Goodbye from us
We’ll be wrapping up the live blog for now. Thanks for staying with us this Sunday. The blog will be back tomorrow morning. Goodnight and stay safe.
Four Corners benched for Matildas’ World Cup clash
An episode of Four Corners about consulting giants scheduled for Monday night has been held back a week by ABC TV because it clashes with tomorrow night’s blockbuster Women’s World Cup clash with Canada.
Hi everyone, we're holding our @4corners "Shadow State" for a week. While the rise of the consultants is a massive story we can't compete with the @TheMatildas 😀 @Miller_Reports @Jess_Longbottom
— angus grigg (@AngusGrigg) July 30, 2023
In Shadow State, reporters Angus Grigg and Jessica Longbottom reveal consulting giant KPMG has also faced accusations of repeatedly “wasting” public money while contracted by the Department of Defence.
On Sunday the ABC hastily scheduled a buy-in program, Inside The Shein Machine, to air on Monday 31 July at 8:30pm up against the Matildas to ensure the Australian investigation gets a healthy audience.
Updated
NSW taskforce to confiscate wealth of organised crime ‘king-pins’
A new taskforce will be created in New South Wales to find and confiscate the hidden wealth of senior organised crime figures.
The criminal assets confiscation team will be comprised of forensic accountants, intelligence analysts and lawyers from the NSW crime commission and NSW police force investigators. It will work with specialist detectives from NSW police’s organised crime squad.
Minister for police and counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley said the announcement puts senior members of organised crime gangs “on notice”.
The NSW police force and NSW crime commission will hunt you down, they will seize your assets and use that money to come after more of you.
These crime bosses are highly skilled at hiding their wealth and many never face a court. Today’s announcement means we’ll confiscate their criminally acquired wealth anyway.
Under legislation recently passed by NSW parliament, onus now lies on the individual to prove to the court that their wealth was gained through legitimate means.
The team will have the powers to freeze assets and confiscate the proceeds of crime which will be used to find its work.
NSW crime commissioner, Michael Barnes, the taskforce will help seize the funds of those responsible for “terrible crimes we have been seeing in Sydney over the last two years”.
The crime bosses don’t do the dirty work – they hide in their mansions and spend huge amounts buying stolen cars and illegal firearms and paying others to fire the bullets. Without access to their illicit-drug derived wealth, they will not be able to fund these atrocities.
Updated
Marles is asked about whether an alleged failure to apply a software patch across the whole fleet will be at the heart of the investigation, but the defence minister says “there is much work to be done”.
There will of course be a full investigation into this accident so we can understand exactly what has happened.
Updated
Lt Gen Greg Bilton says the military exercises are continuing and that the Taipan aircraft of the model involved in the incident has been grounded until the cause of the accident is known.
He said the weather may play a factor in the search operations.
I’m confident we’ve got the range of capabilities we need to find the fuselage and our four mates.
On the future of the aircraft, Gen Angus Campbell has said he is focussed “for the moment” on the search and rescue operation.
In terms of the aircraft, there will be an investigation as there always is in these circumstances and we will look to that to determine what has occurred here.
Updated
Gen Angus Campbell said the ADF will “do everything we can” to find the location of the helicopter and recover those involved in the accident and thanked those involved assisting in the effort.
Lt Gen Greg Bilton said there were several navy assets and divers are in the area searching for the wreckage of the aircraft. He also thanked emergency services for their contribution to search and recovery efforts.
Updated
Defence minister Richard Marles has addressed reporters for the second time today to say “all our thoughts and our prayers” are with the four men on the helicopter that went down off Hamilton Island on Friday night.
Marles said wreckage of the helicopter has been found but the main body of the airframe has yet to be located and “specialist assets” are being brought in to assist.
This accident is a reminder of the unique significance that comes from service in the Australian Defence Force.
Stuart:
Today I’m focussed on three things. The first and most pressing is to bring Daniel, Alexander, Joseph and Maxwell home to their families. The second is to support their families and their mates. And the third is to support the important work of the Air Safety Investigation Team as they work out what went wrong and why.
Stuart said that the work that “your army, your navy, your airforce does every day is very risky” and that he was “proud” of the way defence force personnel “engage with that risk every day”.
Updated
Personnel in helicopter crash identified
Lt Gen Simon Stuart, chief of the Australian army, was given permission by the families to name the four soldiers of the 6th aviation regiment.
