From 2h ago 03. 56 GMT Penny Wong says Australians in Lebanon should ‘leave now’ Daniel Hurst Penny Wong has urged Australians in Lebanon to “leave now” as she warned of the risk of escalating conflict in the region leading to the closure of Beirut airport. The foreign affairs minister posted on X (formerly Twitter) today: Australians in Lebanon should leave now, while commercial flights remain available .
If armed conflict increases, it could affect wider areas of #Lebanon and close Beirut airport. The Australian government may not be able to assist you to leave. It a stronger warning than last week, when Wong urged Australians in Lebanon to “consider” leaving on the first available commercial option.
Updated at 03. 57 GMT Key events 29m ago Victoria to decriminalise public drunkenness on Melbourne Cup day 2h ago Two dead in light plane crash in Queensland 2h ago Penny Wong says Australians in Lebanon should ‘leave now’ 2h ago Thousands rally in support of Palestine in Melbourne 3h ago Chalmers rebukes Dutton over claims Labor has driven up inflation 4h ago Friends star Matthew Perry dead at 54 5h ago Greens condemn Israel ground invasion, call for Middle East ceasefire 7h ago Farrell accuses Dutton of seeking political advantage in Middle East crisis 7h ago Albanese says he told Biden that Julian Assange detention should be ‘brought to a conclusion’ 7h ago Prime minister addresses Joe Biden’s China focus 8h ago Australia ‘failed test’ by not voting in UN against Middle East ceasefire, Dutton says 8h ago Biden backs Albanese’s plan to meet Xi in China 8h ago Good morning Filters BETA Key events (13) Australia (17) US (8) Israel (7) Sydney (7) Anthony Albanese (5) 29m ago 05. 19 GMT Victoria to decriminalise public drunkenness on Melbourne Cup day Victoria will decriminalise public drunkenness on Melbourne Cup day, despite a dedicated sobering-up centre failing to open in time.
Mental health minister Ingrid Stitt has confirmed construction and refurbishment delays will prevent the Collingwood facility opening by 7 November, as Victoria shifts to a health-led response to public intoxication. Not-for-profit organisation Cohealth will operate the 20-bed sobering up centre but it won’t be ready to start accepting intoxicated people by the time the law changes. Stitt : It won’t be very far off.
We’re very confident that it will be up and running soon. Cohealth will continue to operate a six-bed trial site on Gertrude Street until the Collingwood site opens. Stitt defended the law change taking effect on Cup day, when tens of thousands are expected to flock to Flemington Racecourse.
It wouldn’t matter what day the laws are implemented. It’s important that we don’t lose sight of the very important reasons why we’re pursuing this reform, and that is to have a health-led response rather than crime-led response. The Victorian opposition is calling for the government to use this parliamentary sitting week to pause the law change to ensure lives aren’t put at risk.
Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the delay was characteristic of the government’s overall handling of the reform, which he said had lurched from ill-considered to woefully under prepared. The Victorian government committed to decriminalising public drunkenness at the 2019 coronial inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day . She was arrested for being drunk in a public place and died after hitting her head in a concrete cell at Castlemaine police station.
A coroner found her death was preventable. Queensland remains the only state that has not moved to decriminalise public intoxication. – AAP Updated at 05.
25 GMT 46m ago 05. 02 GMT Numbers at the Sydney rally appear to be growing. Updated at 05.
13 GMT 1h ago 04. 51 GMT Justin Trudeau pays tribute to actor Matthew Perry The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has described Matthew Perry’s death as “shocking and saddening” saying he will “never forget the schoolyard games we used to play”. Matthew Perry’s passing is shocking and saddening.
I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved – and you will be missed.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 29, 2023 In his memoir, Perry described how his mother went to work for Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau , as a media advisor to the then prime minister. It was during this time that Perry recalled beginning to act out and beating up Justin, the future prime minister of Canada. But as he wrote: I decided to end my argument with him when [Justin] was put in charge of an entire army.
Drugs, impotence and punching Justin Trudeau: things we learned from Matthew Perry’s memoir Read more Updated at 05. 03 GMT 1h ago 04. 26 GMT A few images of the growing crowd in Sydney for the Palestinian solidarity rally on Sunday.
