What we learned, 12 January 2024
With that we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are the major stories from Sunday:
New South Wales police are seeking two people in connection with anti-Jewish graffiti daubed on a second Sydney synagogue on Saturday.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says there are concerns that an accelerant may have been used to start a fire at the synagogue that then self-extinguished.
Police have released pictures of those responsible and are seeking information from the public that may help identify them.
The opposition has soft-launched its federal election campaign in the Labor-held seat of Chisholm.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has vowed to press ahead with nuclear power, cuts to migration and a clampdown on pro-Palestine protests in his speech at the event.
Dutton also pledged to “mend the relationship” with Israel if re-elected, saying one of his first acts would be to call the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, and Australian ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, have confirmed they will attend the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump.
Thunderstorm and flood warnings have been issued for parts of Tasmania and Queensland has seen heavy rain.
We’ll pick things up again tomorrow.
Updated
Warren Mundine releases video confirming he will stand for Liberal preselection in Bradfield
Anti-voice campaigner Warren Mundine has confirmed he will run for preselection in the Sydney seat of Bradfield with the launch of a campaign video that coincided with the soft-launch of the Coalition’s election campaign in Melbourne on Sunday.
The cinematic video sombrely reflects upon Mundine’s childhood and exists as something of a meditation on the idea of hope.
Lingering shots of Mundine looking meaningfully off camera or out over a lake are followed by scenes of Mundine placing a Christian cross into his shirt, pulling up his sleeves and pulling on shoelace-less boots as a voiceover elaborates on his reluctant embrace of power for the betterment of the nation.
Young Australians are losing hope. I didn’t have to step back into this fight.
There are some who say that after all I have achieved, I have the right to hang up the boots, to rest.
But when I see the pain in the eyes of my fellow Australians, when I see leaders taking us down the wrong path, I know I can’t sit on the sideline.
As he speaks, the Australian national anthem builds in the background.
You can watch the video here:
For more, read the Guardian Australia’s previous reporting on Mundine’s Liberal preselection pitch:
Updated
Australia’s bullet-proof jobs market put to the test
Even with restrictive interest rate settings and inflation battering the economy, Australia’s labour market has proved surprisingly resilient.
Attention is poised to turn to the state of hiring and firing in Australia for signs the labour market is gradually unwinding as expected in a sluggish economy.
Thursday’s labour force numbers for December from the Australian Bureau of Statistics follow a string of surprisingly strong signals on employment.
While not as tight as in the early phases of the post-pandemic recovery - when the jobless rate fell to a decades-long low of 3.4 per cent - the labour market has not been easing as quickly as expected in an economy weighed down by inflation and high interest rates.
In November, the jobless rate unexpectedly slid back to 3.9 per cent, from 4.1 per cent.
The 35,600 jobs added to the economy also exceeded consensus forecasts.
The first rise in job vacancies since mid-2022 in November is further indication of resilient demand for labour.
The strong jobs market could keep the Reserve Bank of Australia cautious about cutting interest rates, even as underlying inflation takes a convincing step down.
Most important for the RBA’s February interest rate meeting will be quarterly inflation numbers, due at the end of the month.
Ahead of that, Melbourne Institute’s inflation gauge for December, scheduled for Monday, will provide a timely steer on price pressures.
- AAP
Tech mogul Peter Thiel says Trump administration will reveal whether US ‘complicit’ in Australia’s under-16 social media ban
Billionaire tech entrepreneur Peter Thiel says the return of Donald Trump will reveal whether the United States was “complicit” in pushing Australia to introduce social media age verification and other questions.
In an op-ed for the Financial Times, Thiel says the return of Donald Trump will usher in an “apokalypsis” – the Greek origin word for “apocalypse” – that will provide answers about “the old guard’s war on the internet”.
At one point in the editorial, Thiel asks:
Were we [the US government] complicit in Australia’s recent legislation requiring age verification for social media users, the beginning of the end of internet anonymity?
He suggests that Trump’s return will also shed light on issues such as whether the US government was involved in a decision by a Brazilian judge to ban X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter, the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and who shot John F Kennedy.
Thiel also compares the incoming Trump administration to French revolutionaries who ended the monarchy.
