What we learned, Friday 12 July
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, here are the big headlines:
Australia has pledged $250m in military aid for Ukraine.
Victoria is bringing brings forward gambling reform.
A water warning has been issued after a Melbourne factory fire.
A Tasmanian man was charged with attempted murder, arson and domestic violence offences after a fire in Forest
The AFP have charged two people with espionage, one a private in the ADF. The couple had Russian passports and appeared in court in the afternoon.
A teacher and a teenager have blocked the only road to Woodside’s WA gas development, Burrup Hub.
A Queensland state MP, Darren Zanow, has announced his sudden resignation after delivering a “full and frank” health update
Leadership tensions are brewing at Rex airlines.
A Second Blockade Australia protester received a jail sentence and was released on bail.
Finally, Albanese says Liberal party policies are now ‘more extreme’ under Peter Dutton.
Thank you for spending your day with us. Until then, stay safe.
Updated
Chris Minns confirms NSW will keep daylight savings for health reasons
From AAP:
Advocates of daylight saving say it helps save electricity, has economic upsides and allows more time for physical activity, but opponents say it disrupts people’s internal body clocks and makes rural life harder due to darker mornings.
The premier, Chris Minns, said NSW would not change its official position, citing the need to encourage healthy lifestyles:
I understand that there’s different views, particularly in regional communities, about daylight saving, but it’s an important measure for the state.
It means that you get more time outside when the sun’s out, particularly in summer, and that’s not a trivial thing, particularly when we’re fighting obesity, we’re fighting diabetes in the community.
Daylight saving is currently used in every jurisdiction Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. It has been in place in NSW since 1971.
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Department confirms no import bans on Chinese oils but is seeking assurances on safety
A department spokesperson confirmed that Australia “imports a range of oils for use in cooking from China”, and there are currently no import bans on the product.
“As per our normal procedures, the department will seek assurances from China that cooking oils exported to Australia are safe for consumption,” she said. “Importers will also be advised to seek assurances from suppliers.”
“The department is continuing to seek assurances from China on the situation,” she said.
As our senior China correspondent and colleague Amy Hawkins noted, news of the contamination triggered a lot of social media angst in China, as might be expected.
The revelation also happened to land just days before Communist party leaders are to meet for the third plenum, one of the nation’s most important political gatherings (which will likely have some big announcements about reviving dimming consumer confidence in the world’s second-biggest economy).
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Australia seeks ‘assurances from China’ after cooking oil scare
China has its fair share of food scandals, and the latest seems to have been unearthed by hardy local journalists.
As the Guardian reported this week, the state-run Beijing News revealed the “open secret” of fuel tankers being used to transport cooking oil without proper washing or disinfecting.
One tanker driver told the journalist he was not allowed to return with an empty vehicle and subsequently loaded up 32 tonnes of soya bean oil without cleaning the tanker. Several other tankers featured in the article made similar journeys.
Anyway, while we don’t yet know how widespread the problem is in China, the news prompted us to check with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to check if Australians might be importing some contaminated product.
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Australian share market climbs to highest level close ever
From AAP:
The share market has closed at its highest level ever after a bigger-than-expected inflation drop in the United States firmed bets the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Friday finished up 69.7 points, or 0.88%, to 7,959.3, while the broader All Ordinaries climbed 72.7 points, or 0.89%, to 8,206.1.
The ASX200 rose 1.75% for the week, its second straight week of gains, and also set its sixth closing high for 2024. Its previous record close of 7,896.8 was on 28 March.
The Australian dollar was buying 67.70 US cents, up from 67.54 US cents at Thursday’s ASX close.
Updated
It’s Friday afternoon – and many of you will be clocking off and getting onto your weekend*. Start it the right way – with First Dog:
*My deep condolences to those who are not.
Flood watch alert issued for parts of Tasmania
On the weather in Tasmania, there is a flood watch for some places:
⚠️ #FloodWatch issued for parts of north, north-east, Huon, Derwent and south-east catchments. 20–50 mm rain forecast, with isolated falls of up to 80-100 mm possible. See https://t.co/V9LYfDAYDq for details and updates; follow advice from @SESTasmania
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) July 12, 2024
#TasFloods pic.twitter.com/9TtkVr96WB
Updated
Heavy rain and damaging winds to impact Tasmania and Victoria
We’ve got heavy rain and wind over parts of Tasmania and Victoria – BoM has deets here:
Severe Weather Update: Heavy rain and damaging winds to impact parts of #Tasmania and possibly #Victoria. Video current: 2pm AEST 12 July 2024. Latest forecasts and warnings: https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh or the BOM Weather app. pic.twitter.com/vV2o5hAxdt
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) July 12, 2024
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Albanese on espionage charges: ‘Australia’s security agencies are doing their job’
Asked about the espionage charges against a Russian-born Australian couple outlined by the federal police today, Albanese said he had been “briefed extensively by our security agencies, including the AFP, including as late as this morning”:
Because the matters are before the courts, I won’t make further comments except to say this, that Australia’s security agencies are doing their job, and they’re doing it well. People will be held to account who interfere with our national interests, and that’s precisely what these arrests represent.
