What we learned: Sunday, 29 October
With that, we will wrap the blog for the evening. Here were today’s major developments:
The US president, Joe Biden, has backed Anthony Albanese’s plan to meet Xi Jinping in China. Albanese says Australia has a role in facilitating dialogue between China and the US.
The PM also says he has told Biden that Julian Assange’s detention should be “brought to a conclusion”.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, claims Australia ‘failed test’ by not voting against calls for a ceasefire at the UN. Australia abstained from the vote. The trade minister, Don Farrell, has meanwhile accused the opposition leader of playing political games over the Israel-Hamas conflict
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, responded to claims by the opposition leader that the government has failed to address inflation issues.
The Greens have condemned Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza while thousands rallied in support of Palestinians in Melbourne and Sydney.
Two people have been killed after a light aircraft crashed into a mountain in Queensland.
Matthew Perry, best known for his role in the hit sitcom Friends, has died at 54.
With that, we’ll leave it there for today. Join us first thing tomorrow when we’ll bring you all the latest.
Updated
Here are a few photos from the Free Palestine Rally in Hyde Park in Sydney.
And huge crowds also turned out in Melbourne to show their support.
Updated
Victoria to decriminalise public drunkenness on Melbourne Cup day
Victoria will decriminalise public drunkenness on Melbourne Cup day, despite a dedicated sobering-up centre failing to open in time.
Mental health minister Ingrid Stitt has confirmed construction and refurbishment delays will prevent the Collingwood facility opening by 7 November, as Victoria shifts to a health-led response to public intoxication.
Not-for-profit organisation Cohealth will operate the 20-bed sobering up centre but it won’t be ready to start accepting intoxicated people by the time the law changes.
Stitt:
It won’t be very far off.
We’re very confident that it will be up and running soon.
Cohealth will continue to operate a six-bed trial site on Gertrude Street until the Collingwood site opens.
Stitt defended the law change taking effect on Cup day, when tens of thousands are expected to flock to Flemington Racecourse.
It wouldn’t matter what day the laws are implemented.
It’s important that we don’t lose sight of the very important reasons why we’re pursuing this reform, and that is to have a health-led response rather than crime-led response.
The Victorian opposition is calling for the government to use this parliamentary sitting week to pause the law change to ensure lives aren’t put at risk.
Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the delay was characteristic of the government’s overall handling of the reform, which he said had lurched from ill-considered to woefully under prepared.
The Victorian government committed to decriminalising public drunkenness at the 2019 coronial inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day.
She was arrested for being drunk in a public place and died after hitting her head in a concrete cell at Castlemaine police station.
A coroner found her death was preventable.
Queensland remains the only state that has not moved to decriminalise public intoxication.
– AAP
Updated
Numbers at the Sydney rally appear to be growing.
Updated
Justin Trudeau pays tribute to actor Matthew Perry
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has described Matthew Perry’s death as “shocking and saddening” saying he will “never forget the schoolyard games we used to play”.
Matthew Perry’s passing is shocking and saddening. I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved – and you will be missed.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 29, 2023
In his memoir, Perry described how his mother went to work for Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, as a media advisor to the then prime minister. It was during this time that Perry recalled beginning to act out and beating up Justin, the future prime minister of Canada. But as he wrote:
I decided to end my argument with him when [Justin] was put in charge of an entire army.
Updated
A few images of the growing crowd in Sydney for the Palestinian solidarity rally on Sunday.
Sydney has come out in their thousands again - standing in solidarity with Palestinians here and around the world #FreePalestine pic.twitter.com/9QKikfkTw7
— Jenny Leong MP 梁珍妮 (@jennyleong) October 29, 2023
Rally for #Palestine still growing in Hyde Park. More union flags than last time - @MaritimeUnionAU, @NTEUnion, @raffwu, @ASUnion, @CFMEU. Teachers & nurses contingents too. pic.twitter.com/tRXXw3Tq0k
— David Brophy (@Dave_Brophy) October 29, 2023
Absolutely massive protest in solidarity with Palestine 🇵🇸 in Hyde Park Sydney. pic.twitter.com/L3SMyhx0U2
— Adeel Khan (@adeelkhan7) October 29, 2023
Two dead in light plane crash in Queensland
Two people have been killed in a plane crash after their aircraft crashed into a mountainous region of Queensland’s Pioneer Valley, inland from Mackay.
