What we learned today, Thursday 30 January
Thanks for joining us on the blog today, here’s a wrap of what’s been keeping us busy:
News of a caravan found 10 days ago laden with explosives at a residential property in Dural, Sydney has been unfolding, with Anthony Albanese labelling it an act of terrorism and confirming the National Security Committee has met over the incident.
Asio has stated it’s investigating multiple antisemitic incidents, but doesn’t believe Australia’s threat level should be raised from “probable” as yet.
Separately, overnight, a school in Maroubra, Sydney was also targeted in an antisemitic attack.
Fire Rescue Victoria crews responded to a factory fire in Cheltenham this morning, where it was reported that lithium-ion batteries had caught alight. The Environment Protection Agency Victoria was also called to the scene.
And the assistant treasurer Stephen Jones is retiring at the next election, making the announcement this morning, after 15 years in parliament.
We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.
Updated
Man charged after allegedly stalking young girls in Sydney
A man has been charged after he allegedly stalked a group of four 12-year-old girls in Bondi in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Police were told the man allegedly followed the young girls through a shopping centre, before the girls ran away on Friday 24 January.
Police allege at 6pm that day the man also blocked the girls from walking across a pedestrian crossing with a vehicle at North Bondi, before allegedly yelling at the girls and driving away.
Police were also told the girls allegedly saw the man watching them at Bondi beach the following Monday 27 January.
The girls left the scene after the man allegedly entered the water and began to swim towards the group.
After receiving the report on Monday, police say they immediately commenced an investigation into the incident and arrested a 62-year-old man today.
The man was taken to Waverley police station where he was charged with four counts of stalk/intimidate intending fear or physical harm. He was refused bail to appear before Waverley local court today.
Updated
NSW psychiatry patients moved to private facilities
NSW public psychiatry patients have started to be moved into private hospitals today as a result of the mass resignation of the state’s psychiatrists.
Guardian Australia earlier this month revealed the NSW government was considering moving public patients to private settings, despite concerns from psychiatrists that private hospitals were not appropriate settings for high-risk patients and not legally able to take involuntary patients.
The NSW Health secretary, Susan Pearce, said at a press conference held today: “I am advised some patients from western Sydney hospitals were moving into some of those private beds today.”
Pearce said patients were being moved “where appropriate” with the decision made by clinicians – not management. Involuntary orders were lifted “all the time” and there was no suggestion a patient’s care plan would be amended for the purpose of transferring them, she said.
Pearce said while there were no provisions “yet” in place yet for private hospitals in NSW to be able to admit involuntary patients, discussions have been had with private hospital providers about the possibility which occurs in other states.
The state’s chief psychiatrist, Murray Wright, said patients who are admitted to the hospital in a crisis under the status of an involuntary patient but then stabilise so that the order can be lifted is a principle of least restrictive care under which the Mental Health Act operates.
We are exploring the opportunity with some private providers to have facilities declared – as they have been done in other states – so that we can widen the range of individuals who might get appropriate care in a public facility. I personally think that’s a useful development so private and public sectors can work better together in the longer term.
You can read further details here:
Updated
Karen Webb has clarified there was “no detonator” in the caravan with the explosives when it was seized by police.
She says:
There was no immediate threat to the community, but certainly we’re relieved to have it off the streets and it’s in our custody.
Asked about what impact the investigation being made public by the media has, she says police have had to “rethink” their strategy.
Certainly I’m concerned about where a leak might have come from, those people that have had access to this material. And it’s, it’s not just NSW, it’s much broader than that, and that will, you know, hopefully be revealed in time.
… It’s started with someone with access to the information, who’s leaked it to the media, and the media [are] simply doing their job. They’ve got a job to do, and I understand that.
Webb says police have made more than 10 arrests and “there will be more arrests”.
She says she intends to call an urgent meeting with Jewish leaders, to “work through a strategy moving forward to make sure we’ve got the right resources at the right time so people do feel safe”.
Updated
Owner of caravan found with explosives is in police custody, commissioner confirms
The NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, is speaking to ABC Sydney, and has confirmed the man who owned the caravan found with explosives is in police custody on “matters unrelated”.
Webb says police are exploring all theories on how the explosives, which are generally used in certain areas of mining, were found in that van.
We need to explore all possibilities how it might have been taken from a legitimate purpose into the hands of these people. So much more work to be done in that area yet. And we don’t know whether it’s been taken from a mine in New South Wales or some other jurisdiction.
Updated
‘Horrific images’ from US plane crash, shadow foreign minister says
David Coleman, who has recently replaced Simon Birmingham as the shadow foreign minister, told ABC TV his “heart goes out” to those involved in the plane crash in Washington DC.
No doubt our consular officials in the United States will be seeking advice on were there any Australians have been involved in this.
Patricia Karvelas then moves to the recent antisemitism attacks and Coleman says the government hasn’t been doing enough to stop them.
I think it is self-evident that there has been a lack of national leadership on this issue. This is not a day-to-day crime that can be dealt with in the usual way just by the local police. This is a form of terror.
Updated
Australian shares hit high as interest rate cut hopes grow
The local share market has hit a new intraday record before moderating its gains to come within a whisper of its best-ever finish, amid the growing near certainty that the Reserve Bank will cut rates, AAP reports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday finished up 46.7 points, or 0.55%, to 8,493.7, just 1.5 points from its best-ever finish set on 3 December.
The index climbed as high as 8,515.7 in early afternoon trading, beating by 1.2 points its previous intraday high, also set on 3 December.
The Australian dollar was buying 62.22 US cents, from 62.44 US cents at close of business yesterday.
Updated
‘We don’t take anything we hear off the Putin regime at face value,’ PM says
Looping back to Anthony Albanese’s appearance in Melbourne, where the prime minister answered questions about Oscar Jenkins.
The Australian has been found alive and is being held as a Russian prisoner of war after fears he had died after joining Ukrainian forces.
The prime minister said:
We continue to request the Russian authorities to provide more information. They have provided information at this point, but we don’t take anything we hear off the Putin regime at face value. So we have made it very clear that we think Mr Jenkins should be released.
We don’t think that he should suffer from ongoing incarceration and will continue to make representation but we will also continue to work with Ukraine as well on ascertaining further information. What we want is for Mr Jenkins to be able to return home.
Speaking directly to Jenkins’ family, the PM said:
My heart goes out to you. This is a really difficult time for you and the fact that some information has been made available will be a difficult time. We stand with you and we continue to offer every assistance that we can to these families.
Updated
Jones says departure from Labor party ‘absolutely not’ due to lack of confidence in leadership
This morning the Labor minister Stephen Jones announced he is quitting politics at the next election.
He’s also on the ABC, and is asked about the sudden move, saying he “wants to move on to the next phase” of his life.
Asked whether his decision, which follows several other retirements from the Albanese frontbench, shows a lack of confidence in Albanese’s leadership, he says:
Absolutely not. I’m confident the prime minister will lead Labor to victory later this year. If you look at the ministers who have stepped down, all of them, how can I put this as kindly as possible, we are not in the first semester of our lives.