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Albanese says Liberal party policies now 'more extreme'
Peter Dutton is away overseas, attending the Australian-American leadership dialogue in Washington DC and taking some personal leave. The opportunity to campaign in Dutton’s own backyard while he was away, apparently, was too good to resist for Albanese – who gave an idea of how the government’s lines of attack might look at the next campaign (whenever it is).
Albanese claimed:
A whole lot of people, as I travel the country, say to me that the Liberal party of today isn’t what it used to be. And we know that from all those people in senior roles or formerly senior roles, who’ve abandoned the Liberal party, that the lesson that Peter Dutton took from the last election was that Scott Morrison wasn’t rightwing enough. That he wasn’t conservative enough. That he wasn’t aggressive enough.
And we see that playing out with what Peter Dutton is doing to the Liberal party with policies that are more extreme than we’ve seen in the past, with the rhetoric which is there, with the abandonment of any principles of support for business, of support for markets.
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Albanese blitz through Brisbane rolls on
Anthony Albanese’s election-campaign-style blitz through Brisbane continued today, announcing Labor’s candidate for Peter Dutton’s seat of Dickson and talking up the government’s cost of living measures including the stage-3 tax cuts.
The prime minister again insisted in a radio interview that an early election wasn’t on the cards, but a swing through Queensland – a state where Labor are desperate to make some inroads – has ignited election date speculation once more.
Albanese told Brisbane radio today when asked about his campaign visit:
We’re just making sure that we’re prepared and that everything is in place. We’ll make sure that our candidates are on the ground talking with people about issues of concern and we want to make sure that we’re ready for an election.
In a press conference, Albanese road-tested some new lines attacking the opposition, claiming:
They don’t have a plan for the future, but they also don’t have a plan for doing anything other than saying no to the cost of living relief that the federal Labor government is rolling out.
And that’s why it’s time that Dickson had someone who would actually stand up for their interest, not just stand up for themselves.
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Steven Miles says LNP MP’s retirement over health diagnosis ‘sad and shocking’
Queensland’s Labor premier, Steven Miles, has paid tribute to the LNP MP Darren Zanow after Zanow announced he had been diagnosed with microvascular ischemic disease. The Ipswich West MP announced he would consequentially retire from politics at October’s election.
Miles:
My thoughts are with Darren Zanow, after his diagnosis with microvascular ischemic disease.
In this job we might be on different sides, but we’re all human and we all have families. Today’s news is sad and shocking. I wish Darren and his loved ones well for the battle ahead.
In a statement earlier today, Zanow said he had “no other choice” but to leave politics. The diagnosis at an early age is likely to signal rapid onset of dementia, he said.
Serving this amazing community as an MP is one of the greatest honours of my life, but because of this disease my time in politics, and likely my life, will be cut short.
Zanow is 52.
Updated
Second Blockade Australia protester receives jail sentence
A second Blockade Australia protester has received a jail sentence after he suspended himself above a railway track in Newcastle.
21-year-old Sam Gribben, who is from Bellingen, has appealed his one-month jail sentence and has been released on bail. He’ll face court again next week.
Gribben’s sentence comes after another 21-year-old, Laura Davy, appealed their two month jail sentence on Monday after they were convicted for securing themself to a piece of machinery at a Newcastle coal terminal.
Blockade Australia has been disrupting the railway and port in Newcastle with daily actions since 25 June. The protesters are calling for a change to the economic and political system to achieve meaningful climate action.
More on Davy’s sentence here:
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Concerns greyhound racing inquiry powers are ‘politically constrained’ and ‘inadequate’
The greyhound racing watchdog in New South Wales will lead an inquiry into the industry despite concern from advocates the probe’s powers are “politically constrained” and “inadequate” to address allegations of rampant animal abuse.
The state’s racing minister, David Harris, announced a new acting commissioner of the NSW Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC), Lea Drake, would lead the inquiry.
Harris said he wanted the industry to continue operating but would push Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) to focus on improving animal welfare and its governance.
He said on Thursday:
The industry is showing that they have made progress. This is about ensuring that they stay focused.
Dog injury rates have reached their highest point since independent reporting began in 2018, according to GWIC’s latest quarterly injury data release.