Sydney has come out in their thousands again – standing in solidarity with Palestinians here and around the world #FreePalestine pic. twitter. com/9QKikfkTw7 — Jenny Leong MP 梁珍妮 (@jennyleong) October 29, 2023 Rally for #Palestine still growing in Hyde Park.
More union flags than last time – @MaritimeUnionAU , @NTEUnion , @raffwu , @ASUnion , @CFMEU . Teachers & nurses contingents too. pic.
twitter. com/tRXXw3Tq0k — David Brophy (@Dave_Brophy) October 29, 2023 Absolutely massive protest in solidarity with Palestine 🇵🇸 in Hyde Park Sydney. pic.
twitter. com/L3SMyhx0U2 — Adeel Khan (@adeelkhan7) October 29, 2023 2h ago 04. 10 GMT Two dead in light plane crash in Queensland Two people have been killed in a plane crash after their aircraft crashed into a mountainous region of Queensland’s Pioneer Valley , inland from Mackay.
Police said a member of the public alerted them to the crash at about 9:30 on Saturday morning, telling officers they saw the aircraft slam into the mountain. The RACQ rescue helicopter was deployed and spotted the wreckage of the plane at about 11:30, with black smoke seen billowing out from underneath the thick tree cover. Queensland police said on Sunday afternoon ground crews were still working to retrieve the aircraft, which is situated in difficult terrain.
It is understood two people, a man, 73 and a woman, 75, were on board the aircraft at the time. The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau has been notified of the crash and has begun an investigation. – AAP Updated at 05.
36 GMT 2h ago 03. 56 GMT Penny Wong says Australians in Lebanon should ‘leave now’ Daniel Hurst Penny Wong has urged Australians in Lebanon to “leave now” as she warned of the risk of escalating conflict in the region leading to the closure of Beirut airport. The foreign affairs minister posted on X (formerly Twitter) today: Australians in Lebanon should leave now, while commercial flights remain available .
If armed conflict increases, it could affect wider areas of #Lebanon and close Beirut airport. The Australian government may not be able to assist you to leave. It a stronger warning than last week, when Wong urged Australians in Lebanon to “consider” leaving on the first available commercial option.
Updated at 03. 57 GMT 2h ago 03. 41 GMT Daniel Hurst Penny Wong speaks with US secretary of state on Gaza The foreign minister, Penny Wong , had a phone call today with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken , amid ongoing efforts to secure the safe passage of civilians, including foreign nationals, from Gaza.
It is understood the call included discussion of recent developments, including the humanitarian situation in Gaza and attempts to allow foreign nationals including Australians to leave safely. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) described the situation in Gaza as “highly challenging and rapidly changing” and said Australia continued to “strongly urge the protection of civilian lives and the observation of international law as the conflict continues”. A spokesperson for Dfat said Australia continued to “advocate with the US, Egypt, Israel, and governments with influence in the region, for the opening of the Rafah border crossing open for humanitarian purposes, including the passage of civilians and the safe passage of Australians and their families”.
The spokesperson confirmed that the Australian government was “assisting 88 Australians, permanent residents and immediate family members in Gaza” . They added: We understand the situation is extremely distressing for them and their loved ones … We are doing what we can to support Australians and their families in Gaza, including providing the best available information and options for their safety, and communicating through all available channels. Communication with those in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult and we are engaging with partners and organisations in the region to try to address this.
The government says Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian government’s 24-hour consular emergency centre on +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas) or 1300 555 135 (from within Australia). Updated at 03. 57 GMT 2h ago 03.
25 GMT Thousands rally in support of Palestine in Melbourne Thousands of people also gathered at the State Library in Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday in support of a free Palestine, with children among the attendees holding placards in a sea of Palestine flags. The crowd chanted “free, free Palestine”, and one speaker told attendees: “What is going on is nothing short of genocide. ” “We need to be very clear in demanding a ceasefire,” the speaker said.