Jones has been an advocate for transgender people during his career in politics, and is asked about whether he’s concerned about a growing backlash to the trans community:
I worry the pathway to government and the obsession of some in this place, not the majority, not all, but some, seems to be around culture war issues which are not central to everyday Australians’ needs and concerns.
Updated
Labor MP urges unity ‘against hatred’ as antisemitic incidents escalate
The Labor minister Anne Aly is also on Afternoon Briefing, and is asked about the escalation of antisemitic incidents across Australia.
Aly points to certain hate groups such as “white supremacist groups” being more coordinated than they have in the past, but says there’s no evidence she knows of that they’ve been involved in recent attacks.
She also says the fear expressed to her by her local community is “palpable”:
We need to be on a unity ticket, every single Australian, every single leader, regardless of your political stripes, needs to be coming out and unequivocally condemning these acts.
She’s also asked about whether politicians have been politicising the issue:
It is no secret that I absolutely abhor the politics of division and when I see it playing out in this way, it really does make me quite upset because we need to, all of us, be united against hatred.
Updated
‘People have a right to know’ about antisemitic investigations, shadow minister says
Patricia Karvelas has spoken to the Labor MP Josh Burns and Liberal MP Julian Leeser who are both Jewish.
Burns said he understands people want to know information “as quickly as possible” while police officers need to conduct their work as “thoroughly as possible”.
He said while greater support and security for Jewish communities was being rolled out, more needs to be done.
Clearly more needs to be done and the security situation of our Jewish community but more broadly our Australian community is one where we cannot stop and rest on it.
Leeser, who is also shadow assistant foreign minister, says “people have a right to know” about police operations.
I represent the area with a caravan was found in northern Sydney. To ensure the local community is safe I think people have a right to know, but the judgment as to the timeliness of that is an operational matter for police.
Updated
NSW premier supports police decision to delay going public with Dural caravan investigation
Chris Minns has spoken to ABC radio Sydney on the investigation after a van was found in Sydney carrying explosives.
Minns confirmed the individual who is the registered owner of the van was in police custody.
He said he supported the decision of the police to delay going public with the investigation, before the media published it.
He said “inquiries are ongoing” and that “a massive police operation has taken place” to keep the community safe.
In addition to all the police resources, we’re looking at aggravating factors at sentencing. We’re also looking at new laws to punish those who are responsible for these horrific acts.
Updated
Daily Telegraph crime editor responds to criticism from police commissioner
The Daily Telegraph crime editor, Mark Morri, has responded to accusations from the NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, that the media compromised an investigation into an antisemitic terror plot.
Morri told Sky News the Daily Telegraph “would never compromise an investigation” and the criticism from Webb was “unfair”.
They [the police] knew it was never going to be kept secret forever, because they were knocking on doors and issuing search warrants in the Dural area …
We didn’t just go bang, this is here, we’re going to put this on the internet or put this in the paper and publish it without going to police and saying ‘are we going to cause any problems here?’”
Morri said the newspaper went to the police early yesterday with the story, and would have delayed publishing if they had been asked.
He also said police had asked the newspaper to withhold parts of the story, which he said they did.
[Webb] could have picked up the phone at any time, the premier could have picked up the phone, the prime minister could have picked up the phone and rang the editor of the Daily Telegraph and said ‘can you please hold off, this is a matter of national security’ and there’s no way we would run that.
Updated
Six arrested in South Australia over alleged attempted murder
South Australian police have arrested six people for an alleged murder on 16 December last year.
The incident involved an 18-year-old who was allegedly shot through their window at a home in Andrews Farm, north of Adelaide.
Police say the victim has made a full recovery.
The acting assistant commissioner, John DeCandia, says investigators “believe the attack was extensively planned” and they “searched seven addresses to gather further evidence.”
As a result of the searches several mobile phones have been seized and police located a firearm which is suspected to have been used in previous shootings. A large quantity of tablets suspected of containing MDMA were also located.
This morning police charged three 17-year-olds, two 19-year-olds and a 21-year-old for the incident, all have been refused bail and will appear in court this afternoon.
One 17-year-old from Munno Para was further charged with possession of the prescribed firearm and related ammunition offences. While a 21-year-old from Munno Para West was further charged with traffic a commercial quantity of a controlled drug.
Updated
Additional charges laid over alleged graffiti incident in Sydney
NSW detectives have laid an additional three charges as part of an investigation after a building was damaged multiple times in the inner west this month.
Inner west area command officers commenced an investigation after graffiti was located on an external wall of a building on Marrickville Road, Marrickville, on 25 January.
Detectives were patrolling the area when they saw a man allegedly spray painting the wall of the same building. They arrested a 58-year-old man and seized a spray can.
The man was taken to Newtown police station and charged with two counts of destroying or damaging property, and two counts of intentionally marking premises etc without consent – aggravated.
He was refused bail to appear before Newtown local court today.
After further investigations, an additional three charges were laid in court today, including to knowingly display Nazi symbol without excuse, destroying or damaging property, and intentionally marking premises without consent.
Police will allege in court the man graffitied a Nazi swastika on the same building on Wednesday 1 January.
Updated
South Australia becomes first state to ban flavoured nicotine pouches
After Guardian Australian revealed Australian social media influencers were promoting controversial and likely harmful flavoured nicotine pouches in viral videos, South Australia has become the first state in the nation to ban the addictive pouches.
Under new legislation, the Malinauskas Labor government’s crackdown on the illegal tobacco and vape market will from today see the pouches subject to the same controls as illicit tobacco and e-cigarette products.
In a statement, the premier’s office said nicotine pouches “are now prohibited products and authorised officers can seize them and enforce fines of up to $1.5m against those selling them”.
The pouches are small, pre-filled bags containing various ingredients that are often not on the label, such as nicotine, sweeteners and flavouring, the SA government said. A pouch usually contains the same amount of nicotine as a single cigarette.
They are designed to be tucked under the lip and their packaging is often colourful.
Alarmingly, they are commonly marketed towards children and young people via social media and can also be promoted as quitting aids for smoking and vaping, despite a lack of evidence supporting their use.
The Malinauskas Labor Government has banned the novel devices under new tobacco and e-cigarette legislation. This authority allows the Government to issue a formal declaration that such a product is prohibited, and this is the first time a declaration has been used under this new legislation.
It follows legislative changes recently introduced against the illicit tobacco and vape market.
Updated
Big four banks predict rate cut next month
The big four banks are in consensus that the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates in February after NAB joined Westpac in moving forward its prediction from May, AAP reports.
They joined a rising chorus of economists and investors who believe a rate cut at the central bank board’s next meeting is all but assured.
After declaring their stance was under review after a surprisingly soft inflation print from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, NAB today said the confirmation of weaker than forecast price growth and a softer outlook for housing costs had caused them to change their tune.
“The fourth-quarter CPI confirms that inflation has moderated more quickly than the RBA expected and sets up a likely downward revision to the inflation profile in the February statement on monetary policy,” the NAB chief economist, Alan Oster, said.
