What we learned: Sunday, 2 March
And, that’s a wrap of our live news blog, this first Sunday of Autumn. Here’s what’s been keeping us busy today:
The SES has warned the New South Wales Northern Rivers region and mid-north coast should be on alert for Tropical Cyclone Alfred, while the Queensland premier says it could hit a “broad area” of that state. The Bureau of Meteorology warned of flooding and coastal inundation.
The Coalition has pledged $3bn for fighter jets to combat ADF “readiness crisis” – a move that was criticised by some.
Fatima Payman has announced an ex-Greens candidate as her party’s first election hopeful.
There were high spirits after Sydney’s Mardi Gras, which called for greater protection of trans kids.
A navy ship is bound for the Coral Sea after a Lithuanian man rowing from San Diego to Brisbane got into trouble.
Mark Butler said the Labor government’s urgent care clinics program – of which an expansion was announced overnight – was on the Coalition’s “chopping block”.
The PM called Zelenskyy a “hero” and vowed to give Ukraine Australia’s “unconditional” support.
As ever, thank you for your company – we’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning.
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SES warns NSW Northern Rivers region and mid-north coast should be on alert for Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The SES has also warned the NSW Northern Rivers region and mid-north coast to be on alert for updates on Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
The region has been told there could be damaging winds, large surf, heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
The SES said in a statement that major riverine flooding and flash flooding were possible along the Northern Rivers and mid-north coast from Wednesday through at least the weekend.
NSW SES assistant commissioner Dean Storey said now was the time for residents to prepare.
The impacts of the cyclone may be felt from Tuesday with damaging winds, large powerful surf, coastal erosion, followed by intense and heavy rainfall from Wednesday onwards.
The SES said:
If major flooding occurs, people may be asked to evacuate their homes. We are asking the community to take steps now to ensure that if you are asked to evacuate, you have a plan for yourselves, your families and your pets and know where you will go.
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Queensland premier warns Tropical Cyclone Alfred could hit ‘broad area’ of state
Crisafulli said campers had been told to leave K’gari as the state braces for the cyclone to hit a ‘broad area’ when it turns towards Queensland’s coast on Tuesday.
As mentioned in an earlier post, the bureau has warned people from Bundaberg down to the Gold Coast – where more than four million people live – that there would be significant winds, coastal inundation, intense rainfall and flooding. Waves at some beaches in Wide Bay had already hit 14 metres.
Speaking about people who are located on the Island’s off the coast of Queensland, Crisafulli said:
We will give the information to people in an honest and open and timely way, and then people need to make that decision when to leave an island, but if there will come a point where that option is removed for the individual and services, for example, won’t be there. So [we’re] just asking people to take the preparations and whatever their decision, just be prepared for that. [We] will support them whether they choose to go or whether they choose to stay.
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BoM warns of flooding and coastal inundation from Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The Bureau of Meterology says Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to turn west towards the south-east Queensland coast on Tuesday.
A spokesperson warned people located in Bundaberg down to the Gold Coast that there would be significant winds, coastal inundation, intense rainfall and flooding. They said:
I urge the community to stay up to date by the Bureau’s webpage, the Bureau’s app and also emergency services messaging.
Crisafulli said the government was making preparations to mitigate risks:
I’ve engaged with some of the telecommunication providers and asked them to do everything they can to make sure that there is bandwidth capacity, [so people] are to be able to get our messages as quickly as they humanly can get out. We will work with the councils as well as state wide messaging to make sure that messages are up-to-date [and] accurate and by working with those telco providers.
Many of those telecommunications [are] reliant on backup generators, so we have also spoken … [to] telcos [and] are making sure that they have backed up power sources if we were to lose power
The Queensland Fire Department is in the process of redeploying some assets and making sure that we have the best and brightest ready to respond.
We’ve begun communication with some of the hospitals … about a plan for their residents.
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Waves in parts of south-east Queensland hit 14 metres
Crisafulli said the waves in some parts of south-east Queensland had already hit 14 metres:
To put into perspective what we’ve seen already, some of the waves of the Wide Bay have reached in the order of 14 metres in the early hours of this morning, some of the monitoring of the system has not been in place for a long time but that is certainly amongst the highest recorded figure on some of those gauges.
