Key events
Josh Butler
Prime minister’s plane back in the air after crew member’s medical emergency
Following an unscheduled stop in Missouri due to a crew member’s medical emergency, Anthony Albanese’s official jet is back in the air and headed back toward Australia.
An RAAF crew member suffered an injury. Just a few hours after taking off from Washington DC, en route to Sydney, the plane diverted to St Louis to allow the service member to be helped off the plane and taken for medical attention.
Neither Albanese, his travelling party, nor members of the media onboard the plane were harmed. The jet stayed around two hours on the ground, to allow for some refuelling.
The plane is now heading east, back toward Australia’s east coast.
Nick Visser
That’s all for me. Penry Buckley will take over from here. Take care, and stay hydrated.
Sarah Basford Canales
China lobs accusations at Australia after flare incident
China has accused Australia of attempting to “cover up” illegally entering its airspace over a disputed territory in the South China Sea on the weekend.
On Monday, the Australian government alleged a Chinese fighter jet had released flares dangerously close to an Australian aerial surveillance plane conducting a flight over international waters near the Paracel, or Xisha, Islands. The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, said the act was “unsafe and unprofessional” and could have resulted in harm to personnel and damage to the aircraft.
But China’s defence ministry has hit back at the statements, claiming Australia “confuses right and wrong and shifts the blame to China in an attempt to cover up the despicable behaviour of its military aircraft illegally invading Chinese airspace”.
China’s defence ministry spokesperson, Jiang Bin, said its fighter jet’s actions were “legitimate, lawful, professional, and restrained”.
Australia, in its infringing and provocative actions against China, falsely accuses China’s rights protection actions of being ‘unsafe’ and ‘unprofessional’. Such fallacies are unfounded. We urge Australia to immediately cease its infringing and provocative actions and propaganda, strictly restrain the actions of its frontline naval and air forces, and avoid damaging the relations between China and Australia and between the two militaries.
Yesterday, the defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, said China’s claims Australia illegally entered its airspace were “factually incorrect”.
Petra Stock
Sydney temperatures climb 10C in 90 minutes
Weather observations at Sydney’s Observatory Hill show the mercury has climbed more than 10C in a period of 90 minutes.
Temperatures were 26.5C at 12.30pm, and had reached 37C just before 2pm.
The heat was expected to continue to rise as winds increased and pushed heat towards the coast, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
If Sydney CBD gets to 39C as forecast, the city’s October heat record of 38.2C, set in 2004 at Observatory Hill, would fall.
More here:
Josh Taylor
Home affairs issues direction preventing staff from bragging about security clearances online
The secretary of the home affairs department, Stephanie Foster, issued a new direction to public servants and contractors prohibiting them from disclosing or alluding to their access to security classified material online.
The new direction came after the Asio director general, Mike Burgess, warned in August that public servants and security contractors with access to sensitive national security information were making it easy for spies to target them, including by posting on LinkedIn.
In the new direction, Foster states there is a “pressing need” to address the issue. She said:
Security clearances afford personnel privileged access to Australian Government security classified information and resources. Public disclosure of security clearance information and indicating or alluding to access to security classified information makes personnel, and the entities they work for, vulnerable to targeting, including cultivation and exploitation, or cyber and physical security compromise, by foreign powers.
The home affairs department will work with social media providers to “access publicly available data to identify non-compliance” the direction states.
Online platforms covered by the direction include all publicly accessible websites, social media, and other platforms like LinkedIn, but would exclude Hansard.
Non-government entities under the direction must by 1 December establish a similar policy prohibiting disclosure of information about security clearance online, and train staff on foreign interference and espionage as part of annual security awareness training.
Temperatures now above 36c in Sydney CBD
Temperatures shot up more than 8 degrees over the last hour in the Sydney CBD. It’s now 36.8 degrees, according to readings from Observatory Hill.
The Bureau of Meteorology says Parramatta is 38.5, Coogee is 38.2, Richmond is just above 38, and Canterbury is 37.3.
Eva Corlett
‘A perfect coincidence’: rare red lightning captured in New Zealand skies
A trio of photographers in New Zealand have captured images of “red sprites”, or red lightning, one of the rarest light phenomena in the world, in which luminous crimson flashes appear in the sky.
New Zealand photographer Tom Rae and Spanish photographers Dan Zafra and José Cantabrana set out to shoot the Milky Way over the Ōmārama Clay cliffs in the South Island on 11 October when they chanced upon the extraordinary event.
The photographers thought they would be lucky to get clear skies that evening, but their night turned into “an unforgettable one”, Rae told the Guardian.
