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Australia news — Achol Arok and Nick Visser
That’s where we’ll leave our live coverage for today.
Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:
Police are investigating the death of a woman who was struck by a car that crashed into a restaurant at Westfield Knox in Wantirna South in Melbourne’s east.
The National Reconstruction Fund will invest $120m into a $240m advanced manufacturing project north of Perth expected to be able to build 2,000 apartments a year once fully operational.
A second long-nosed fur seal is suspected to have died in South Australia from H5 bird flu, just a day after officials confirmed the first death of a mammal on the Australian mainland.
Leah Stewart , the woman who was bitten by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee beach in June, issued an update on GoFundMe yesterday, thanking the community for its support during her recovery.
Barnaby Joyce says a fellow One Nation MP made a mistake on Sunday by suggesting the minor party’s migration numbers would not be much different to Labor’s.
Australia’s unemployment payments have fallen so far behind the pension they now amount to just 68% of the payment, a new research paper released today by the Australian Council for Social Services has revealed.
KPMG Australia is cutting 27 partners and about 360 employees in the wake of an audit leaks scandal that saw it cut off from new government contracts.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns , says he supports extending the royal commission on antisemitism after calls for an extension by the federal opposition were rejected by the Albanese government.
The AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon, says the five players stood down by the Sydney Swans won’t be invited to the Brownlow medal awards night .
Five people have been taken into custody and two have been charged after Victoria police investigating alleged union corruption raided properties including the headquarters of the CFMEU.
Anthony Albanese said there will be “no change” to WA’s share of the GST while he is prime minister.
Thanks for sticking around, see you tomorrow morning.
‘Shocking week for women’: Sarah Hanson-Young calls for cultural change
The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called for Australia to confront a “culture of entitlement” that she says is contributing to “a real problem”.
Her comments follow several police investigations into sexual-assault allegations including charges being laid against students at private boys’ schools over the past week. Police in Victoria are also investigating an allegation of sexual assault linked to players in the Sydney Swans AFL team. No arrests have been made or charges laid in that matter and the players involved have reportedly denied criminal wrongdoing.
Speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, Hanson-Young said:
It is quite clear that the boys’ club still rules the day in Australia.
It has been a shocking week for women right across the country.
What we need is men to actually call that out for what it is.
And I was struck by how many newspaper articles and column inches there were over the weekend from women, [who] are writing about how horrific this has been, how exhausted we all are … in the middle of this fight – and yet very little from male journalists, sports reporters, columnists, about the actual issue of men’s entitlement over women’s bodies, and the boys’ club.
We need men in this country to call out the boys’ club.
Melbourne council forced to combat spike in antisemitic graffiti
About 4,000 sq m of antisemitic graffiti, posters and stickers have been removed by one local council, as debate swirls around extending a royal commission, AAP reports.
City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece on Monday told the commission social cohesion had frayed in Melbourne, home to Australia’s largest Jewish population, since the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.
A spike in antisemitic graffiti and other materials in the city prompted the council to introduce a system that allowed members of the public to report offensive material at any time of the day or night, he said.
Contractors then aim to remove the material within one hour.
Reece said 800 to 1,000 pieces of antisemitic material, covering almost 4000sq m, had been removed since the initiative started about two years ago.
SydWest Multicultural Services head Elfa Moraitakis also appeared before the commission on Monday.
Moraitakis said the Bondi attack had created unease in western Sydney’s Muslim community.
She said some Muslims, particularly women who wore a hijab, stopped going to work due to fear. Moraitakis said:
Post-Bondi, unfortunately, specific communities were used as scapegoats.
They were used as part of the political debate and this made people very uncomfortable.
Advocates and Coalition MPs have been calling for the commission, which began its final week of hearings on Monday, to be extended, saying it has not gone far enough in interrogating what led to December’s Bondi Beach attack.
CFMEU say it’s ‘cooperating fully’ with police after raids across several properties
The CFMEU and its staff say they are “cooperating fully” with Victoria police after five people were taken into custody during raids across six properties, including the union’s Melbourne headquarters.