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Queensland premier David Crisafulli is speaking now about Tropical Cyclone Alfred, now a Category 2 cyclone and which is expected to hit the state this week.
Crisafulli said:
A flood watch has been put in place for areas from the Murray River right through to the border… That is a large part of the Queensland coastline but it shows the volatility of the system.
[A] Tropical Cyclone warning is not in place at this stage but it is expected that that will occur within the days ahead.
Defence expert criticises Coalition’s $3bn pledge to buy more fighter jets, saying ‘there are higher priorities’
The federal Coalition says it would spend $3bn for 28 fighter jets to add a fourth squadron to the country’s F-35 fleet – but it won’t reveal where the money is coming from.
The election pledge means Australia would end up with 100 of the F-35s if the Coalition wins the upcoming poll.
The opposition home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, wouldn’t reveal on Sunday whether the $3bn would be additional money or redirected from elsewhere in the Defence budget.
More on this story here:
New Spirit of Tasmania ferry to leave Scotland after govt U-turn
A new Spirit of Tasmania ferry is set to leave Scotland bound for the Apple Isle after lease talks spectacularly fell through.
The first of two $900m Spirit of Tasmania replacement vessels has been docked in the Scottish town of Leith since early December as a required port in Devonport in the state’s north-west hasn’t been built.
Its operator TT-Line in late January said it had entered “commercial negotiations” after receiving an offer to lease the ship.
In a stunning U-turn, the Tasmanian government announced it had instructed TT-Line to immediately cease negotiations and begin planning to relocate Spirit IV to Tasmania.
“TT-Line has been engaging with a broker in good faith,” the transport minister, Eric Abetz, said in a statement on Sunday.
“However, it has become evident that an agreement will not be reached.”
It followed the Scottish government shooting down speculation it could lease the Spirit of Tasmania ferry to house Ukrainian refugees.
Tasmania’s government has been paying more than $47,000 a week plus “ancillary services” for a minimum 30-day berth after the ferry left its construction yard in Finland.
– AAP
Updated
Greens announce new candidate for Calwell after previous defects to Fatima Payman’s new party
The Greens party – whose leader Adam Bandt and senator Mehreen Faruqi marched in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras last night – has announced its candidate for Calwell will step aside. Ravneet Garcha has put herself forward as the new Greens candidate for the outer Melbourne electorate.
In a statement, the Greens said Garcha was a young woman of Indian heritage and a trained nurse, “whose family has experienced the injustice of Australia’s immigration system first-hand”.
Garcha said that “for too long” Calwell had been taken for granted.
I want to be a strong independent voice fighting for renters, getting dental into Medicare, and Palestine. Together we can turn Calwell Green, keep Peter Dutton out and get Labor to act.
Outgoing Mohamed El Masri, who quit to join Fatima Payman’s new Australia’s Voice party (read more below), thanked the Greens for the opportunity to represent his community.
Preselection is expected to be finalised by early next week.
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PM says government has ‘absolute confidence’ in ADF after Chinese warships spark national security concern
We’ll circle back to Anthony Albanese’s press conference a short time ago, where the PM was asked about the Chinese warships that have raised eyebrows about national security and communications around international military exercises this week.
We receive intelligence briefings, and we also have absolute confidence in our Australian Defence Force … we monitor these things.
And there have been, of course, Australian or New Zealand cooperating appropriately. I’ve had direct discussions with prime minister Luxon of New Zealand about this. We’re cooperating to make sure that throughout the journey that these Chinese ships have taken, they have been monitored by Australian or New Zealand vessels, frigates, in the latest case, HMAS Stuart … or as well, by surveillance aircraft. So that has been occurring.
I have seen some of the criticism of Scott Morrison, for example … The Liberal party must think people are goldfish here, in 2019 on Scott Morrison’s watch, there were Chinese warships, not around the coast, in Sydney harbour, pulled up to Garden Island.
He said that Chinese ships off Western Australia in 2022 were not monitored by the Coalition government, which leased the Port of Darwin – “our most important northern port” – to a company that had direct links with China’s government.
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BoM warns of strong winds and 'abnormally' high tides from Tropical Cyclone Alfred
The Bureau of Meteorology has published its latest tropical cyclone bulletin.
It said Tropical Cyclone Alfred, now a Category 2 cyclone, was a short time ago about 515km east of Rockhampton and 370km east northeast of Bundaberg.