“This now makes February the most likely starting point for a gradual easing in interest rates.”
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, called Wednesday’s numbers “really encouraging” in showing that Australia had made substantial and sustained progress in the fight against inflation.
Updated
Underworld figure mourned in Melbourne
Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim has been farewelled by mourners in Melbourne as detectives plead for his family and friends to cooperate with their murder investigation.
Abdulrahim, 32, previously survived several attempts on his life, but on Monday he was killed in a daytime shooting in Melbourne’s north-east in front of his girlfriend.
“Taken too soon, Sam was a man full of life, he was loved by all, and his smile would always light up the room,” his funeral notice read.
After the service, the coffin was draped in a green cloth and placed back in a hearse to be driven to Northern Memorial Park for burial.
The road near the service was closed for a procession led by a portrait of Abdulrahim, while police were parked across the road, keeping watch.
Updated
Australia’s terror threat should not be raised, says spy agency
Australia’s domestic spy agency says it’s investigating multiple antisemitic incidents but does not believe the terrorism threat level should be raised just yet.
In a statement on Thursday, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s (Asio) director-general, Mike Burgess, said the security situation evolved as predicted after a spike in politically motivated violence in the past year.
Burgess said the current threat level – probable – meant there was a greater than 50% chance of a domestic terrorist attack or attack being planned in the next 12 months.
We have seen a disturbing escalation in the targeting of Jewish interests, and a disturbing escalation in the severity and recklessness of the targeting, with general harassment and intimidation moving to the targeting of people and places. These incidents are appalling, and particularly distressing for the Jewish community.
The agency said while the caravan matter was still being investigated, it did not believe there was an ongoing threat to public safety.
The threat level was raised from “possible” to “probable” in August 2024 with Asio advising there had been an “increase in extremism, fuelled by conspiracy theories and anti-authority ideologies”.
Burgess had warned in October 2023 that inflamed language about the conflict in the Middle East could inflame tensions in Australia.
However, in August 2024, Burgess said Gaza was “not the cause” of the threat level rising but was “a significant driver”.
Updated
PM defends response to antisemitism surge
Responding to suggestions of the “delegitimisation” of Israel, Anthony Albanese said:
Of course, I agree that antisemitism has to stop. Full stop.
People need to be hunted down, as is occurring. People are being arrested, they are being charged, and they are in the clink without release, without bail. That is occurring.
If you go back to the resolution that was passed with the support of both major parties in the parliament after the 7 October terrorist atrocities that spoke about Israel’s right to defend itself, I spoke about that on the Sunday as well. Israel has the right to defend itself. I support what has been Australia’s longstanding bipartisan position.
The UN decision in 1947 and 1948 wasn’t for the creation of one state, it was for the creation of two. The state of Israel and the state of Palestine. I support a two-state solution where both Israelis and Palestinians are able to live in peace and security.
To do that, in order to achieve that, clearly there needs to [be], as well, some reform of the Palestinian side. Hamas can play no role in any future state.
I go back to that resolution, which I looked at the other day. Quite frankly, history treats it well, the fact that the parliament came together at that time and overwhelmingly, with the exception of the Greens, who can speak for themselves, overwhelmingly, the parliament passed that resolution. That was a good thing.
Updated
Dural caravan discovery not time to make ‘political points’, PM says
When asked whether the Dural discovery was “predictable”, as per Peter Dutton’s comments, Anthony Albanese said: “This is a time for unity and for the country to come together against these atrocities and this appalling act, not a time to look for political partisanship or to make political points. I don’t intend to do so. ”
The prime minister said:
I intend to do my job, which is to work with the police and national security agencies. I must say, they do an extraordinary job.
We want people hunted down and put in the clink. That is what we want. There have been a range of arrests made, some of those have been made public, or were made public, on the 21st.
I take the advice of the police and national security agencies for when those matters become public so that we ensure that ongoing investigations are not undermined. There is a commonsense approach to this and I note that the New South Wales Police Commissioner has made comments on that this morning as well.
Updated
Albanese says national security committee met this morning over explosive-laden caravan
Anthony Albanese would not be drawn on when he was first made aware of the Dural caravan discovery.
Speaking with media in Melbourne, the prime minister said:
I get briefed regularly by the national security agencies. We don’t talk about operational matters obviously, for obvious reasons. What I do is I don’t comment on operational matters.
There are two issues that are my priority. The first is making sure that people are kept safe. The second, which is related to that, is making sure that any investigations aren’t undermined and that the police and national security agencies are able to do their work.
I get ongoing briefings every day, I get a national security briefing and indeed just this morning we had a full meeting of the National Security Committee.
Updated
PM vows perpetrators of thwarted antisemitic plot will be ‘hunted down and locked up’
Anthony Albanese says it is “critical” police are able to investigate explosives and antisemitic material found in a caravan abandoned in Dural earlier this month.
“It remains an active one. We know that some people are in custody over issues related to this investigation,” the prime minister said in Melbourne.
There’s zero tolerance in Australia for hatred and for antisemitism, and I want any perpetrators to be hunted down and locked up. It’s as simple as that.
They have no place in this sort of engagement. It’s designed to create fear and terror in the community and it will not succeed, because our community is stronger than the cowards who engage in this sort of activity.
Updated
Video: Melbourne factory fire
We have video footage from the factory fire in Melbourne, as reported a little earlier.
Fire Rescue Victoria crews responded to a factory fire in Cheltenham this morning, where it was reported lithium-ion batteries had caught alight.
Updated
What we learnt today about the caravan laden with explosives found in greater Sydney
News of a caravan found ten days ago laden with explosives at a residential property in Dural, Sydney, has been unfolding since last night, with police saying there were indications the explosives would be used in an antisemitic attack.
Here’s a summary of what we have heard today:
The caravan contained explosives but also written notes with “Jewish entities” nominated on them, which caused police to put the incident “in the terrorism space,” NSW police deputy commissioner David Hudson said.
There was no detonator found with the explosive material in the caravan, NSW police commissioner Karen Webb said.
The explosives were ones almost “exclusively used in the mining industry,” Hudson said.
The registered owner of the caravan was in custody for “peripheral charges” to the investigation at the time the caravan was located, Hudson said.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese called the incident an act of terrorism “designed to create fear in community”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said “the counter-terrorism teams” considered the incident “to have been a potential mass casualty event”.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said, “this would have been the most significant terrorist attack” in Australia’s history if reports were correct. He also denied he was “politicising” antisemitism by condemning the prime minister on the issue.
Webb and Hayden both defended the decision to keep the discovery of the caravan and explosives from the public. Webb said now it was in the public domain, the investigation was compromised.
You can read more here:
Updated
Landlord lodges complaint alleging police ‘intimidated’ elderly tenants over caravan laden with explosives found near house
The landlord of two houses next to the site where a caravan containing explosives was parked for weeks didn’t expect his small semi-rural property would become the centre of a media storm that has made international headlines.
Robert, who didn’t wish to use his surname, said he had passed the caravan, tucked in an enclave next to his house, “two or three times” and “didn’t know why it was sitting there”, assuming it was part of a council cleanup.