Detectives from Taskforce Hawk executed search warrants on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged secret commissions and corruption in Victoria’s construction sector.
In a statement, administrator Michael Crosby said:
Criminals and bad actors in construction remain a major threat to the workers which is why we need greater regulation and scrutiny across the sector.
This administration has undertaken unprecedented reform and anyone associated with criminal elements will have absolutely no place in this union’s future.
The CFMEU said it will also launch its own internal investigations.
The scandal was a leading contributor to the ousting of former Victorian premier Jacinta Allan . The new premier, Ben Carroll , announced a royal commission last week.
James Paterson says Coalition immigration policy not finalised
The shadow defence minister, James Paterson, says the Coalition has not yet settled its immigration policy while speaking on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing.
One of the reasons why is to do the work thoroughly and properly. Get it costed, get it modelled, consult stakeholders, so you don’t have four policies in four weeks like One Nation has had.
We’re going to take the time to get it right, so that by the time the next election comes around, Australians know exactly where we stand on migration and they can vote for or against us based on their judgment of that policy.
Asked whether he acknowledges there had also been inconsistency within the Coalition over immigration policy and migration numbers, Paterson said:
We haven’t settled our policy yet. And when we do, we will be behind it because we will have done the work to arrive at it.
We will have done the modelling, we’ll have done the costing, we’ll have done the consultation. It’ll be a rock-solid number that we stand behind.
Woman dies after a car crashes into shopping centre restaurant in Melbourne’s east
Police are investigating the death of a woman who was struck by a car that crashed into a restaurant at Westfield Knox in Wantirna South in Melbourne’s east.
Emergency services responded to reports of the crash at about 12.45pm on Monday, according to Ambulance Victoria.
The female customer, who has not yet been formally identified, died at the scene. A second customer was treated by paramedics at the scene.
The driver and passenger were both taken to Maroondah hospital in stable conditions.
Police have launched an investigation but said they “do not believe the incident was an intentional act”.
In a social media post, cafe Martini & Co said it was “temporarily closed until further notice”.
New Zealand to introduce bill banning social media for children under 16
The New Zealand prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said on Monday his party will introduce a bill in parliament that seeks to ban children under 16 from using social media , proposing fines of up to 10% of a platform’s global revenue for non-compliance.
The bill would require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to verify users’ ages, including by utilising existing account information, facial technology and digital identity documents.
“We simply cannot accept the harm being done to a generation of New Zealand children,” Luxon said in a statement, adding:
Social media is exposing them to harmful content, addictive technology and pressures they are not equipped to deal with and it’s affecting their family life, mental health, sleep and education.
It was not immediately clear if the bill would garner sufficient support to pass through parliament, with one of Luxon’s coalition partners, the New Zealand First party, saying it would not support it.
Related: New Zealand to consider banning children under 16 from social media
That’s all for me! Achol Arok will take the blog from here. Have a nice Monday.
One Nation described as ‘all over the shop’ with migration targets
Barnaby Joyce says his One Nation colleague David Farley misspoke when he said the party’s net migration target was “not too different” from Labor’s, describing it as a rookie mistake.
The shadow defence minister, James Paterson , said the comments demonstrated One Nation was “all over the shop when it comes to migration”.
Farley, who won the seat of Farrer for Pauline Hanson ’s rightwing party in May, ruffled feathers when he told ABC’s Insiders that while One Nation’s net overseas migration (Nom) target was 130,000, it would allow an additional 100,000 migrant workers at a minimum. They would include skilled workers, backpackers, and Pacific and Timor-Leste labour through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (Palm) scheme.
The final figure, of about 230,000, is slightly more than the Albanese’s government’s forecasts of 225,000 by 2027-28. Hanson insisted on Sunday that the party’s target was 130,000.
On Monday, Joyce said a mistake had been made.