Tropical Cyclone Alfred has been moving southwards while weakening during yesterday and overnight. Tonight it is forecast to turn southeast and move further away from the Queensland coast while weakening a little further.
Alfred is then expected to slow down and is likely to turn westward from Tuesday, moving back towards the southern Queensland coast.
The bureau warned that strong to gale-force winds may occur in K’gari today and that severe coastal hazards were expected in southern Queensland and northeast New South Wales.
Large and powerful to potentially damaging easterly swell as well as abnormally high tides were developing about exposed southern Queensland beaches, and are forecast to extend to northern New South Wales from Monday.
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PM to celebrate his birthday today with governor general visit
It’s the PM’s birthday – and what better way to celebrate, he asked reporters, than to speak about Labor’s urgent care clinics.
Health policy-related press conferences aside, Anthony Albanese would not be drawn on whether he may approach the governor general this afternoon to launch an official election campaign.
He said:
I am going to Canberra this afternoon. Keep your eye on that white car with the little flag on the front. If I dropped by the governor general’s this afternoon, it would be for maybe a birthday cake or something like that.
I’m not sure if the governor general’s aware it’s my birthday today, I am planning to have dinner at the lodge, a quiet dinner with Jodie and Nathan.
I was elected on my birthday, so it’s the anniversary of that as well … but we’re continuing to govern.
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PM calls Zelenskyy a ‘hero’ and vows to give Ukraine ‘unconditional’ support
Anthony Albanese says that even if the US withdraws its support from Ukraine, Australia will give its “unequivocal and unconditional support” to the “brave struggle of the people of Ukraine”.
He said:
Ukraine is defending its national sovereignty, but it’s also defending the international rule of law, and that is why Australia has a national interest in providing support. We’ve already provided $1.5bn of support, of which $1.3bn has been military and defence support.
Albanese said: “I agree that President Zelenskyy is a hero.”
He has provided leadership at an extraordinarily difficult time. Russia is a very large country which borders Ukraine, they have a substantially larger military and capacity. And at the time of the illegal and immoral Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were many people writing at the time that this was a conflict that would last days or weeks, maybe a month. But there weren’t many suggesting that more than three years later now the Ukrainian people are continuing to defend their sovereignty and their nation.
They have shown great bravery, and President Zelenskyy has shown leadership.
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Medicare ‘on the chopping block’ at election, says health minister
Mark Butler says the Labor government’s urgent care clinics program is on the Coalition’s “chopping block”.
Speaking at a press conference in western Sydney, the health minister said a short time ago:
When we launched this program, the Liberal Party described our urgent care clinics as a disaster and as the wrong fit for Australia. And since then, Angus Taylor repeatedly has described our investment in urgent care clinics as wasteful spending, and indicated very clearly it would be on the chopping block in the event of a Liberal government.
And frankly, we should expect nothing different from an alternative government led by a man who has shown right throughout his career that he favours an American-style user pay system for our healthcare system. Well, that’s not our approach.
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PM calls Labor’s commitment to Medicare a “stark contrast to our opponents”
Anthony Albanese is spruiking Labor’s urgent care clinics in western Sydney this morning.
The moment is very much skewed towards the upcoming elections.
At a press conference, the prime minister said Labor’s commitment to Medicare was a “stark contrast to our opponents”.
They’re led by someone who, when he was the health minister, ripped $50bn out of the health and hospital system, someone who wanted to abolish bulk billing by introducing a GP tax every time people visited a doctor, someone who wanted to introduce a tax every time people visited an emergency department, and a tax on pharmaceuticals. The contrast can’t be clearer.
And if you have a $600bn nuclear power commitment in the 2040s that is going to be built and funded by taxpayers, then you have to find that money somewhere …
Who do you trust to look after your health care and that of your family? Only Labor can be trusted to do that.
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Low rainfall in the Adelaide Hills has left thousands on the brink
As parts of Australia remain on high cyclone alert, others are struggling with drought. Guardian Australia’s Tory Shepherd explores South Australia’s drinking water crisis:
Across the Adelaide Hills and other parts of SA, thousands of residents are running out of water – or have already run out – as drought conditions bite.