“We need to boycott those companies who are supporting this. ” – AAP Huge rally in Naarm in solidarity with Palestine – we are about to march. We will put up speeches later today and tonight #FreePalestine #FreeGaza #StopArmingIsrael #ShutElbitDown pic.
twitter. com/3r7vm3jpTz — WACA (@akaWACA) October 29, 2023 The March is still coming. The Naarm/Melbourne is ringing with the noise for #FreePalestine #FreeGaza pic.
twitter. com/6fa5sz15p2 — WACA (@akaWACA) October 29, 2023 Bit of a Birds Eye view. This crowd is absolutely massive! pic.
twitter. com/xnzNCBv3ln — Matt (@MattH093) October 29, 2023 Updated at 03. 31 GMT 3h ago 03.
09 GMT Chalmers rebukes Dutton over claims Labor has driven up inflation Treasurer Jim Chalmers has dismissed an attack by the opposition leader on the government’s economic management since the election. Peter Dutton claimed during Sky News that the government’s two budgets since last year’s federal election had driven inflation up, something Dr Chalmers declared showed a lack of “economic credibility”. ABS statistics in the week just gone showed our childcare, energy rebates and rent relief meant inflation was around half a percentage point lower than it would have been without them.
Not only is Dutton wrong but he and the Coalition actually voted against cost-of-living relief – which means inflation would be higher today if they had their way. Australia’s CPI jumped 1. 2% in the September quarter, factoring in to a 5.
4% annual rise. Dutton had been asked about a potential interest rate rise on Melbourne Cup day, believing it would bring a 12th rate hike under the Labor government. The Opposition says Labor has driven up inflation and asked Australians to pay more tax.
He also said Australians were paying “15 per cent more tax” under Labor, labelling the government “an almighty mess”. The government’s had two budgets where they’ve had the ability to make decisions which would ease the pressure on inflation and therefore bring interest rates back. They haven’t done that, in fact, they’ve added to the inflationary pressures.
Australians are feeling that at the moment, they understand exactly what’s happened over the last 18 months, they feel a great frustration. ” Dr Chalmers said the tax claim was “misleading”, saying the government had received the greater amount of tax revenue because more people were in work. It’s disappointing but not surprising he doesn’t know the difference between tax rates and the total tax take which factors in more people working.
The fact is under the Albanese Labor government, more Australians are working and they are earning more – that’s good for workers and good for the budget. – AAP Updated at 03. 15 GMT 3h ago 02.
54 GMT Cryopreservation techniques used to defeat invasive myrtle rust A process similar to that used to store human embryos is helping save countless native Australian plants under siege from invasive myrtle rust. In just 13 years, the killer fungus has, with the exception of South Australia, infiltrated every state including Tasmania, as well as the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory. With bottle brush, lemon myrtle, lilly pilly, blackbutt, broad-leaved paperbark and tea trees among 2000 plants at risk, authorities say the incursion “is about as bad as it can get for biosecurity in Australia”.
Myrtle rust has become so widespread, it can’t be eradicated. Dr Alice Hayward , from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, say cryogenically preserving tissue from the most impacted members of the Myrtaceae family may help. “Myrtle rust affects the ability of the worst impacted species to reproduce and some .
. . are no longer producing seed in the wild,” according to “On top of this, seeds from affected rainforest species often cannot be stored in a seed bank as they don’t survive the standard drying or freezing processes.
” Cryopreservation involves taking a tiny shoot, treating it with protectants and plunging it into liquid nitrogen where it can be stored indefinitely. Bottle brush plants are among about 2000 native species threatened by myrtle rust. – AAP Updated at 03.
33 GMT 3h ago 02. 27 GMT Queensland bushfire threat eases Hundreds of people in Queensland were told to flee their homes on Saturday evening, amid brief concern that a fire burning in a nearby state forest was headed towards the community. Fires have been burning across the state for seven straight days, and there are concerns that conditions could get worse by Tuesday.
On Saturday evening, Queensland police issued an evacuation order under the Public Safety and Preservation Act for part of the Sunshine Coast tow of Landsborough and rural properties to the west, towards Beerwah State Forest, where a fire had been active and had flared out of control. Police went door to door telling people to leave, after issuing a warning that said “a fast moving fire is headed towards homes”. The fire may threaten the township of Landsborough and all residents in surrounding areas are encouraged to enact their fire plan and evacuate the area, via a safe path.