Robert alleged his block of land, which is tenanted to two elderly women and a son with a disability, was subject to a raid last week by about 20 Australian Federal Police and a terrorist squad.
They smashed all the doors down and intimidated the tenants … two elderly women, one’s been here for 20 years and the other has been here for five years, one’s got a son … he was handcuffed … [The tenants] are 100% perfect.
Robert said a complaint had been lodged with the local member over the treatment of the women. He alleged he hadn’t received a search warrant from the police and wasn’t present during the search.
I fully understand terrorism is a terrible thing and especially … antisemitism, there’s nothing worse than that in Australia … [the caravan] was never, ever on the property, it was up the road … [the explosives] have no relation to us.”
Asked if it was “frightening” to know explosives were sitting metres from his tenants, he replied: “What do you say to that?”
Someone pulls up outside your house with some explosives, would you be frightened?
Updated
Greens launch plan to direct federal funding to end native forest logging on NSW south coast
The federal Greens have launched a component of its forests policy on the NSW south coast today, where local conservationists have been trying to protect endangered species habitat from logging.
The minor party has announced a plan that would give the NSW government access to $140.4m of federal funding a year for 20 years if it agreed to end native forest logging.
The funding would go towards ecological restoration of forests and a transition package for affected workers. The party said it would advocate for a portion of the money to be used to establish a great southern national park “which will ensure the protection and enjoyment of our forests by all for generations to come” and would add 400,000 ha of state forest to the NSW reserve system.
There has been pressure on the federal and state governments over continued logging of public forests in NSW. The Greens have said action on logging will be necessary if the Albanese government wants their support for a bill to establish a federal environmental protection agency.
The Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said:
Our magnificent forests should be a sanctuary for wildlife like the greater gliders, not a sacrifice to industry.
Updated
Residents near Grampians National Park urged to evacuate as fire spreads
An emergency bushfire warning for Glenisla, Mooralla, Rocklands, Woohlpooe in Victoria urges residents to “leave immediately”.
The alert on Vic Emergency says:
Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous.
Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay.
It comes after a significant increase in fire activity overnight, causing a fire north-east of Cavendish to spread in multiple directions.
“The fire activity has temporarily subsided but is still expected to impact private land on the western edge at various points between Hoffmans Rd and Woohlpooer Rd in the next hour,” the alert says.
“The north west edge of the fire has crossed Billywing Track and is heading north west towards the Henty Highway.”
Updated
Dutton dismisses accusation he’s ‘politicising’ antisemitism
Asked whether he is going against calls from the Jewish community not to politicise antisemitism, Dutton said:
No, I think we have had a terrorist attack that has been thwarted, and had the potential to kill hundreds of people and blow up a synagogue and other Jewish interests. I don’t think its politicising to talk about. And if you speak to people in the Jewish community, which I do on a regular basis, they’re completely disgusted with the prime minister’s inaction.
Updated
‘This would have been the most significant terrorist attack’ in Australia’s history if reports correct, Dutton says
The opposition leader is addressing press in Alice Springs. He says “it is deeply disturbing to see the circumstances unfolding in NSW, but entirely predictable”:
I wrote to the prime minister in 2023 in November requesting a convening of national cabinet so the prime minister could demonstrate leadership our country needed in a time of national crisis. The prime minister never responded. He held a cobbled-together national cabinet meeting by phone. There were no tangible outcomes except an improvement of record-keeping arrangements in relation to the acts of antisemitism.
And the hatred and the racism that we have seen on university campuses, that we’ve seen in protest, the doxing, the attack on the synagogue through firebombing, the attack on people’s houses and cars. People are now living in fear and it has been entirely predictable, when the prime minister has not stood up and been strong and renounced all of this activity over the course of the last 15 months or so, of course it will escalate.
Had this terrorist attack taken place, if the reports are correct, around 40 metre blast zone, this would have been the most significant terrorist attack and loss of life in our country’s history. So full marks to the New South Wales and the AFP police and Asio and everyone else involved in this investigation. This is a deeply serious matter and it has not gone away is an issue for our country. We still see overnight attacks on Jewish homes and when you have Holocaust survivors who have lived in our country since 1945 who are now saying they feel unsafe in our country, it is a national disgrace.
Updated
Dutton labels Dural caravan discovery ‘devastating and shocking’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says the discovery of a caravan full of explosives at Dural, with indications the explosives would be used in an antisemitic attack, is “devastating and shocking”.
On 2GB radio earlier, Dutton was asked about the incident outside Sydney. He repeated his usual lines of criticism about the government’s response to antisemitism.
“It’s devastating and it’s shocking. Already people were living in fear in the Jewish community. Armed guards already patrol outside Jewish schools at the moment. This is in our country in the 21st century and it’s completely unacceptable,” Dutton said.
The red lines keep getting crossed. We’ve warned before that this will end in a terrible event where somebody will lose their life if there is not a serious effort. Fortunately, Premier Minns has I think, really stepped up and the prime minister has been dragged kicking and screaming to a position.
We’re expecting to hear from the prime minister at a press conference around lunchtime. The opposition leader is also scheduled for a press conference shortly.
Dutton continued:
As a Jewish friend texted me this morning to say, ‘this is Australia under Labor’ – and that’s really something that is quite tragic and unacceptable because we’ve spent a lot of time dealing with a terrorist threat that will never go away in our country, or any western democracy, but the way in which the extremists have been allowed to conduct themselves on campuses and online without the heavy hand of law enforcement coming down to try and provide that deterrence, I think is completely unacceptable.
Updated
Victoria factory on fire after reports of lithium-ion battery blaze
Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) crews are responding to a factory fire in Cheltenham this morning, where it was reported that lithium-ion batteries had caught alight.
Crews arrived at the scene on Chesterville Road to find “a 60-metre by 60-metre factory well alight”.
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria were also called to the factory fire “to provide technical advice to the incident controller,” EPA said in a post to X.
“Concerns include smoke and possible firewater runoff.”
A community advice message has been issued for Cheltenham, Highett, Moorabbin and Moorabbin East, FRV said. There is no threat to the community, but people are urged to monitor conditions.
Smoke will be visible from nearby roads and communities.
Updated
‘No really dangerous substances’ found in Victorian pill testing trial
More from a press conference at Victoria parliament this morning on the government’s pill testing trial.
Loop Australia’s drug checking director, Sarah Hiley, says most common substances checked at Beyond the Valley were MDMA, cocaine and ketamine, in that order. She says there weren’t any unexpected substances, such as fentanyl, discovered.
With all our events, we have a really rigorous alert process that we use to assess the severity of any drugs and unexpected psychoactive substances and we have a team of experts that make that assessment. We are really pleased to announce that Beyond The Valley, we did not need to initiate an urgent alert system, which meant that no really dangerous substances were found. We will be promoting public information via community notices about the other things we found.
Updated
Investigation into Dural caravan ‘compromised’ after public disclosure, commissioner says
The NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, said the investigation into the caravan laden with explosives found in Sydney has been compromised as it is now in the public domain.