“They can’t drink water. They can’t flush the toilet. They can’t wash their hands, their linen,” Adelaide Hills resident Robyn Saunders says.
Those who are not on mains water and rely on dams and tanks are having to wait weeks for water deliveries. One of about a dozen water carters servicing the hills says they have 500 people waiting.
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Lithuanian rower sets off emergency beacon in Coral Sea
A navy ship is bound for the Coral Sea after a Lithuanian man rowing from San Diego to Brisbane got into trouble.
Aurimas Mockus activated his emergency beacon on Friday night about 740km east of Mackay, Queensland, and 90km west of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, AAP reports.
Mockus, who is travelling alone, was battling winds of 80km/h and heavy seas when he called for help, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.
A Cairns-based Challenger jet didn’t spot the vessel on Saturday but managed to make contact with Mockus, who said he was tired.
An aircraft was sent from air force Base Edinburgh near Adelaide and another will be dispatched on Sunday to maintain communications.
HMAS Choules, a 16,000-tonne navy landing ship, is en route from Brisbane into the Coral Sea to assist.
“Further information on the condition of the rower and his boat will be sought from him today,” an AMSA spokesperson said.
Updated
Thanks, Jordyn Beazley. I’ll be taking the reins of our live news blog for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. Good to be joining you, readers.
Updated
Following from our last post …
While Andrew Hastie backed in the Coalition’s support for Ukraine, he told Sky News it was important for Australia to be a “heavy lifter” and not a “free rider” on the US.
Hastie pointed to Australia’s reserves of critical minerals and the Aukus alliance as evidence of an advantage in the relationship but said more investment in defence was needed.
We have a strong hand when it comes to rare earths. And we also have a strong hand with our alliance with [the] United States, with the strategic depth that we provided for many years now.
But the signal is very clear from the Trump White House, don’t be a free rider, be a heavy lifter. Invest in your own security, invest in the defence force, and that’s what we’re doing today by announcing the fourth squadron of F-35s.
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Coalition pledges $3bn for fighter jets to combat ADF ‘readiness crisis’
The opposition will commit $3bn to acquire 28 fighter jets after controversy over a flotilla of travelling Chinese warships in the Tasman.
Peter Dutton and the shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie said the $3bn would add a fourth squadron of F-35A jets to increase air combat capacity and bring the total number of that aircraft to 100.
Hastie told Sky News this morning the Coalition would “rebuild” the ADF, but he wouldn’t say where the money would come from.
Under Labor, our defence force has been driven into the ground. Morale is at an all-time low, we have a recruiting crisis, we have a retention crisis, we have a readiness crisis … And given today’s dangerous strategic circumstances, we are investing in it.
Hastie was also asked on Sky about the tense meeting between Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy:
President Zelenskyy is fighting for his country … I’m not going to comment on an exchange between president Trump and president Zelenskyy, of course we support Ukraine. Of course, we have supported them, with military and material aid over the years.
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High spirits after Sydney’s Mardi Gras, which called for greater protection of trans kids
The confetti and glitter have settled on another Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras after tens of thousands of revellers partied with a clear message of support for transgender members of the community.
The clean-up has begun after 11,000 people marched, danced and celebrated the 47th Mardi Gras Parade, displaying Australia’s rich and diverse queer culture.
Those with stamina were sitting on crates early on Sunday morning nursing headaches, half-finished cans of beer and puffing on cigarettes as council workers swept streets and dragged massive rubbish bags.
Groups representing rainbow families, transgender people, queer people with disability, people with Tourette’s and others with a deep love for deafening motorcycles were among more than 180 distinct communities and corporations adding to the colour of Saturday night.
Political leaders including prime minister Anthony Albanese, Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore and federal independents Allegra Spender, Zali Steggall and Senator Lidia Thorpe were among those to march along the 1.3km route through Darlinghurst.
Underscoring the parade’s return to its progressive political roots, hundreds in the parade adopted a second unofficial theme to “Free to Be”, holding signs demanding the community “Protect trans kids”.
– AAP
Updated
Paterson declines to commit to secretary of home affairs if Coalition elected
Paterson has declined to express confidence in the secretary of home affairs amid concerns about “the way the Department of Home Affairs has conducted itself on several issues”.
He pointed to Senate estimates revealing that Tony Burke, the minister for home affairs, held “industrial scale election eve express citizenship ceremonies”.
