Albanese confirms he will discuss fuel with Singapore this week
Albanese said:
double quotation markWhen I spoke with prime minister Wong, we agreed it would be good for us to have a discussion.
There are further discussions that we’re having on a regular basis while I’m in Canberra on the phone, but nothing beats a face-to-face engagement.
This week, on Thursday, I will head to Singapore for the annual leaders meeting with prime minister Lawrence Wong …
That will take place on Friday, this will be important and we’ll continue discussions on securing trade in petrol, diesel, and LNG …
The visit follows Australia and Singapore’s joint commitment to keep fuel between both countries and to work together to strengthen energy supply-chain resilience.
Updated at 22.31 EDT
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Man charged with murder over stabbing on Central Coast
A man is in custody after being charged with murder following an alleged stabbing on the NSW Central Coast overnight.
Emergency services were called to a property on Buff Point Avenue, about 4km south of Doyalson, about 8pm on Monday after reports of an assault.
Police said the two men knew each other and were involved in an altercation, which led to the 42-year-old being stabbed.
Paramedics treated him, but he could not be revived.
A 20-year-old man was arrested nearby and taken to the Gosford police station, where he was charged with murder.
He was refused bail and appeared before a bail division court today.
Updated at 01.37 EDT
Nick Visser
David Shoebridge says Ben Roberts-Smith arrest demonstrates need for dedicated war crimes investigations unit
The Greens senator David Shoebridge says the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith is a “moment of accountability” for the nation that highlights “the appalling cost of war on all sides”.
Shoebridge released a statement saying troop deployments overseas come with an “enormous cost to people on the ground who face the horror and brutality of war”. He went on:
double quotation markIf justice is to be fully delivered there must be further and closer attention paid to the role of senior officers who directed and oversaw Australia’s deployment in Afghanistan.
The Greens continue to push for a dedicated War Crimes investigation unit within the AFP to build the expertise to rapidly investigate war crimes offences going forward.
No one, whether accused or survivor, benefits from the delays we have seen to date.
Greens senator David Shoebridge. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 01.34 EDT
Nick Visser
That’s all from me. Ima Caldwell will take the blog from here. Take care!
More on the ‘needle-free alternative’ for flu vaccines for NSW kids
As we reported earlier, hundreds of thousands of children, aged 2 to 4, will be able to access a painless, needle-free flu vaccination for free as governments attempt to curb falling vaccine rates.
AAP reports New South Wales has become the latest state to offer a nasal spray flu vaccine to children for free, following Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
The needle-less vaccine is applied with one spray into each nostril, making it a gentle and painless option that could make it easier for parents to get their children vaccinated.
“I know how unsettling it can be for some parents taking a child to receive a vaccine, so being able to offer a needle-free alternative is a real win for those parents,” the NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said on Tuesday.
Read more here:
Updated at 00.51 EDT
Greens say Australia needs to distance itself from ‘unstable, bloodthirsty’ Donald Trump
The Greens say Donald Trump’s latest threats directed at Iran underscore the need for Australia to distance itself from the US president, particularly after his criticism of Australia and other Nato allies for not helping his war effort.
Acting Greens leader, Mehreen Faruqi, said in a statement today:
double quotation markIt is time for Albanese to dump Trump, bring the troops home, and focus on helping Australians deal with the fallout of this catastrophe.
Australia must not stay hitched to the wagon of an unstable, bloodthirsty President who even his domestic allies say has “gone insane”. He criticises Australia near daily, yet Labor is unwilling to condemn him and his actions.
Faruqi went on to say “silence is not enough,” adding:
double quotation markAustralians oppose this war, and expect our government to do the same, by actively organising to prevent escalation and war crimes.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare
Updated at 00.09 EDT
Penry Buckley
Fuel shortages in NSW almost halve in a week
Fuel shortages have continued to drop in NSW after the reduction in the federal excise.
In an update at a press conference this morning, the deputy premier, Prue Car, said there were 34 petrol stations without any fuel type as of this morning, while 125 were out of diesel or premium diesel. That’s down slightly from yesterday when 39 service stations in NSW were without fuel of all types, and 142 were out of diesel.
On Tuesday last week, 61 stations were without fuel of any kind, while 247 stations were out of diesel. Last week, the premier, Chris Minns, attributed the drop to people waiting for the excise to kick in before filling up. The federal cut, as well as an additional reduction from states agreeing to forgo increased GST from fuel sales, kicked in last Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
As we reported earlier, major fuel companies have complied with a NSW government order, made under emergency powers, to provide information about their distribution of fuel.