Police said a member of the public alerted them to the crash at about 9:30 on Saturday morning, telling officers they saw the aircraft slam into the mountain.
The RACQ rescue helicopter was deployed and spotted the wreckage of the plane at about 11:30, with black smoke seen billowing out from underneath the thick tree cover. Queensland police said on Sunday afternoon ground crews were still working to retrieve the aircraft, which is situated in difficult terrain.
It is understood two people, a man, 73 and a woman, 75, were on board the aircraft at the time. The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau has been notified of the crash and has begun an investigation.
– AAP
Updated
Penny Wong says Australians in Lebanon should ‘leave now’
Penny Wong has urged Australians in Lebanon to “leave now” as she warned of the risk of escalating conflict in the region leading to the closure of Beirut airport.
The foreign affairs minister posted on X (formerly Twitter) today:
Australians in Lebanon should leave now, while commercial flights remain available.
If armed conflict increases, it could affect wider areas of #Lebanon and close Beirut airport.
The Australian government may not be able to assist you to leave.
It a stronger warning than last week, when Wong urged Australians in Lebanon to “consider” leaving on the first available commercial option.
Updated
Penny Wong speaks with US secretary of state on Gaza
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, had a phone call today with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, amid ongoing efforts to secure the safe passage of civilians, including foreign nationals, from Gaza.
It is understood the call included discussion of recent developments, including the humanitarian situation in Gaza and attempts to allow foreign nationals including Australians to leave safely.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) described the situation in Gaza as “highly challenging and rapidly changing” and said Australia continued to “strongly urge the protection of civilian lives and the observation of international law as the conflict continues”.
A spokesperson for Dfat said Australia continued to “advocate with the US, Egypt, Israel, and governments with influence in the region, for the opening of the Rafah border crossing open for humanitarian purposes, including the passage of civilians and the safe passage of Australians and their families”.
The spokesperson confirmed that the Australian government was “assisting 88 Australians, permanent residents and immediate family members in Gaza”. They added:
We understand the situation is extremely distressing for them and their loved ones …
We are doing what we can to support Australians and their families in Gaza, including providing the best available information and options for their safety, and communicating through all available channels.
Communication with those in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult and we are engaging with partners and organisations in the region to try to address this.
The government says Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian government’s 24-hour consular emergency centre on +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas) or 1300 555 135 (from within Australia).
Updated
Thousands rally in support of Palestine in Melbourne
Thousands of people also gathered at the State Library in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday in support of a free Palestine, with children among the attendees holding placards in a sea of Palestine flags.
The crowd chanted “free, free Palestine”, and one speaker told attendees: “What is going on is nothing short of genocide.”
“We need to be very clear in demanding a ceasefire,” the speaker said.
“We need to boycott those companies who are supporting this.”
– AAP
Huge rally in Naarm in solidarity with Palestine - we are about to march. We will put up speeches later today and tonight #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #StopArmingIsrael #ShutElbitDown pic.twitter.com/3r7vm3jpTz
— WACA (@akaWACA) October 29, 2023
The March is still coming. The Naarm/Melbourne is ringing with the noise for #FreePalestine #FreeGaza pic.twitter.com/6fa5sz15p2
— WACA (@akaWACA) October 29, 2023
Bit of a Birds Eye view. This crowd is absolutely massive! pic.twitter.com/xnzNCBv3ln
— Matt (@MattH093) October 29, 2023
Updated
Chalmers rebukes Dutton over claims Labor has driven up inflation
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has dismissed an attack by the opposition leader on the government’s economic management since the election.
Peter Dutton claimed during Sky News that the government’s two budgets since last year’s federal election had driven inflation up, something Dr Chalmers declared showed a lack of “economic credibility”.
ABS statistics in the week just gone showed our childcare, energy rebates and rent relief meant inflation was around half a percentage point lower than it would have been without them.
Not only is Dutton wrong but he and the Coalition actually voted against cost-of-living relief - which means inflation would be higher today if they had their way.
Australia’s CPI jumped 1.2% in the September quarter, factoring in to a 5.4% annual rise.
Dutton had been asked about a potential interest rate rise on Melbourne Cup day, believing it would bring a 12th rate hike under the Labor government.
The Opposition says Labor has driven up inflation and asked Australians to pay more tax.
He also said Australians were paying “15 per cent more tax” under Labor, labelling the government “an almighty mess”.
The government’s had two budgets where they’ve had the ability to make decisions which would ease the pressure on inflation and therefore bring interest rates back.