Read the full story here:
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Army private and husband appear in court accused of preparation for espionage
As we noted earlier, a Russian-born Australian army private and her labourer husband have been arrested on espionage charges after allegedly working to steal sensitive defence information.
Australian federal police arrested 40-year-old Kira Korolev, a member of the defence force, and 62-year-old Igor Korolev, a self-employed labourer, in Brisbane on Thursday.
Kira Korolev’s matter was heard in the Brisbane arrest court on Friday under the charge of preparing for an espionage offence.
Korolev did not appear and was denied bail by Magistrate Ross Mack, with her matter moved to the Brisbane magistrates court to be heard on 20 September.
Igor Korolev, with short grey hair and light stubble, appeared in court under the same charge, wearing a green long-sleeve T-shirt, jeans and no shoes while sitting in the dock alongside a Queensland police officer. No bail application was made. with Korolev remanded in custody to appear in the magistrates court on 20 September.
The preparation of espionage offence carries a maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars, but a higher charge of espionage could be levelled later as more information comes to light. It carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
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NSW doctor charged with sexual assault
A doctor has been charged after allegedly assaulting two female patients at a medical centre in a south-Sydney suburb in June, NSW police have said.
They will allege a 28-year-old woman was indecently assaulted during a consultation on Tuesday 4 June this year, and a 19-year-old woman was also sexually assaulted during a consultation at the same medical centre on 26 June.
After making inquiries, police arrested a 45-year-old man at the medical clinic and he was taken to St George police station on Friday, charged with sexually touching another person without consent and sexual intercourse without consent.
He was refused bail and will appear at Sutherland local court today.
Police are continuing to investigate.
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Minns announces drug rehab funding and four-day summit
Drug reform will be the focus of a four-day summit to be held later this year in New South Wales after the premier, Chris Minns, fulfilled one of Labor’s key election commitments as part of a $33.9m package to tackle the complex issue.
The premier also announced funding for 12 new drug and alcohol centres, to be run by not-for-profits, in regional and rural areas including Shellharbour, Orange, Wagga Wagga, Nimbin and Queanbeyan.
The centres form part of the government’s response to the damning 2018 special commission into ice addiction, which recommended the complete decriminalisation of drug possession.
Minns said the summit would bring people together to find “new ways forward”.
Read more about it here:
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Scam callers impersonating officers from The Rocks police station in Sydney
The callers have been attempting to obtain personal details over the phone, New South Wales Police said on Friday.
They issued the warning after receiving “numerous calls from concerned community members” reporting phone calls and voice messages that requested they provide their personal details, and suggested they had been victims of a scam or online fraud.
Sydney City Police Area Command was investigating the source of the calls.
Police advised the public to take precautions to reduce the risk of being scammed over the phone by not disclosing personal details to cold-callers, especially not banking details, PINs or account passwords, and to contact police immediately to report the incident if you believe you have been the victim of a scam.
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Russian-Australian man charged with espionage appears in court
A Russian-Australian man charged with espionage-related offences has appeared briefly in a Brisbane court.
Igor Koralev, 68, is charged with one count of “preparing for an espionage offence”. He was assisted in the Brisbane arrest court by a Russian interpreter.
His wife, Kira Koralev, 40, a Russian-born private in the Australian Army, is also charged with the same offence.
It is the first charge under federal laws introduced in 2018.
Igor Koralev made no application for bail and his case was adjourned until 20 September.
Clive Palmer’s car museum gets green light
The mining magnate has received approval to build Australia’s biggest car museum just weeks after the project appeared to have stalled.
Palmer’s display of vintage vehicles, worth more than $200m, is now set to be on show at a property west of Brisbane.
Palmer slammed the brakes on a planning application to build the ambitious project at his Palmer Coolum Resort on the Sunshine Coast in June after locals claimed it would be an “eyesore”.
Instead, he set his sights on a property near Lowood, a 90-minute drive from Brisbane.
The local Somerset Council on Wednesday officially approved the project that will feature more than 1,000 cars and 300 motorcycles, in 11 display buildings alongside 10 accommodation units, a cafe and a gift shop.
The museum’s floor area is 43,000sq m, about the size of four NRL fields.
Somerset Mayor Jason Wendt told AAP:
We are hoping it provides a tourism boost for the region.
The project is expected to start in 2025.
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Anthony Albanese has met with his counterpart from Tuvalu, Feleti Teo
The pair held their first face-to-face meeting in Brisbane this morning. Teo was elected in February. We understand the pair’s discussions centred on the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union, expected to come into force later this year – which focuses on assisting the Pacific island nation as it faces challenges from climate change.
