Updated at\u00a019.11 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786070290_165_Sarah_Collard.png\")
Sarah Collard<\/p>\n
Racism inquiry continues with the landmark Victorian treaty hailed as \u2018changing the landscape\u2019 of the state<\/p>\n
The federal inquiry into racism, hatred and violence directed at Indigenous peoples is continuing today in Melbourne, with the committee hearing from peak Aboriginal groups and community-controlled family violence and legal services.<\/p>\n
Evidence has concentrated on the widespread structural racism in Australian institutions, with calls for a deep policy and structural shift to eradicate racism in society and growing calls for treaties and a formal truth-telling process across the inquiry\u2019s public hearings.<\/p>\n
CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency Muriel Bamblett said that the Victorian treaty process was already having a positive impact for many in the community. She said:<\/p>\n
double quotation markTreaty has changed the landscape of Victoria. We\u2019re seeing our culture now become much more visible \u2026 we\u2019re holding many more activities, return to countries, culture stories, and revival of our culture.<\/p>\n
Bamblett warned against the undoing of treaty if there is a change of government in the upcoming November state election, saying recent moves to transfer authority to Aboriginal community-controlled organisations are resulting in more Aboriginal children safely returned home and reunified with family.<\/p>\n
She told the inquiry that while the department\u2019s reunification rate hovers about 12%, the five Aboriginal organisations with guardianship orders are reunifying just under a quarter of Aboriginal children with their families.<\/p>\n
double quotation markWe\u2019re seeing more children going home, and going home safely. Children that have been on long-term orders. \u2026 I think we\u2019re going to have tensions if the Victorian government does walk away from treaty.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a> Royal Adelaide Show cancels poultry and bird exhibits as H5 bird flu cases rise<\/p>\n South Australia\u2019s Royal Adelaide Show, planned from 5 to 13 September, has cancelled all bird shows and exhibits as H5 bird flu numbers continue to rise. The state has recorded 119 out of 155 cases nationally.<\/p>\n Will Rayner, the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society SA chief executive, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markAnimal welfare and biosecurity is something that we take very seriously, we have for more than 186 years. And while we think the risk is very low, we took the decision now out of the abundance of caution and to make sure that our volunteers and those exhibitors had as much time to prepare as possible.<\/p>\n The decision would affect about 150 exhibitors, volunteers and stewards in the poultry and bird section.<\/p>\n An additional 32 cases of H5N1 bird flu were confirmed in South Australia on Friday. Testing at CSIRO\u2019s Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness confirmed positive detections in 25 greater crested terns on the Limestone Coast, three silver gulls on the Limestone Coast at Southend, three greater crested terns at Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island and one greater crested tern at Port Elliot on the Fleurieu Peninsula.<\/p>\n The SA environment minister, Emily Bourke, said the state government supported the show\u2019s decision:<\/p>\n double quotation markMaking this decision now is providing certainty and confidence, to not only exhibitors, but also to show goers.<\/p>\n Read more about what\u2019s unfolding on the Limestone Coast:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.32 EDT<\/p>\n Shadow treasurer says statue of Daniel Andrews risks \u2018becoming a public urinal\u2019<\/p>\n Tim Wilson, the shadow treasurer, was on Channel 9\u2019s Today earlier where he spoke about a statue of former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.<\/p>\n Andrews is set to have a statue honouring his tenure as the state\u2019s leader for more than 3,000 days. But the project has proven unpopular to some Victorians.<\/p>\n The total cost of the statue is $134,304 and work is already under way.<\/p>\n Wilson had this to say about the monument:<\/p>\n double quotation markI don\u2019t think Dan Andrews should want this statue, because I think it\u2019s a serious risk of becoming a public urinal if erected today. \u2026 The first minor public project that should be cut should be Dan Andrews statue, because that does not sit on any hierarchy of a single Victorian and their priorities.<\/p>\n Wilson went on to say new Victorian premier Ben Carroll\u2019s plans to cut back on some public spending should also include the statue \u201cbecause the state can\u2019t afford it\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Atlassian share price surges<\/p>\n Atlassian\u2019s share price has surged after the Sydney-founded software giant beat investor expectations with stronger-than-predicted financial results.<\/p>\n Shares in the tech company, which is listed on the New York stock exchange\u2019s Nasdaq index, were up by more than 35% in extended trading on Thursday night, US time, or this morning in Australia, after it released its results for the 2025-2026 financial year and the last quarter.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s revenue for the fourth quarter of the 2025-2026 financial year grew to almost $US1.8bn (AUS $2.4bn), a 28% increase compared with the three months to 30 June 2025.<\/p>\n Its strong quarterly results come right after it laid off 1,600 workers, or about 10% of its total workforce, including nearly 500 Australian staff, in March.<\/p>\n The company is also forecasting it will earn more in the first quarter of this financial year than analysts were expecting.<\/p>\n Atlassian, whose software tools such as \u2060Jira Service Management and Rovo are designed to help clients manage teams, track \u200cwork and analyse \u200cdata, has benefited from companies incorporating machine learning and adopting AI to automate tasks.<\/p>\n In a note to investors, Atlassian\u2019s CEO and co-founder, Mike Cannon-Brookes, said the company\u2019s long-term strategy was paying off and it was finding its \u201cedge\u201d with new products such as its Teamwork Graph, a background system that collates work data and apps into a map.