Australia news live: One Nation MP gives ‘hat tip’ to Albanese for rice factory rescue plan; Liberals flag radical redesign of Victorian appeals court | Australian politics
One Nation MP ‘impressed’ with PM after rice factory rescue promise
Sarah Basford Canales
David Farley says he was “impressed” with Anthony Albanese after receiving an in-person guarantee from the prime minister that the Labor government would help out rice factories in his electorate.
Rice producer SunRice announced 78 workers would be sacked from mills in Leeton and Deniliquin this week, but ABC’s Insiders host, David Speers, says a funding package is being prepared to help out the producer and save those jobs.
Farley said:
I was impressed how Albanese at the Governor-General’s event the other night came straight up to me and said, ‘Look, I’m aware of it. I’m working on it. We’ll get it done’ … even after, as we left the chamber the other day, we spoke all the way across to the Senate talking about it. How could it be done and put together? So you know, I tilt my hat to them.
Key events
Benita Kolovos
Ben Carroll rejects Victorian Liberals’ proposal to split court of appeal as ‘thought bubble’
Victoria’s premier Ben Carroll was asked this morning about the Liberal party’s proposal to split the court of appeal in two and appoint new judges if they win the election.
He says the Labor government has already reformed bail laws and is reviewing sentencing, leaving the Liberals “floundering”. Carroll went on:
The Liberal party are upset that we’ve captured the law and order agenda. And now they’re saying we’re going to skip that process and go to the court of appeal. That’s why they’ve had this thought bubble overnight, and they will not be able to explain it. That’s the simple truth … Let’s wait and see what all the legal stakeholders say about Mr Newbury’s new policy.
Carroll, who is trained as a lawyer, questioned how the Liberal party would reform a court that “has been around [for] 200 years, and rewrite case law overnight”. He said:
It shows you the Liberal party today have no legal expertise, but [are] totally at sea on having a policy agenda for the next election, and are floundering. We’ve seen today the Liberal party searching for a policy idea and not doing any homework.
Sarah Basford Canales
Fur seal death ‘not unexpected’ as H5 bird flu spreads, federal agriculture minister says
The federal agriculture minister, Julie Collins, says the death of a fur seal in South Australia from H5 bird flu is “not unexpected” as the virus begins to spread through wild seabirds.
Speaking a short time ago in Hobart, Collins said the “distressing” news of the first confirmed case of a mammal on the mainland was anticipated and that it is “not possible to avoid significant losses”.
She said:
An infection of this individual animal is likely to have occurred due to exposure to infected wild birds or the environment that they share … as I’ve been clear, we can’t stop it spreading in terms of, particularly, in wild birds, and where we see more dead wild birds, we do expect to see increased reports of marine mammals.
Collins said there had been 298 events across the country with 183 in South Australia, 86 in Victoria, 11 in New South Wales, 10 in Western Australia, seven in Tasmania and one in Queensland.
The risk to human health remains low.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Labor expands on free dental care election promise
The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, and health minister, Ingrid Stitt, have held a press conference this morning off the back of their announcement yesterday that the Labor government would open 10 free public dental clinics if re-elected in November.
Today, they’ve announced $12.9m to grow and retain the workforce required to operate the 10 clinics. The government estimates it will need 180 full-time equivalent workers to keep the 10 clinics running from 9am to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends.
Stitt said the funds will include $2.1m for relocation support for 20 dental clinicians for the three regional clinics, $3.8m to fund 30 dental assistant traineeships and 20 dental graduate placements for the next two years and $4.4m to attract and retain existing staff.
Carroll said that while some Victorians can access public dental care, the group is limited:
You can’t use a Medicare card for dental unless you’ve got a healthcare card or you are a category of a particular citizen, it is very difficult … I’ve been visiting a lot of dentists over the past few weeks. There [are] waiting lists. People are in enormous, unbearable pain.
This will be a cost of living measure but it will also make sure that we deal with the healthcare of some of the most vulnerable Victorians. This is really going to fill the gap that’s been there for decades.
Concern Sydney Marathon medal may erroneously depict Munich stadium
Just a week away from the Sydney Marathon, speculation has been growing that a stadium in Munich may have been erroneously etched on to the event’s participation medal instead of a local Sydney landmark.
In an Instagram post on the official Sydney Marathon account earlier this week, revealing the design of the participation medal, runners were told they would “find the story of the course in the details” of the design:
The markings around the edge represent each kilometre of the course, while the eight circles on the back represent the Abbott World Marathon Majors. A beautiful Sydney skyline brings the course to life, featuring the landmarks runners will experience along the way – starting with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and finishing at the world-famous Sydney Opera House.