The future demands fresh and strange ideas. New ideas might have saved the old regime, which barely acknowledged, let alone answered, our deepest questions – the causes of the 50-year slowdown in scientific and technological progress in the US, the racket of crescendoing real estate prices, and the explosion of public debt.
Updated
Wong ‘honoured’ to be invited to attend Trump inauguration
Penny Wong and the Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd have both been invited to attend the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump.
The senator is expected to hold meetings with members of the Trump Administration, members of the US Congress and other attenders at the inauguration. Wong said:
I am honoured to be invited to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration. It is a demonstration of the steadfast alliance between Australia and the United States.
I am also looking forward to meeting with members of the Trump Administration and Congress during my visit to Washington.
The United States is Australia’s vital ally, closest global partner, and most important strategic relationship.
This early visit will be an important opportunity to discuss how we can advance the benefits of our strong economic and security partnership and expand our cooperation.
Updated
The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, has sent her condolences to the family of Rory Sykes after his reported death in the tragic Los Angeles fires.
In a statement posted to social media, the senator said:
Our thoughts are with the family of Australian man Rory Sykes at this tragic time.
We continue to engage with Los Angeles authorities, who are working to confirm his death.
Wong said the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in contact with the Sykes family and is providing consular assistance to them. More on this story here:
Updated
Tasmanians warned to hunker down amid thunderstorm warning
Tasmanians have been told to brace for severe thunderstorms as state emergency services warn of heavy rainfall and flash flooding across parts of the state.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rain in the Upper Derwent valley, east coast, midlands and parts of the south-east, north-east, central plateau and western districts.
Acting assistant director of Tasmanian SES Cheryl Ames said residents of those regions should be prepared and stay informed as conditions change.
We are expecting widespread thunderstorm activity across most parts of Tasmania today, with the east coast, Launceston and Hobart areas at risk of severe thunderstorms which may result in heavy rain and flash flooding.
Over the past couple of days, heavy rainfall has been observed, with the Upper Esk River receiving 40-50mm, Fingal 35-45mm and Monameta (Mathinna Road) receiving 34.6mm within one hour.
The weather system is expected to bring heavy rain and potential hail, easing late tonight.
If you have to drive during heavy rain, please remember advice from Tasmania police to be safe on the roads, slow down, put your headlights on, and never drive through flood waters.
Updated
Storm and flooding risk as wet conditions continue
Intense storms and heavy rain are set to continue in one state, as forecasters expect the most severe weather could be on its way.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued multiple flood warnings across Queensland, along with an alert for parts of the south-east, which had more than 100mm of rain on Saturday.
The warnings include the Logan River, Boyne River and Barambah Creek.
In the South Burnett region, residents took to social media to post videos of flooding over the roads and in the centre of towns.
On Friday, emergency services were called out to rescue people trapped in their cars due to floods.
Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said Sunday would be another wet and stormy day, with high rainfall totals and extensive thunderstorms.
We’ve got broad risks of severe thunderstorms stretching all the way from Townsville down to Brisbane.
The bureau forecasts showers and storms to continue into the week, and although the intensity is expected to come down a couple of notches, severe weather remains a risk into Wednesday.
- AAP
Updated
Rain has halted play on the outside courts early on day one of the Australian Open just as local hope Omar Jasika was threatening to turn the tide against Hugo Gaston.
Organisers confirmed there would be no further action on the outside courts until at least 3pm (AEDT), but play was continuing under closed roofs on the three main show courts.
- AAP
Updated
One killed in house fire in Perth suburbs
One person has died in a house fire in the Perth suburb of Balcatta on Saturday.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after receiving reports of a blaze on Sylvia Street.
Firefighters put out the blaze but when they managed to get inside, they found the body of a person.
The fire is not considered suspicious at this time, with arson squad investigators deployed to investigate.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Updated
NSW police release images of people sought in relation to synagogue vandalism
New South Wales police have released the following images of two people they would like to speak with after a graffiti attack on the Southern Sydney Synagogue, in Allawah, in NSW premier Chris Minns’ electorate of Kogarah on Friday.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
For more on this story, read the Guardian’s previous reporting here:
Updated
Smooth, reliable and fanging: Australia’s enduring love affair with the Toyota Corolla
Emily Minson’s grandmother drove a Corolla. Her mother drove a Corolla. So it was only right that when she bought her first car, she did too.
