Albanese suggests mosque hecklers ‘don’t like’ outlawing ‘extremist organisations’
Anthony Albanese has suggested people who heckled him while he visited Lakemba mosque this morning were unhappy he had banned Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Albanese denied he had been “rushed out” and said his visit had been well received. He said:
double quotation markLook, I have seen some of those reports and they’re just simply not accurate. There were 30,000 people-plus at Lakemba this morning. Overwhelmingly the reception was incredibly positive. I walked through the crowd to the mosque and not a single person heckled.
There were a couple of hecklers inside, they were dealt with. Contrary to what’s been suggested, no one was rushed out, we just sat there, it was dealt with. Some people don’t like the fact that we have outlawed extremist organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir, and that brought a response from a couple of people.
But if you got a couple of people heckling in a crowd of 30,000, that should be put in that perspective.
The Islamist group was targeted by hate speech laws brought in by Albanese in the wake of the Bondi massacre.
Updated at 21.39 EDT
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Albanese calls for de-escalation in Middle East conflict as Australia sends aircraft and missiles
The prime minister says Australian missiles and surveillance aircraft are on the ground in the Middle East, repeating calls for the conflict to ease.
Albanese denied Australia was out of step with allies, who have condemned Iran’s attacks and offered to contribute to help ships pass through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran.
He said:
double quotation markWe want to see the Strait of Hormuz opened. We’re offering support and have support on the ground in the region, including an E7 aircraft, including the [air-to-air missiles] we have supplied to the United Arab Emirates. …
We reiterate our calls for Iran to do the right thing and to allow for international passage to occur. The freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle and we again call for a de-escalation.
Albanese said Australia would “examine whatever we can do to provide assistance,” when asked if the country would join allies to get ships moving through the Strait.
ShareAlbanese suggests mosque hecklers ‘don’t like’ outlawing ‘extremist organisations’
Anthony Albanese has suggested people who heckled him while he visited Lakemba mosque this morning were unhappy he had banned Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Albanese denied he had been “rushed out” and said his visit had been well received. He said:
double quotation markLook, I have seen some of those reports and they’re just simply not accurate. There were 30,000 people-plus at Lakemba this morning. Overwhelmingly the reception was incredibly positive. I walked through the crowd to the mosque and not a single person heckled.
There were a couple of hecklers inside, they were dealt with. Contrary to what’s been suggested, no one was rushed out, we just sat there, it was dealt with. Some people don’t like the fact that we have outlawed extremist organisations like Hizb ut-Tahrir, and that brought a response from a couple of people.
But if you got a couple of people heckling in a crowd of 30,000, that should be put in that perspective.
The Islamist group was targeted by hate speech laws brought in by Albanese in the wake of the Bondi massacre.
Updated at 21.39 EDT
Five groups bidding for the Whyalla steelworks, PM says
Anthony Albanese has confirmed there are five consortiums bidding to take over the Whyalla steelworks.
He said:
double quotation markAll of them are very serious that it’s been nutled [sic] down to. It says something about how good this product is, how good the workers are here and the skills that they bring to their day-to-day work that you have five consortiums putting forward very serious bids because they want to run this operation. …
Sovereign capability is absolutely critical but we want to make sure that we get the right result out of this, that we do it just once, and any successful bidder has to show that they plan for the long-term future of this amazing national asset.
Updated at 21.30 EDT
Adeshola Ore
Iran condemns Australia’s military aid to US war
Iran’s foreign affairs ministry says Australia is on the “wrong side of history” after it deployed military assets to the United Arab Emirates during the US-Israel war on the regime.
While Australia says it has not sent naval support to the Strait of Hormuz, as we reported earlier, the Australia government last week confirmed it had sent a surveillance aircraft and missiles to the Middle East to help defend the United Arab Emirates from Iranian attacks.
Asked about the deployment on the ABC’s 7.30, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said the country could not distinguish between offensive and defensive operations:
double quotation markWhat [the] Australian government is doing is taking [the] side with the aggressors against Iran.
It is very regrettable that the Australian government has decided to be on the wrong side of history by taking side with the blatant aggressors against Iran.
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Tom McIlroy
NDIS fraudster sentenced to three years in jail
A 60-year-old woman has been sentenced to three years in jail and ordered to repay nearly $300,000 over criminal exploitation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Mumthaj Begam Kantara, also known as Begam Kantara, was sentenced in the Melbourne county court on Friday, after investigation by the government’s fraud fusion taskforce.
A former Victorian NDIS provider, a court found she exploited people with a disability from non-English speaking backgrounds to defraud the NDIS.
Kantara pleaded guilty to 14 counts of issuing fraudulent payment requests against the plans of six NDIS participants between 2019 and 2022.
Investigators found Kantara targeted vulnerable participants from Melbourne’s Turkish and Arabic-speaking communities who spoke little to no English.