Jordyn Beazley
Lawyer says NSW police have spent ‘enough time, money and resources on these charges’
Dr Josh Pallas, the legal director of Climate Defenders Australia, who is representing 50 others who were charged under the same section of the act as the four protesters who had their charges dismissed, said yesterday’s decision was “decisive and clear”:
Following the court’s decision, we call on the police to promptly withdraw all s 214A charges against the Rising Tide arrestees.
The police have spent enough time, money and resources on these charges. The police as prosecutors must act in the public interest, and the public interest – and the interests of justice – can only be served if these charges are withdrawn.
Last year’s protest had faced multiple hurdles from the police and the government before going ahead. The court sided with the police’s decision to knock back the protesters’ form one, which would have protected the protesters from being charged under the anti-protest laws and Summary Offences Act.
The New South Wales government had also imposed a maritime exclusion zone around the port which restricted anyone entering the water over a four-day period in a bid to stop the protest. However, Rising Tide challenged this in court, which found the move invalid and an improper use of the act.
Jordyn Beazley
Lawyer for protesters who allegedly tried to block coal ships says charges should be dismissed
A lawyer representing 50 protesters who allegedly attempted to block coal ships in the port of Newcastle last November has called for the charges against them to be dropped after four others had their charges dismissed yesterday.
133 people were arrested and charged during a protest demanding greater climate action held last year, which will again take place at the end of November. At least 50 of those people are facing charges under section 214A of the Crimes Act, which makes serious disruption or obstruction of a major facility an offence and carries a maximum penalty of 2 years in prison.
Four protesters – Noah Bruce-Allen, Roisin McSweeney, Andrew George and Joanna Gardner – had the 214A charge against them dismissed in Newcastle local court yesterday after a magistrate found there was a lack of reliable evidence over whether they had yet entered the shipping lane at the time of arrest.
They are the first of the 133 protesters charged at the protest, which was held by Rising Tide, to have their matters finalised in court.
Josh Taylor
Scott Farquhar praises Tech Council CEO’s contribution to the sector
Since Kassabgi became CEO, the tech council has taken a prominent role in public debate over the role of artificial intelligence in Australia.
Most recently the council’s chair, billionaire Scott Farquhar, has been pushing for the federal government to give AI companies an exemption to copyright law that would allow AI to be trained on the works of creatives without paying them for the privilege.
Kassabgi said in the note that under his leadership that the TCA had expanded and has been set up in a stronger financial position for the future.
I’ll always be one to promote and support the TCA in any capacity, especially as we change the conversation on AI, and ensure we take our piece of the innovation pie. I’ve never been more confident about the future of Australian tech, especially with the growth of emerging companies in climate and health.
Farquhar said in a statement that Kassabgi has been a valued contributor and asset to TCA and the Australian tech sector.
Josh Taylor
Tech Council’s chief executive resigns 16 months into the role
Damian Kassabgi, the chief executive of industry lobby group the Tech Council of Australia, has resigned from the role just 16 months into his tenure, citing difficulty in work-life balance while living in regional northern NSW.
Kassabgi told members in a note on Wednesday that he intends to resign as CEO, but will remain in the role until “well into the new year” when a new CEO is found. He said:
The reality for me being in regional Australia with a young family means that I am looking to find a better and healthier balance (than being on planes all the time).
As many of you know, I love the sector and always saw this role as giving back to an industry that has been good to me and my career. I am looking to stay in the role as the board finds a replacement to ensure a smooth transition.
Sydney CBD temperature still in the mid-20s as western suburbs start to heat up
City workers, including those at the Guardian’s Sydney office, have been watching the temperature amid forecasts for extreme heat. But the mercury has hovered in the mid-20s here most of the day.
That’s going to change soon, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
Dean Narramore, a senior meteorologist with the Bom, said several Sydney suburbs are already hitting very high temperatures, but a weak north-easterly wind is keeping that heat from the CBD for now.
Every time we’re talking about heat everyone’s watching it like a hawk.
Right now, we’ve got just a very weak north-easterly, but the heat has already hit [the] western suburbs. It’s 37 in Richmond, Terry Hills 35, Olympic park 35, Canterbury 34. …
As we move through the day, the winds will push towards the coast [and bring the heat with them].
Narramore said the high temperatures were “almost in the city”, and the CBD should be boiling in the mid to late afternoon. Sydney International airport is currently sitting around 31c.
Queensland nurses vote to accept pay deal
Andrew Messenger
Nurses and midwives have voted to accept a Queensland Health pay deal after an “epic ten-month” negotiation process.
The secretary of the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU), Sarah Beaman, said 83% of nurses voted to take the agreement. She said the offer was worth about $1.8bn to the 60,000 nurses and midwives in the state’s public health system.