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But as the BBC reported on Saturday, the “landmarks” side of the medal appears to feature a stadium that looks like the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, rather than Allianz Stadium in Sydney (which the marathon route passes).
The reverse of the medal features an indigo and gold design by First Nations artist Ambrose Killian, representing kilometres of the course, and the eight global major marathons. Killian told the BBC he was not involved in the other side of the design.
The marathon will take place on 30 August. In 2025, about 35,000 marathoners from more than 120 countries participated in the event – the first year as a World Marathon major event.
Guardian Australia has approached Sydney Marathon for comment.
Andrew Messenger
A new scheme is about to replace the NDIS for children with autism. Why has Queensland refused to sign up?
As parliament debated the future of the National Disability Insurance Scheme this week, Ali Kuylaars was worried.
Her two children, both diagnosed with autism, could be among thousands across the country removed from the federal scheme by January 2028.
But Isaac, 14, and Arlo, eight, live in Queensland, the last holdout state not to sign up for a new replacement scheme, known as Thriving Kids.
Intended to assist children with mild to moderate autism or developmental delays up to the age of nine, Thriving Kids is scheduled to be implemented from October this year, fully replacing the NDIS for those children by 2028.
But the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, still has questions about the new program, and says he won’t sign up without answers. Some are concerned that the dispute won’t be resolved quickly enough, leaving Queensland children to fall into a gap between ineligibility for the NDIS and a delayed implementation of Thriving Kids.
But others are concerned about the new scheme itself, and argue the state government is taking the right approach by demanding more information.
Read the full story here:
Seal confirmed first mammal death from bird flu in Australia
Lisa Cox
A long-nosed fur seal has died from H5 bird flu in South Australia, marking the first confirmed case in a mammal on the Australian mainland.
The fur seal was found dead at Beachport on Wednesday on the state’s Limestone Coast.
It marks a fresh escalation in the spread of the virus days after the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, announced three mass mortality events on offshore islands involving more than 1,000 greater crested terns.
The highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has killed millions of birds globally and crossed over into mammal species, including elephant seals.
Long-nosed fur seals and the endangered Australian sea lion are among the mammal species the federal government has assessed as facing very high risk from the virus.
The SA government has also confirmed a little penguin found at Kangaroo Island this week also tested positive for H5 bird flu.
One Nation MP ‘impressed’ with PM after rice factory rescue promise
Sarah Basford Canales
David Farley says he was “impressed” with Anthony Albanese after receiving an in-person guarantee from the prime minister that the Labor government would help out rice factories in his electorate.
Rice producer SunRice announced 78 workers would be sacked from mills in Leeton and Deniliquin this week, but ABC’s Insiders host, David Speers, says a funding package is being prepared to help out the producer and save those jobs.
Farley said:
I was impressed how Albanese at the Governor-General’s event the other night came straight up to me and said, ‘Look, I’m aware of it. I’m working on it. We’ll get it done’ … even after, as we left the chamber the other day, we spoke all the way across to the Senate talking about it. How could it be done and put together? So you know, I tilt my hat to them.
Sarah Basford Canales
David Farley rejects claim One Nation has no serious policies
The One Nation MP David Farley has rejected claims from Liberal Andrew Hastie that his party has no serious policies, just “thought bubbles”.
Appearing on ABC’s Insiders this morning, the member for Farrer said:
Those policies are there … There’s a powerful amount of work goes on it.
Farley also suggested the minor party’s net migration target is closer to 230,000 in order to include backpackers, Pacific workers, and more skilled workers.
He said One Nation’s net overseas migration (Nom) target is 130,000 plus a minimum of about 100,000 workers.
He continued:
We’re focusing on the Nom in its true form, and then we’ve got these programs that have been available now for over a decade that drive our economy … the raw number is not too different, but the reality is, where do we need them? We don’t need them in the great urban metroplex. We need them out to be productive, working in agriculture, engineering, mining, etc.
Before being elected, Farley said Australia’s net overseas migration of 306,000 last year was “probably not” too many. The party’s leader, Pauline Hanson, said she had a conversation with him about the comments.
Man driving stolen car in Melbourne dies in crash
A 46-year-old Melton man driving a stolen car has died following a fatal collision in East Melbourne overnight, according to Victoria police.
The man was seen in the Richmond area of Melbourne on Saturday night “erratically” driving a stolen white Subaru, which was bearing false plates and had been stolen from Glen Iris on 20 August, police said in a statement early this morning.
The man, reportedly travelling on the wrong side of the road at the time, then collided with two vehicles, one of which was a Mustang, near Punt Road and Boulton Parade at about 9pm.