The discussions also went to broader issues in the Pacific, including Australia’s investments in regional policing and defence issues, as well as climate and economic factors. Albanese and Teo also discussed Tuvalu’s progress toward establishing a new diplomatic mission in Canberra.
We might hear more about the meeting later today.
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Prue Car addressed ceremony
The deputy premier of New South Wales, Prue Car, joined the vigil alongside the federal member for Greenway – which takes in Lalor Park – Michelle Rowland, and the state member for Blacktown, Stephen Bali.
Car said:
To say we express our love and condolences to the family doesn’t seem nearly enough.
We all join together as a community to help this family heal and go forward.
We offer our support to this community. Our love, and our support, through the most trying of times. We love you, and we’ll do anything to support you.
The mayor of Blacktown City Council, Brad Bunting, also spoke of the power and need to come together:
We gather here this evening to be able to come together, to be able to heal. We do that best as a community, and we do that best together.
The crowd then took turns one by one to lean into the smoke ceremony, cleansing in the rising smoke.
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Ceremony to mourn deaths of three children in Lalor Park
More than 300 people hung their heads for a minute of silence in Sydney’s west on Thursday night.
The Lalor Park community had gathered – alongside emergency services personnel and members of parliament - to mourn the death of three children after their father allegedly set their home ablaze in an alleged domestic violence incident on Saturday night.
The silence was broken by a person on a keyboard at the front of the crowd who began to play Amazing Grace. A woman then began to sing, and slowly, it built to a harmony as some members of the crowd began to sing too. Rising gum smoke from a smoking ceremony hung in the air.
“Blessed are those who mourn together for they will be comforted,” a local pastor told the crowd in prayer.
At Thursday night’s vigil, Natalie, from Common Groundz Community Cafe which sits opposite the park where the vigil was held, spoke on behalf of the family:
I’d like to thank all of the community and those who couldn’t make it tonight for their love, support, prayers, and donation during this difficult time.
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Leadership tensions at Rex airlines
Rising tensions have emerged among the leadership at Regional Express airlines, where major shareholder and former chairman Lim Kim Hai is pushing to remove four directors from the board.
On Friday morning, Rex posted an announcement to the ASX advising that Lim had given notice under the Corporations Act to remove John Sharp, the former Nationals federal transport minister chairman of Rex who has in recent years made headlines with his colourful criticism of Qantas and aviation policy.
Lim has also demanded the removal of Ronald Bartsch, who is also a director of Dovetail aviation, the electric aviation outfit Rex is hoping will provide a solution to its future fleet sourcing issues for regional aircraft. Lim also wants Jim Davis, a former CEO of Rex, and Lee Thian Soo gone.
A special shareholder meeting will now be scheduled to vote on Lim’s demands to remove the four directors.
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Biden’s slip ‘unfortunate’ says Albanese
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has described a gaffe by US President Joe Biden, who called Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy “President Putin”, as “unfortunate”, AAP reports.
Biden made the slip while introducing the Ukrainian president at the NATO summit in Washington, as he comes under increasing pressure to step down from the upcoming US presidential election due to concerns about his cognitive fitness.
Albanese steered clear on whether the US president should step aside from the race but sympathised with Biden, telling Brisbane radio station 4BC:
Everyone from time to time, I think, has made a slip - it clearly was on his mind who President Zelenskiy is fighting … But it certainly is unfortunate.
Calls have been growing for the Democrats to put up another candidate to run in November’s election against former president Donald Trump, after Biden’s lacklustre performance during a debate in June.
Albanese said whether Biden stepped down or not was a matter for the US, but that the president was “on top of his game” when the pair met in Washington in 2023:
[Biden] chaired a meeting of the entire cabinet ... I had a long meeting with him in the Oval Office. We had a couple of dinners, including the official state dinner.
He certainly was on top of international affairs, the Aukus defence arrangements and our relationship, which is so important between Australia and the United States.
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Full Story podcast explores anti-protest laws
Appropriately, given what’s happening at Burrup Hub at the moment, today’s episode of Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast Full Story explores why anti-protest laws won’t deter climate activists from taking direct action.
Our climate and environment editor Adam Morton said on the episode that the new anti-protest laws have:
…happened in a piecemeal way, but it feels like a concerted movement to try and crack down on this rising movement of climate and environmentally concerned people who feel like the traditional ways of protesting, like marching in the streets, just isn’t doing what is required given the scale of the problems that we face.
Guardian Australia’s Editor, Lenore Taylor says:
I think more and more draconian crackdowns, limiting rights to protest … isn’t going to stop them because they are responding to an existential crisis. And in their minds, there’s no other way to do it.