About two decades ago, Minson was in her early 20s and saving up for a Corolla when she got a tip about a horse called Minson, which had been named for her football-playing brother. She put $100 on it, and won enough to buy a dark green Corolla hatchback.
It was called Molly. It had already done 90,000km. I think I drove it to 200,000km. It was just beautiful driving, smooth, reliable … it just fanged along.
For almost 60 years, Australians have been driving Toyota Corollas. The cars have been passed down through generations, hotted up and given pet names.
More than 1.6m Corollas – including hatches, sedans and panel vans – have been sold in Australia. It was the top selling car in 2013-15, according to Toyota.
For more on the enduring love affair between Australia’s and the Toyota Corolla, read the full story by Guardian Australia’s Tory Shepherd:
Updated
Dutton pledges to ‘mend relationship’ with Israel, flags crackdown on pro-Palestine protesters
Dutton flagged an increase in military spending “at speed and scale” so Australia could “play our part as a credible partner in promoting peace through strength.”
And in the first days of a Coalition government, I will call the prime minister of Israel to mend the relationship that Labor has trashed.
Dutton also appeared to suggest a crackdown against pro-Palestinian protesters, saying that where a person has engaged in inciting or committing violence, citizens will “face the full force of the law” and those in Australia on visas will be deported.
It was not clear what standard would be used to make that assessment.
A Dutton Coalition government will develop national uniform knife laws, toughen bail laws, and introduce tougher penalties to prevent coercive control.
Most importantly, we will provide the moral and political leadership needed to restore law, order and justice.
And that’s about it for Dutton’s speech.
Updated
Dutton blames Albanese for rise in antisemitism
Dutton spent considerable time discussing a series of crimes that he charges the Labor government has allowed to “surge”.
Specifically, Dutton sought to charge Anthony Albanese with overseeing a rise in antisemitism.
Every incident of antisemitism can be traced back to the prime minister’s dereliction of leadership in response to the sordid events on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.
Antisemitism should have been stopped there and then.
This government is so morally confused it treats our ally, Israel, like an adversary.
Moreover, its push for Palestinian statehood at this time would reward Hamas’s use of terrorism to achieve political ends.
Dutton was referring to an incident where it was alleged pro-Palestinian protesters shouted antisemitic slogans on the steps of the Opera House in the days after 7 October 2023. These allegations could not be verified by police, who ultimately found there was “no evidence” this occurred.
Updated
Coalition would audit Indigenous programs and reinstate cashless debit card in remote communities, Dutton says
Touching once again on the subject of the failed voice to parliament referendum, Dutton said his government would “focus on practical action for Indigenous Australians”.
Unpacking this, he said it would begin with “a full audit into spending on Indigenous programs”.
Dutton also pledged to reintroduce the cashless debit card for working-aged people in Indigenous communities “in consultation with communities”.
He also promised a law and order crackdown in “crime-heavy communities” and a royal commission into sexual abuse in Indigenous communities.
Separately, Dutton said AI and automation will become new areas of the economy.
Updated
On healthcare, Dutton accused Labor of restarting the “Mediscare” campaign.
He said the Coalition would aim to grow the GP workforce, providing more incentives for junior doctors to train in general practice and a review of the Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that he says will result in cheaper and new medicines for women.
Dutton also said the Coalition would increase the number of Medicare-subsidised psychological sessions from 10 to 20 “on a permanent basis”.
Updated
Dutton pledges immigration cuts and two-year ban on foreigners purchasing homes
On migration, Dutton accused Labor of having “opened the floodgates” and pledged that the Coalition will impose a two-year ban on foreign investors and temporary residents purchasing existing homes.
Dutton said a Coalition government would also reduce the permanent migration program by 25% for two years, from 185,000 to 140,000 places.
In years three and four, we will return to a sustainable 150,000 and 160,000 places.
He also said the Coalition would seek stronger caps on international students as part of a broader plan to “free up more than 100,000 homes over five years”.
This is part of a $5bn plan to build water, power, sewerage and access roads for 500,000 homes the Coalition wants built.
Another key Coalition proposal will be a plan to allow Australians to draw up to $50,000 of their super to buy their first home.