They haven’t done that, in fact, they’ve added to the inflationary pressures.
Australians are feeling that at the moment, they understand exactly what’s happened over the last 18 months, they feel a great frustration.”
Dr Chalmers said the tax claim was “misleading”, saying the government had received the greater amount of tax revenue because more people were in work.
It’s disappointing but not surprising he doesn’t know the difference between tax rates and the total tax take which factors in more people working.
The fact is under the Albanese Labor government, more Australians are working and they are earning more - that’s good for workers and good for the budget.
- AAP
Updated
Cryopreservation techniques used to defeat invasive myrtle rust
A process similar to that used to store human embryos is helping save countless native Australian plants under siege from invasive myrtle rust.
In just 13 years, the killer fungus has, with the exception of South Australia, infiltrated every state including Tasmania, as well as the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory.
With bottle brush, lemon myrtle, lilly pilly, blackbutt, broad-leaved paperbark and tea trees among 2000 plants at risk, authorities say the incursion “is about as bad as it can get for biosecurity in Australia”.
Myrtle rust has become so widespread, it can’t be eradicated.
Dr Alice Hayward, from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, say cryogenically preserving tissue from the most impacted members of the Myrtaceae family may help.
“Myrtle rust affects the ability of the worst impacted species to reproduce and some ... are no longer producing seed in the wild,” according to
“On top of this, seeds from affected rainforest species often cannot be stored in a seed bank as they don’t survive the standard drying or freezing processes.”
Cryopreservation involves taking a tiny shoot, treating it with protectants and plunging it into liquid nitrogen where it can be stored indefinitely.
Bottle brush plants are among about 2000 native species threatened by myrtle rust.
– AAP
Updated
Queensland bushfire threat eases
Hundreds of people in Queensland were told to flee their homes on Saturday evening, amid brief concern that a fire burning in a nearby state forest was headed towards the community.
Fires have been burning across the state for seven straight days, and there are concerns that conditions could get worse by Tuesday.
On Saturday evening, Queensland police issued an evacuation order under the Public Safety and Preservation Act for part of the Sunshine Coast tow of Landsborough and rural properties to the west, towards Beerwah State Forest, where a fire had been active and had flared out of control.
Police went door to door telling people to leave, after issuing a warning that said “a fast moving fire is headed towards homes”.
The fire may threaten the township of Landsborough and all residents in surrounding areas are encouraged to enact their fire plan and evacuate the area, via a safe path.
The evacuation order was lifted about three hours later, at 10.20pm.
More than 80 bushfires continue to burn across the state on Sunday afternoon, with six watch and act alerts active.
A blaze continues to burn at Tara, where one person was killed and 32 homes were lost in several Western Downs fires.
Multiple watch and act warnings remain in place for at-risk residents, with some told to prepare to leave if they haven’t already.
Others to the east of the warning area have been told they can now return with caution.
- with agencies
Updated
The new age of bushfire bunkers
In recent days, grass has begun to grow on the roof of Leonard McDonald’s bushfire bunker, helping it to merge into the New South Wales south coast hinterland bush.
It’s meagre camouflage, though. There is little that can fully distract him from the fact that he now lives beside a six-tonne concrete block submerged in the ground for the express purpose of saving lives in the event of a catastrophic – and not unprecedented – bushfire.
“Even if I would prefer not to think about it, it’s there waiting. It’s eerie,” McDonald, a director of the Multispecies Justice Trust, says. The bunker at the Brogers Creek property he owns with his partner delivers him back to his childhood in North America during the Cuban missile crisis. A palpable sense of foreboding is attached to the structure, with its Pyroglass window and enough space and air for four people for six hours.
Usually buried into soil or the side of a hill, bunkers are solid concrete structures with reinforced flame-proof doors, sometimes with oxygen supplies. They are designed as last-resort options in short, extreme burnovers. For McDonald, the new bunker falls squarely into the category of adaptation in an area that is labelled, in risk parlance, the flame zone. “There’s no escaping the climate crisis now,” he says. He lives, as we all do, with forecasts of more intense and frequent bushfires. When it is not flooding, Australia’s east coast can be a crucible.
For more on this story, read the full feature by Daisy Dumas here:
Updated
Auction activity increases across Australia
Auction activity has risen sharply with 3,383 auctions held this weekend.
This is more than twice the 1,921 auctions held last week and above the 2,463 auctions that occurred at the same time last year.
Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 68.5% across the country, which is lower than the 70.8% preliminary rate recorded last week and the 58.8% actual rate on final numbers.
Across the capital cities:
Sydney: 1086 auctions with a clearance rate of 70.8%
Melbourne: 1,703 auctions with a clearance rate of 68.6%
Brisbane: 238 auctions with a clearance rate of 58.9%
Adelaide: 173 auctions with a clearance rate of 85.1%
Canberra: 165 auctions with a clearance rate of 50.9%
Tasmania: One of three auctions held.
Perth: Twelve of 15 auctions held.
Updated
Retail data could provide clues to interest rate decision
The latest snapshot of the retail sector will make for essential reading ahead of another finely balanced interest rate decision in a little over a week.
Retail trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics will be released on Monday and shed some light on consumer spending patterns throughout September.
In the month prior, retail trade lifted 0.2%, which was modest given Australia’s strong population growth and the influence of higher prices on the measure of total sales.
Weaker consumption growth indicates higher interest rates are weighing on demand for goods and services, helping to ease pressure on prices.
September quarter inflation data came in a little above expectations, sparking speculation about the Reserve Bank’s ability to bring inflation back to target within its expressed timeline without further increases to the cash rate.
New building approvals will be among the data batches releases by the ABS.
An update on the housing market will also be of interest to the central bank as although unlikely to move the needle in isolation, rising prices can lead people to spend more because they feel wealthier.
The national statisticians will also release cost of living indexes for the September quarter on Wednesday, followed by lending indicators and international trade data on Thursday.
Two separate speeches from RBA assistant governor Brad Jones could also be of interest.
- AAP
Updated
Friends star Matthew Perry dead at 54
Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the hit TV sitcom Friends, has died at 54, according to reports.
Perry drowned at his home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, sources including a representative for the actor and law enforcement said, according to NBC News. Other US outlets also reported Perry had died.
After small roles in Growing Pains, Beverly Hills 90210 and Dream On, Perry scored a role in NBC sitcom Friends in 1994. The comedy, about six friends living in New York City, quickly became a phenomenon, winning multiple Emmys and scoring record ratings.
Perry was 24 when he started playing the role and went on to feature in 10 seasons with the finale reaching over 52 million US viewers, making it the most watched TV episode of the 2000s.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Benjamin Lee:
Updated
Greens condemn Israel ground invasion, call for Middle East ceasefire
Greens leader Adam Bandt has reiterated his party’s call for a ceasefire in the Middle East and attacked the Australian government over abstaining during a vote for a humanitarian ceasefire at the UN overnight.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference on Sunday, Bandt said:
The Greens condemn Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza, which will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, and we repeat our call for a ceasefire.
Yesterday, Labor failed to vote with most of the world for a ceasefire at the UN general assembly.
Labor cannot wash its hands of what happens now.
By failing to back a ceasefire and continuing to approve defence exports to Israel, Labor shares responsibility for the unfolding catastrophe in Gaza.
Labor has backed Israel’s military cutting off communications for civilians, aid workers and journalists, plunging Gaza into darkness and hiding the horror of what happens next.
Instead of working hand in glove with the US, Labor should be using Australia’s diplomatic pressure to demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine so that Israelis and Palestinians can have a just and lasting peace.
Updated
The New South Wales government has formally withdrawn the planning applications to raise the dam wall of Sydney’s main reservoir.
As we note here, Indigenous and environmental groups have cheered the news:
One particularly interesting point is we got a figure in the size of the environmental offsets, put at $1.34bn, minimum.
Updated
Australian soil carbon targets flawed, scientists say
Scientists say Australia’s soil carbon targets are flawed and farmers could face a big bill, with the nation’s emissions reductions being overestimated.
Under the offset scheme, producers receive credits for storing carbon in the soil that companies or the federal government can then buy from them.
In a paper published in the October edition of the Journal of Environmental Management, 18 scientists examined the impact of grazing management on soil carbon across 30 projects.
The group, from the NSW Department of Primary Industries and several Australian universities, concluded changing practices can bring benefits but more science is needed to prove carbon capture.
There is a lack of evidence in Australia that grazing management directly increases soil carbon.
While technology may improve the outcomes for storing carbon in the soil, it’s “unlikely to be a cornerstone strategy for the Australian Livestock Industry to mitigate livestock emissions”.