I think politicians should think about how to help people give voice to such genuinely held views within the political system rather than feeling like they have to go outside of the political system and disrupt things just to get heard.
You can find the episode here, or on any podcast app you already use:
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Queensland state MP announces sudden resignation with 'full and frank' health update
Ipswich West MP Darren Zanow has announced his imminent resignation from Queensland parliament due to early-onset rapid developing dementia at the age of 52.
The LNP MP announced this morning that he has been diagnosed with microvascular ischemic disease.
The disease – observed by MRI and PET scans – is marked by a build up of plaque in the small blood vessels of the brain, signalling the early onset of dementia.
Zanow said in a statement:
Observed in a person of my age, it is likely to signal that a more rapid onset has begun, and subsequent medical tests have proven this to be true in my case.
There is no proven treatment available to slow the debilitating effects of my condition and the prognosis for me requires that I must turn my attention immediately to the needs of my daughter Lola, who is aged 7, and to those of our wider family.
The former farmer and concrete and quarries businessperson won a by-election for the safe Labor seat on 16 March with a 17.8% two party preferred swing, one of the largest in a decade.
Ironically, he only discovered his condition the day he was sworn in, 16 April.
The former business owner said he had “no other choice” but to resign at the 26 October state election:
I am making this full and frank account in the hope that as my family and I come to terms with the short years of shared time that remain, we will have privacy.
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Investigation into Melbourne factory fire ‘isn’t going to be quick’
Firefighters battled a large explosion at a factory in Derrimut factory on Wednesday morning. It came after another fire at the same site resulted in the death of one person last October. There were no injuries from Wednesday’s fire and it was declared under control within four hours.
Fire Rescue Victoria’s deputy commissioner for community safety, Josh Fischer, says there were no indication the fire was suspicious:
This is going to take some time. This isn’t going to be a quick investigation.
The Environment Protection Authority’s west metropolitan manager, Steve Lansdell, says after the October fire the agency issued regulatory notices to the factory focused on stormwater management and containment:
We actually saw some of those controls help initially in the incident, but obviously with the scale of the incident and the work there... there’s ongoing work with that.
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NSW Police to investigate 19-hour response to call
Police took 19 hours to respond to a call for help from the Sydney neighbour of an elderly man who was later found struggling to breathe and died in his home a short time later.
The NSW police assistant commissioner Brett McFadden on Friday launched an internal investigation after being briefed on the delay almost a week after the 85-year-old’s death.
McFadden said:
It is a significant concern for me. I want to understand what was taking place in the environment before we pass judgment.
Police were called at about 5.45 pm on 4 July by a neighbour of the elderly man who lived alone in an apartment complex in Bankstown. The neighbour requested police check on the man who had been in poor health and had not been seen for some time.
At about 12.30pm the next day, officers attended the William Street apartment where they couldn’t raise anyone inside. Fire and Rescue then helped the officers gain entry.
They found the 85-year-old man alive but breathing shallowly.
McFadden said:
First response protocols were implemented, CPR was commenced, but unfortunately, even with the assistance of ambulance, we were unable to sustain the life of the 85-year-old male.
Read the full story here:
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The Jewish Council of Australia urges University of Melbourne to drop disciplinary action against protesters
The council’s stance echoes that of the Human Rights Law Centre, Amnesty and the Digital Rights Watch.
Today, we wrote to the University of Melbourne condemning misconduct proceedings against students involved in protesting the violence in Gaza. These charges undermine the human rights of the students and the University’s claim to be a site of critical inquiry & free expression. pic.twitter.com/m3U9OWjCkZ
— Jewish Council of Australia (@jewishcouncilAU) July 11, 2024
In the letter, addressed to vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne, Prof Duncan Maskell, the council expresses “serious concerns” regarding the action and urges the university to “cease these proceedings immediately for the sake of the students involved, and for the wider community who look to the university to maintain a robust culture of academic freedom”.
In a statement to Guardian Australia, executive officer of the council, Sarah Schwartz, said:
We should be proud of all of the students, many of whom are Jewish, who have been speaking out against this unfolding genocide. The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental democratic freedom that universities should defend. Misconduct notices for peaceful protest, and anti-war, anti-racist speech should be immediately withdrawn.
The University of Melbourne’s provost, professor Nicola Phillips, said freedom of speech was “foundational” to the university’s values and policies, adding “we have consistently stated that we recognise the right of students and staff to participate in peaceful protest”.
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Elizabeth Struhs murder trial continues
The trial of members of a Toowoomba sect for the murder and manslaughter of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs has got under way for a third day.
The 14 defendants will be presented an opportunity to speak in their defence this morning after the prosecution finished its summary of the allegations yesterday. It’s not yet clear if they will take the opportunity to do so.