Related: One Nation described as ‘all over the shop’ with migration targets as Joyce says MP made rookie mistake
US territories hit out at Trump plan to explore deep sea mining in the Pacific
A US government plan to lease out millions of hectares of seabed near the Mariana Trench for deep sea exploration has drawn opposition from US territories in the Pacific, as the Trump administration remains locked in a race with China for control of critical ocean minerals.
On Tuesday, the Marine Mineral Administration, an agency under the US department of the interior, released a proposal to auction deep sea mining leases for 28m hectares of seafloor off the coast of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.
The leases would allow companies to explore the seabed and potentially extract deposits of critical minerals – known as polymetallic nodules – that could be used in batteries, electronics and defence technologies. Many environmental groups have opposed deep sea mining, arguing that more research is needed on its effects on marine ecosystems.
Related: US territories hit out at Trump plan to explore deep sea mining in the Pacific
Other projects ‘more needed and urgent’ than Suburban Rail Loop, Victorian premier suggests
In an interview on ABC Radio Melbourne, host Raf Epstein pressed the Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, on whether the two tunnel-boring machines in the ground in Burwood, about to begin tunnelling to Glen Waverley next month, will proceed.
The expectation is yes. The boring machines are there. There is a contract in place and that work will go ahead. But I am also having a very good look at how we fix up potholes, get on with Airport Rail, get on with Melton electrification. There are other projects that are so much more needed and urgent , and I want to make sure that Victorians know I’m governing for every corner of this state and every region of this state too.
Asked whether he will sign the contracts to build the SRL East underground train stations before the election, Carroll said he’ll have “more to say on this in the very near future”.
I interpret that as 100% you’re not going to build the stations. You’re delaying building the stations. Is that the right interpretation?
An orbital line is needed for our state, but we need to do it where it’s the best value for taxpayers … I’m not here to make any announcements on that except to say I’m having a very good look at this project, as I am all projects, to make sure we’re getting value for money. And I’ll have more to say later this week.
Victorian premier teases update on Suburban Rail Loop
The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll , did the rounds on Melbourne radio this morning, suggesting he will soon provide an update on the future of the Suburban Rail Loop .
When Carroll became premier just under a month ago, he said he would be ordering a review into the costly 90km public transport project , which would also consider whether billions of dollars worth of already-signed construction contracts could be redirected.
The state government has signed about $14.5bn worth of contracts for the first stage of the loop, known as SRL East – a 26km stretch of tunnels between Cheltenham and Box Hill.
Asked by 3AW’s Tom Elliot whether he wanted to push ahead with the project, Carroll replied:
What Victorians want is a relentless focus on the basics: health, education, community safety. They do not want to be the government to be doing big, expensive projects.
They want to focus on the little things that matter so much to them. Now, on the Suburban Rail Loop, I will have more to say very soon. What I can say is … the era of ripping up contracts is over. I will stick to contracts that have been signed.
Having said that, though, Tom, I will work with the people building Suburban Rail Loop to get better value for taxpayers. The Suburban Rail Loop, an orbital line, makes sense, but it cannot be crowding out everything else we need to do as a government . Airport Rail, Melton electrification, filling potholes and doing the job properly – these are the things Victorian want from their leader and their government.
Suspended Sydney Swans players not invited to AFL’s awards night
The AFL CEO says the five players stood down by the Sydney Swans won’t be invited to the Brownlow medal awards night.
The Brownlow medal is awarded to the best and fairest player in the AFL, awarded at the league’s annual awards night, this year on 21 September.
Andrew Dillon told reporters the invitations for the Brownlow will go out this week, but:
Those players won’t be invited … They are still eligible for the Brownlow but they’re under a club suspension which goes til the end of the season.
When their suspension is completed, the players will return to the club, he said.
Albanese maintains there will be ‘no change’ to WA’s share of GST while he is PM
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese , is speaking in Perth, where he said there will be “no change” to WA’s share of the GST while he is in the top job:
What I believe is very clearly there will be no change to WA’s GST arrangements while I’m prime minister. That is my view.
That has consistently been my view. The floor of 75% will absolutely stay. I think that WA deserves that. Because WA contributes to the national economy, and helps to drive that economy.