Stuart offered his thoughts and prayers to the families as they “wait for more news about their loved ones”.
We will continue to support their families and their mates in the coming days, weeks, months and years no matter the outcome.
The names of the four soldiers are:
Capt Daniel Lyon
Lt Maxwell Nugent
WO Class Two Joseph Laycock
Cpl Alexander Naggs
Updated
The four soldiers involved in the helicopter crash that took place during military exercises off the coast of the Whitsundays have been identified.
Lt Gen Simon Stuart, chief of the Australian army, was given permission by the families to name the four soldiers of the 6th aviation regiment.
Updated
Victorian’s advised to claim cash owing
More than $100m is owed to Victorians and they might not even know it.
Victorians have been encouraged to go online to check whether they are among thousands entitled to $109m in unclaimed money lodged with Victoria’s State Revenue Office (SRO).
The office holds records of money that are unclaimed after 12 months, including refunds, rents and bonds, share dividends, salaries and wages, debentures, interest and proceeds from sales.
The most lucrative potential windfalls belong to a man last listed as living in Box Hill ($882,697) and an Ardeer woman ($259,828).
There are roughly 678,000 entitlements, including 45,653 claims worth $13,633,759 in the City of Melbourne, 36,332 worth $7,516,798 in Stonnington and 35,246 worth $7,103,869 in Boroondara.
The top three largest entitlement pools within regional Victoria are from Mornington Peninsula ($2,811,030), Yarra Ranges ($2,072,196) and greater Geelong ($1,906,251).
Most of the entitlement records have been held for less than 10 years.
The office also holds winnings from TAB, Tabcorp, Tattersalls and Intralot that are unclaimed for six months or more.
A winning ticket from March 2016 for $2,136,327 is yet to be cashed in.
Treasurer Tim Pallas said that to search for the unclaimed cash, Victorians will need their name or company name and the address of the lodging organisation would have had on file.
This is money that belongs to citizens and we want it in their hands.
If the SRO is holding unclaimed money in your name you’ll know within seconds, and the process for recovery is straightforward.
- AAP
Updated
Australia auction market potters along ahead of rate rise
There was a 13.1% increase in the number of homes taken to auction, compared to 1734 last week, but the clearance rate remained strong with over two thirds selling based on 1,481 resulted collected.
The auction market recorded a clearance rate of 70.2% across the combined capitals, above the clearance rate at the same time last year where 1913 homes went under the hammer with just over half, 54% clearing.
Melbourne had the most auctions this week, with 856 under the hammer, recording a clearance rate of 69.9%, an improvement on last week.
Sydney was host to 760 auctions this week, up 9.4% on the week before. The city recorded a clearance rate of 72.4%.
Of the smaller capitals, Brisbane hosted 174 auctions with a clearance rate of 58.3%, closely followed by Adelaide with 113 auctions and a clearance rate of 82.8%.
Canberra hosted 53 auctions, and in Perth 14 auctions have been scheduled with two successful results. There were no scheduled auctions in Tasmania this week.
Nervous wait ahead of RBA interest-rate decision
Stretched borrowers will be crossing their fingers for an extended interest rate pause when the Reserve Bank board meets.
The convincing slowdown in inflation and cautious consumers have upped the chances of a second month on hold on Tuesday after the central bank held the cash rate steady at 4.1% in July.
Working in the other direction are another set of strong jobs market data and persistently high rents and services inflation, which will keep the possibility of another rate hike alive.
If it’s a pause, mortgage holders will welcome the relief as the full force of the 12 interest rate hikes to date work through the economy.
Hundreds of thousands of homeowners have been insulated from higher interest rates thanks to their ultra-low fixed-rate loans.
But when these loans expire, borrowers will be bumped onto the much more expensive variable or fixed-rate loans now on offer.
Even for variable-rate mortgage holders, the last few rate increases are unlikely to have fully impacted on their accounts.
Banks typically take two or three months to respond to cash rate movements and process changes.
Higher mortgage costs and rising prices for food, energy and other goods and services are already pushing up household budgetary pressures.
While meeting mortgage repayment and rents emerged as a prominent stressor, they ranked lower than some other sources of distress like saving for retirement.
The cash rate decision will dominate the start of the week, but by Friday eyes will be fixed on a fresh set of economic forecasts from the Reserve Bank.