On Wednesday, the first day of the trial, they refused to enter a plea. Justice Martin Burns ordered that a plea of not guilty be entered.
Later today the crown prosecutor Caroline Marco will call her first witnesses, who are expected to include police and emergency services officers.
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Teacher and teenager block only road to WA gas development
A school teacher and student have chained themselves to concrete barrels inside a four-wheel drive and a boat and blocked the only road to Woodside’s Burrup Hub gas development in Western Australia overnight.
The state and federal governments are considering an application by Woodside to expand and extend the life of the plant, one of the country’s biggest fossil fuel developments, by 50 years. An Australian Conservation Foundation report in March found the full expansion, including opening new ocean gasfields, could be the southern hemisphere’s largest new fossil fuel project.
Greenpeace has previously estimated the expansion could lead to 6.1bn tonnes of CO2 across the decades ahead if fully developed, about 13 times what Australia emits annually. It also threatens the Murujuga cultural landscape, which has been proposed for world heritage listing and includes more than 1m ancient petroglyphs, making it “the largest and oldest outdoor art gallery on Earth” and “one of the world’s most significant cultural heritage landscapes”.
The 17-year-old high school student, Emma, said she was engaging in the activism in part to protect the ocean ecosystem:
This will not only destroy our climate, it will cause the stunning Scott Reef to subside and wreck the only habitat for endangered turtles and other sea life. Browse Gas will disrupt precious whale migration routes, so today I’m disrupting Woodside’s Burrup Hub to block Browse. Our systems are responsible for climate destruction and ecological collapse, and direct action is the only way to adequately respond to the crisis we are facing.
Petrina Harley, a school teacher who previously blockaded Burrup Road in 2021 and who also chained herself to the concrete barrel overnight, said a roadblock was a “safe, sensible, proportionate response to an emergency unfolding at Woodside’s Burrup Hub”.
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Needs-based funding for universities examined
Regional universities would receive more funding than urban counterparts and providers could receive an economic boost if they succeeded in graduating disadvantaged students, a discussion paper released by the commonwealth today suggests.
The paper outlines proposed elements of a needs-based funding model, to replace the current system that is grant-based and fixed.
Providers would be allocated per-student funding contributions for low socioeconomic students, First Nations students and students with a disability – “recognising these students often need additional support to participate and succeed”. Students studying at regional campuses would also be provided with additional funding.
The funding would be tied to academic and student support activities including scholarships and mentoring, with mandatory reporting to ensure transparency. The paper noted a “major factor” in student success and additional support required was Atar, noting that the new funding model was “not intended to lower the minimum academic requirements for entry to university”.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said the government had set a target that by 2050, 80% of workers would have a Tafe or university qualification:
To hit that target we have to break down that invisible barrier that stops a lot of people from disadvantaged backgrounds getting a crack at going to university and succeeding when they get there.
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I’ll leave that press conference there – I understand my colleagues in Canberra will have a full report for you later this morning.
‘It is acts in preparation for an espionage offence’
Reece Kershaw goes into some more detail about how the AFP intends to use the 2018 legislation in their case against the couple, given they say the material in question wasn’t significantly compromised:
It is acts in preparation for an espionage offence. We are showing that there is an intent to share that information, whether or not that has occurred, that will form further to our investigation avenues of inquiry and, for example, the 15-year offence is upgraded to a 25 years to life, depending on what we further discover.
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Lessons will be learned – if there are any, Asio boss says
Further to that issue of citizens of other countries being able to access sensitive info, and join the defence force, Mike Burgess said:
Security clearance have specific requirements on them, including being an Australian citizen. Peoples’ cultural background and heritage and when they came to the country and do they have a checkable background and all those things are required for security decisions. Part of the investigation and internally, we will work with Defence to work through what is the teachable moment here if there are any.
Updated
Couple had Russian passports
The couple had Russian passports, although Mike Burgess and Reece Kershaw haven’t actually said the couple were or are Russian citizens.
Nor will they say how they came to be aware of the alleged espionage operation, and the investigation is looking into whether the woman entered the ADF with the specific intention of committing espionage.
Burgess said:
When they arrived in this country, all that detail is still subject to further investigation, ongoing investigations. We have some information but we are still together piecing that, in terms of when did this start? When did that journey start? The other thing is because of Defence’s awareness, it allowed us to intervene early and control the operation.
Updated
‘No significant compromise has been identified’
Reece Kershaw said the “alleged criminality has been disrupted” and that “no significant compromise has been identified”.