The WA premier, Roger Cook, said West Australians would be “relieved and pleased to hear the words from the prime minister today that Western Australia’s arrangements for the GST will remain”.
You don’t come to Western Australia on 45 occasions without appreciating that the Western Australian economy is driving the national economy. And we are very pleased that the prime minister has backed WA.
Five arrested as police raid CFMEU headquarters in Melbourne
Five people have been taken into custody after Victoria police investigating alleged union corruption raided properties including the headquarters of the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) on Monday.
Detectives from Taskforce Hawk executed warrants at six addresses this morning as part of a current investigation into information provided re secret commissions.
One of the warrants was executed at a premises on Elizabeth Street in Melbourne. Five people have been taken into custody and are being interviewed by police.
Further information will be provided later this afternoon.
The Elizabeth Street property is the headquarters of the Cfmeu. Taskforce Hawk was established to investigate allegations of corruption in the construction sector after revelations of alleged graft involving the CFMEU on Victoria’s so-called Big Build.
The scandal was a leading contributor to the ousting of former Victorian premier Jacinta Allan . The new premier, Ben Carroll , announced a royal commission last week.
AFL CEO says ‘actions of a few’ don’t define football industry amid Swans scandal
The AFL CEO, Andrew Dillon, won’t say the game has a culture problem, saying the actions of a few Sydney Swans players don’t define the industry, after an incident that led to an allegation of sexual assault currently being investigated by Victorian police.
Separately, five Swans players have been stood down for the rest of the season for breaching club standards by “drinking … staying out late … and bringing women back to the hotel”. No one has been arrested or charged in relation to the investigation and the Guardian understands the players deny criminal wrongdoing.
Speaking to reporters in Melbourne just now, Dillon was asked if the AFL had a cultural problem. He said:
I think the actions of a few don’t define the actions of the entire industry.
He also said the league also won’t investigate the Sydney Swans incident, including hair testing for illicit substance use, until the police have finished investigating.
The players have reportedly denied using illegal drugs. Dillon said the club’s penalties were adequate and brought “accountability”.
He downplayed fan walkouts at yesterday’s Swans’ men’s game in Sydney:
Look, we saw an amazing crowd for the AFLW game, the highest crowd that the Sydney AFLW has had, over 16,000, and then we had a crowd of over 30,000 for the men’s game. There was some people that left the games in between, but that’s happened in other double headers. It was a special day for the Swans. It was a tough day.
Victorian Bar lashes Liberal plan to split the court of appeal
The Victorian Bar , which represents the thousands of barristers practising in the state, has lashed the Liberal party’s election commitment to split the court of appeal in two.
The opposition leader, Jess Wilson , yesterday announced the plan to create a dedicated court of criminal appeal alongside a separate court of civil appeal, and to appoint additional judges to the latter to set precedents for tougher sentences.
Legal and civil rights groups yesterday criticised the plan as an attempt to politicise the courts, which are independent of government.
Related: Liberal plan to split Victorian appeals court attacked as ‘thought bubble’ that would politicise judiciary
In a statement this afternoon, the Victorian Bar president, Fiona Ryan SC, said the state was “fortunate to have a judiciary that is independent and apolitical, and which applies the laws enacted by parliament without fear or favour, and without any regard to their personal views. That independence is essential to the rule of law”.
The Victorian Bar is deeply concerned about any threat to the independence of the judiciary. Courts must not be politicised. Judges must always be appointed on merit, and never with a view to influencing outcomes. Any suggestion that judges might be appointed to influence outcomes is to be condemned in the strongest terms. It is anathema to the separation of powers, which is the foundation of community confidence in the independence of the courts.
Ryan said while the group welcomes increased resources for the courts and additional judges, “is not yet clear how splitting the Court of Appeal will improve the administration of justice”.
Diesel prices back above $2.50 a litre in some cities
Diesel prices are back near recent highs of above $2.50 a litre as oil markets wait for the US to announce possible Iran sanctions.