- AAP
Updated
Light aircraft crashes after colliding with horse
A light aircraft has crashed after hitting a horse on take-off at Brentwood on the Yorke Peninsula in regional South Australia.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at 9.20am on Sunday morning.
Images of the plane appear to show it flipped with both passengers able to escape the aircraft.
The pilot, a 63-year-old local man, was flown to Royal Adelaide hospital with serious injuries while a 56-year-old woman was injured.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the incident.
Updated
NSW gets landmark domestic violence register
An Australian-first register will be set up to monitor repeat domestic violence offenders as NSW police overhaul how they deal with serious attacks on women.
Officers will be given special training under the changes, with a dedicated team also providing oversight and monitoring of high-risk perpetrators.
Legal specialists and a consultant psychologist will also be on board to help connect victims with support services and guide them through the legal process.
The announcement comes after a series of domestic violence-related killings across the state in recent months.
Superintendent Danielle Emerton, who will oversee the operation, said she hoped to reduce much of the paperwork and red tape involved in dealing with domestic violence cases.
We have a predictive model to analyse the likelihood that an offender will cause serious harm, which allows us to put strategies in place to neutralise the threat.
Similar to the child-protection register, the NSW system will allow police stations across the state to feed intelligence into the domestic and family violence register.
It is hoped the registry will help police to better co-ordinate resources and work with other service providers.
NSW police commissioner Karen Webb said the registry would help police provide advice, guidance and responses to domestic and family violence incidents around the clock.
The overhaul follows recommendations from an auditor general’s report which found significant changes were needed within the force’s response to domestic and family violence.
- AAP
Updated
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has expressed his gratitude to people who work in Australia’s defence forces after a helicopter crashed during training exercises.
He said:
It’s a reminder of what particularly young people give to the people of Australia as a result of their service in the Australian defence forces. It’s a difficult and very dangerous job and even in peacetime, even during training exercise, they put their lives on the line.
This is just a terrible, terrible accident and I think everybody’s hearts are with the families are obviously worried and upset and grieving right now.
Updated
'Poignancy and anxiety' as helicopter search continues: Marles
Defence minister Richard Marles has addressed reporters in Townsville on the search for the helicopter that crashed during military exercises, saying “there is a very real sense of poignancy and anxiety associated with the incident”.
Marles spoke about the value of Talisman Sabre as a joint military exercise, praising the sense of “team and shared mission” among the 13 nations involved in the joint operation.
US secretary of defence, Lloyd Austin spoke to address the issue saying the US “stands ready to provide any assistance that we can” during the search for the downed helicopter.
Our hearts go out to their loved ones during this terribly difficult time.
Austin praised those ADF personal involved in the exercise saying “you are magnificent”.
US and Australian service members have a long history of working together. We have fought alongside each other in nearly every war.
Austin recalled his own time and said there was “never a time in combat when I didn’t turn to my left or right” to find an Australian service member.
Updated
ACF Queensland says state continues to rip up native vegetation
The latest result from a satellite survey of native vegetation in Queensland has shown the state continues to destroy more nature than has been regrown.
Queensland published the latest data from its statewide landcover and trees study (SLATS) on Sunday.
Really grateful to @ScottStewartMP and @LeanneLinard for getting up early and releasing the latest SLATS update of nature destruction in Queensland at 07:00 on a Sunday. QLD Ministers, just like the bulldozers, never take a day off.https://t.co/ZcsKSwdU4R pic.twitter.com/lgrg0uqyqL
— Nat Pelle (@NathanielPelle) July 30, 2023
Australian Conservation Foundation’s business and nature campaigner Nathaniel Pelle said in a statement that 350,000 hectares has been bulldozed in Queensland to make way for sheep and cattle.
Our forests and woodlands are still being destroyed faster than they can regrow.
Hundreds of threatened species will have lost critical habitat in this latest catalogue of destruction, including already endangered koalas.
About half (47%) of this destruction has occurred in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area, adding to the pressure the world’s largest coral reef already faces from climate change.
Land clearing has been called the biggest threat to nature in Australia for many decades and yet it continues at a devastating pace, driving climate change, damaging soil, polluting waterways and robbing native animals of their homes.
More than 50,000 hectares (27,000 Gabbas) of the vegetation cleared was primary forest – habitat that has been around for many decades and can never be replaced.
Pelle called on the Palaszczuk and Albanese governments to do more on the issue to ensure there were “no new extinctions”.