Both the accused had been in Australia for more than 10 years, Kershaw said:
The woman obtained Australian citizenship in 2016 and her husband obtained Australian citizenship in 2020. She has been employed in the Australian army, in the Australian defence force for several years as an information systems technician.
The director general of Asio, Mike Burgess, said, when asked about the vetting process that occurs when employing people in the military and other areas:
I respectfully suggest that vetting is not a solution that stops problems because it depends on what you say … If you meet the requirements to get a security clearance, you will get one, but that doesn’t mean to say the security journey stops at this point. In this case, because of defence and security awareness, Asio and the taskforce and the AFP were able to intervene and control this operation.
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Married couple allegedly intended to hand defence force material to Russia, AFP chief says
Reece Kershaw says the AFP arrested the pair – a married couple – yesterday morning at their Everton Park home in Brisbane.
They have been charged with one count each of preparing for an espionage offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment. They will appear before Brisbane magistrates court today.
Kershaw says:
The counter foreign interference taskforce, which includes AFP, Asio and other commonwealth partners, has dedicated significant resources and capability to Operation Bergazada.
The AFP will allege the individuals worked together to access Australian defence force material that related to Australia’s national security interests.
We allege the woman was undertaking non-declared travel to Russia, whilst she was on long-term leave from the Australian defence force. We allege that whilst she was in Russia, she instructed her husband, who remained in Australia, on how to log into her official work account from their Brisbane home.
We allege her husband would access requested material and would send to his wife in Russia. We allege they sought that information with the intention of providing it to Russian authorities. Whether that information was handed over remains a key focus of our investigation.
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AFP charge two people with espionage
The Australian federal police have charged two people on espionage-related matters – the first time charges have been laid under laws introduced in 2018.
In a press conference, commissioner Reece Kershaw has said they are a woman aged 40 and a man aged 62. The woman is an army private in the Australian defence force.
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CEOs making slightly less money, audit finds
Chief executives in Australia’s largest companies are making slightly less money but are still taking home on average 50 times the pay package of a typical worker.
In its annual audit of CEO pay, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors found chief executives at the 100 largest listed businesses averaged $5m in the 2023 financial year, down from $5.2m the previous year.
The drop is consistent with a steady decline from Australian CEO salary highs in 2021, according to the country’s biggest governance adviser, when top dog wages boomed after taking a pandemic-induced hit.
Louise Davidson, Acsi’s chief executive, said the fact CEOs were making less was “encouraging”:
The results of this year’s research indicate that the efforts of investors, and greater scrutiny from Australian boards, have seen CEO pay levels hold or decrease in many of Australia’s largest listed companies.
Read the full story here:
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Tasmanian man charged with attempted murder, arson and domestic violence offences after fire in Forest
A 33-year-old from the town of Forest in north-west Tasmania has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, arson and family violence offences after a fire at a residence there on Wednesday.
Emergency services and police were called to the property on Wednesday morning, after a notification from an electronic monitoring device, a statement from Tasmanian police said last night.
Fire services attended shortly after midday, after a fire started inside the home.
Tasmanian police said:
The fire was contained and the man – who was the sole occupant of the property – was taken into custody. He was treated at the scene by paramedics for non-life-threatening injuries and taken to the North-West Regional Hospital for assessment.
He has since been charged with arson and three counts of attempted murder in relation to the fire, and actions he allegedly took against attending officers.
He has also been charged with five counts of breaching an interim family violence order.
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Man dies after alleged stabbing in Melbourne
A man has died after an alleged stabbing in the Melbourne suburb of Thomastown overnight.
Emergency services were called to an address in the suburb about 8.40pm last night after reports of a stabbing, Victoria police said this morning.
Police administered CPR to a man but he could not be revived. The force said the exact circumstances of the man’s death were yet to be established. A crime scene has been set up and homicide squad detectives have been on site.
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Water warning after Melbourne factory fire
Residents of Melbourne’s western suburbs of Derrimut and Laverton North have been advised to continue monitoring conditions and avoid contact with local waterways after a factory fire that started on Wednesday continues to be managed by emergency services.
In an update issued at 8am this morning, Fire Rescue Victoria said there was now no threat to the community but people should avoid contact with water at Cherry Creek, Anderson’s Swamp and Kayes Drain, as runoff from fire management has entered those waterways.
Fire Rescue Victoria said:
Avoid contact with the water (including pets) downstream of the fire location until further notice. Odours may be observed in the area. Avoid areas where odours occur. Contact EPA Victoria for further information
Emergency services are still on site and are expected to remain in the area. Residents are advised to continue to avoid the immediate area and keep the roads clear.
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‘We are providing significant support to Ukraine’
Deputy prime minister Richard Marles has been speaking to media this morning about the extended $250m military aid package that Australia has just announced it will provided to Ukraine.