Paper co-author David Rowlings from the centre for agriculture at Queensland University of Technology said his “biggest fear” is that farmers will “get down the track and have to pay it back”.
Carbon developers are focused on the short term and there is a big risk that over the 25 years, the results will go backwards and leave the farmer with a bill.
It’s meaningless trying to project over five years.
Based on results from an independent project in Southern Queensland, Professor Rowlings says some soil carbon projects are overblown by as much as 10 times, which risks the accuracy of Australia’s greenhouse gas inventory.
A lot of major fossil fuel developments are only going to proceed on the assumption of offsets being provided.
– AAP
Updated
A rally for those showing their support to Israel has taken place in Sydney today.
Here are a few photos from the event.
Updated
Greens warn of stitch-up new over ‘dirty’ donations laws
Australians casting their votes at the next federal election could be hoodwinked by a deal struck between the major parties, the Greens say.
Greens leader Adam Bandt revealed on Saturday he’d heard “rumours” Labor and the Coalition had agreed to an electoral fundraising deal designed to hurt independents and minor parties.
In his address to the party’s national conference in Perth, Bandt said he suspected the deal would include donation caps for challengers but increased funding for incumbents, with “dark corporate money” to fuel the major parties.
If you’re already elected you get a hefty envelope full of cash, but if you’re trying to get elected, you don’t.
Their aim is to rig the electoral funding system, making it harder for Greens candidates, or independents, to compete fairly.
A parliamentary committee earlier this year recommended lowering the donation disclosure threshold to $1000 and implementing real-time disclosure.
But spending and donation caps could be easily sidestepped by major parties with new challengers to be most affected, Bandt fears.
A corporation buying five $10,000 tickets to a Labor or Liberal dinner party is allowed, but you giving a direct donation to a local candidate in your suburb could be restricted or outlawed.
Teaming up to do a dirty deal would be an attack on representative democracy … the deal would outlaw all kinds of grassroots funding while allowing Labor and the Liberals’ corporate and billionaire donations.
Bandt pointed out the combined Labor-Coalition primary vote at the last election dipped to around 68%, a result that left his party with four MPs to go with their 12 senators.
The two-party system is dying … Labor may have crawled their way to just over half the seats in parliament because our voting system is masking the big shift away from the political class, but Labor’s vote went backwards at the election.
– AAP
Updated
Toyota Australia exec attacks EVs again
Toyota Australia sales vice-president Sean Hanley sparked the war of words with comments to journalists at the Japan Mobility Show.
The company used the event to show off future products, including its first electric car due to launch in Australia, the delayed bZ4X SUV.
Despite showing off an electric vehicle, Hanley told journalists hybrid vehicles were “a better fit” for Australian motorists and could have greater environmental benefits.
(Battery electric vehicles) make sense right now in places like Norway where most energy is renewable and incomes are high but Australia is not Europe.
In countries like Australia, our data suggests that hybrids can have a greater impact than full electrification in getting carbon off the road
He argued Toyota could make more hybrid vehicles with the same materials used to create one electric car, that EVs were “powered, in many cases, by electricity generated from coal” and that they remained “impractical” for drivers.
But Hanley’s comments prompted immediate rebukes from other parts of the automotive industry, including one of Toyota’s newest and biggest rivals.
Tesla public policy vice-president Rohan Patel issued a statement on social network X, saying Hanley is “obviously not much of an expert on the Australian electricity grid”.
He pointed to Australia’s growing use of renewable electricity and said thousands of drivers were using “100 per cent clean energy from the sun” to fuel their cars.
Already today the lifetime emissions of electric vehicles are far better than internal combustion (cars) and that gap is widening as the grid gets cleaner.
Aussies are too smart than to be tricked by cynical (public relations) that aims to slow the sustainable transportation transition to help sell internal combustion vehicles in the short-term.
Figures from the federal energy department show renewable sources generated 32% of Australia’s electricity last year, with most from solar followed by wind and hydro.
- AAP
Updated
Qantas announces direct Perth-Paris flight
Qantas is adding another direct service between Australia and Europe with the launch of a new route between Perth and Paris, just in time for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and European summer.
It comes as the airline also re-started direct flights between Sydney and Shanghai this morning, returning to mainland China for the first time in more than three years.
The resumption of the Sydney-Shanghai route marks the final international destination to return to Qantas’ pre-COVID network since borders reopened.