Updated
On nuclear power, Dutton repeated many of his previous lines on the subject, including:
Nuclear power allows us to maximise the highest yield of energy per square metre and minimise our environmental footprint.
The Coalition’s push to have Australia join the growing league of nuclear-powered nations is one of the most visionary policies put forward in our country’s history.
It’s time to dispense with short-termism and shore up our energy security for generations to come.
The decision to promote nuclear power and to hold the campaign rally in the Labor-held marginal seat of Chisholm is a feature of the Coalition’s efforts to forge a “blue-blue” political coalition between Australian conservatives and working-class voters.
Updated
Dutton pledges to repeal climate and industrial relations reforms
A re-elected Coalition government would “re-energise the economy” by “ripping up as much red and green tape as possible”, Peter Dutton told the Melbourne rally – words that echo US president-elect Donald Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” energy policy that is expected to abandon climate commitments and hand fossil fuel producers free rein.
Dutton emphasised the Coalition’s key policies in the area, including a promise to defund the environmental defenders’ office and a plan to “slash resource approval timeframes in half”.
When more excavators dig, when more trucks move, when more gas flows, there’s more tax revenues and royalties.
The opposition leader also promised to increase the instant asset write-off to $30,000 and make the arrangement ongoing.
On industrial relations, Dutton committed the Coalition to “revert to a simple definition of a casual worker” and to “curtail union militancy in workplaces” that would effectively wind back Labor’s industrial relation reforms.
Dutton also promised that the Coalition will “ramp up” domestic gas production as part of a broader push to pursue a nuclear power industry.
More immediately, we will ramp up domestic gas production to get power prices down and restore stability to our grid.
Over the longer term, we will place the latest zero-emission nuclear technologies on the sites of seven retiring coal-fired power plants.
We will have a balanced energy mix of renewables, gas, and ultimately nuclear to replace coal.
Updated
Taxpayer money ‘must be spent prudently’, Dutton says
Dutton says a future Coalition government will stop “wasteful spending” to spend this money on areas such as defence, health, the NDIS and aged care.
But taxpayer money must be spent prudently – especially in hard times.
He also pointed to the traditional Coalition focus of new infrastructure, resources and agriculture – and Aukus, which he said had the “potential to foster a new arm of our economy”. This appeared to be an oblique reference to nuclear power.
In another rerun of the Coalition classics, Dutton also promised “lower, simpler, fairer taxes” and to protect “Australians’ retirement savings from unfair new taxes” without specifying how or what those new taxes are.
On supermarket prices, Dutton said the Coalition would deter the big grocery chains from “undermining competition and ripping of customers and farmers”.
Updated
Dutton pledges to cut government spending, says rebates and subsidies simply ‘mask’ problems
Over the course of the speech, Dutton repeatedly said he was about to outline the Coalition’s election priorities, but spent more time attacking. Listeners were forced to wait until the bitter end for these details:
We will fight cost-of-living pressures.
We will build a stronger economy.
And we will cut government waste.
Let me by clear: government is living beyond its means. It’s spending what it can’t afford.
Dutton then suggested the Coalition would cut back on government spending – a familiar commitment to austerity economics that previous Coalition governments have endorsed in principle.
I know things like energy bill rebates and student debt subsidies help, but while providing temporary relief, such expenditure doesn’t address the underlying problems – it just masks them.
Updated
Dutton says ‘optimism has turned to pessimism’ under Albanese
Dutton said the Coalition’s time in opposition this last three years has given the Australian people a chance to get to know him – and his set of beliefs.
These include “[preserving] the innocence of childhood and nurture young minds in a responsible way”; “egalitarianism” that involves “judging people by the content of their character”, and in pushing back on identity politics; “individual freedom and the rule of law”; and that “the main sources of enterprise and wealth creation are businesses and industries – not governments”.
Australians are best served by smaller government which gets off their back, supports free enterprise, and rips up regulation.
Dutton went on to claim that “optimism has turned to pessimism” under the leadership of Anthony Albanese and warned against an outcome where “green teals or extreme Greens hold the balance of power” – foreshadowing the kind of rhetoric that Australians will witness during this campaign.