He told ABC RN just now:
We have made clear that this is neither the first nor the last package of support that we will make to Ukraine …
We are providing significant support to Ukraine, but as I say, it forms part of an ongoing set of measures of support for Ukraine and takes our overall military support to $1.1bn and our overall support to Ukraine to $1.3bn since this conflict began. And we understand that this is going to continue so we will be there for as long as it takes for Ukraine to resolve this conflict on its terms.
Marles refused to be drawn to comment on images of the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hugging Russian President Vladimir Putin at the time that Russian missiles were striking a children’s hospital in Kyiv. Marles said:
The missile striking the Children’s hospital in Ukraine was obviously an outrage and we express our condemnation of that as we do express our condolences to the Ukrainian people for this tragedy. And I had the opportunity to do that personally with President Zelenskiy this morning.
I mean, I’m not going to comment on what we’ve seen in respect of indeed, but clearly, the attack on a children’s hospital is deeply unacceptable. And it speaks to the immorality really of the invasion that we’ve seen. From Russia, and just how important it is for Ukraine to be supported in this moment.
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Victoria brings forward gambling reform
The introduction of forced early-morning closures for poker machine venues will come into effect about a month earlier than planned, the Victorian government has announced.
The gaming minister, Melissa Horne, will today announce the first tranche of the state’s gambling reforms, which require pubs and clubs across Victoria to close their gaming machine areas between 4am and 10am, to come into effect on 30 August.
The legislation had the changes coming into effect by 3 October, though Crown Casino is exempt.
Horne said affected venues and stakeholders were being given as much notice as possible to prepare rosters and make other necessary changes.
She said though relatively few people gamble at pubs and clubs at 4am, the people who do are at a much higher risk of experiencing gambling harm.
Horne said the closure would help patrons to be more aware of their behaviour, while preventing the practice of some venues staggering opening hours to encourage gaming with no breaks. She said:
Victoria’s enforcement of gaming room closure times will protect those most vulnerable to gambling-related harm. Providing people with a break in play is an important gambling harm prevention measure – it gives people a chance to step out of the zone and consider how much time and money they’re willing to lose.
The government has announced several other measures designed to limit gambling harm – including reduced spin rates, mandatory carded play and cash load limits – but they are yet to be legislated. They say consultation with the sector is ongoing.
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$250m in military aid pledged for Ukraine
Australia will provide air defence missiles to Ukraine, as part of what the federal government is calling its biggest single package of military assistance to Kyiv to date.
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is in Washington DC for the Nato summit and is expected to meet today with leaders from New Zealand, Japan and South Korea (Nato’s so-called “Indo-Pacific Four”). This group is due to hold talks with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, before a photo opportunity with the embattled US president, Joe Biden.
The Australian government announced late last night that it would provide an additional $250m in military assistance to Ukraine, describing it as Australia’s largest single military package since Russia’s invasion. The items will bring Australia’s total military assistance to Ukraine to more than $1.1bn, and overall assistance to more than $1.3bn.
The latest package includes air defence missiles; air-to-ground weapons, including guided weapons; and anti-tank weapons. Other items include artillery, mortar, cannon, and small arms ammunition.
Australia will also send Ukraine a shipment of boots for use by Ukrainian military personnel.
But the government is expected to refuse the outline the number and types of missiles and weapons because it argues such details would provide an advantage to Russia.
Marles said Australia was “proud to stand with its partners at this historic Nato summit to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the Government of Ukraine”.
In a statement issued late last night, Marles said:
The delivery of highly capable air defence capabilities and air-to-ground precision munitions represents Australia’s largest single support package for Ukraine, and will make an enormous contribution to its efforts to end the conflict on its terms.
Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine stands as an affront to international law and the rules-based order.
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Good morning
The federal government announced late last night that Australia would provide air defence missiles to Ukraine as part of an additional $250m military package, which the government is calling its biggest single package of military assistance to the country to date. The new items will bring Australia’s total military assistance to Ukraine to more than $1.1bn, and overall assistance to more than $1.3bn.
Deputy prime minister Richard Marles has announced the package from Washington DC, where he is attending the Nato summit. More from our foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst on that aid package shortly.
Meanwhile, in Victoria, a poker machines venues curfew will be brought forward by a month, the state Labor government has announced. The first tranche of the state’s gambling reforms, which require pubs and clubs to close their gaming machine areas between 4am and 10am, will come into effect on 30 August.
I’m Stephanie Convery and I’m going to take you through this and all the rest of the news of the day today, as a little end-of-the-week treat. Let’s get stuck in.
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