Diesel in Melbourne is 255.4 cents per litre today, back where it was at the start of August, according to MotorMouth. Sydney has climbed to 247.1 cents, Brisbane is at 252.2 and Hobart 254.7.
Service stations have hiked their prices as wholesale and import prices rise. Commonwealth Bank analyst Vivek Dhar wrote today that Singapore diesel benchmark prices have kept spiking higher.
Oil production in the Gulf has recovered somewhat since the US went to war with Iran but diesel refining in the area has not, Dhar wrote.
Global diesel prices have also been particularly under pressure as Ukrainian strikes have disrupted exports from Russia, which had been a stopgap. Dhar predicted diesel prices would be slower to return to normal than oil in the coming year.
Oil prices are still volatile. The Brent crude oil benchmark has spent nearly a week above US$90 a barrel. The US is expected to announce new economic sanctions on Iran and allies on Monday US time.
Dhar said CBA expects Brent oil futures to trade between US$70‑100 a barrel in the next four months. While US$70 might seem low, he says the oil market was already oversupplied before the war and will be again even if just 50% of trade through the strait of Hormuz resumes.
Related: Iran’s foreign minister calls threat of new US economic sanctions ‘desperate’
NSW premier supports extending antisemitism royal commission
The NSW premier, Chris Minns , says he supports extending the royal commission on antisemitism after calls for an extension by the federal opposition were rejected by the Albanese government.
The royal commission, established following the Bondi attack, is holding its final scheduled hearing block this week. Last week, the shadow federal education minister and prominent Jewish MP Julian Leeser brought an unsuccessful motion to extend its reporting date to allow it to hear from further witnesses. This morning , the shadow home affairs minister Jonno Duniam reiterated the call to extend the royal commission on ABC Radio National.
At a press conference today, Minns said he had spoken to senior members of the Jewish community who were “satisfied both with the hearing they got and the platform that enabled them to make their case”, but did support an extension to allow further witnesses to appear. He said:
Given the expense and time that’s gone into the royal commission, and the fact that we’re not going to have another one, at least for a long period of time, and we are using this royal commission to get to the fundamental truths of what happened on the day, and also what happened in the lead-up to that day, particularly around antisemitism, I’m hopeful that it will speak to as large a number of people as possible, and genuinely get the perspective of the community.
If we need to go a couple of weeks longer, given that most of the expense was spent setting it up, that would seem to be money well spent because both the federal and the state government are relying on these recommendations to shape some of our policy.
Prior to Anthony Albanese ’s announcement of the federal royal commission, Minns had announced plans for a state-led commission, which was superseded by the national inquiry.
KPMG to cut nearly 400 staff in wake of audit leaks scandal
KPMG Australia is cutting 27 partners and about 360 employees in the wake of an audit leaks scandal that saw it cut off from new government contracts.
The audit and consulting giant today reported its revenue fell 1% year-on-year, to $2.26bn in the year 2025-26.
While the embattled audit arm had seen revenue grow 11%, its consulting revenue was down 16.9%. Most of the workers to be let go are from the consulting arm.
KPMG’s new chief executive, John Sams , said weak demand for its services was expected to continue beyond the next 12 months, blaming Australia’s weak economy. He said:
The professional services sector is also changing rapidly as client expectations evolve, AI reshapes the way services are delivered and government spending on consultants remains lower. We also recognise the challenges created by our own failings, and the work we must continue to do to rebuild trust …
After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce and restructure parts of the firm. This is not a decision that has been taken lightly, and we know it will have a very real impact on people.
The firm said it was discussing further cuts to a small number of award-based jobs. Sams said KPMG would continue to assess its operating environment as it sought to stay financially sustainable. You can read about the firm’s difficulties here:
Related: Five key takeaways from parliamentary hearings into client leaks at KPMG
Leah Stewart recounts shark bite: ‘I’ll never forget its face’
Leah Stewart , the woman bitten by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee beach in June, will appear on next Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes. A short clip of the interview includes the mother recounting coming face-to-face with a great white shark.