Updated at 23.52 EDT
Australians buying more electric vehicles than ever before
Australians are racing to secure electric vehicles during the war-driven fuel crisis, nearly doubling sales to set a national record.
AAP reports motorists bought more than 15,800 new electric cars during March, according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries on Tuesday, while sales of petrol and diesel vehicles stalled.
Pure electric cars represented 14.6% of all new-car sales during the month, growing from 7.5% in March 2025.
The tally was the highest number of EVs sold in Australia in a month.
Australian motorists bought more than 15,800 EVs during March Photograph: Hollie Adams/ReutersShare
Updated at 23.34 EDT
Accused Pinochet agent turned Bondi nanny Adriana Rivas to be extradited to Chile
A former Sydney nanny and cleaner accused by Chile of being a torturer and kidnapper for Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship in the 1970s will be extradited to Chile to face court over kidnapping allegations after losing her seven-year battle to remain in Australia, AAP reports.
Adriana Elcira Rivas, now in her 70s, is accused of participating in the disappearances of seven people in 1976 – including a woman who was five months pregnant – while working for Pinochet’s secret police force.
Adriana Rivas, now in her 70s, is accused of participating in the disappearances of seven people while working for Augusto Pinochet’s secret police force in 1976. Photograph: Adriana Rivas/Facebook
Rivas emigrated to Australia in 1978 and worked as a nanny in Bondi before she was arrested by New South Wales police in 2019 at the request of the Chilean government.
She has been in custody for seven years as she resisted attempts to extradite her to the South American nation to face trial for seven counts of aggravated kidnapping.
She denies the allegations and has argued that her extradition to Chile should be blocked because it would result in her being tried for crimes against humanity.
Read more here:
Police rescue cyclist stranded in Victoria’s Snowy River for four hours
Victoria police rescued a cyclist stranded in the Snowy River for four hours last night.
Police said the experienced rider was cycling through the Suggan Buggan area when they began to cross the river around 8pm. The water level, however, had risen higher than they expected, and they became stranded with their bike halfway across the waterway.
The rider activated a satellite beacon and was rescued by an air wing crew. The 31-year-old was brought to safety just after midnight and taken to hospital for assessment, but they were uninjured.
Cyclist airlifted from Australia’s Snowy River after becoming stranded in rising waters – videoShare
Updated at 22.55 EDT
Barnett added that “the situation in Afghanistan has only deteriorated over time”.
double quotation markIt’s only made our job more difficult. And we don’t see that changing in the immediate future.
‘A lot of practical challenges’ led to long investigation timeline
Ross Barnett, director of investigations at the Office of the Special Investigator, said there were many challenges which led to a long investigation timeline, noting the effort has been ongoing since 2021.
Barnett told reporters:
double quotation markThe challenge for investigators is that … we are 9,000km [away].
So the challenge for investigators is that because we can’t go to the country, we don’t have access to the crime scene. So we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles – blood spatter analysis.
All of the things that we would normally get at a crime scene. There’s no postmortem. Therefore, there’s no official cause of death.
So there are a lot of practical challenges that confront the investigators who are doing all of these jobs.
Updated at 22.31 EDT
Roberts-Smith expected to be charged with five murders relating to three incidents
Nino Bucci
According to a media release from the AFP, he is expected to be charged with:
The war crime of murder, in that he intentionally caused the death of a person, on or about 12 April 2009, at Kakarak, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;
The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about 12 April 2009, at Kakarak, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;
The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about 11 September 2012, at Darwan, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan;
The war crime of murder, with another person, in that they intentionally caused the death of a person, on or about 20 October 2012, in Syahchow, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan; and,
The war crime of murder, in that he aided, abetted, counselled or procured another person to intentionally cause the death of a person, on or about 20 October 2012, at Syahchow, Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
Guardian Australia understands that Roberts-Smith has been charged with the deaths of two Afghan males at Whiskey 108 in 2009, the death of Ali Jan, as well as the deaths of two civilians at Syahchow in 2012.
The federal court found to the civil standard of probabilities that Roberts-Smith kicked Ali Jan in the chest, sending him falling backwards over the cliff, his face hitting the cliff as he fell, before he landed on the ground below. The Syawchow deaths were mentioned documents filed as part of the defamation case, but it is understood they were not part of the media’s defence because of issues with a witness.