Updated
Dutton claims Coalition acting ‘like a government in opposition’ at Melbourne rally
Peter Dutton continued his speech by retelling his origin story, framing himself as the son of a working-class family, his mum a secretary and his dad a bricklayer, with five children. He says that he worked odd jobs, including a paper route and later at a butcher, that helped him buy his first house at 19.
He then recounted his time as a police officer in Queensland.
Dutton counted among his achievements his efforts that “removed all children from detention” as immigration minister, the resettlement of 4,000 Yazidis, and a “pivotal role in establishing Aukus”.
On the failed voice to parliament referendum, Dutton said the Coalition’s prosecution of the no case “helped defeat our nation’s most divisive referendum”.
With Labor acting like an opposition in government, we’ve acted like a government in opposition – especially in cleaning up their immigration shambles.
Updated
Dutton claims Liberals ‘back in town’ at Melbourne rally
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has told a campaign rally in the Labor-held seat of Chisholm that the Liberal party is “back in town”.
Speaking to supporters at the soft-launch of the Coalition’s 2025 election campaign, Dutton pitched the upcoming contest as a battle between “a weak and incompetent Labor government that has sent our country backwards” and a “new and strong Coalition government” that will “get our country back on track”.
If we win Chisholm, we’re a step closer to winning government.
And if we win government, we can get Victoria and our country moving again.
Updated
Dutton speech expected to argue Australia ‘less safe’
As we wait for news out of the Liberal party’s Melbourne rally, the Nine papers appear to have been dropped an excerpt of Peter Dutton’s speech.
The Nine papers report that the speech, to be delivered in the Labor-held electorate of Chisholm in Victoria, will see Dutton pitch his party as the only solution to “reverse the decline” of Australia.
Dutton will outline the Coalition’s priorities of cost of living, migration reform, nuclear power and housing affordability and is expected to emphasise questions of safety.
He is expected to say:
Our country is less safe. Our society is less cohesive. For so many Australians, aspiration has been replaced by anxiety. Optimism has turned to pessimism. And national confidence changed to dispiritedness.
Updated
Without Scott Morrison to hate on, can teals deal a blow to the Coalition this election?
Intense anti-Scott Morrison sentiment and frustration with Coalition inaction on climate change, integrity and the treatment of women fuelled the teal wave that crashed through Liberal heartland at the 2022 federal election.
Now with Morrison gone, Labor in power and cost of living the most pressing issue in the electorate, the independents confront a very different political landscape.
Byron Fay, the executive director of the Climate 200 fundraising vehicle that backs the campaigns, acknowledges the “headwinds” facing independents in 2025.
But Fay insists there are “tailwinds”, too – a set of factors fuelling optimism that the movement might not only retain but expand its presence in Canberra.
The first, he says, is the track record of the incumbents: the performance of teals Zali Steggall, Allegra Spender, Zoe Daniel, Kylea Tink, Sophie Scamps, Kate Chaney, Monique Ryan and other crossbenchers like Andrew Wilkie, Rebekha Sharkie, Helen Haines and David Pocock.
The second is the ongoing erosion in the major party vote, a decades-long trend now approaching a tipping point that would redefine the political system in Australia.
People are not liking what they’re seeing from the duopoly and as a result the major party vote is in systemic decline.
For more on this story, read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Dan Jervis-Bardy:
Updated
Dutton to make first public appearance of the year at Melbourne campaign rally
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, will launch his unofficial election campaign at a rally in Melbourne at 11am this morning.
The event in Mount Waverley, in the Labor-held seat of Chisholm, is Dutton’s first public appearance of 2025, having been conspicuously absent as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, last week opened the year with a blitz of seats across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
He will use the speech to sharpen what will be his central campaign message; the argument that households cannot afford another three years of a federal Labor government.
Dutton’s decision to launch his unofficial election campaign in Victoria is no accident, with Coalition strategists confident the party can gain ground in the traditionally Labor state.
The Coalition holds just 11 of 39 seats in Victoria.
The Liberals are optimistic about regaining Chisholm, which it lost in 2022, and Aston, which fell to Labor after a 2023 byelection triggered by the retirement of former minister Alan Tudge.
The bayside seat of Goldstein, held by teal independent Zoe Daniel, and McEwen, north of Melbourne, are also in the opposition’s sights.