Nurses took industrial action for the first time in 23 years during the negotiations. Beaman said:
I note Queensland Health repeatedly threatened to strip nurses and midwives of backpay if they took protected industrial action to improve wages and conditions.
Because you stood strong, you and thousands of your colleagues will receive considerable pay increases, back pay and improved conditions. You will know your actions helped guide and protect the future of free care and the wellbeing of Queenslanders state-wide.
The EB12 agreement will now go to the Queensland industrial relations commission for certification, which is expected to take a few weeks. Nurses will receive backpay from April once the agreement is certified.
Josh Butler
Prime minister’s plane makes unplanned stop in US after crew member requires medical attention
Anthony Albanese’s official jet has made an unplanned stop in St Louis, Missouri, after an accident involving an RAAF crew member.
Albanese’s jet – carrying members of his staff, public servants and members of the media – set off from Washington DC several hours ago, to arrive back in Australia on Thursday. But an RAAF member required medical attention following an accident on board, prompting an unplanned stop in the American midwest.
Albanese and other members of the official party are well, and there seem to be no other issues with the plane. It’s expected the plane will continue on to Australia as planned.
Eelemarni Close-Brown
Here’s how to protect your pets in a heatwave
Parts of Australia are set to swelter through a scorching Wednesday, with temperatures in Sydney predicted to approach 40C and high fire danger forecast across most of Queensland.
While many will be taking to air-conditioned offices, shopping centres or beaches to escape the rising mercury, pets can struggle to keep their cool in a heatwave.
The RSPCA recommends several ways that pet owners can minimise the risk of their animals experiencing discomfort or even heatstroke.
Read more here:
First renders of Victoria’s Suburban Rail Loop stations released
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian government has chosen its preferred builder to build Glen Waverley, Burwood and Box Hill stations on the Suburban Rail Loop, as it released the first renders of each.
The minister for the project, Harriet Shing, on Wednesday announced Place Alliance – a consortium which includes John Holland, Kellogg Brown and Root and Arup Australia – as the preferred bidder, meaning it will now be party to negotiations to build the underground stations.
She said the consortium had “deep experience delivering major and transformational infrastructure projects”, including Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel, Sydney Metro and WestConnex.
The two other shortlisted bidders Connexus and ESPA will now compete for the second stations contract for Cheltenham, Clayton and Monash.
Shing also announced on Wednesday that Terra Verde, the construction group selected to tunnel the northern section of twin tunnels connecting Glen Waverley and Box Hill, has moved on to the construction site at Burwood.
The $34.5bn SRL East will travel from Cheltenham to Box Hill, with 26km of twin tunnels connecting six new underground stations. The government has said it will be completed by 2035.
Andrew Messenger
Legal challenge against Queensland’s ban on gender-affirming care in public hospitals begins
Supreme court of Queensland Justice Peter Callaghan will hear a challenge that, if successful, would overturn a health service directive which limits prescription of puberty-blocking hormones to transgender children in state hospitals. Cisgender children continue to have access to the treatment.
In January, the sex discrimination commissioner, Anna Cody, denounced the decision as “discriminatory”, saying it “has the potential to harm the physical and mental wellbeing of children in Queensland who are currently awaiting care”.
There were 491 children on the Queensland gender clinic’s waiting list at the time the ban was put in place.
Guardian Australia revealed earlier this year that director-general David Rosengren held just 21 minutes’ consultation on the directive – a legal requirement under the act – at the same time the minister announced the decision. That will form the basis for one part of Wednesday’s challenge.
The court is expected to hear several witnesses today. The challenge was launched on behalf of a mother of a transgender child; neither can be named for legal reasons.
There is also a separate human rights and anti-discrimination class action challenge against the decision currently before Qcat.
Victoria police commissioner says it was ‘wrong decision’ to charter police chopper to conference
Benita Kolovos
Victoria police’s chief commissioner, Mike Bush, has admitted it was the “wrong decision” to use a police helicopter to travel to a conference in Tasmania instead of taking a commercial flight.
The Herald Sun on Wednesday morning revealed Bush travelled to Hobart using the Victoria police air wing on Monday afternoon to attend the annual Australian and New Zealand Police Commissioners Forum.
Police said Bush was joined on the flight by two support staff and the New Zealand police commissioner. They said the group did not take the police plane “due to strong winds in Tasmania”.
The chopper ended up being grounded in Hobart on Monday night after a mechanical issue. It flew back to Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning, Bush said:
It was the wrong decision. We should have looked harder for a commercial flight. While there were no impacts on community safety or financial costs to Victoria Police as the flight fell within our contracted hours with the Air Wing provider, it creates a poor impression at a challenging time for our organisation.
