and millions of messages throughout the emergency.
SES NSW urged residents to prepare for damaging winds, large surf and heavy rainfall with major riverine and flash flooding expected from Wednesday.
The cyclone is hundreds of kilometres off Rockhampton and is expected to travel southeast until tomorrow, when it will swing west.
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Joyce describes Trump-Zelenskyy clash as ‘unusual’ but says politics ‘a tough game’
The Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, who was also on Sunrise, labelled the explosive clash between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as evidence “the way the world of politics works is a tough game”.
I think what we saw was of something happening on live television which happens in a back room … This idea of everything will be fine because you can just turn up [to the] United States and they will open the chequebook … from what we can see clearly [during] the conversation, he was saying Europeans have to do their bit.
Joyce argued people need to “start reading the tea leaves and have to become very resilient in their own right”.
Which means you have to be ruthless in how you deal with your own domestic politics and your other issues floating around, such as intermittent power, and say what matters is our capacity to defend our nation.
Asked if this is how Australian politicians talk with world leaders behind closed doors, Joyce responded, “No, that is unusual”.
But you’re talking about the leader of the free world … Some people in this euphemistic position don’t worry because America will just come and pick something up …
Don’t have this idea that … they will do what we want, because [as] Mr Zelenskyy is seeing right now, that that is not necessarily the case.
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Plibersek on Ukraine and Australia-US relationship
Speaking on Sunrise earlier this morning, the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has restated Australia’s position that it “absolutely stands with Ukraine”. She said:
We absolutely reject the idea that Russia was not the aggressor here. It is very plain that the Russian invasion was illegal and immoral … We continue to stand with Ukraine. I’m pleased to see European leaders reiterate that on the weekend.
She also described the Australia-US relationship as “very close”:
The prime minister has had several very warm conversations with the US president. It is a really strong indication of the closeness of the relationship that our foreign minister was one of the few invited to the inauguration of the president …
The relationship is long and strong and deep. It is very good.
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Funding to boost female trade workforce
The government has announced 10 projects that will receive a share of $45m to increase the female workforce in trade industries.
The funding, through the Building Women’s Careers Program, will go to projects including the “Give her a Chance” program run by Master Builders Australia, to tackle bias in construction through education campaigns, mentoring and networking.
Labor says women make up less than 8% of all trade apprentices in male-dominated trades, and less than 5% in construction.
The skills minister, Andrew Giles, said boosting female participation would also help address skills shortages in the sector:
We are taking the important first steps to introduce new pathways for women to enter traditionally male-dominated industries and make industry workplaces safer and more equitable.
These projects are tackling the structural and cultural barriers that often stop women from considering careers in these industries head on.
The program was announced in the 2024 budget as part of the government’s $22bn Future Made in Australia package.
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Welcome
Good morning, and happy Monday – welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.
A navy ship is on a rescue mission for a stranded Lithuanian rower off Australia’s east coast, after a two-day wait. Rower Aurimas Mockus ran into trouble about 740km east of Mackay while attempting a 12,000km Pacific Ocean crossing from San Diego to Brisbane in his solo rowing boat.
A rescue ship is expected to arrive in the Coral Sea shortly. You can read the full details on this from AAP below:
Meanwhile, the federal government has announced ten projects to receive a share of $45m to boost the female workforce in trade industries.
The funding will go to projects including the “Give her a Chance” program run by Master Builders Australia to tackle bias in construction through education campaigns, mentoring and networking. Krishani Dhanji will bring us more on this soon.
And this year’s Oscars kick off in a few hours – we’ll have rolling coverage, so keep your eyes peeled.
As always, you can reach out with any tips, feedback or questions via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s get started.