He got out of the crashed vehicle and jumped into the Mustang before driving off, police said. The driver of the Mustang wasn’t injured and wasn’t in the vehicle at the time.
The man continued driving erratically in the stolen Mustang onto Barassi Way where he collided head on with a Range Rover and then into a Toyota Camry. He was ejected from the Mustang and died at the scene, police said.
The driver of the Range Rover received an injury to her arm and was taken to hospital. The other motorist was not injured.
Police are also following up reports the vehicle was seen driving erratically in Clarendon and Whiteman streets prior to the first collision, and have appealed for any witnesses to the collision or with dashcam vision to contact Crime Stoppers.
First exhibitions on display at new Powerhouse Parramatta museum in Sydney
Powerhouse Parramatta – a museum and gallery project 12 years and $915m in the making – has unveiled its inaugural exhibition program. The five exhibitions focus on “immersive” experiences, including 3D cityscape, a crystal tunnel and historic aeroplanes.
Powerhouse describes the forthcoming exhibitions as follows:
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The Dark: an immersive exhibition created for children aged 4 – 12 years old. Developed in collaboration with creatives Kip Williams, Elizabeth Gadsby and Marg Horwell, The Dark is a bedroom, a crystal tunnel, a forest, and a gateway to a land of giants. It is magical with many things to be discovered one by one.
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Es Devlin: The Turning is an exhibition of 5 major works by British artist, Es Devlin whose genre-defying work ranges from sculpture to film, architecture, language and performance. Her work immerses audiences into atmospheric environments that draw on Earth’s vast biodiversity, maths and our collective imaginations.
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Overflow: A First Nations-led exhibition grounded in the living principles of Water Country, working with seven Aboriginal organisations to consider the importance and care of salt and freshwater systems throughout NSW. These stories are brought to life through the cinematic lens of acclaimed film-maker and Kamilaroi man Ivan Sen.
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Task Eternal: will explore the intersection of design, innovation and technology and trace humanity’s quest to defy gravity, take flight and journey into the sky.
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The Mall: across two storeys, the exhibition examines the history, evolution and cultural significance of the shopping mall, exploring Australian and global innovation across architecture, design, technology, engineering, and fashion.
The institution isn’t scheduled to open its doors until 7 November. Admission will be free, but visitors aged 16 or over will be charged a fee to see Task Eternal.
Lisa Havilah, Powerhouse’s chief executive said in a statement this morning:
Powerhouse Parramatta will redefine how museums connect with community, industry and learning. As Western Sydney’s first NSW cultural institution, it will be a place that celebrates the creativity, ambition and diversity of our communities, connecting local stories and knowledge with international innovation.
These five foundational exhibitions place audiences at the heart of the museum, bringing to life stories of technology, creativity and excellence. Together, they reflect our ambition to create a museum that amplifies community, creates new opportunities and helps define the future. We are deeply grateful to our patrons for their visionary support and for joining us on the journey to create one of the world’s great new museums. We can’t wait to open the doors this November.
Victorian Liberals announce plan for new appeals court to ensure tougher sentences
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian Liberals have announced they will split the court of appeal in two and appoint new judges if they win the election, saying a separate one for criminal matters would match “community expectations”.
The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, will today announce a plan for two separate appeal courts – criminal and civil – and appoint additional judges specialising in criminal matters to the former.
The Coalition said the new court of criminal appeal would have “broad oversight across Victoria’s courts” to ensure “sentences for serious crime match community expectations” and give effect to new bail and sentencing laws they would enact before Christmas.
They argue the decisions of this court would then flow down through the entire system, pushing up sentences handed out in courts across the state.
Wilson said:
Our new criminal court will empower specialist criminal law judges to ensure sentencing of criminals meet community expectations. Each sentence they hand down will form part of case law going forward, helping to establish appropriate consequences for criminal actions.
Good morning
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s Sunday live news blog. My name is Stephanie Convery, and I’ll be with you until this afternoon.
A man driving a stolen vehicle has died after a fatal collision in East Melbourne overnight, Victoria police said this morning. The man was seen driving a stolen white Subaru “erratically” in the Richmond area before he collided with two vehicles near Punt Road and Boulton Parade about 9pm, police said.
The Sydney Swans – both the men’s and the women’s teams – will be back on the field today in a double header intended to celebrate the success of the AFLW team, but which has been overshadowed this week by the off-field behaviour of some members of the men’s team.
And the new Powerhouse Parramatta museum in Sydney has unveiled its inaugural exhibition program ahead of its official opening in November.
Grab a coffee, and we’ll bring you more on all of those shortly.