Paterson said that Burke had arranged 25 citizenship ceremonies “according to his personal availability, even though it’s not necessary for him to be there to officiate these ceremonies”.
He said:
21 of them were held in Labor seats, and Tony Burke ensured that the Labor MPs were invited to this day, but liberal MPs weren’t. So I think this has been a real problem. I think the department could have and should have pushed back more on that.
Asked if the Coalition would stick with the current secretary of home affairs, Stephanie Foster, if elected, he said:
It is not appropriate for me to canvass that publicly prior to the election, as you know, it’s not the role the minister to choose the secretary of the department, it’s a role [for] the prime minister to do that, and we’ll make those decisions if and when we win the election, not before.
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New Joint Strike Fighters ‘absolutely critical’ to Australia’s national security, says Paterson
Parterson has spoken about the Coalition’s announcement today that if elected, it would commit $3b to obtaining an additional 28 Joint Strike Fighters for Australia’s military arsenal, bringing the total number to 100.
“Why do we need 100 F-35s,” Insiders host David Spears asked.
Paterson responded:
As far back as the defence white paper in 2009, David, it was articulated that fifth generation strike fighters were going to be absolutely critical to Australia’s national security and our defence, and that we would need 100 of them. And it was the Bipartisan Policy of both parties for a decade that we should acquire 100 of the Joint Strike Fighters.
This is a down payment on our commitment for increased and faster defence spending given the deteriorating security.
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If China ‘took lessons’ out of US not supporting Ukraine it would be a ‘disaster’ for Indo-Pacific, says Paterson
Paterson has told Insiders he has been assured that the US will not retreat from the Pacific amid warnings it must continue to support Ukraine so that China does not “take lessons out of that for our own region”.
He said:
We wouldn’t want China to misinterpret what is happening in Europe … we want the Americans to continue to support Ukraine, because it is possible that China would take lessons out of that for our own region, including, obviously, in relation to Taiwan, that would be a disaster.
But, he said, “it would be a mistake” for China to believe that the US views the Indo-Pacific the same way it views Europe. He said he travelled to the US three times in the lead up to the US presidential election and the Democrats and Republicans assured him there was no plan to retreat from the region.
There is no retreat for America from the Pacific, and we shouldn’t expect to see that on this administration.
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Australia should ‘double down’ on Aukus deal and intelligence sharing with US, says Paterson
Asked if Australia should reconsider the Aukus deal with the US or intelligence sharing with the Trump administration, Paterson said “not for a minute”.
“In fact, I think we should double down on those,” he added.
Paterson also backed the continuation of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
I think Australia’s military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine has been very important, and it should continue, and we should continue to examine what else we can do in that department.
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Lasting peace in Ukraine ‘very hard’ to see without the US, says Paterson
Liberal senator James Paterson is on ABC’s Insiders now, speaking about the bust-up between the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the US president, Donald Trump.
Paterson said was hard to see how peace could be durable without an American security guarantee.
He said:
It’s very hard to see how peace can be durable if there isn’t American leadership, if there isn’t an American security guarantee, and it does seem to be something that is part of the negotiations between Zelenskyy and Trump, and we’re all hopeful that that is able to be achieved.
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Second NSW prison to return to public ownership
A private NSW prison will soon return to public hands as Labor moves to reverse the privatisation of correctional facilities.
The state government announced this morning that Parklea correctional centre, Sydney’s second-largest remand centre, will be the second prison to return to public hands.
It comes after it was announced in 2023 that Junee correctional centre would return to public hands, with the 16-month transition under way and to be completed in April.
Parklea correctional centre has been operated by Management & Training Corporation Australia (previously MTC Broadspectrum) since 2018, with its existing contract expiring in March 2026.
MTC’s contract will be extended to October 2026 as part of the transition.
Premier Chris Minns said:
We began bringing Junee Correctional Centre back into public hands in 2023, and today, we take the first step in making Parklea public again.
Frontline staff who work at Parklea Correctional Centre today will have a job at Parklea – regardless of the changes.
This is a win for hundreds of essential workers in Western Sydney as we rebuild essential services for NSW.