From 12 July 2024, the 17-hour Perth-Paris flights will initially operate four days per week during the peak European summer with the airline’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Services will move to three per week from mid-August 2024.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the airline was thrilled to put Paris back on the Qantas map with a direct link for Australians to the French capital for the first time:
This route has been on our wish list for a while and we think customers will be as pleased as we are to see it go on sale today.
Our direct flights to London and Rome have been hugely popular and Paris is the next most-requested destination, so we know the demand for this service will be strong as well.
Fares are on sale at 9am Western Standard Time (WST) starting from $1,899.
Updated
The trade minister, Don Farrell, was interviewed on Sky News shortly after Peter Dutton.
Asked whether the prime minister had failed to maintain government unity on the response to the Israel-Hamas conflict, Farrell said:
Look, the prime minister, the foreign minister and the rest of the parliament, both the government and the opposition, have condemned the actions of Hamas terrorists a couple of weeks ago. We continue to condemn those actions.
Obviously, individual ministers represent their particular communities.
Nobody, nobody wants to see the death of innocent civilians in this terrible conflict but this government has been unequivocal – unequivocal – in its condemnation of those terrorist attacks by Hamas and will continue to be condemning those actions.
Israel has a right to defend itself. And, look, I have to say this: I don’t think Mr Dutton’s comments are helpful at this time. He’s seeking to get political advantage out this terrible, terrible conflict. And I don’t think that’s the direction we should be heading in.
Updated
Farrell accuses Dutton of seeking political advantage in Middle East crisis
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has accused the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, of seeking “political advantage out this terrible, terrible conflict” in the Middle East.
Farrell - a strong supporter of Israel - made the comment after Dutton took aim at the Albanese government’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Sky News this morning, Dutton criticised the Australian government for abstaining on a key UN vote and mocked Anthony Albanese for not having secured a phone call with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the crisis began three weeks ago.
Dutton also attacked the workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, who on Friday condemned Hamas but also raised concerns about the impact of the conflict on Palestinian civilians. Burke implored people to “distinguish in the debate in Australia between Hamas and Palestinians”.
Dutton told Sky News today:
I think the prime minister should have picked the phone up immediately to Tony Burke and really given him a dressing down because to not condemn Hamas* and to use the soft form of words sends a terrible message.
The government should be speaking with one voice of condemnation against Hamas at the moment and instead you’ve got people running off doing their own thing.
And Tony Burke to his great shame [is] playing to his constituency within his own electorate when he should be acting in the national interest.
* In that interview on ABC Radio National on Friday, Burke had said the attack on 7 October “was horrific and was rightly condemned by the parliament and condemned by me – the condemnation of Hamas”. But Burke also said such condemnation was not “somehow weakened if you do something to acknowledge the Palestinian loss of life” in the resulting conflict.
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Albanese says he told Biden that Julian Assange detention should be ‘brought to a conclusion’
The PM has said he has raised Julian Assange’s case with President Biden, but he shied away from calling him to intervene, saying Biden ‘doesn’t interfere with the Department of Justice’.
We keep our discussions private. I made clear Australia’s position that I made as Labor leader, the same position I hold as prime minister, which is that enough is enough, it is time that this issue was brought to a conclusion.
Speers: So is it time for a plea deal?
Well, the Australian officials are working very hard to achieve an outcome which is consistent with the position that I’ve put.
Updated
The PM says he ‘is very confident’ AUKUS will be passed by Congress by the end of the year.
Look, this is - this is of major benefit, not just to the workers and the base there at Virginia and other places, but, of course, particularly for South Australia and Western Australia. This will be a jobs bonanza, and it will do more than the direct jobs as well.
A bit like the former auto industry did … this is highly advanced manufacturing for Australia. We will reap the benefit for decades to come.
Updated
Asked if the former president, Donald Trump, is a threat to democracy, Albanese says:
Well, this is a great democracy and it is a great democracy that doesn’t need the outside commentary about their internal affairs from the Australian prime minister.
Updated
Anthony Albanese says trade will be front and centre when he visits China next month and removes more impediments that are on trade between the two countries.
He says he will also bring up China’s close relationship with Vladimir Putin and its refusal to condemn Hamas.
We have a very different position when it comes to the actions of a terrorist group like Hamas, and we have seen the dreadful consequences, the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continue to reverberate around supermarket shelves in Australia, so Australia needs to engage with the world. We need to have a seat at the table, and my government is determined to do so.
