Updated at\u00a019.21 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
Qantas has apologised to around 250 passengers who were stuck on the tarmac in Sydney for 4.5 hours on Monday afternoon while the airline dealt with multiple separate aircraft issues.<\/p>\n
Flight QF43 to Denpasar had been scheduled to depart at 4.20pm yesterday.<\/p>\n
A passenger on the flight called ABC Radio Sydney last night, after four hours of waiting on the tarmac, saying:<\/p>\n
double quotation markThey\u2019ve come back with multiple messages and they\u2019ve constantly been changing throughout, the time frame, to the point where a lot of people are not really sure now what\u2019s going on and what is the truth and are we actually going to get off the ground. But there\u2019s been some engineers in and out for hours trying to work out what\u2019s going on with the plane, and now we\u2019re just being told they\u2019re about to shut the computers down and reboot them.<\/p>\n
A Qantas spokesperson told Guardian Australia that the flight was delayed initially due to a refuelling issue, but then engineers identified a separate issue which required assessment and resulted in further delays.<\/p>\n
The spokesperson said:<\/p>\n
double quotation markWe understand this was a frustrating experience for our customers and sincerely apologise for this inconvenience. We\u2019re reviewing this incident and acknowledge that our communication could have been better in this instance.<\/p>\n
The flight departed for Denpasar at 8.50pm.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Penny Wong congratulates Ed Miliband on appointment as UK foreign secretary<\/p>\n As the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, announces his new cabinet, the congratulations from Australian ministers have been rolling through.<\/p>\n The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, congratulated Ed Miliband on his appointment as UK foreign secretary, saying on X<\/a>:<\/p>\n double quotation markAustralia and the UK have an enduring partnership, underpinned by shared history, values and interests. I look forward to working with you again to further strengthen and modernise our relationship.<\/p>\n She also congratulated the outgoing UK foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, on her new appointment as secretary of state for health and social care, saying on X<\/a>:<\/p>\n double quotation markThank you to @YvetteCooperMP for your friendship and for your contribution to our close partnership.<\/p>\n Your leadership and determined diplomacy have helped deepen cooperation between Australia and the UK, and I wish you every success as Health Secretary.<\/p>\n Wong is currently in the Philippines to attend the Asean-Australia foreign ministers\u2019 meeting, the East Asia summit foreign ministers\u2019 meeting and the Asean regional forum.<\/p>\n She described the meetings as an opportunity \u201cto advance Australia\u2019s interests and continue work on shared challenges, including energy security, supply chain resilience and long-term economic prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n The meetings will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and 80 years of diplomatic ties between Australia and the Philippines.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.15 EDT<\/p>\n Alpine ski resorts in New South Wales<\/a> and Victoria saw climate records shattered at the weekend with maximum temperatures up to 12C above average.<\/p>\n Ski areas of Mount Hotham and Falls Creek set July records for their hottest daytime and night-time temperatures and Thredbo also set a new hottest July day, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.<\/p>\n The records come after a challenging start for Australia\u2019s ski season<\/a> with dry and warm temperatures seeing only sporadic falls of natural snow in many alpine areas, leaving resorts to rely mostly on snow-making technology.<\/p>\n Read the full story here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Labor to release new statement on space<\/p>\n A new \u201cstatement on space\u201d will focus on Australia\u2019s areas of strength, the federal government says.<\/p>\n Ecosystems in spacecraft and microgravity environments, and exploration technologies, will be among the priorities and the government will emphasise its expectation that the Australian Space Agency should focus on monitoring the more than 30,000 human-made space objects. Space junk has been known to fall to Earth<\/a>.<\/p>\n The science, innovation and industry minister, Tim Ayres, will release the statement at a space forum in Adelaide this afternoon. He said it would \u201cprovide direction and focus so that we can further grow Australia\u2019s space capability, support national priorities and connect to global opportunity\u201d:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe want to see more Australian ideas commercialised, more Australian technology deployed globally, and more of the economic value harnessed here at home.