Updated
PM speaks on search for downed helicopter
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has expressed his thanks to other nations for their help in searching for navy officers lost after a helicopter crash during training exercises and paid tribute to the missing officers family.
This is a stark reminder that there are no safe or easy days for those who serve in our country’s name.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Albanese said exercise Talisman Sabre brought together 13 nations and up to 30,000 personnel “dedicated to deepening international cooperation and building a more peaceful and secure world”.
On behalf of our nation our thoughts and prayers are with the families, the friends and colleagues of those who are missing.
Updated
Looks like the Matilda’s have bumped Four Corners.
Hi everyone, we're holding our @4corners "Shadow State" for a week. While the rise of the consultants is a massive story we can't compete with the @TheMatildas 😀 @Miller_Reports @Jess_Longbottom
— angus grigg (@AngusGrigg) July 30, 2023
Puppet in quest for Australian leadership
Perhaps what Australia has always needed is a puppet ruler. A purple one.
Having conquered the international comedy circuit, Randy Feltface is making a tilt at politics with his latest tour, Feltopia.
I’m a little bit sick and tired of how the world is being run and I figure I can give it a shot.
For those unfamiliar with Randy Feltface, he’s the puppet creation of Australian puppeteer Heath McIvor, who has been performing as the character since 2005.
The aspiring politician intends to work out his policy platform reality-television style, subjecting 500 contestants from regional Australia to a series of physical trials.
The last person standing will determine Randy’s political agenda, but it’s a process he expects will take five years.
Randy cautions that he’s not necessarily aiming for world domination, nor is he certain he’ll do a better job than those currently in power.
He also suspects his foray into politics may be short-lived.
Because I don’t feel like I’m very honest about my past, I think cancellation is inevitable for me.
I’m running on a platform of honesty and compassion ... I might get eaten alive on the first day.
Feltopia has toured the UK, Europe, and the US, and Randy’s tour of Australia and New Zealand will run until September.
- AAP
Updated
Evangelical chaplains overwhelmingly represented in ADF program
The Australian defence force has a disproportionately high number of evangelical chaplains, with one Australian Christian Churches chaplain for every member who identifies with that denomination, new figures reveal.
Critics argue ADF members shouldn’t be forced to receive care from someone with views that may differ vastly from their own – particularly when 80% of new recruits say they aren’t religious.
Documents provided to the Senate show there are 13 Australian Christian Churches (ACC) chaplains in the ADF even though there are only 13 serving members who self-identify as ACC.
ACC was formerly the Assemblies of God (AOG) which is still listed as a religious grouping by the ADF. It has eight chaplains for 65 serving members.
For more on this story, read the full report by The Guardian Australia’s Tory Shepherd.
Matildas train ahead of trip to Melbourne for must-win Canada clash
With the weight of a nation on their shoulders, the Matildas will run through their paces one final time in Brisbane this morning, before flying to Melbourne this afternoon.
Tonight, coach Tony Gustavsson and midfielder Emily van Egmond will face the press before tomorrow night’s blockbuster Women’s World Cup clash with Canada. Australia must beat the Olympic champions to guarantee progression to the round of 16; a draw would leave their fate in the hands of Ireland, who would need to beat Nigeria (with goal difference breaking the Australians’ way).
The Matildas have had a run of training-ground injuries at the tournament. Sam Kerr injured her calf at the beginning of the World Cup and two players, Mary Fowler and Aivi Luik, suffered concussions during the week. Following brief absences, all three are expected to be fit to play against Canada. Gustavsson will be desperate for an incident-free training session before his team heads south for final pre-match preparations, ahead of perhaps the most important clash in Matildas’ history.
For more on this story from the Guardian’s Kieran Pender:
Updated
NSW government to pull down gambling signage
Gambling signage displayed in public will come down after the New South Wales Labor government moves on an election commitment to ban the outside advertising from venues across the state.
Since the changes were announced in May, Liquor and Gaming NSW inspectors have engaged with 530 venues across 20 metropolitan and 12 regional local government areas (LGAs), to provide education and support to industry to meet their new obligations by 1 September.
Nearly half – 215 of 530 – of venues are already complying with the new requirements ahead of the deadline.
The minister for gaming and racing, David Harris, commended venues that have already removed offending external signage and urged other pubs and clubs to get on board.
It’s great to see industry and government working together to prevent and reduce gambling harm in the community.
