![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5756.jpg\")
Richard Marles addresses the National Press Club in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\nUpdated at\u00a022.58 EDT<\/p>\n
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\u2018From one heart to the heart of Lebanon\u2019: Sydney community gathers for peace vigil![\"Ima](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776312496_547_Ima_Caldwell.png\")
Ima Caldwell<\/p>\n
A candlelight vigil calling for peace in Lebanon took place at Sydney\u2019s Town Hall last night<\/p>\n
Organised by the Lebanon Action Group, the vigil was described as a space to \u201chonour those killed in Lebanon and call for peace and justice in Lebanon\u201d.<\/p>\n
Attendees were invited to share a few words: \u201cNot a call to political action… just a message from one heart to the heart of Lebanon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mohammed Abbas, from the southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun, gave an impromptu speech about the \u201cguilt\u201d of being away during the current escalation:<\/p>\n
double quotation markMy village borders the Israeli occupation… This is a situation that dates back for years…<\/p>\n
I had the opportunity in 2019 to come back to Australia and a part of me wishes I never left because I always feel this guilt for leaving my family and friends in the south and in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Words are escaping me. My heart goes to all families who have lost a someone in Lebanon.<\/p>\n
The event concluded with attendees laying their candles around a Lebanese flag.<\/p>\n
Read more here:<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>NSW nurses and midwives win landmark pay rise<\/p>\n Nurses and midwives in Australia\u2019s largest health system will benefit from a landmark pay bump after an industrial umpire\u2019s ruling, AAP reports.<\/p>\n The independent Industrial Relations Commission of NSW found the nearly 70,000 employees were entitled to a pay rise over three years, with a significant hike in the first year backdated to July 2025.<\/p>\n Over a three year period, registered nurses and midwives are set to receive 16%, 18% for enrolled nurses, and a whopping 28% for nursing assistants.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.49 EDT<\/p>\n \u2018Big conflict\u2019 not inevitable, Marles adds<\/p>\n Marles said the increase in defence funding is about meeting the moment and being prepared for any eventuality, but that he was not forecasting a major conflict.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markI\u2019m not standing here saying that some big conflict is inevitable. I don\u2019t think that that is the case at all.<\/p>\n We are in a much more contested environment and one we need to be ready for.<\/p>\n And we\u2019re trying to calibrate the defence force that we build and where the Australian people \u2026 I guess where government needs to be at in terms of meeting that moment. And I think we are doing that.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018The world feels less safe\u2019, Marles says<\/p>\n Marles was asked how the world has changed since the war in the Middle East began. He had this to say:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe whole of Australia and the whole of the world is watching what\u2019s unfolding in the Middle East. It greatly complicates the global strategic landscape. But the world feels less safe, and we understand that.<\/p>\n The defence minister maintained that Australia wants to see Iran denied a nuclear weapon, saying the world would be \u201cvery much less safe\u201d were it to obtain one.<\/p>\n double quotation markTo the extent that this conflict has made progress in denying Iran\u2019s ability to do that \u2013 you know, that is important. But we very much continue to focus on the importance of the Indo-Pacific to Australia\u2019s strategic landscape.<\/p>\n But what this conflict bears out, but Ukraine does as well, is that we live in a really interconnected world.<\/p>\n Richard Marles. Photograph: David Gray\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>Fire at Geelong refinery fully extinguished The fire at the Viva Energy oil refinery in Corio has been extinguished. An update on the EmergencyVic website reads:<\/p>\n double quotation markThere has been a factory fire in Refinery Road, Corio. The fire has been extinguished. Fire crews will be remaining in attendance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.16 EDT<\/p>\n By how much does Labor plan to increase defence spending?<\/p>\n Marles, speaking to reporters at the National Press Club, says semantics around how the government is calculating what percentage of GDP is being allocated to the defence budget are just that, reiterating that Australia will see the biggest peacetime increase in spending in our nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markSince we came to government, budget on budget, we have been increasing defence spending, up to the point now where we have $117bn additional in the budget relative to what we inherited from the Coalition.<\/p>\n The government is using calculations based on Nato figures to showcase the 3% of GDP by 2033 figure, while Guardian Australia\u2019s calculations put the number closer to 2.3% to 2.4% of GDP by 2033 under the new plans.<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.21 EDT<\/p>\n Victoria premier says it\u2019s still \u2018too soon\u2019 to know impact of refinery fire<\/p>\n The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has been holding a press conference to announce the start of construction on a new hospital in Melton. She also spoke about the fire at the Corio refinery:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt was obviously a concern for all of us to wake up this morning to the news that there had been a very serious fire overnight at one of Australia\u2019s two oil refineries.<\/p>\n She said it was still \u201ctoo soon\u201d to know the impact of the blaze as it continues to be an active fire site:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt will take some time to manage this site and then move to assessing the impact it will have. There is a huge amount of work going to get to that point, whilst at the same time, the advice remains in the federal government, and that our overall levels of supply coming into the country continue to support the level of activity that we need.<\/p>\n Victorian premier Jacinta Allan. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAPShare<\/a>Australia faces most \u2018complex and threatening\u2019 geopolitical situation since second world war, Marles says<\/p>\n The defence minister, Richard Marles, is speaking before the National Press Club in Canberra. He\u2019s speaking about the current geopolitical situation, saying more countries are engaged in conflict today than at anytime since the end of the second world war.<\/p>\n double quotation markAustralia faces its most complex and threatening strategic circumstances since the end of world war two \u2026<\/p>\n In the face of this, the Albanese government is pursuing every avenue of increasing defence capability quickly \u2013 mostly through bigger defence appropriations.<\/p>\n He says Australia is seeing the biggest peacetime increase in our defence spending in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Richard Marles addresses the National Press Club in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.58 EDT<\/p>\n Environment Victoria blames ageing infrastructure for refinery blaze<\/p>\n Joy Toose, climate campaign manager for Environment Victoria, has blamed ageing infrastructure for the refinery blaze. In a statement, Toose said:<\/p>\n double quotation markIn the midst of a global fuel and worsening climate crisis, this incident gives another clear demonstration of why we need to accelerate the transition to renewable energy that is already well under way in Victoria.<\/p>\n We are again witnessing the impact of the ageing infrastructure of Victoria\u2019s fossil fuel industry, which is still in 2026 posing unacceptable risks to workers, local communities, nature and our climate.<\/p>\n![\"Benita](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Benita_Kolovos.png\")
Benita Kolovos<\/p>\nBenita Kolovos<\/p>\nBenita Kolovos<\/p>\n
![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776312497_399_Andrew_Messenger.png\")
Andrew Messenger<\/p>\n