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.40 EDT<\/p>\n Voting to close on Victoria\u2019s teacher strike<\/p>\n A Victoria-wide teacher strike hangs in the balance as voting closes today on a revised pay offer, after months of industrial action.<\/p>\n Victorian members of the Australian Education Union had agreed to take further industrial action on Thursday, citing excessive workloads and uncompetitive pay, AAP reports.<\/p>\n The state government has provided an updated pay offer of 28.3% over the next four years, which has gone to a union member ballot. Voting on the proposal opened on Friday and will close on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n A union spokesperson told AAP the planned action hinged on the outcome of the vote:<\/p>\n double quotation markIf members vote to reject the offer, the action will proceed as planned.<\/p>\n More than 35,000 Victorian teachers, principals and education support workers walked off the job in March, the first strike of its kind in 13 years.<\/p>\n Union educators have been locked in a pay dispute with the government for months, with graduate teachers \u2013 the worst paid in the country \u2013 earning $13,000 less than those in the Northern Territory, who are the best paid.<\/p>\n The union\u2019s state branch represents more than 60,000 public school staff.<\/p>\n Members have been pushing for a 35% pay rise over four years, after rejecting an initial offer of an 18.5% increase over three years.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.35 EDT<\/p>\n Life-saving drugs used to treat common childhood infections are increasingly failing and the resistance of bacteria to these medicines will only worsen over the next decade, a global analysis has found<\/a>.<\/p>\n Led by Murdoch Children\u2019s Research Institute (MCRI) in collaboration with the University of Sydney in Australia, researchers analysed 106,581 infection samples from children aged up to 18 years old across 82 countries.<\/p>\n They found antibiotic resistance \u2013 when bacteria are no longer killed by antimicrobial medicines \u2013 increased in every region between 2004 and 2022.<\/p>\n Babies and children in intensive care, and countries with fewer healthcare resources, are most affected, according to the findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Read the full exclusive story here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Albanese congratulates new British PM<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese has congratulated the new UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, after the latter took over the job yesterday. The Australian PM posted a note to X<\/a>, emphasising the strategic allyship:<\/p>\n double quotation markCongratulations Prime Minister Burnham on your appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n Australia and the United Kingdom are longstanding friends, allies and partners, united by shared values and deep ties between our peoples.<\/p>\n I look forward to working with you to strengthen our partnership and promote security, resilience and prosperity in the years ahead.<\/p>\n Anthony Albanese in the UK last year. Photograph: Lukas Coch\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.38 EDT<\/p>\n Australia Palestine Advocacy Network criticises Labor\u2019s draft policy platform<\/p>\n The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has criticised Labor\u2019s draft policy platform on Palestine, saying it is \u201ccurrently falling far short and does not acknowledge the Palestinian genocide\u201d.<\/p>\n We reported this morning that Israel had made an intervention into the Labor party\u2019s internal processes, publicly criticising the draft that it claims risks blaming Israel for the Gaza conflict while giving \u201cinsufficient attention\u201d to the role of Hamas.<\/p>\n The Israeli embassy in Canberra issued a four-page statement on Monday challenging the proposed positions on Palestine, Hamas and settler violence in the West Bank, due to be debated at this week\u2019s Labor national conference.<\/p>\n The language in the 2026 draft platform relating to Israel and Palestine is substantially different to the 2023 iteration, reflecting shifts in government policy following Hamas\u2019 7 October attack and Israel\u2019s war in Gaza.<\/p>\n Nasser Mashni, the APAN president, said this morning:<\/p>\n double quotation markDespite what the Israeli Embassy might say, Labor is currently falling far short and does not acknowledge the Palestinian genocide and must take real, urgent action at this conference. Their platform position is totally insufficient.