Updated
Regulator finds ‘inadequate’ safety protocols at NSW aerial firefighting operator
Poor safety practices and an “organisational failure” have plagued the company that runs New South Wales’s firefighting fleet, according to a report from the aviation safety regulator obtained under freedom of information.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the regulator has delivered a scathing assessment of Coulson Aviation after an investigation into the crash of a tanker aircraft during a firefighting campaign in Western Australia in 2023.
According to the report, obtained by the SMH under freedom of information, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) said the company’s review of its own safety provides were “inadequate”, meaning potential hazards were overlooked and “contributing factors that could have led [to] a repeat incident or accident” were ignored.
Coulson Aviation said the company has addressed the issues raised by Casa.
Updated
‘We knew we couldn’t stop everything’: a fire controller looks back on Australia’s black summer
Bernie O’Rourke can vividly recall flying out from Newcastle in September 2019 on one of the first catastrophic fire days of a season now known as black summer.
It was 1.30 in the morning and, as the navy helicopter zigzagged over the bushland between Armidale and Taree, O’Rourke could see up to five fires blazing bright in the darkness. While night fires usually resemble “dots of colour” across a black landscape, this time O’Rourke saw something “very weird”.
“The glow,” he says. “The intensity of the glow.
Ideally at night things cool down, so you can take the opportunity to do some more work with the fire, or build some containment, or try to get the upper hand a little bit.
But this was in forest and vegetation where it was just going. Really big heads of fire, with high flame heights.
O’Rourke is one of an estimated 82,480 black summer responders. Some joined volunteer crews, battling raging fires and clearing fuel loads. Others, like O’Rourke, were support workers and coordinators whose decisions carried potentially life-changing consequences for those on the frontline.
For more on this story, read the full story by Walter Marsh:
Updated
Mother of Australian man killed in LA fires says she had no water to douse flames
The mother of an Australian man killed in the California fires has described how she tried to save her son from the blaze but could not douse the flames consuming his cottage because the water was switched off.
In a post to social media, Dr Shelley Sykes said her son, Rory Sykes, lived in a cottage on their Mount Malibu TV Studio estate when it burned down on Wednesday.
Sykes said she was unable to get her son out of the building before it caught alight.
I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off by @LVMWD Las Virgenes Municipal Water. Even the 50 brave fire fighters had no water all day!
Sykes said her son was born blind with cerebral palsy and had difficulty walking, but underwent surgery to regain his sight and learn to walk.
He overcame so much with surgeries & therapies to regain his sight & to be able to learn to walk. Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica.
Read more on this story below:
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Fears grow over censorship of secret Queen Elizabeth and Philip papers
Researchers fear that thousands of government documents about the late Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, due for release in the next two years, could be censored.
The files are scheduled to be made public in 2026 and 2027, five years after the royal couple’s deaths, and internal discussions have begun in Whitehall about how to process them and what should remain secret.
The papers are likely to include records of the highs and lows of the queen’s 70-year reign, correspondence between the royal household and government departments, and accounts of royal overseas tours, births, marriages, deaths, divorces and other momentous events in the second Elizabethan age.
Most public records considered to be of historical significance are released after 20 years, but there are numerous exemptions for government papers, including for national security reasons, disclosures that might affect international relations, and those involving members of the royal family. Separately, the royal family’s own archives at Windsor are not deemed public records, nor covered by the UK’s Freedom of Information Act.
Papers involving communications with the monarch are kept secret until five years after their death.
For more on this report, read the full story by the Observer’s Richard Palmer:
Updated
Minns says security for Jewish institutions will be upgraded over coming weeks
The premier said that police have already released video of a man wanted for questioning regarding an act of vandalism at the Allawah synagogue, but there has been no information about the person’s identity.
No one would like or tolerate or put up with this kind of vandalism, this racist vandalism on their house, their place of worship, their school, their community.
It shouldn’t be tolerated anywhere on the streets of Sydney. So if you know this individual, if you have any information as to who he is, please report it to New South Wales police or Crime Stoppers or triple zero as soon as possible.
Minns said the police response will continue along with an upgraded security support for Jewish institutions in the coming weeks, saying these events marked a “fraught time” in Sydney’s history.