We announced these changes back in May as a staged approach to ensure pubs and clubs were given the appropriate amount of time to conceal, remove and switch off any gambling promoting signage.
While venues have until 1 September to comply, our expectation is that they remove signs as quickly as possible and not leave it until the last minute.
Removing this signage is just one important part of our commitment to gambling reform to reduce harm and tackle money laundering head on in NSW, and we are delivering.
The maximum penalty attributable for those who fail to remove their signs and breach the Act is $11,000, for each offence.
Updated
Thoughts are with loved ones of missing ADF personnel: governor general
Governor general David Hurley, a former senior officer in the Australian army, has released a statement on Sunday regarding the helicopter crash during military exercises:
My thoughts are with the loved ones and colleagues of the four Australian Defence Force personnel missing from the helicopter crash overnight.
The impact of this terrible incident is being felt keenly.
Each of the four missing ADF personnel made the decision to serve their nation - to serve us. We must never lose sight of, nor cease to be grateful for, the service and sacrifice of those in uniform.
Linda and I spent Friday with troops participating in exercise Talisman Sabre. The bond between our serving personnel, their pride in serving their nation and their commitment was, as always, striking. Those that serve, their families and, especially, the loved ones of the four missing personnel are in our hearts.
Updated
Noel Pearson on distilling the voice to parliament
Aboriginal leader, Noel Pearson, is speaking about the Indigenous voice to parliament at the North Bondi surf club this morning alongside local MPs.
He told the packed room he has been “grasping” for a way to distill the yes message to the Australian people in recent weeks and he had decided getting voters to read the provision was the best way.
He said:
I have found most useful is to urge our fellow Australians to read the provision. That’s the starting place and the ending place … We can get our relationship right and we can get our nation right by completing the Australian constitution.
Event attendees were handed small cards explaining the provision and encouraged to show it to others.
Noel Pearson is urging people to engage with the provision and its wording. Event attendees have been handed these cards. pic.twitter.com/c3Xu8Rc7ZY
— Tamsin Rose (@tamsinroses) July 29, 2023
Pearson also invited a woman from the crowd to explain how she had explained it to him earlier.
She said:
This is a plea from the Aboriginal people of Australia to please listen to them on those policies which affect their lives. That’s all it is.
Updated
Labor plan for HECS may come too late
Yasmin Jenkins Gunn knew the cost of arts degrees had just doubled to $43,500 when she enrolled to study in 2021.
But the Melbourne-based gender studies student followed her passions anyway – they weren’t going to change based upon government policy.
It frustrated me, but it didn’t dissuade me.
Two years later, her total debt is already more than $20,000 – the cost of an entire arts degree just a few years ago. She has only managed to study part-time, working in hospitality to cover high living costs.
Her debt increased by $1,000 alone in the latest financial year on top of annual fees with recent indexation.
It keeps going up and up; I’m afraid to even look.
Labor has confirmed it plans to scrap reforms introduced by the former government which increased the student contribution of some degrees. But students will have to wait until at least 2024 to see how their contributions will change.
For more on this story, read the full report by Caitlin Cassidy.
Key event
Double-dissolution election trigger looms
Labor will lay down the groundwork for an early election trigger if it can’t clinch support for its signature housing policy as federal parliament returns.
Both houses of parliament will sit over the next fortnight after a five-week break.
The government will reintroduce the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund to the lower house this week, but a second vote will not be held until October.
If the housing legislation is knocked back twice within three months, the government will have the option of calling a double dissolution election.
This would result in every senator being up for re-election.
The government’s announcement last week that it intends to strengthen rights for casual workers who want to become permanent employees will likely be debated during the fortnight.
The opposition has called for an industrial relations system that allows for flexibility for workplaces and staff.
It will also be the first time parliament sits since the release of the damning robodebt royal commission report this month.
- AAP
For background on this story, you can read this piece from The Guardian’s Amy Remeikis:
Updated
Child protection initiative an example of how voice might work, minister says
Finally, Rishworth is asked about a new initiative on child protection which involves shared decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities on these matters.
She says the ministerial council on child protection – which includes every state and territory – have agreed to “work in a different way to reduce the rate of out-of-home care”.
That is including equal numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders meeting and making decisions with commonwealth and state and territory leaders. Aboriginal leaders have said they have hope for the first time that we will implement things like the Indigenous child protection placement principles. So this is a new way of working, of actually sharing power.