Its face was horrific. I’ll never forget its face. It was a monster.
It was holding on to my leg, and I just thought of August. And I thought, ‘she’s not going to have a mum, she’s going to grow up without a mum’.
I couldn’t handle that, I didn’t want her not to have a mum.
Stewart went on to say: “I just thought I’ve got to, I’ve got to fight it. Do everything I can to be here.”
Jobseeker payments now amount to just 68% of the pension
Australia’s unemployment payments have fallen so far behind the pension they now amounts to just 68% of the payment, a new research paper released today by the Australian Council for Social Services (ACOSS) has revealed.
A person aged 67 who is eligible for the age pension receives $600 a week, but a 66-year-old who loses their job receives just $409 a week to cover the same basic living costs.
In the 1970s, jobseeker and the pension were paid at the same rate and by the early 90s, jobseeker was still about 90% of the pension. But in 1997, the Howard government legislated pensions to be benchmarked to 25% of male total average weekly earnings – but left unemployment payments out of that legislation.
Pensions have risen in line with wage growth many times while jobseeker has not, and the pension was increased in real terms by more than $30 a week in 2009.
Now the pension is 60% of the minimum wage, while jobseeker is just 40.6%.
ACOSS’s CEO, Cassandra Goldie, called on the federal government to raise the jobseeker rate to two-thirds of the minimum wage:
A 66-year-old and a 67-year-old face exactly the same rent, grocery bill and energy costs. There is no reason one of them should be living on $191 a week less than the other.
Woefully low income support is causing physical and mental harm and trapping people in a cycle of poverty and deprivation.
People who receive jobseeker are skipping meals and forgoing essential medications just to keep a roof over their heads.
We are one of the wealthiest countries in the world yet successive governments choose to keep 3.7 million people living in poverty. We know how to fix this problem, we just need politicians to act.
Police identify man found with critical injuries on busy Melbourne walking trail
Victoria police have identified a man found with critical injuries on a busy walking trail in Glenroy, about 14km from Melbourne’s CBD, on Sunday afternoon, as reported earlier in the blog.
Police would like to thank the media and public for their assistance. At this stage it is not believed he was assaulted, however the circumstances surrounding what has occurred is unclear.
The man remains in hospital in a serious condition.
We have some important photos of little penguins getting vaccinated against H5 bird flu to break up the day’s news:
Ampol’s profit soars on war-linked price surges
Oil refiner and petrol seller Ampol has seen its interim earnings jump after it managed to secure fuel supplies to capitalise on the impact of the Middle East conflict on energy prices, AAP reports.
Net profit on a replacement cost basis – which excludes the impact of oil prices on inventories – jumped more than four times to $857.2m in the six months ended June 30, from $180.2m a year earlier.
Its statutory first-half result was even bigger at $1.4bn, against a loss of $25.3m in the first half of 2025.
Matt Halliday , the company’s chief executive, said:
While the market dislocation provided a benefit to our financial results, our supply responsiveness, trading capabilities, refinery reliability, customer and supplier relationships, as well as the progress of our retail segmentation strategy all enabled Ampol to meet its customer needs.
Ampol is Australia’s largest transport fuel provider, accounting for about 15-20% of total refined fuel needs.
Apartment rents now cost more than half a typical worker’s take-home pay in all Australian capital cities
Renting a mid-priced unit in any of Australia’s capital cities now costs more than half a typical single worker’s take-home pay, spurring advocates to urge Labor to offer renters more protections.
New modelling shows someone earning $70,000 – close to the median annual income – would have to spend two-thirds of their earnings if they wanted to rent the median Sydney apartment.
Everybody’s Home, a housing advocacy group, released the analysis in its latest “Priced Out” report amid a political debate over rent hikes and the Albanese government’s tax reforms.
Related: Apartment rents now cost more than half a typical worker’s take-home pay in all Australian capital cities, report finds
The Alan Jones trial enters its fourth week today, with a series of witnesses expected to give evidence at Sydney’s Downing Centre local court before Judge Glenn Walsh .