<\/p>\n Australia must reckon with the obligations that flow from its recognition of Palestine, and the Conference must draw a red line on genocide and Australian complicity in it.<\/p>\n The International Court of Justice ruled in its July 2024 Advisory Opinion that Israel\u2019s presence in Palestine is unlawful and that all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. The Court further found that states are obligated not to recognise or assist the illegal occupation. Australia is bound by these findings.<\/p>\n Recognition of Palestine cannot remain symbolic. Australia must impose wide ranging and wholesale sanctions on the Israeli regime and anyone or any entity associated with the settlement enterprise.<\/p>\n The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president, Nasser Mashni. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAPShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.39 EDT<\/p>\n Thanks so much Martin Farrer for kicking us off this morning. I\u2019m Stephanie Convery and I\u2019ll be with you until mid-afternoon today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Joyce dogged by interruptions in 7.30 interview<\/p>\n The Joyce interview was spiky from the start, as he responded to Ferguson\u2019s welcome saying:<\/p>\n double quotation markI don\u2019t know whether you do welcome me, but let\u2019s have a go.<\/p>\n It was also made more awkward by several interruptions by a dog.<\/p>\n The first time, as Joyce was asked if he was \u201ccomfortable with where [Hanson] is taking you\u201d, he turned and loudly yelled \u201csit down!\u201d off camera, then explained \u201cSorry, it\u2019s a dog\u201d. He then explained that he believed One Nation\u2019s views mirrored a large proportion of Australia.<\/p>\n The second time, he was asked about suggestions One Nation would implement mass deportations by intercepting visa overstayers during medical visits.<\/p>\n A glum Joyce replied:<\/p>\n double quotation markI have to apologise for this dog, which has decided to bail up my \u2026<\/p>\n Ferguson said:<\/p>\n double quotation markDon\u2019t worry about the dog. Just answer the question.<\/p>\n Joyce responded:<\/p>\n double quotation markDon\u2019t be rude. Don\u2019t be rude. Otherwise, this interview will come to a grinding halt, Sarah. So what was the question actually?<\/p>\n The subject of the dog was returned to at the interview\u2019s conclusion, with Ferguson saying:<\/p>\n double quotation markThank you very much indeed for joining us Barnaby Joyce. The dog was no problem. Thank you.<\/p>\n Joyce:<\/p>\n double quotation markIt was to me.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a019.21 EDT<\/p>\n Barnaby Joyce defends Pauline Hanson\u2019s podcast interview with far-right criminal Tommy Robinson One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has tried to defend party leader Pauline Hanson\u2019s decision to meet far-right convicted criminal Tommy Robinson during a recent visit to the UK.<\/p>\n Hanson and her colleagues have spent recent days clarifying, explaining or walking back<\/a> headline-grabbing parts of the One Nation leader\u2019s trip to Europe, including a podcast interview with Robinson.<\/p>\n On ABC\u2019s 7.30 program last night, Joyce first acknowledged Robinson had done \u201csome things\u201d that were \u201cbasically against the law\u201d but went on to blame a \u201cform of Balkanisation, where there\u2019s not an assimilation\u201d for \u201cmassive problems, and we saw that in Bondi\u201d.<\/p>\n The host, Sarah Ferguson, put to Joyce that Hanson was effectively endorsing a man with an extensive criminal record, who had been condemned by UK authorities for encouraging race riots and retribution against minorities.<\/p>\n double quotation markMy question to you, Barnaby Joyce, is: is that not a red line?<\/p>\n Joyce responded:<\/p>\n double quotation markI believe that there is not a condoning of every action of Tommy Robinson.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think that was ever said.<\/p>\n During the interview, Joyce also said that he did not know who had bankrolled Hanson\u2019s trip.<\/p>\n![\"Graham](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784589971_487_Graham_Redfearn.png\")
Graham Readfearn<\/p>\n![\"Tory](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784589971_523_Tory_Shepherd.png\")
Tory Shepherd<\/p>\n![\"Melissa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784589972_879_Melissa_Davey2.png\")
Melissa Davey<\/p>\n![\"Catie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784589973_63_Caite_McLeod.png\")
Catie McLeod<\/p>\n