Rishworth says this will also be an example of how the voice would work if the referendum succeeds with the body providing “advice and intel and information”.
Updated
Rishworth, asked about the rate of sexual assault on university campuses, says “data is key” to understanding what is actually happening and bringing those numbers down.
Data is key to making sure that we can actually deal with the problem. But it’s not just about more data. What we need to see - and universities are in a really unique position for this - is actually interventions. Interventions to actually ensure that younger people starting at university have information on consent, understand what sexual assault is.
Rishworth also said she did not think “universities have been doing enough on this”.
Updated
Consent laws ‘a matter for states and territories’: Rishworth
Rishworth is asking about a recent Senate inquiry into the patchwork of different legal definitions regarding the definition of “consent” that exist across the states and territories. The potential for harmonising them would resolve a range of issues.
Rishworth says she would like to see “strong consent laws”.
I think that is really important. But we also know that there is a lot of educative work to do out there on what “consent” means. The research does show that people are confused, people have different interpretations of what “consent” actually means. Indeed, a lot of people don’t want to talk about it. If they can avoid talking about consent, they will. They don’t know how to have those conversations with their children, either.
On whether age of consent laws should be 16, Rishworth says that is “absolutely a matter for states and territories” and that legal definitions that may clarify the need for active content – rather than assumed consent – are under consideration.
That is something that is actually being discussed at the moment.
Updated
Asked about the surplus the government now finds itself overseeing, Rishworth is asked whether there will be any further assistance in the next budget.
Of course, the changes we’re making - whether it’s to rent assistance, jobseeker - are structural changes. They’re ongoing increases that will be applied. So when you talk about the surplus from last year, that’s a very different circumstance to the reforms that we’ve made which are ongoing and structural. We have calibrated these to be responsible to help people that are doing it tough. But also, that they’re sustainable into the long-term.
There’s the word “calibrated” again.
Updated
Rishworth is asked about a report by the economic inclusion committee which reviewed the jobseeker payment and recommended that it be lifted to $875 a fortnight – 90% of the aged pension. This recommendation was refused.
The economic inclusion committee was providing a very specific advice on the level of jobseeker to inform the budget process. Of course, the budget process has to take in a range of different factors, including a responsible structural adjustment. But also, of course, as the treasurer has said, making sure that we’re not adding to inflation. So there is a lot of issues that we do have to weigh up in a budget process.
Rishworth is asked whether the government was concerned about “pushing up inflation” and says that “there were a number of aspects that were considered in our careful calibration of the budget”.
Updated
Rishworth says the government has not determined what it will do about other payments such as the pension and single parent payments.
We’ve got to work through those indexation measures. But CPI, of course, is particularly high at the moment. And so it is likely that CPI will be the highest of the number of measures that are looked at.
Updated
Jobseeker to rise by $56 a fortnight, minister says
Minister for social services Amanda Rishworth says there will be a $56 increase to the fortnightly rate of jobseeker which will include $40 applied before indexation.
In addition, that extra indexation will also be applied to our commonwealth rent assistance that we announced in the budget. 15% increase on the maximum rates. And inflation applied after. So the support that people will get through that, if they’re on the maximum rate, will be between $18 to $37 extra a fortnight.
Interviewed on ABC’s Insiders, Rishworth says the government has calculated the rate of indexation at 2.2% for the six months between January to July.
However, it is pointed out that the cost of basics has gone up much more – food and non-alcoholic foods have gone up 7.5%, rent has gone up 6.7%, gas more than 22% and electricity more than 22%. Asked whether the government is doing enough, Rishworth says: “you’ve got to look at these cost-of-living measures in their entirety.”
Firstly, that is the indexation. But we’ve increased the base rate of jobseeker as well by $40. But that’s not the only cost-of-living measure we’ve taken. As I’ve said, commonwealth rent assistance - the largest increase in commonwealth rent assistance - that goes to 1.1 million Australians will benefit as a result of that. We’ve got our energy price reductions which will focus on concession card holders.
Updated
Defence force personnel pulled in for rescue operation
Chief of the Defence Force Gen Angus Campbell said Queensland authorities, members of the public and US personnel were taking part in the search.
Our focus at the moment is finding our people and supporting their families and the rest of our team.
This is indeed a terrible moment.
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin offered his support while speaking at high-level strategic talks in Brisbane.
It’s always tough when you have accidents in training.