Jones has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching against six complainants.
The second alleged victim, known as complainant C, has finished giving evidence, and witnesses relevant to his nine allegations against the former broadcaster are next to appear.
The court has heard Jones allegedly groomed C for a decade, resulting in the young man sending multiple explicit texts to the broadcaster who he alleges touched him without consent.
After the younger man left his job as a driver for Jones, the two continued to text each other in a way “inconsistent” with C feeling uncomfortable after the alleged incidents, defence barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC suggested.
Joyce steps in on One Nation’s migration target
Barnaby Joyce says a fellow One Nation MP made a mistake on Sunday by suggesting the minor party’s migration numbers would not be much different to Labor’s, AAP reports.
One Nation MP David Farley told the ABC on Sunday that the party’s migration policy would include an extra 100,000 people annually, to provide a necessary regional workforce, on top of the 130,000 it had already flagged.
Related: Hanson forced to intervene after One Nation MP says party’s migration target ‘not too different’ from Labor’s
The overall number would be slightly higher than the forecast 225,000 people under Labor’s policy. The comments from Farley were soon corrected by party leader Pauline Hanson on social media, who said the policy remained to reduce net overseas migration to 130,000 people.
Joyce said Farley had misspoken when he made the comments on migration numbers:
Show me a political career where people haven’t made a mistake, and I’ll show you a person who’s not told the truth. I’m not going to throw anybody under a bus. When people are new in parliament, they can sometimes get things incorrect, and that’s what happens. God knows, I’ve done it enough.
Joyce said One Nation’s policy remained at 130,000 people annually for net overseas migration.
Victoria police race to identify man found with critical injuries
The race is on to identify a young man found unconscious on a busy walking trail before he succumbs to his critical injuries, AAP reports.
Emergency services were called to Moonee Ponds creek trail in Glenroy, about 14km north from Melbourne’s CBD, on Sunday afternoon after a passerby found the man moaning and unconscious.
The man was treated by ambulance paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital to be treated for critical injuries.
Police said the man, who is believed to be aged in his early 20s, did not have any belongings or identity documents with him and nothing of note was found at the scene.
He is described as Caucasian in appearance, about 175cm tall, with a slim build, hazel-coloured eyes with no facial hair and brown, shoulder-length curly hair.
He was wearing a grey singlet top and ripped blue jorts, a style of baggy denim shorts, when he was found. He also has residue of dark red nail polish on some fingernails.
At this stage, police do not believe the man was assaulted, but it is unclear how he became injured.
Thousands of little penguins being vaccinated against H5 bird flu in Victoria – video
Leah Stewart thanks community after Coogee shark bite: ‘I can finally see some light’
Leah Stewart , the woman who was bitten by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee beach in June, issued an update on GoFundMe yesterday, thanking the community for its support during her recovery.
After what has been an incredibly difficult few months, I’m so happy that I’ve progressed enough to build some independence, and I can finally see some light after all of this.
I’m sorry we’ve been quiet on the GoFundMe recently, we’ve just been focused on my healing, and I’ve been actively trying to do everything in my power to get back to some sort of normal life. I still have a long way to go, but my recovery has been remarkable, and a huge part of that is because of the absolute army of love, support, prayers and encouragement surrounding my family and I from all over the world.
That means more to me than I can say, and I truly believe it’s played a huge role in my recovery.
Stewart said she feels like she’s been given “a second chance at life, and I’m not going to waste it”.
As I get better, I know I’ll make something of this second chance and aim to give back even more in generosity, care, and love. I will forever be grateful for everything, and everyone, I’ve been given.
You’ve inspired me to get better, not bitter.
Watt says fur seal death from bird flu is ‘very serious’ but government prepared
Murray Watt , the environment minister, said the first confirmed death of a fur seal was a “very serious development”.
Watt spoke to ABC News Breakfast, saying the government had warned the H5 strain of bird flu was likely to spread and more mass mortality events were likely, but officials have also been preparing for that eventuality.