She was speaking at the NSW premier and police press conference earlier this morning, stressing the point that the investigation was “covert”, requiring police to “go about our business without compromising” the investigation.
The fact this information is now in the public domain has compromised our investigation and has been detrimental to some of the strategies we may have used.
Updated
Victoria to increase pill testing service after ‘powerful’ findings from first trial
The Victorian mental health minister, Ingrid Stitt, is announcing the next four festivals that will be part of the government’s pill testing trial.
At a press conference at parliament this morning, she says Hardmission festival (8 February), Pitch Music and Arts festival (7-11 March), Ultra Music festival (12 April) and the Warehouse Project (25 April) will all host the government’s mobile pill testing service.
Stitt says there were nine overdoses at last year’s Hardmission festival and a death at Pitch, which led to the government’s decision to introduce pill testing:
We want everybody to have a wonderful summer, enjoy our events, particularly our music festival events, but to do so safely and to get home safely. The other thing I want to confirm and make very clear is that pill testing will be a permanent feature of our drug and alcohol services in Victoria. What we are doing over this summer and next summer is testing the most effective model to deliver this life saving service.
It follows the first trial at Beyond the Valley over New Year’s Eve. She says more than 700 people used the service there:
Seventy per cent of those people had never had a conversation with a health professional before about drug use, and 40% said they would consume a smaller amount of their drugs as a result of going to the pill testing service and having those conversations. That’s really important, and a very powerful statistic coming out of the first festival because we know that the potency, particularly of MDMA, is a real concern, and something that I know our harm reduction workers really focus on is educating people around the potency. And we did see one in six Beyond the Valley consumers who came to the pill testing service discard their drugs altogether as a result of learning what was in their drugs.
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Registered owner of caravan was in custody for ‘peripheral charges’ to investigation
At the NSW premier and police press conference earlier this morning, deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, said the registered owner of the caravan found with explosives is in custody “based on offences being investigated under Strike Force Pearl.” The strike force was set up to investigate hate crimes with an antisemitic focus across Sydney.
“At the time the caravan was located he was in custody,” Hudson told press.
He said the owner is in custody for “peripheral charges to these investigations”.
But also search warrants were conducted. [Police allege] there was evidence found of other offences during the execution of those search warrants. He has been charged with those offences. As I said before, we have time because he’s currently in custody to prepare other evidence against him in relation to the lot we’re currently investigating in relation to the caravan.
Earlier, the NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, said the registered owner of the caravan was in custody on “unrelated matters”.
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Jones now ready for ‘something different’ after 15 years in politics
Jones said he has “just reached this stage in my life where it is time for me to do something else”.
I don’t know what that is yet … I am going to do something different.
And I am confident the Labor party will select a candidate who will run in the election and uphold the values and stand for, the things that people in this region needs, whether it is … better infrastructure, a future for our steel industry, rebuilding Medicare.
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Jones also reflected on working in the government’s economic team:
I left school in 1983 in this region. Some of you might remember, I remember what it was like when people are leaving school and couldn’t get a job and didn’t have hope for their future. People will criticise the decisions we have made, but they were right, because it means Australians, particularly young Australians, are in jobs today and I’m proud of that … We’ve got full employment, something they haven’t seen in my adult lifetime.
And as a minister I’ve been really proud to prioritise consumer protections, new right and new methods for consumers to ensure that whether it is at the supermarket or online their rights are protected and their money is kept safe.
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More from outgoing assistant treasurer Stephen Jones
Jones reflected on “enormous change over the years” in his electorate of Whitlam, which covers the southern Illawarra and southern Highlands:
We still mine coal but as a region we are much more. We have a world-class university which is on a yearly basis graduating thousands of students, many of whom are the first in the generation to go to university and it is giving them a great opportunity in life.
It is of great pride to me that we are prioritising Tafe and to ensure, whether you go to university or take up a trade, you have a path in life which is going to give you a secure and decent job. There’s new infrastructure for new suburbs … Investing in social housing, there are kids down the road living in social and supported housing because of the investments we have put into this region. We have connected every house and business to the NBN.
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Jones thanks community, prime minister and staff for support in ‘the best job’ he ever had
The outgoing assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, announced he is quitting politics after 15 years at a press conference this morning:
This will be my last term of office as the member for Whitlam.
He extended thanks to his “fantastic community for the trust and faith that they placed on me over 15 years,” the Australian Labor party “who supported me over five elections” and prime minister, Anthony Albanese – “he has been a friend of mine for many decades”.
Jones said the role of assistant treasurer in the Albanese government is “the best job that I have ever had”.
“It has been an enormous honour”.
Jones also thanked the “amazing staff … that have worked with me over the last 15 years” and his family.
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‘Witch’s brew of extremism’ fostered in civil institutions contributing to antisemitic attacks, Jewish leader says
Wertheim has pointed his finger at civil institutions including universities, writers festivals and arts centres for allowing a “witch’s brew of extremism” to foster.
Speaking about an escalation in antisemitic incidents in Australia, Wertheim said authorities and civil society leaders seemed “powerless” to address the trend and “firmer action” was needed.
We need a change of attitude within the institutions of our society from which these hate ideologies have found a home – this witch’s brew of extremism. We need a change of attitude by our universities, we need a change of attitude by our writers festivals, our arts and culture centres, by social media platforms, in fostering these hateful ideologies which result in violent actions in the name of freedom of expression.
They’ve provided a home to extremist ideologies in the name of really misguided thinking about where freedom of expression begins and ends – it doesn’t seem to have penetrated … that they’ve completely, with some honourable exceptions, got it completely wrong in the fostering of extreme ideologies on their campuses … I fear for the future of our society.
A Senate inquiry into antisemitism at Australian universities is ongoing.
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‘High-profile institutions’ named as potential targets for antisemitic attacks
Wertheim said Jewish organisations “should have been told” about the Dural caravan threat prior to it going public while adding it hadn’t broken his trust with the NSW premier.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry represents about 200 Jewish organisations across Australia. Wertheim said “none of us” were aware of the incident before “we read about it in the media”. After reports, he was contacted by the federal police.
I think they should’ve told us earlier, because the impact on the community then could’ve been managed. We could’ve understood better what we are facing … there are sometimes very good operational reasons for keeping an investigation secret … but that has to be balanced against other considerations.
He said he did not receive a reason as to why they were not informed. Wertheim said being kept in the dark hadn’t “fractured” his relationship with Chris Minns but there was a sense of “urgency, strain and anger” at the “deterioration of the quality of life in Australia”.
I think the premier shares that … there’s frustration at the seeming inability of the authorities to bring this under control … it really comes down to a difference of position on judgment.
Asked which institutions had been named as potential targets, he said they were “high-profile institutions” that had previously been the target of antisemitism.
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Rule of law ‘starting to slip away from us’, says peak Jewish representative body
The co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Peter Wertheim, says the past few months have been “like a living nightmare” for the Jewish community after a string of antisemitic attacks on institutions, schools and individuals.
Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, Wertheim confirmed the first he or other Jewish bodies had heard of an alleged antisemitic bomb plot was when it was published in media outlets on Wednesday evening.
Yesterday we learned of a caravan … that contained explosives that would’ve been enough to cause a blast [of] sufficient force to cause mass casualties – many people killed, many people injured … The feelings in the Jewish community are not only of understandable concern and anxiety … but increasingly, one of anger.
A very large number of Australians have had a gutful of these events – they bring shame on our country, they demean us as a nation … they do not represent our national values … We’re angry because we’re seeing the Australia we’ve been fortunate enough to live in … the rule of law, is starting to slip away from us, and our children, and from future generations.
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Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones retiring
The assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, has announced his retirement just months out from the federal election.
In a statement on Thursday morning, the member for Whitlam thanked the Labor party and his friends and his family for his 15 years in parliament.
Jones said:
Growing up and living most of my life in this beautiful place I have seen many changes. We still mine coal and produce steel – but we are so much more. Our world-class university educates and gives opportunity to thousands of locals every year. New suburbs have emerged from farmland, but we have not lost our ability to produce great athletes, artists, minds, and citizens.
Jones was elected to the seat, which covers the area south of Wollongong and across the southern highlands in NSW, in 2010.
He was appointed assistant treasurer and financial services minister in the Albanese government.
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Explosives found in caravan used in mining
The deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, said police are liaising with the manufacturers of the explosives found in the caravan.
“They’re almost exclusively used in the mining industry and we are still conducting those inquiries,” he said.
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NSW police investigating whether Dural caravan was preparation for terrorism event, commissioner says
Webb said the investigation is “looking at whether the caravan and its contents are acts in preparation for a terrorism event”.
I often get asked – and I want to clarify – about whether or not there needs to be a declaration of a terrorism event … That is separate to the issue of whether police can charge with terrorism offences. Police can charge with terrorism offences without the need for a declaration. I want to make that point clear.
I also want to make the point clear that in relation to the caravan and its contents and the people that are associated with that, we are taking it as its very highest and what I mean by that is, our investigation is looking at whether the caravan and its contents are acts in preparation for a terrorism event.
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No detonator found with explosives in caravan
The police commissioner said there was no detonator found with the explosive material in the caravan. Webb told press:
Whilst the explosive material was found in that caravan, there was no detonator with the caravan. So all of these matters are still under investigation.
There are many, many more lines of inquiry and, as has been said time and time again, it is a joint investigation with our federal counterparts and our state counterparts including the New South Wales Crime Commission, Asio, and others.
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Dural caravan owner in custody, police confirm
Karen Webb has confirmed that the registered owner of the caravan laden with explosives found in Sydney is in custody on unrelated matters.
She said:
Yesterday afternoon, there was extensive discussion … about the identification, location of a caravan in Dural in January. In addition to the information that has been provided, on the basis that it’s now in the public domain, I can confirm that the registered owner of that caravan is a person that is in custody on unrelated matters.
I don’t want to speculate too much more, but it’s important that the public understands that not only has the caravan been removed and the contents removed from the public, but also the owner is out of play and in custody. So the risk to the public has been mitigated very early on.
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Police confirm multiple antisemitic incidents overnight in Sydney
NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, is now addressing press. She says there were three separate incidents of graffiti in the eastern suburbs, at Maroubra, East Gardens and East Lakes:
All those matters remain under investigation. Of particular concern is the graffiti on the school at Maroubra … School starts back today. So those kids will be walking in to see that vile messaging.
The graffiti overnight will be under investigation and taken as seriously as other matters, and we’ll continue to hunt those people until we find them.
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Arrests made over spate of antisemitic attacks, Minns says
The premier said New South Wales police have arrested 10 people over the last week and a half “for malicious damage, fire damage, graffiti attacks” in the state. He continued:
No stone will be left unturned … in order to catch individuals who are responsible for these activities.
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'Bastards' targeted Maroubra school in antisemitic attack, premier says
The premier, Chris Minns, is addressing press with NSW police about antisemitic attacks across the state:
The most recent example is in Maroubra this morning. It is utterly appalling and shameful that an individual would spray racist hate-filled messages on a school. It tells you everything you need to know about how appalling these bastards are that they would rip apart a school on one of the first days of school with a racist antisemitic attack.
It’s antithetical against everything that Australia believes in 2025. There are some terrible people in our community. I’m ashamed to say it – but that’s the truth. Bad morals, bad ethics, bad people that will commit these acts but Australians stand united against this appalling racism.
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Maroubra school targeted in antisemitic graffiti attack
Another Jewish site has been hit with antisemitic graffiti overnight - this time a school which is located just a few hundred metres from the childcare centre that was recently attacked in Sydney’s east.
Mount Sinai College in Maroubra and a nearby home were both spray painted with antisemitic slurs that included calling Jewish people “dogs” and the “real terrorists”.
It comes after the police last night revealed that a caravan laden with explosives was found on a road on the outskirts of Sydney with indications the explosives would be used in an antisemitic attack.
A parent who has two children that attend Mount Sinai College told Guardian Australia that waking up to another vandalism incident so close to her home has left her feeling exhausted. One of her children returns to school tomorrow after school holidays and the other attends the college for daycare.
She said she will still take her daughter to daycare today because she doesn’t want to let the vandals intimidate her. She added:
I’m just tired, I just want it to stop. I am sick of waking up to find out something else has happened.
It’s just the scum of society trying to intimidate us, and it’s not going to work.
This cannot be deemed as normal. It may happen every other day but hate graffiti cannot be glossed over as another hate crime.
I honestly believe the average Australian thinks this is deplorable and the messages of support from colleagues and friends are heartwarming. And we know we have the police and government working tirelessly but we just need everyone to realise that we need their support in calling any racist or antisemitic behaviour out. This will only stop if we work together to stomp it out.
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PM calls potential mass-casualty event an act of terrorism 'designed to create fear in community'
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says the caravan laden with explosives found in Sydney is terrorism, he told ABC Radio Sydney a short while ago.
Host Craig Reucassel pointed to a quote from the NSW premier, Chris Minns, saying yesterday “there’s only one way of calling it out and that is terrorism”.
He asked Albanese: “Do you classify this as terrorism as well, Prime Minister?”
Albanese responded:
I certainly do. I agree with Chris Minns. It’s clearly designed to harm people, but it’s also designed to create fear in the community. And that is the very definition.
As it comes in, it hasn’t been designated yet by the NSW Police, but certainly is being investigated, including by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team.
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Minns says explosives investigation needed to take place ‘away from the media spotlight’
Asked why the public did not learn of the caravan laden with explosives found in Dural until several days later, the premier, Chris Minns, told ABC News Breakfast “sometimes, experienced police officers … need to conduct their inquiries away from the media spotlight”:
We would release all of the information we possibly could as early as possible unless it compromised the police inquiry. That has to be the No 1 priority of New South Wales police and the government.
At some points during these complicated investigations police need to work in a clandestine way, using methods and tactics they don’t speak about publicly, so criminals don’t know what police are getting up when they launch these investigations.