Updated at 22.29 EDT
AFP commissioner provides further details on Roberts-Smith arrest
The AFP are holding a press conference after the reported arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith.
AFP commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said a former soldier was arrested at Sydney’s domestic airport this morning and will face court in New South Wales later today. She went on:
double quotation markIt will be alleged the man was a member of the ADF when he was involved in the death of Afghan nationals between 2009 and 2012 in circumstances that constitute war crimes.
It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan.
It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed.
Updated at 22.27 EDT
Albanese confirms he will discuss fuel with Singapore this week
Albanese said:
double quotation markWhen I spoke with prime minister Wong, we agreed it would be good for us to have a discussion.
There are further discussions that we’re having on a regular basis while I’m in Canberra on the phone, but nothing beats a face-to-face engagement.
This week, on Thursday, I will head to Singapore for the annual leaders meeting with prime minister Lawrence Wong …
That will take place on Friday, this will be important and we’ll continue discussions on securing trade in petrol, diesel, and LNG …
The visit follows Australia and Singapore’s joint commitment to keep fuel between both countries and to work together to strengthen energy supply-chain resilience.
Updated at 22.31 EDT
Bowen also said:
double quotation markThat’s a total of 241 service stations without diesel across Australia today. That’s 3% of our service stations …
So we have 39 days worth of petrol – that’s 1.7bn litres, 30 days worth of jet fuel – that’s 847m litres, and 29 days worth of diesel – that’s 2.7bn litres.
Updated at 22.18 EDT
Bowen confirms decrease in service station fuel outages
Energy minister, Chris Bowen, provided an update on Australia’s fuel after the long weekend.
Bowen said:
double quotation markDespite the fact that demand for petrol and diesel was 30% higher this Easter than last Easter, we continue to see, each day, the service station outages fall.
In New South Wales, we had 125 service stations without diesel – that’s 5% of service stations. That’s down 17 on yesterday, 34 with no fuel – that’s down 5 on yesterday.
Victoria – we have 40 without down 11. So, that’s 2% of Victorian service stations, 29 with no unleaded petrol.
In Queensland, 34 without diesel – that’s also 2% – And 30 without unleaded petrol.
South Australia – 7 with no diesel, 5 with no unleaded petrol.
Western Australia – 20 without diesel and 32 without unleaded petrol.
Tasmania – 7 without diesel, 6 with no unleaded petrol.
Northern Territory – 4 each – no diesel, no unleaded.
ACT – 4 with no diesel and 1 without unleaded petrol.
Updated at 22.19 EDT
PM has ‘no intention of commenting’ on Ben Roberts-Smith arrest
Prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now speaking to the media.
When first asked about the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, Albanese said: “I have no intention of commenting on a matter that’s clearly before the courts.”
Asked for a second time about the arrest of Roberts-Smith, the prime minister said: “I have no intention of prejudicing a matter that clearly is a legal matter and that’s before the courts and any comment would do so.”
A reporter asked Albanese whether attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, was consulted on the laying of the charges and whether she consulted with the prime minister. Albanese said:
double quotation markI’m not going to confirm anything to do with the legal matter. That is a matter that is very important that there not be political engagement in what is a matter that is now the subject of legal proceedings, so I don’t intend to comment.
Updated at 22.07 EDT
Nino Bucci
Roberts-Smith, once lionised as Australia’s most decorated Afghanistan veteran, attempted to sue three newspapers over allegations he committed war crimes, murdered unarmed civilians and bullied his comrades.
In a long-running, expensive defamation trial, a judge finding to the civil standard of the ‘balance of probabilities’ that he committed four murders while serving in the Australian military.
Roberts-Smith appealed to the full bench of the federal court, but lost, and the high court refused to hear a further appeal.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is also expected to address the media soon.
Krissy Barrett, the Australian federal police commissioner, and Ross Barnett, the Office of the Special Investigator’s director of investigations, will speak at a press conference later on Tuesday.
Updated at 22.10 EDT
Ben Roberts-Smith arrested for alleged war crimesNino Bucci
Ben Roberts-Smith, the former Victoria Cross winner and Australian soldier, has been arrested for alleged war crimes.
The Australian federal police and Office of the Special Investigator are set to speak in Sydney shortly after midday about the arrest of the 47-year-old at Sydney airport on Tuesday morning.
The arrest of Roberts-Smith was first reported by the Nine Newspapers
Ben Roberts Smith. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAPShare
Updated at 21.47 EDT