News live: families of Australian officials told to leave UAE amid ‘deteriorating security situation’; Northern Territory floods could last a week | Australia news
Dependents of Australian officials told to leave UAE, Wong says
Imogen Dewey
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Penny WongIn a post late last night, he said families of Australian officials were being told to leave the United Arab Emirates as the war in the Middle East spread.
“The Australian Government has directed the separation of dependents of Australian officials sent to the UAE due to the deteriorating security situation.” he wrote. a post on x Sunday night:
Our travel advice has been updated to reflect this aspect. We continue to advise Australians not to travel to the UAE.
He said more than 1,700 Australians had so far returned from the UAE on direct flights and the government “contacted registered Australians directly once we learned seats were available”.
If you can find a seat, please consider purchasing it.
important events
Citizens say Iranian regime ‘must change’
David LittleproudThe leader of the national competition said Australia may have talent that could complement those of Gulf countries that need support.
He spoke to RN Breakfast, saying the regime in Iran “needed to change” and that Australia now wants a “completion” of the conflict. He said:
I think it’s important to handle this situation calmly, to understand the intelligence and the briefings that the government needs to have at this point… If you’re going to send Australian personnel into conflict, that’s one of the most important decisions any government will make. And I think it’s better to have bipartisan support, so you want to be constructive with the government…
The truth is that we believe in regime change. This was a tyrant who oppressed the Iranian people. And I think what is important here is the empowerment of the Iranian people and the return of their country through the mechanism they will determine.
Ted O’Brien said requests for aid from Gulf countries should be evaluated ‘duly’
Ted O’BrienIsrael and the US are doing “hard work for the free world” during the ongoing war with Iran, the shadow foreign minister said.
O’Brien spoke to RN Breakfast, where he was asked about the possibility of Australia helping its allies. He said Australia should “duly” consider any requests from Gulf states, but said if the country helped the defense effort it would “of course” be seen as participation in the conflict.
Conflicts are currently ongoing in the Middle East and we are talking about a very rogue regime here. He tried to carry out terrorist attacks on our territory and even worse attacks on some of our friends and allies.
We support what the US and Israel are doing, and therefore if support is requested, as has been the case so far, this must be taken into account.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Penny Wong He said on Sunday that Australia could offer military support to Gulf countries facing attacks by Iran, but would not participate in any ground work.
josh taylor
Australians will have to verify their age to watch pornography from today. Here’s what you need to know
Australians will need to verify their age to access adult content in various places on the internet; Pornography sites and other sites containing adult content will be required to have age assurance as of today.
e-Security commissioner, Julie Inman GrantIn September, it announced that industry-designed rules covering adult content and extremely violent or self-harming content would come into force in two tranches, in December last year and again from March 9.
Starting Monday, the second tranche will cover websites, social media, storage services, AI chatbots, app stores and equipment providers such as phone manufacturers or console developers.
How will it work, what will we need to do and can we avoid it? Read more here:
Good morning! Nick Visser We’re here to take the reins. Let’s get to the point.
Citizens choose candidate to run in Sussan Ley’s NSW seat
Krishani Dhanji
The Nationals selected a former colonel. brad robertsonto challenge former Liberal leader Susan LeyFarrer’s seat in the May 9 byelections.
Both the National Party and the Liberals will contest the seat, which Ley held for 25 years but is represented by the former National Leader. Tim Fisher before that.
Coalition candidates to face challenges from One Nation electing agribusinessman David Farleyand independent of the community Michelle Milthorpe.
In a statement, the Nationals said the seat had a “proud Nationals history” and that the by-election “offers citizens the opportunity to give Farrer strong regional representation in Canberra”.
Nationals leader, David LittleproudHe described Robertson as a “local champion”.
National competitions are all about local champions. Brad Robertson dedicated his life to serving Australia. First in uniform, now in his community.
Floods may continue for another week in Northern Territory
Flooding in Katherine could last for a week as the Northern Territory town is engulfed in floodwaters. AAP Both the Katherine and Daly rivers are reportedly in danger of reaching record levels after recent flooding.
The Katherine River reached 19.2 meters on Saturday before receding late Sunday, but more rain is expected in the coming days.
Bureau of Meteorology senior officer jude scott He said the Daly River, which was 14.4 meters late on Sunday, will also continue to rise.
Hundreds of people from the Nauiyu/Daly River Community were evacuated by helicopter to Darwin, where they took refuge in the demonstration grounds.
mayor of katherine Joanna Holden He said the next few days will be critical and more rain is expected.
He said around 1000 people had been moved to evacuation centers in Darwin, Katherine and Mataranka. Another 80 people were evacuated from the Daly River by helicopter on Sunday after conditions prevented it on Saturday.
Some schools will remain closed today as they are being used as emergency shelters.
Flood warnings and flood watches are also in place across much of Queensland. Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected across northern, central and south-eastern Queensland over the next few days as a large trough draws deep tropical moisture across the state.
Sydney’s new airport highway will open this week
Penry Buckley
The federal and NSW governments have announced that the M12 motorway, Sydney’s “driveway” to the new Western Sydney airport, will open this Saturday.
Premier of NSW, Chris Minnsand the federal minister of transport, Catherine KingAfter four years of construction and $2.1 billion in joint state and federal spending, the ribbon will be cut on a 16-kilometre stretch of road in Sydney’s west this morning.
The road will open to local traffic in the early hours of March 14, but the junction connecting it directly to the M7 motorway at Cecil Hills will not be completed until mid-year. Western Sydney airport has announced that it is scheduled to begin passenger flights in October.
Unlike the under-construction M6 motorway and west harbor tunnel, which are also state-owned, the M12 will be toll-free, but motorway links to the city will be owned by private toll operator Transurban. A metro line connecting the heavy rail network is not expected to open until the end of 2027, but the government has announced it will provide a free bus service in the meantime.
The government said the M12 project required 2.6 million cubic meters of earthworks, equivalent to moving the volume of 1,064 Olympic pools, and more than 18,500 trees were planted. The motorway is expected to take 25,000 vehicles a day off local roads. Minns says:
Communities in Western Sydney deserve this world-class infrastructure that will ease pressure on local roads, reduce travel times and improve connectivity with the rest of Sydney’s road network.
Starting on Saturday, thousands of drivers will have the chance to use this new highway for the first time to get where they need to go faster and easier.
Dependents of Australian officials told to leave UAE, Wong says
Imogen Dewey
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Penny WongIn a post late last night, he said families of Australian officials were being told to leave the United Arab Emirates as the war in the Middle East spread.
“The Australian Government has directed the separation of dependents of Australian officials sent to the UAE due to the deteriorating security situation.” he wrote. a post on x Sunday night:
Our travel advice has been updated to reflect this aspect. We continue to advise Australians not to travel to the UAE.
He said more than 1,700 Australians had so far returned from the UAE on direct flights and the government “contacted registered Australians directly once we learned seats were available”.
If you can find a seat, please consider purchasing it.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to Guardian Australia’s live news blog.
In case you missed it yesterday, the secretary of state, Penny Wong, He confirmed that the Australian government was considering offering military support to assist Gulf states facing attacks from Iran, but would not participate in any ground troop deployments.
Closer to home, age verification requirements for porn sites are now in effect. And in the Northern Territory, two major rivers are flooded, homes are flooded, roads are blocked, supermarket shelves are emptied and hundreds of people are evacuated; We will have more information about this soon.
Nick Visser He will be here shortly to tell you about the day’s events as they happen, before the federal parliament returns tomorrow.