I don’t want the public to believe that over the last 10 days police were twiddling their thumbs. The exact opposite was the case in New South Wales … If the public believe that police or the government will issue a media release when they begin a counter-terrorism investigation, that is not going to happen.
Sometimes, experienced police officers … need to conduct their inquiries away from the media spotlight, and I back their judgment in relation to this 100%.
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Minns says graffiti attack on Mount Sinai college ‘another naked example of racism’
Looping back to the NSW premier, Chris Minns, on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago. He said a graffiti incident on a Maroubra school is “another naked example of racism in our community, completely antithetical what Australia represents in 2025”.
He said:
I’m appalled by it, but I do want to say two things. Firstly, we will throw all our resources in tracking down people responsible for malicious damage, for hate crimes. And secondly – the vast, vast majority of Australians stand united against this appalling behaviour and condemn it completely.
NSW deputy police commissioner David Hudson said overnight Mount Sinai college in Maroubra had been targeted with graffiti, which was being investigated by police.
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NSW police confirm caravan had written notes with ‘Jewish entities’ written on them
Hudson confirmed the caravan contained explosives but also written notes with “Jewish entities” nominated on them which caused NSW police to put the incident “in the terrorism space”.
He said the incident “has the potential” to be a terrorist attack because of the significant harm it could cause “if the worst happened”, but hadn’t been declared a formal terrorist investigation, adding it was likely there had been a “level of coordination” domestically.
It was “one of the lines of inquiry” whether the explosives had been obtained from a nearby mine site.
The multi-jurisdictional investigation is being led by NSW police with the assistance of the AFP, Asio and NSW Crime Commission, Hudson confirmed.
Hudson also confirmed overnight Mount Sinai college in Maroubra had been targeted with graffiti overnight which was being investigated by police.
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State police deputy defends decision to keep discovery of caravan explosives from public
The NSW deputy police commissioner has defended the body’s decision to keep the discovery of the caravan and explosives from the public.
David Hudson told ABC radio “the more clean air we get to investigate these matters the better we will be”.
Speaking this morning, he said it was “normal” if a current and covert investigation was going ahead to keep it from the public, including in the counter-terrorism space.
“We mitigate [the] threat related to a terrorism investigation … and then announce what we’ve done … it’s important we take these types of incidents very seriously, so we’re doing that.”
Hudson said there had been consistent “interaction” between police and Jewish bodies.
“We have consistently informed them and vice versa of the current threat environment … we didn’t directly tell them about the explosives in the caravan because threats were appropriately mitigated at that stage to our satisfaction … obviously that all changed yesterday.”
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Owner of van laden with explosives in custody, premier says
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, is now speaking on ABC News Breakfast. He says the investigation into the caravan laden with explosives found in Sydney is “the No 1 priority of NSW police”:
I mean, the counter-terrorism command for New South Wales police are responsible for [the investigation]. They’re working with their counterparts federally. You are talking about scores of officers with responsibility for this.
It is the No 1 priority of New South Wales police. We recognise that this is a significant escalation and would worry many members of the community.
Minns confirmed “the owner of the van is in police custody as well and inquiries continue”.
Nothing will stop until New South Wales police have arrested those who are responsible for this. It’s a very disturbing set of events.
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Treasurer says Labor knows cost-of-living pressures have ‘not disappeared’
Jim Chalmers says “we know that cost-of-living pressures” have “not disappeared, but they are easing”. He tells ABC News Breakfast:
We know that people are still under substantial pressure in their household budgets and we know that even when these national economic numbers get better and better, we know that that doesn’t always automatically translate into how people are feeling and faring in the economy.
That’s why we’re not getting carried away by it. We know cost-of-living pressures have not disappeared but they have eased substantially and that’s a good thing.
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Chalmers says Australia is making ‘established progress in the fight against inflation’
The treasurer has moved on to discuss inflation figures. He tells ABC News Breakfast:
Those inflation figures that we got this week were very encouraging because what they showed is that inflation has come down by more than was expected and more than what was forecast. We’re making really substantial and now quite established progress in the fight against inflation across all of the fronts that we measure.
Headline inflation was in the lower half of the Reserve Bank’s target band. Underlying inflation came down as well and that all augurs well for the progress we’re making together as Australians.
What we’ve been able to do collectively is something other countries have not been able to do. We’ve got inflation down. We’ve got wages up. And we’ve kept up employment low at the same time.
Now, most of the major advanced economies have higher inflation than us. In the US, it’s not just higher, it’s rising and what that shows is that Australians are making some really quite encouraging progress together.
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Chalmers says ‘if more can be done’ to combat antisemitism ‘we’ll consider that’
Chalmers says “if there are additional steps that need to be taken” to ensure the Jewish community feels safe “we’ll take them”. He told ABC News Breakfast:
We’ve seen a willingness to do that in the way that we’re already working with police and authorities and states and territories, the extra resources, the special operations that have been set up, all of that is about doing as much as we can. If more can be done, of course we’ll consider that.
When it comes to the planning and scheduling of National Cabinet, again that is in the hands of the Prime Minister and the premiers and I’ll leave you to them on that front.
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Chalmers says fear of mass casualty event ‘extraordinarily serious development’
Asked whether he fears “we could see a deadly attack in the coming weeks and months” on ABC News Breakfast, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said:
We know from the counter-terrorism teams that they consider this to have been a potential mass casualty event. That is obviously an extraordinarily serious development and this is why we’re working so closely with them and with the states and territories.
We know that fear is not entirely unfounded when we see developments like this. We’re making sure that whatever can be done will be done and we’ll be briefed on this later this morning.
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Chalmers comments on latest foiled explosive attack
The federal treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says “some of the fear that Jewish Australians have is not unfounded” after news of a caravan laden with explosives was found in Sydney, with indications the explosives would be used in an antisemitic attack.
He said on ABC News Breakfast:
Some of the fear that Jewish Australians have is not unfounded. There is absolutely no place for violence or for antisemitism in a country like ours and that’s why we’re working closer than ever with police and other authorities to make sure that we stamp out and root out this antisemitism which is unfortunately becoming a feature all too frequently in our communities.
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Expert says AFP’s generalist units has ‘mishandled’ international crimes investigations
Further to the Greens’ announcement proposing the establishment of an international crimes investigation unit:
Rawan Arraf, the executive director of the Australian Centre for International Justice, said while Australia had the legal framework to address international crimes “its current institutional capacity is weak”.
“The mishandling of international crimes investigations by generalist units within the Australian Federal Police has been disappointing,” she said:
Permanent, specialised units overseas have had success in holding perpetrators to account. If the Australian government takes its international obligations seriously, it would follow in the footsteps of these overseas jurisdictions by establishing such a unit here.
The establishment of a permanent, specialised international crimes unit would finally open up a pathway for survivor communities in Australia to seek redress for atrocity crimes, and for Australia to effectively coordinate with national and international authorities in an effort to close the impunity gap for international crimes.
There has never been a successful prosecution of any person – Australian or a foreign national – for war crimes, or other international crimes offences (such as crimes against humanity or genocide) in Australia.