The reason why we train to such high standards is so that we can be successful - we can protect lives when we are called to answer any kind of crisis.
It is the second time an Australian MRH-90 has been involved in an emergency this year after a Taipan ditched into waters off the NSW south coast in March.
The Taipan helicopter has earned a reputation as unreliable in recent years, with malfunctions and technical issues forcing several groundings of Australia’s fleet.
- AAP
Updated
Debris recovered at site of military helicopter crash
Queensland police acting assistant commissioner Douglas McDonald confirmed debris had been recovered.
At this time we have located a number of items of debris that would appear to be from the missing helicopter.
He asked anyone who finds anything on the beaches around Hamilton Island to contact police.
Can I encourage if any members of the community are on those beaches and come across anything that they might think is debris related to this particular incident, if they can contact police immediately and don’t touch the items.
Specialist divers would be brought in and sonar used from Sunday to find the aircraft, thought to be in deep water.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, told reporters on Saturday that defence exercises were necessary for the defence forces to maintain their readiness but “they carry risk”.
As we desperately hope for better news during the course of this day we are reminded about the gravity of the act which comes with wearing our nation’s uniform.
- AAP
For background on this story:
Updated
Who’s on Sky News and Insiders this morning
The president of the New South Wales Labor party Michelle Rowland, is speaking to Sky News this morning, and minister for families and social services Amanda Risworth is speaking to ABC Insiders.
We’ll bring you all the latest as it happens.
Updated
Navy divers join search for defence helicopter and crew
Debris has been found in the search for four people still missing after an Australian Army helicopter crashed into waters off Hamilton Island in Queensland during joint military exercises.
Emergency rescue and recovery personnel said late on Saturday debris consistent with a helicopter part had been found near the crash site but could not confirm if it was from the missing aircraft.
The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter went down about 10.30pm on Friday.
A large-scale search is under way to find the crew and their families have been notified.
Talisman Sabre exercise director Brigadier Damian Hill told reporters on Saturday afternoon the missing crew came from the 6th Aviation Richmond Unit, based at the Holsworthy Army barracks in Sydney.
He said his thoughts were with their families and anyone impacted by the accident.
For those service members, those veterans, and those members of the community that are suffering as a consequence of this ... I ask that you reach out to the relevant support networks.
He said he had paused the exercises to allow personnel to contact family.
The aircraft was involved in Exercise Talisman Sabre, a training operation that involves defence forces from Australia, the United States and other allies.
The joint exercises, mostly taking place in regional Queensland, resumed late on Saturday in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
The entire fleet of Australia’s MRH-90 Taipan helicopters has now been grounded as a precaution.
- AAP
Updated
Western Australia Labor holds comfortably holds on to Mark McGowan’s old seat
Western Australian Labor has held former premier Mark McGowan’s seat in a byelection viewed as a test of new premier Roger Cook’s leadership.
Cook’s popularity crashed in recent weeks according to a poll showing the Liberal party holds a 54% to 46% two-party preferred lead over Labor.
But it wasn’t enough to unseat the party in Rockingham, south of Perth, where McGowan’s replacement, Magenta Marshall polled 49.41% of the vote.
With a little over 22,000 votes counted late on Saturday, Labor was headed towards a two-party preferred vote of 65.2%.
The party’s healthy margin of 37.7%, forged by McGowan’s popularity in 2021 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, is expected to fall to 30.4%.
Liberal party candidate Peter Hudson, who campaigned on crime, healthcare and inflationary pressures, polled 17.73% of ballots.
McGowan retired from politics in May citing exhaustion.
- AAP
Updated
Good morning
And welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
Western Australian Labor will hold on to Mark McGowan’s former seat after winning a byelection in Rockingham with a comfortable lead. The contest was triggered when the former premier resigned in May and has been considered an early test of Roger Cook’s leader. The party suffered a swing against it but still won a majority without having to rely on preferences.
Debris has been found during a search for four people still missing after an Australian army helicopter crashed into the ocean off Hamilton Island in Queensland during joint military exercises. The MRH-90 Taipan helicopter went down at roughly 10.30pm on Friday and a large-scale searched was launched to find the crew.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs, taking the blog through the day. With so much going on out there, it’s easy to miss stuff, so if you spot something happening in Australia and think it should be on the blog, you can find me on Twitter at @RoyceRk2 where my DMs are open.
With that, let’s get started ...