Updated
Prime minister addresses Joe Biden's China focus
ABC’s David Speers started by asking the PM why he thinks President Biden has been so focused on China when the pair have spoken publicly.
The strategic competition in our region between the United States and China, the two great powers in global politics. It is a factor in our region, and is something that is some of the backdrop, if you like, to all of the relationships with I are there.
The PM says both the US and China see Australia as playing a role in helping the dialogue between the countries.
Not so much as a go-between, because it is clear where we stand as a democratic nation, but we are a nation that does engage in our own interests. We are a sovereign country, but the relationship with China is obviously important for Australia. They are our major trading partner. Something like one in four of our export dollars comes from China.
But the United States, of course, is our largest two-way investment partner. So our economic relationships with important, and historically, we have had a relationship with China. I will visit, of course, next month.
Updated
The prime minister is appearing on Insiders now, in a pre-recorded interview from the US.
Updated
AAP is reporting that a strip in the centre of Sydney’s CBD will be closed off to display empty prams and the images of children held hostage by Hamas to show solidarity with Israel as communities across the nation remain divided over the conflict.
Organisers of an event kicking off in Martin Place on Sunday morning say they expect 5000 people will come together “in a peaceful demonstration to show solidarity with Israel”.
In Melbourne, a large crowd is also expected to gather at Caulfield Park in the south-east of the city.
Meanwhile, thousands are expected to rally in Melbourne and Sydney in support of a free Palestine as the events continue to draw larger and larger crowds.
Organisers for an event beginning in Sydney’s Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon say they expect an even bigger turnout than the 15,000 people who marched through the Sydney CBD last weekend.
A similar event will take place outside the State Library in Melbourne.
Updated
Australia 'failed test' by not voting in UN against Middle East ceasefire, Dutton says
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has accused the Australian government of “squibbing” its United Nations vote about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Dutton argued that instead of abstaining, Australia should have joined with the US and Israel in actively voting against the motion that demanded an “immediate, durable and sustainable humanitarian truce”.
The motion, drafted by Jordan, attracted support from 120 nations including New Zealand and France, while only 14 – including the US and Israel – voted no. Meanwhile, 45 countries – including Australia, the UK, Germany, India and Canada – abstained from voting.
James Larsen, Australia’s representative to the United Nations, had told the assembly that Australia agreed with the aims of the resolution and repeated Australia’s calls for a humanitarian pause to allow food, water and medicine to reach people in Gaza. But, Larsen said, Australia abstained from voting with “disappointment” because the resolution as drafted was “incomplete” as it did not name Hamas at the perpetrators of the 7 October terrorist attack.
Asked about the matter on Sky News this morning, Dutton argued that Australia “should have been standing with our longstanding allies including the US in support of Israel”.
Dutton added said Australia’s most important ally was the US and should not be “squibbing it when it comes to the tough decisions”:
The prime minister had an opportunity here in the United Nations to send a clear message about our values and where we stand and he failed that test.
Updated
Biden backs Albanese’s plan to meet Xi in China
Anthony Albanese says the US president, Joe Biden, has backed his plan to travel to China to meet with Xi Jinping in early November.
In a prerecorded interview with Sky News, the prime minister was asked whether Biden had used the meetings in Washington DC last week to give him any messages about relations with China. When asked about the matter on Thursday, Biden suggested that Australia should “trust but verify’ the Chinese government’s claims.
Albanese told Sky News that Australia and China had different political systems and values but they were working to make the relationship more stable:
President Biden certainly has welcomed the fact I am meeting with President Xi in China. It is important that Australia stabilise the relationship - that’s something the US is seeking as well.
Albanese noted US officials were meeting with Chinese officials and that was “a good thing”.
Updated
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to Guardian Australia’s Sunday live blog.
Queensland Fire and Rescue are continuing to fight several fires across the state, with an evacuation warning in place for Tara, Wieambilla and the Gums in the western Darling Downs. Residents across those areas are being told to leave immediately if safe to do so.
Police made an emergency declaration on Saturday night as a fast-moving fire threatened the Sunshine Coast towns of Landsborough and Beerwah.
Other areas around Condamine, Barramornie, Kogan and Montrose North have been asked to prepare to leave.
In federal news, Anthony Albanese will be on Insiders at 9am in a pre-recorded interview from the US, while Peter Dutton and Don Farrell are appearing on Sky News.
I will bring you more on those as we go along.
Let’s get into it!