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Queensland watching Cyclone Alfred as it heads south, with possible turn to the coast this week
Communities along Queensland’s battered south coast will closely watch the Bureau of Meteorology’s updates on Sunday as severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred continues its meandering and circuitous journey south.
Warnings for gale force and strong winds and hazardous surf are in place on Sunday from Rockhampton down to the Gold Coast.
Queensland’s parks department closed camping on K’gari island and at sites on the neighbouring coast on Friday and encouraged campers to pack up and leave.
By Sunday morning, the bureau expected the cyclone to be about 350km north-east of Bundaberg as a category three system.
Alfred was expected to continue moving slowly south, perpendicular to the coast, through Sunday when it could weaken to a category two system.
The bureau’s MetEye system showed the cyclone could keep heading in the same direction at the same intensity until about Tuesday or Wednesday, when a sharp turn towards the Queensland coast was being predicted.
The bureau warned that the further out the predictions were, the less accurate they were. It said the best advice was to keep up-to-date with warnings and the expected tracks of the cyclone over the coming days.
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Labor announces freeze on draught beer excise
The government is freezing indexation on the draught beer excise for two years, in a move the PM has called a “win-win” for beer drinkers and brewers.
Pouring a cold one is a solid tax earner, and is estimated to raise more than $2.6bn this financial year. The excise increase happens twice a year, with the latest increase taking effect at the beginning of February.
Anthony Albanese last week announced tax changes for distillers, brewers and wine producers during a visit to Tasmania.
The changes increase the remission cap for any excise paid from up to $350,000 to $400,000 a year.
Albanese says the latest measure will help small to medium-sized producers “thrive”.
“Freezing the excise on draught beer is a common sense measure that is good for beer drinkers, good for brewers and good for pubs.”
Updated
Magnitude 4.4 quake rattles Queensland coast
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake has shaken north-eastern Queensland’s coast, seismologists say.
Geoscience Australia said the quake struck at 9.31pm on Saturday near Townsville at a depth of about 10km.
Geoscience Australia seismologist Phil Cummins said:
A lot of people felt this earthquake.
It was relatively shallow.
He said there were reports of the quake being felt 300km north of Townsville and 300km south of the city along the Queensland coast.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no tsunami risk to the Australian mainland or surrounding islands or territories from the earthquake.
– APP
Updated
Fatima Payman announces ex-Green as first election candidate
The former Labor senator, Fatima Payman, has unveiled the first candidate for her new political party Australia’s Voice ahead of the federal election.
Mohamed El-Masri will lead the party’s senate ticket in Victoria after quitting the Greens to join Payman’s outfit.
The Muslim community worker was the Greens’ candidate for the seat of Calwell in Melbourne’s outer north before he jumped ship.
El-Masri said:
I’m humbled and honoured to be selected as first on the Australia’s Voice Senate ticket.
I leave the Greens with deep appreciation for their work, but joining Australia’s Voice gives me an even greater opportunity to serve the people of Victoria and focus on the issues that matter most like tackling cost-of-living, fixing the housing crisis, and standing up for human rights.”
Australia’s Voice, which Payman launched after quitting Labor in protest over its refusal to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood, is planning to run Senate candidates in all mainland states.
Payman ignited a media storm last week after telling Iranian state-owned news outlet PressTV that Iran was an “incredible place” for women.
The United Nations has found the Iranian government’s repression of women is “intensifying” two years after the death of Mahasa Amini sparked mass protests.
Payman has since apologised for the comments, which she acknowledged “did not reflect the realities of women who have suffered violence, brutality, and severe human rights violations”.
Speaking about El-Masri’s candidacy, Payman – whose senate term runs until 2028 – said the “major party mafia have controlled the lives of Australians for too long”.
This is a huge first step for Australia’s Voice and for everyday Australians as we fight to build a stronger, fairer Australia for everyone.
Updated
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog.
As voters wait for the federal election to be called, the former Labor senator, Fatima Payman, has unveiled the first candidate for her new political party, Australia’s Voice.
And a magnitude 4.4 earthquake has been felt off the north Queensland coast as authorities monitor Tropical Cyclone Alfred on its slow journey towards the mainland.
I’m Jordyn Beazley, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling news coverage today. If you have any questions, tips or feedback, you can get in touch via email: jordyn.beazley@theguardian.com.
Happy Sunday!
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