What we’ve been doing over the last couple of years is trying to build up larger populations of these mammals, so if we do have bird flu come, and it does kill some of them, we still have resilient populations for the future.
I know it’s a distressing thing for Australians to hear but we need to be realistic. This is the sort of thing we have seen overseas. We’re very fortunate we’re the last continent to have the bird flu happen. But we’ve been preparing for this for some time.
Watt said the government would continue to do “everything we can to ensure these beautiful creatures will be here for us for a long time to come”.
Phillip Island’s penguin parade gets vaccinated for bird flu
The nightly parade of penguins on Phillip Island is a tourist favourite, but has recently taken on a more serious tone, AAP reports.
As the little penguins toddled up the Victorian beach on Sunday night, many were corralled into pens to receive the first of two vaccinations against bird flu. The H5 strain of bird flu first reached Australia’s shores in June and is already confirmed to have claimed the life of one of the penguins in the colony.
With case numbers on the rise, authorities have stepped in to do what they can to defend the 5,000-strong colony of little penguins living on Phillip Island, south-west of Melbourne.
The penguin’s nightly ritual of returning the same burrow, along the same path, made them ideal candidates for vaccination, said Phillip Island nature parks reserve manager Ben Thomas :
We started on some of the quieter penguin pathways to fine-tune the whole process and and get it working as quickly as we can, so we can process as many penguins as we can each night.
We’ve now moved to the western end of the penguin parade, where the larger numbers are, and it’s working really well.
Second fur seal dies of suspected bird flu
A second long-nosed fur seal is suspected to have died in South Australia from H5 bird flu, just a day after officials confirmed the first death of a mammal on the Australian mainland.
The South Australian government said the second fur seal death occurred offshore at the Pages conservation park. More than 1,000 dead crested terns were found across Troubridge Island and the Pages islands in recent weeks, with the latter a known breeding site for a colony of endangered Australian sea lions, with long-nosed fur seals known to visit the area.
Related: Fur seal’s death marks first Australian mainland mammal fatality from spreading H5 bird flu strain
Samples will be taken for confirmatory testing, with results expected in the coming days. The South Australian government maintained that there are no H5 bird flu detections in poultry or livestock and the risk to humans remains low.
“South Australians are encouraged to continue being vigilant in reporting sick and dead birds and other wildlife,” the government said in a statement.
Major housing investment near Perth aimed at increasing apartment builds
The National Reconstruction Fund will invest $120m into a $240m advanced manufacturing project north of Perth expected to be able to build 2,000 apartments a year once fully operational.
The announcement this morning also includes a $20m grant from the Western Australian government and a $100m equity investment from Wesfarmers, the owner of popular retail brands, including Kmart, Bunnings and Officeworks.
The Built Living project, which will begin before the end of the year, will be able to build residential apartments at scale through advanced manufacturing. The government says it will deliver apartments up to 20% cheaper and up to 50% faster than traditional construction.
The federal industry minister, Tim Ayres , said:
Australia needs to build more homes, but we also need to build more capability. This project brings advanced manufacturing into the housing supply chain, lifting productivity and helping deliver more homes for Australians.
Good morning. Nick Visser here to get the news going. Here’s what’s on deck:
Leah Stewart , the woman who was bitten by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee beach, issued a thankyou to those who supported her after the attack.
She wrote on GoFundMe: “After what has been an incredibly difficult few months, I’m so happy that I’ve progressed enough to build some independence, and I can finally see some light after all of this.”
Stewart was in an induced coma after the shark attack and had multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one of her arms.
Meanwhile authorities have begun vaccinating as many of Phillip Island’s little penguins as they can against the H5 strain of bird flu. The island, south-west of Melbourne, has a 5,000-strong colony, which sees a nightly ritual of the penguins returning to the same burrow, along the same path, making them ideal candidates for vaccination. It comes a day after authorities revealed the death of a seal from the flu, the first confirmed mainland mammal fatality.
Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Achol Arok and Nick Visser. Published 24 Aug 2026, 08:12 am.
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