The evacuation order was lifted about three hours later, at 10. 20pm. More than 80 bushfires continue to burn across the state on Sunday afternoon, with six watch and act alerts active.
A blaze continues to burn at Tara, where one person was killed and 32 homes were lost in several Western Downs fires. Multiple watch and act warnings remain in place for at-risk residents, with some told to prepare to leave if they haven’t already. Others to the east of the warning area have been told they can now return with caution.
– with agencies Updated at 02. 51 GMT 4h ago 02. 13 GMT The new age of bushfire bunkers In recent days, grass has begun to grow on the roof of Leonard McDonald’s bushfire bunker, helping it to merge into the New South Wales south coast hinterland bush.
It’s meagre camouflage, though. There is little that can fully distract him from the fact that he now lives beside a six-tonne concrete block submerged in the ground for the express purpose of saving lives in the event of a catastrophic – and not unprecedented – bushfire. “Even if I would prefer not to think about it, it’s there waiting.
It’s eerie,” McDonald, a director of the Multispecies Justice Trust, says. The bunker at the Brogers Creek property he owns with his partner delivers him back to his childhood in North America during the Cuban missile crisis. A palpable sense of foreboding is attached to the structure, with its Pyroglass window and enough space and air for four people for six hours.
Usually buried into soil or the side of a hill, bunkers are solid concrete structures with reinforced flame-proof doors, sometimes with oxygen supplies. They are designed as last-resort options in short, extreme burnovers. For McDonald, the new bunker falls squarely into the category of adaptation in an area that is labelled, in risk parlance, the flame zone.
“There’s no escaping the climate crisis now,” he says. He lives, as we all do, with forecasts of more intense and frequent bushfires. When it is not flooding, Australia’s east coast can be a crucible.
For more on this story, read the full feature by Daisy Dumas here: Escaping underground: the eerie new age of bushfire bunkers Read more Updated at 02. 26 GMT 4h ago 01. 58 GMT Auction activity increases across Australia Auction activity has risen sharply with 3,383 auctions held this weekend.
This is more than twice the 1,921 auctions held last week and above the 2,463 auctions that occurred at the same time last year. Based on results collected so far, CoreLogic’s summary found that the preliminary clearance rate was 68. 5% across the country, which is lower than the 70.
8% preliminary rate recorded last week and the 58. 8% actual rate on final numbers. Across the capital cities: Sydney : 1086 auctions with a clearance rate of 70.
8% Melbourne : 1,703 auctions with a clearance rate of 68. 6% Brisbane : 238 auctions with a clearance rate of 58. 9% Adelaide : 173 auctions with a clearance rate of 85.
1% Canberra : 165 auctions with a clearance rate of 50. 9% Tasmania : One of three auctions held. Perth : Twelve of 15 auctions held.
Updated at 02. 04 GMT 4h ago 01. 44 GMT Retail data could provide clues to interest rate decision The latest snapshot of the retail sector will make for essential reading ahead of another finely balanced interest rate decision in a little over a week.
Retail trade data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics will be released on Monday and shed some light on consumer spending patterns throughout September. In the month prior, retail trade lifted 0. 2%, which was modest given Australia’s strong population growth and the influence of higher prices on the measure of total sales.
Weaker consumption growth indicates higher interest rates are weighing on demand for goods and services, helping to ease pressure on prices. September quarter inflation data came in a little above expectations, sparking speculation about the Reserve Bank’s ability to bring inflation back to target within its expressed timeline without further increases to the cash rate. New building approvals will be among the data batches releases by the ABS.
An update on the housing market will also be of interest to the central bank as although unlikely to move the needle in isolation, rising prices can lead people to spend more because they feel wealthier. The national statisticians will also release cost of living indexes for the September quarter on Wednesday, followed by lending indicators and international trade data on Thursday. Two separate speeches from RBA assistant governor Brad Jones could also be of interest.
– AAP Updated at 01. 47 GMT 1 of 3 Next Oldest Oldest Explore more on these topics Australia news Anthony Albanese Peter Dutton Bushfires Queensland Australian politics Reuse this content.
From: theguardian
URL: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/oct/29/australia-news-live-anthony-albanese-peter-dutton-queensland-bushfires