Updated
Accelerant may have been used in Sydney synagogue attack, Minns says
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, is speaking now, saying the recent events on Saturday amounts to an “escalation in antisemitic crime in New South Wales”. He said police and government “remained very concerned that an accelerant may have been used in Newtown on Saturday morning.”
We are, of course, appalled to see antisemitic crime on the streets of Sydney and New South Wales.
There is never any justification for this kind of racist, antisemitic, targeted attacks on members of our community.
We live in a beautiful, multicultural community, but it rests on the premise that people are free to practise their religion, free from discrimination, violence, hatred and racism, and that is exactly what we’ve seen over the last 48-to-72 hours.
Minns said a “comprehensive criminal investigation” is under way that includes Counter-Terrorism Command, State Crime, “as well as local resources”.
Updated
Webb said the investigation has now been taken over by counter-terrorism command, Strike Force Pearl, that will draw on local and specialist resources “when needed”.
So again, we appeal to anyone out there who knows who has perpetrated these disgusting offences to come forward and tell police who they are.
We will continue pursuing them until we find them.
NSW police seeking two people over incident at Newtown synagogue
New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, says two people are being sought in connection with anti-Jewish graffiti being daubed on synagogues and homes across Sydney.
She says police are seeking a man and a woman, in connection with an incident near a synagogue in Newtown on Saturday where they attempt to set the building ablaze.
Two individuals, a male and a female, yet to be identified, have attended that location and placed those markings and had also used a clear liquid that they tried to ignite and self-extinguish within three minutes.
Webb appealed to the public for information that may help identify those responsible.
This is not just hate, this is malicious and it is damage. And it could go to the death of individuals if that fire had have taken hold. This is a very serious and important matter and it is important that police receive information from the public to identify these people.
Updated
Australian-born Mary marks one year as Queen of Denmark
Tasmanian-born Queen Mary of Denmark will mark a year anniversary since her husband, King Frederik X, succeeded to the throne.
Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the high-stakes royal succession, after chain-smoking octogenarian Queen Margrethe announced a shock abdication after 52 years on the throne.
Mary was described by one royal house watcher, Thomas Larsen, as a “power broker” and “crucial adviser to the king”. Another, Trine Villemann, author of a book on the Danish royal household, described Mary as the “backbone” of her husband’s reign.
She’s King Mary. She’s the power behind the throne. Nothing gets done at Amalienborg Palace without Mary (or her staff’s input).
Here we have this girl from Tasmania, a completely ordinary normal girl who has not been afraid to seize power. It’s a really successful feminist story.
Villemann said Mary’s 19-year-old son, Crown Prince Christian, appears more comfortable with his future role as king than his father had at the same age.
Mary always made sure that Christian saw and learned from what his parents were doing, which means today we have this very self-assured, confident crown prince.
– AAP
Updated
Second Sydney synagogue defaced with graffiti
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, and police commissioner, Karen Webb, will hold a press conference over a spate of anti-Jewish graffiti in Sydney over the last two days.
A second Sydney synagogue in as many days was vandalised with swastikas on Saturday. The Newtown synagogue in Sydney’s inner-west was the latest targeted, with red swastikas spray-painted across its front wall.
Police are also investigating a separate incident which involved offensive comments written on a poster in Marrickville. The vandalism came hours after similar graffiti was spray-painted on a house in Queens Park in Sydney’s east.
Minns denounced the antisemitic attacks and urged any witnesses to come forward. He also announced the extension of a one-off grant of $340,000 towards enhanced temporary security measures for the NSW Jewish community.
These people are determined to divide our community in two. We will always call out these acts for what they are – monstrous and appalling.
Swastikas were found scrawled across the Southern Sydney synagogue in Allawah on Friday morning. The place of worship is in the Kogarah electorate of the NSW premier, who said the act was committed by people “with hate in their hearts”.
– AAP
Updated
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
Peter Dutton will hold a campaign-style rally today to kick off the Coalition’s push towards the next federal election. The opposition leader will hold the event in the marginal Melbourne seat of Chisholm, where he is expected to focus his speech on crime and cost of living.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, and police commissioner, Karen Webb, will hold a press conference over a spate of anti-Jewish graffiti in Sydney over the last two days. Police began the investigation after the walls of two synagogues and a home were defaced.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
Updated