It was the second jail term imposed over NDIS fraud in two days. A former disability services company worker was sentenced to three years’ jail, with nine months to be served on Wednesday.
Jenny McAllister, the minister for the NDIS, said:
double quotation markIf you exploit people with a disability and try to defraud vulnerable people who speak English as a second language, you do not belong in the NDIS.
You belong in prison.
Updated at 21.16 EDT
Watch: footage shows winds lashing Coen on Friday morning as Cyclone Narelle approaches
Footage shows winds lashing Coen on Friday morning as Cyclone Narelle approaches Share
Army evacuating Northern Territory residents as cyclone approaches
The Australian Defence Force is evacuating 500 people from the Northern Territory to Darwin ahead of Tropical Cyclone Narelle’s arrival in the NT on Saturday night, the government says.
The ADF is also standing by in case of other requests for support from Queensland or the NT, the minister for emergency management, Kristy McBain, has told the ABC.
ADF members have already been supporting communities voluntarily with flooding near Katherine and the Daly River, she said.
ShareElectoral commission asked to look at One Nation’s use of Gina Rinehart plane
Tory Shepherd
On the eve of the South Australian election, Labor has asked the electoral commission to take a look at One Nation’s use of a plane registered to mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s company S Kidman & Co.
One Nation’s Pauline Hanson and Cory Bernardi used the plane for multiple flights around SA.
Bernardi said he would pick up the tab for the private transport, in the wake of questions about whether it breached SA’s ban on political donations.
A Labor spokesperson said:
double quotation markPauline Hanson flew in from her home in Queensland to SA using a billionaire’s private plane.
We have asked the electoral commission to look at One Nation’s use of a private plane provided by a billionaire to fly into and around SA, and whether it is allowable under SA’s political donation laws.
Updated at 21.09 EDT
Israeli government says ‘no one surprised’ Australia not sending navy to strait of Hormuz
Following from our previous post, the Israeli government earlier this morning said it was no surprise Australia had not sent naval support to the Middle East.
David Mencer, an Israeli government spokesperson, was asked about Australia’s decision on the ABC. He said:
double quotation markThat’s a decision for Australia. I don’t think anyone had a lot of high expectations for your current government, judging on how they’ve acted in the past … So no one here in Israel was surprised at that.
Mencer pointed to the Israeli government’s warnings to Australia to address antisemitism, saying those warnings had gone unheeded. Asked why Israel was continuing its war on Iran, he said:
double quotation markBecause the regime is still intact and we will not allow this regime to build up again to oppress their own people and attack us again. …
When they say ‘death to Israel, death to America’, you in Australia may think you’re immune to these threats, but we here, and that’s 2,000 years of Jewish experience teach us very, very clearly, when someone says they wish to wipe you off the face of the Earth, we believe them.
Updated at 20.34 EDT
Government wants war in Middle East to end, says Bowen
The Albanese government wants the conflict in the Middle East to end, the energy minister, Chris Bowen, has said.
Leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada have issued a joint letter, condemning Iran’s attacks attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
They were ready to contribute to ensuring safe passage through the Strait, they said. Countries have previously avoided sending their navies to the warzone.
Australia has not signed the letter or offered to send ships. Bowen was asked about the letter just earlier. He said:
double quotation markWe certainly agree with the sentiment that we want Iran to stop its actions … Certainly the sentiment, that we want to see this situation in the Middle East sorted and Iran has a responsibility, is one that we support.
ShareDelta confirms four flight attendants injured by turbulence on approach to Sydney
Four flight attendants on a flight descending into Sydney were injured by turbulence, Delta Airlines has confirmed.
Continuing from our last post, the airline shared more details about the event.
The Delta flight 41 from Los Angeles to Sydney encountered brief turbulence upon its descent into Sydney, with four crew members reporting injured and three taken to hospital for further evaluation.
The Airbus A350 had been carrying 245 passengers, none of whom reported injuries, and 15 crew members.
A spokesperson for Delta said:
double quotation markNothing is more important than the safety of our people and our customers, and our priority is taking care of the impacted crew members.
Updated at 20.20 EDT
Three people taken to hospital after turbulence on flight from LA to Sydney
Three people were taken to hospital from Sydney airport this morning with injuries from reported turbulence.
Flightradar 24 shows a Delta flight 41 from Los Angeles to Sydney touched down at Sydney airport just after 6:40am local time, coming to a stop at 6:47am. The flight had been due south-west but turned north-west about 50km from the NSW coast, to fly into the airport from Sydney’s north.
Ambulances were called to Sydney airport at about 6:45am, a spokesperson for Ambulance NSW said. Paramedics assessed five patients at the scene for injuries believed to be related to turbulence on the flight, with three taken to Royal Prince Alfred hospital with “varied minor injuries” including to their back, the spokesperson said.