(Following the second world war, Australia undertook investigations into Japanese military personnel, but those were undertaken through Australia’s military court system.)
In the 1980s, Australia established a Specialised Investigations Unit to investigate Nazi war criminals present in Australia since the second world war. Four cases were referred for prosecution and three were ultimately prosecuted. None resulted in a finding of guilt.
The CDPP prosecutor at the time, Mark Weinberg, later became a judge and is now the special investigator at the Office of the Special Investigator (OSI), the ad-hoc unit established to investigate allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan.
The establishment of a dedicated war crimes investigation unit was part of Labor’s policy platform in 2007, but it has since been jettisoned.
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Greens commit to war crimes investigation unit
The Australian Greens have committed to establishing an international war crimes investigation unit in Australia as part of its policy platform ahead of this year’s election.
The Greens senator and the party’s justice spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said:
Community members who have experienced torture or been subject to genocide and war crimes need to know they are safe here from those who committed these crimes. That’s what this war crimes investigation unit will produce.
The community expects war crimes to be treated seriously but instead have seen delay and avoidance that has prevented accountability for war crimes, even those committed by Australian troops.
Shoebridge said numerous comparable countries – including the UK, Canada, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, France and Switzerland – have permanent and specialised bodies to investigate and prosecute international crimes. The proposed Australian initiative would cost $10m a year.
The Greens said numerous diaspora community groups, including Rwandans, Sri Lankans, Tamils, Fijians, Ukrainians and Palestinians, had raised concerns about alleged war criminals in Australia not facing justice and the risks they pose to their communities. Alleged war criminals who have harmed these communities should be subject to proper investigation and prosecution in Australia, Shoebridge said.
In recent years, alleged war criminals have treated Australia as a safe haven, knowing they won’t face justice because it’s nobody’s job to investigate them. This impunity must end.
Establishing an international war crimes unit is an essential part of upholding the international order and global human rights and it is criminal that Australia does not already have one.
The major parties won’t take responsibility for upholding international law, but the Greens recognise that a strong international system is a pathway to peace.
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In today’s Full Story podcast, our senior business reporter, Jonathan Barrett, tells Nour Haydar why so many governments around the world lost power last year because of high inflation, and what Anthony Albanese’s administration could learn from the country that bucked the trend – Mexico.
Thank you to Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog this morning. I’ll be updating you with the day’s news from here.
Albanese government urged to add dental care to Medicare
The peak body for dentists is urging the Albanese government to use the upcoming election as an opportunity to commit to a dental scheme for seniors.
The calls comes as Guardian Australia this week published a series of stories on the state of dental care in Australia, highlighting the inequality of Australian’s access to dental care and how Labor is coming under growing pressure to add dental to Medicare:
As my colleague Dan Jervis-Bardy highlights in that piece, the Australian Dental Association have proposed a dental scheme for seniors, which would provide a capped maximum of $1,132 worth of free dental care for qualifying seniors every two years.
In a statement released today the ADA president, Dr Chris Sanzaro, says the seniors scheme is the affordable option and would address the fact that on average Australians over 65 are missing 14 teeth and around one in four avoid eating some foods due to problems with their teeth or mouth.
Sanzaro said: “a complete overhaul of the way dentistry for older Australians is funded is long overdue, particularly seniors with little or no income in the current cost of living crisis.”
More on this story here:
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Zionest Federation says explosive plot most ‘severe threat’ ever faced by Jewish community in Australia
There’s more reaction to the big story of yesterday and today – the discovery of a caravan full of explosives on the outskirts of Sydney and its potential link to an antisemitic attack.
In a statement last night, the Zionist Federation of Australia said the discovery amounted to the most “severe threat” ever faced by the Jewish community in Australia and that the plot, if carried out, “would likely have resulted in the worst terrorist attack on Australian soil”:
For 16 months, the Jewish community has been warning that unchecked incitement, violent rhetoric, and weak leadership have created the perfect environment for extremism and terrorism to flourish. This foiled attack is yet another manifestation of the senseless hatred and violence that continues to target our community.
NSW Premier Chris Minns rightly pointed to the root cause: a hate-filled ideology driven by people who seek to spread division and fear. This is not just a threat to Jewish Australians, it is a threat to our shared values, our safety, and our way of life.
It is long past time for leaders at every level to take decisive action against those who incite hatred, glorify terrorism, and create the conditions for such atrocities to be planned.
The Jewish community will not be intimidated. We will continue to stand strong, proud, and united, and we expect those in positions of power to ensure that threats against our community are met with zero tolerance.
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Liberal MP Julian Leeser leads condemnation of explosives 'plot'
Liberal MP Julian Leeser has called on Australians to “stand together” after the discovery of an apparent antisemitic bomb plot and to unite “in our abhorrence of those who seek to perpetrate such hatred”.
Leeser, who is Jewish, said he was “deeply disturbed” by news that a caravan was found on the outskirts of Sydney laden with explosives with indications it would be used in an antisemitic attack.
The announcement by police yesterday of the discovery of the caravan comes amid a rise of antisemitic attacks in Australia after the Hamas terror attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 led to an invasion of Gaza by Israel’s military.
Last week, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said police believed foreign actors could be paying local criminals to carry out antisemitic attacks in Australia.
Leeser, who is the federal member for Berowra – which takes in Dural where the caravan was found on a residential property – said last night:
I am deeply disturbed at today’s revelations about a potential terror plot targeting the Jewish community with a potential mass casualty event.
This is another sad reminder of the hatreds Jewish Australians have endured over recent times. It keeps escalating. But equally it stands as a stark contrast to the goodness, decency and stoicism of Jewish Australians.
To all Australians I say, if you have a Jewish friend or colleague please reach out to them and let them know you support them and stand with them.
It’s a time when we must stand together as Australians – united in our abhorrence of those who seek to perpetrate such hatred.”
Leeser also thanked police and security services for their work and said that police have requested assistance from anyone who saw the caravan parked in a hazardous position in Dural between 7 December and 19 January.
More on this story here:
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before Rafqa Touma takes the controls.
More than 100 counter-terrorism police will be continuing their investigation today into who was behind the stockpiling of explosives in a caravan on the outskirts of Sydney with indications the materials could have been used in an antisemitic attack. The NSW premier, Chris Minns, promised to bring the “full force of the law” against those responsible, while Jewish groups condemned the apparent plot as the “most severe threat” yet to their community. We have reaction coming up, including from Liberal MP Julian Leeser who said he was “deeply disturbed”.
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, heralded a deal brokered with the Greens and independent David Pocock to create a federal environment protection agency as “critical” before it was scuttled by Anthony Albanese, new documents show.
Yesterday’s inflation figures offered Labor hope that prices – and interest rates – will be falling by the time of the election. On the face of it, it looked like good news for Anthony Albanese’s government but our senior business reporter reminds us that it’s only the pace of increase that is slowing and that the cost of most consumer staples remains much higher than they were when Labor won power back in 2022. Inflation is also the subject of today’s Full Story podcast. Coming up.