<\/p>\n He said:<\/p>\n double quotation markIn the AI era, context is the edge but it\u2019s hard to build and can\u2019t be hired.<\/p>\n Thanks to 25 years of connecting teams, customers get one of the best context graphs for orchestrating agentic workflows. Simply put, the Teamwork Graph helps every customer get better, faster, and cheaper results with AI.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.43 EDT<\/p>\n Alan Jones trial continues<\/p>\n The cross-examination of the first alleged victim to give evidence in Alan Jones\u2019s indecent assault trial continues in Sydney\u2019s Downing Centre local court.<\/p>\n Complainant J, aged in his 40s, is one of six alleged victims of the former broadcaster, who has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching.<\/p>\n J has been giving evidence for five days.<\/p>\n The court has heard that Jones\u2019s Fitzroy Falls farm was staffed by a butler, a cleaner and a maintenance man, with the latter living on the property with his family.<\/p>\n Jones\u2019s defence barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC has put to complainant J that he fabricated his evidence that Jones kissed him at a pigsty on the farm.<\/p>\n Bashir said during cross-examination on Friday: \u201cThere was no kiss at the pigsty. It was a fabrication.\u201d<\/p>\n J replied: \u201cNo it wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n The trial continues.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.32 EDT<\/p>\n Sheikh Shadi Alsuleiman, the president of the Australian National Imams Council, has been giving evidence to the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion.<\/p>\n The commission scheduled the sheikh to give evidence on a Friday, overlooking the fact that the sheikh is required to offer Friday prayers at his mosque.<\/p>\n \u201cMy apologies,\u201d commissioner Virginia Bell told Alsuleiman, \u201cin planning we overlooked that consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n Alsuleiman told the commission he was placed on a \u201ckill-list\u201d by the so-called Islamic State because of his efforts to promote social cohesion and harmony across faiths.<\/p>\n double quotation markI was added to an Isis \u2018kill-list\u2019 of 30 religious leaders around the entire world.<\/p>\n Alsuleiman told the commission:<\/p>\n double quotation markMy personal opinion \u2013 which is the opinion of the Australian National Imams Council, and which we have been very public about \u2013 is that Isis is a terrorist, dangerous organisation that has no links to Islam.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve made that statement publicly in the past, and we reiterated this, that they are the enemy of the entire humanity, including Muslims.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> On the frontline of Australia\u2019s bird flu outbreak, people are distressed<\/p>\n It has only been three weeks since H5 bird flu was detected on South Australia\u2019s Limestone Coast and already encounters with sick or dead birds are becoming commonplace.<\/p>\n Maureen Christie, who lives in the seaside town of Carpenter Rocks, has been observing and protecting birds in the region for decades. She is now witnessing many stricken and suffering.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just awful,\u201d Christie said, who helped establish the Friends of Shorebirds SE more than 20 years ago. \u201cWe expected it but, now it\u2019s here, it\u2019s just traumatic.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Privacy commissioner says smart glasses and wearable tech may require new laws<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s privacy commissioner, Carly Kind, has said the arrival of smart glasses with cameras, such as Meta\u2019s Ray-Bans and Kmart\u2019s Anko glasses<\/a>, will \u201cfundamentally alter our experience of interpersonal interactions\u201d and requires consideration if new laws are required.<\/p>\n In a blog post on Friday, Kind said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThe proliferation of smart glasses \u2013 and their future peers, such as wearable pins or advanced earbuds \u2013 would fundamentally alter our experience of interpersonal interactions, in both private and public spaces \u2026 without knowing we could be filmed, recorded or photographed at any time.<\/p>\n Kind said Australia\u2019s Privacy Act only applies to businesses and government agencies, and there should be consideration on whether new laws are needed.<\/p>\n double quotation markAs Australia\u2019s privacy regulator we are giving serious consideration to the issues raised by surveillance wearables and monitoring their market presence in order to understand if scrutiny and intervention is required or warranted.<\/p>\n We have engaged with one entity on at least two occasions this year to further understand the technical specifications of surveillance wearables on offer.<\/p>\n In a nod to the public backlash to the glasses, Kind said public trust in tech companies is \u201cextremely low\u201d and the bar for establishing a social licence for new tech \u201cwill be high\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.50 EDT<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s best sustainable architecture for 2026 \u2013 in pictures<\/p>\n This year\u2019s finalists for the National Architecture awards\u2019 sustainability category include a compact Canberra housing development and the largest commercial use of hempcrete in the country.<\/p>\n A wool store complex turned mixed-use precinct is among the projects shortlisted for this year\u2019s national sustainability awards. Photograph: Supplied.A new flagship Hobart campus for the University of Tasmania, the Forest. Photograph: Peter Bennetts<\/p>\n See more here:<\/p>\n![\"Petra](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Petra_Stock.png\")
Petra Stock<\/p>\n![\"Catie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Caite_McLeod.png\")
Catie McLeod<\/p>\n![\"Amanda](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786070293_520_Amanda_Meade.png\")
Amanda Meade<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786070294_912_Ben_Doherty_720x600_final.png\")
Ben Doherty<\/p>\nPetra Stock<\/p>\n![\"Josh](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786070295_62_Josh_Taylor.png\")
Josh Taylor<\/p>\n![\"Alyx](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Alyx_Gorman.png\")
Alyx Gorman<\/p>\n