Patients at the hospital declined to share their condition with the media.
Updated at 20.15 EDT
More fuel could be released from national stockpile if needed, Bowen says
The energy minister has said Australia could release more fuel from its strategic reserves should petrol or diesel start to run short.
Chris Bowen emphasised that Australia has enough fuel supply while acknowledging the government had powers to ration fuel if needed.
Bowen said the strategic reserve of fuel was part of the government’s contingency plans if fuel supply dried up in late April, by which time all the fuel shipments booked before war broke out will be complete. He said:
double quotation markOur plan involves continuing to work with industry to ensure refineries are working full-pelt. We will release more of the strategic reserve if we have to, but only if we have to. It’s there for a rainy day … If I’m satisfied that releasing that strategic reserve is necessary to ensure supply to Australians, I won’t hesitate, but only in that eventuality.
Bowen was also asked whether petrol rationing was being considered. A week ago, he was clear the option was not being contemplated, but today he said this:
double quotation markGovernments have powers, should supply be very severely disrupted, but the important message for Australians is that supply is not being disrupted at this point.
Asked about reports the government has considered raising taxes on gas exports, Bowen repeatedly said he wouldn’t comment on cabinet processes.
double quotation markYou expect the treasurer and treasury with his senior ministerial colleagues to be working through potential options.
Australian energy minister Chris Bowen. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 21.11 EDT
Australia’s only two oil refineries will keep their government subsidies
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, has announced the federal government will keep subsidising Australia’s only two remaining oil refineries.
Viva’s Geelong refinery and Ampol’s Lytton refinery in Brisbane will continue receiving fuel security payments to continue making petrol in Australia, after six months of negotiations over an existing deal, Bowen said.
Bowen added that renewable energy sources were securing Australia’s electricity needs:
double quotation markNo international crisis can impact the sun or the wind and the fact we now have more renewables in our grid into our system is more secure as well as being cheaper to run .
ShareTory Shepherd
Newspoll: More than one in five set to vote for One Nation in SA election
A Newspoll published in The Australian this morning shows (as all the other polls do) Labor cruising to a crushing win in tomorrow’s South Australian election.
And it shows One Nation’s support is 22% (as did a YouGov poll in The Advertiser yesterday) but that the Liberals are sitting on just 16% (YouGov had them at 19%).
What will it mean? You tell me. My only prediction is that there will be some who, seeing the Liberals get smashed, conclude that means the party should move further to the right.
The One Nation vote is lumpy, so it could mean a rural or regional seat is sitting on 40% but a metropolitan seat on 10%. They could pick up a few seats or none – preference flows along with that lumpiness make it hard to predict.
Former federal firebrand senator Cory Bernardi – who stands by some pretty appalling comments he made back in 2012 – is set for an eight-year term in the upper house, and will likely be joined by one or two others.
Stay tuned tomorrow, we’ll be here watching the tally room.
Coastal north Queensland faces flooding before tides ease today, BoM says
Tropical Cyclone Narelle should leave the Cape York peninsula by tonight, BoM senior meteorologist Angus Hines says.
After making landfall an estimated two hours ago, the cyclone is “carving a path” between the Lockhart River and Coen, Hines told the ABC.
Rivers could burst “anywhere across the Cape York Peninsula” with those north of the Daintree river at most risk, he said.
Low-lying coastal areas also face inundation and flooding as tides rise, with Cairns already facing high water levels, though tides are expected to ease over the course of the day, Hines said.
The cyclone is expected to cross the Cape York peninsula over the next 12 hours and reach the Gulf of Carpentaria coastline by 10pm this evening, before resurging as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone impacting the Northern Territory on Saturday night.
Updated at 19.50 EDT
Gas export profits demand new tax, Australian Conservation Foundation says
The Australian Conservation Foundation has called for an immediate new 25% super profits levy on all Australian gas exports.
Surging energy prices amid war in the Middle East are expected to hand windfall profits to Australian gas exporters.
The government has asked Treasury to work up options to impose a new levy on gas companies, the ABC has reported. The energy minister, Chris Bowen, did not reject calls for a new tax this morning, saying it was a matter for the treasurer.
The ACF’s chief executive, Adam Bandt, said the revenue from a new tax could be directed towards households under strain from rising petrol prices. He said:
double quotation markIt’s disgraceful that oil and gas corporations are profiteering from human and environmental destruction by hiking their prices. In the coming budget, the federal government can and should tax big gas corporations to fund cost of living relief.
The federal government can provide relief for Australians being stung by high prices at the petrol station and the supermarket checkout by reining in the greed of the gas giants.
The Greens have also called for a 25% tax on gas exported from Australia, which they say would have generated $17bn in annual revenue based on pre-war numbers.
Updated at 19.04 EDT