Qld protesters refuse to rule out marching on Brisbane’s Story bridge
Andrew Messenger
Pro-Gaza protesters have refused to rule out marching across Brisbane’s Story Bridge, after a court ruled against them on Thursday.
Justice for Palestine Magan-djin spokesperson, Remah Naji, spoke outside Brisbane magistrates court after Chief Magistrate Janelle Brassington ruled the planned Sunday march would be too dangerous.
“The plan is still to assemble at one o’clock at Raymond Park. Justice for Palestine is going to convene, and we’re going to make a decision publicly (about whether to march) over the next couple of days,” she said.
Naji said the group were also considering an appeal.
In court, the group’s lawyer, Angus Scott, argued that even a judgment against them would not improve public safety, because the protest would go ahead anyway.
Chief magistrate Janelle Brassington said her refusal of authorisation of the protest does not make the public assembly unlawful, it just denied it special protections against civil and criminal liability.
Naji said she was prepared to be arrested for the cause.
Personally, I’m prepared to do everything in my power to pressure my government to act in accordance with international law.
Updated at 03.26 EDT
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Chalmers speaks following end of economic reform roundtable
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking at a press conference following the end of the three-day economic reform roundtable.
Chalmers says high living standards is the holy grail, and a more productive economy is how it is delivered.
There were 29 hours of discussion, he says, and 327 different contributions. He thanks those who participated, and says “a lot of the hard work begins now”.
There were 10 clear and broad areas of consensus, he says. The reform directions are:
A single national market
simplifying trade and reforming tariffs
better regulation and how we cut the clutter
speeding up approvals in national priority areas
building more homes more quickly
make artificial intelligence a national priority for Australia
attracting capital and deploying investment
building a skilled and adaptable workforce
a better tax system
modernising government services.
CBA reverses decision to cut 45 jobs for AI
The Commonwealth Bank has walked back its decision to cut 45 jobs in its customer service direct business that were planned to be replaced by an AI voice chatbot.
A spokesperson for the bank said the decision “did not adequately consider all relevant business considerations” and it was an error.
We have apologised to the employees concerned and acknowledge we should have been more thorough in our assessment of the roles required.
We are currently supporting affected employees and have provided them with choice regarding continuing in their current roles, pursuing redeployment within CBA or to proceed with leaving the organisation. We are also reviewing our internal processes to improve our approach going forward.
The Financial Services Union said FSU members at CBA had found since the decision call volumes were rising, and management had to offer overtime to account for the extra calls.
Finance Sector Union national secretary Julia Angrisano said:
This is a massive win for workers, proving what can be achieved when members stand together — but let’s be clear, this is no victory lap.
CBA has been caught out trying to dress up job cuts as innovation. Using AI as a cover for slashing secure jobs is a cynical cost-cutting exercise, and workers know it.
ShareQld protesters refuse to rule out marching on Brisbane’s Story bridgeAndrew Messenger
Pro-Gaza protesters have refused to rule out marching across Brisbane’s Story Bridge, after a court ruled against them on Thursday.
Justice for Palestine Magan-djin spokesperson, Remah Naji, spoke outside Brisbane magistrates court after Chief Magistrate Janelle Brassington ruled the planned Sunday march would be too dangerous.
“The plan is still to assemble at one o’clock at Raymond Park. Justice for Palestine is going to convene, and we’re going to make a decision publicly (about whether to march) over the next couple of days,” she said.
Naji said the group were also considering an appeal.
In court, the group’s lawyer, Angus Scott, argued that even a judgment against them would not improve public safety, because the protest would go ahead anyway.
Chief magistrate Janelle Brassington said her refusal of authorisation of the protest does not make the public assembly unlawful, it just denied it special protections against civil and criminal liability.
Naji said she was prepared to be arrested for the cause.
Personally, I’m prepared to do everything in my power to pressure my government to act in accordance with international law.
Updated at 03.26 EDT
Andrew Messenger
Queensland chief magistrate rules public safety would be threatened by Gaza bridge march
Chief magistrate Janelle Brassington ruled that the planned Gaza march could not go ahead because of a risk to public safety.
She said the rally would require closing all six lanes of the Brisbane Story Bridge, blocking emergency vehicles.
And she accepted submissions by acting assistant commissioner for Brisbane region, Rhys Wildman, that the police could not prevent people climbing on to footpaths attached to the bridge. They have been closed since March for repairs due to engineering concerns.
My view of the situation is this, with all of the good intentions of the organisers … with respect they don’t have the expertise, the experience of the Queensland police service and those that must make those judgments.
There is a significant risk to public safety as indicated by the experts in this matter.
Updated at 03.05 EDT
Rankine slur ‘offensive, hurtful and highly inappropriate’, AFL chief says
The chief executive of the AFL, Andrew Dillon, has said the homophobic slur used by Adelaide Crow’s star Izak Rankine that led to the player’s four-match ban was “offensive, hurtful and highly inappropriate.
Dillon told reporters that the incident was called out by players and acknowledged by Rankine as wrong.
I know people in the LGBTQI+ community are hurting when an incident like this occurs. One incident is one too many and the factor of multiple incidents in the last 18 months shows there is still much work to do.
He said the four-match ban was a significant price to pay, but the behaviour is not acceptable. He said even though it will mean Rankine will miss the finals, “a game is a game and that is what we took into account”.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon speaks to the media on Thursday. Photograph: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images
He said there was a “compelling medical submission” made during the decision-making process but would not go into detail.
Dillon also commented on choosing rapper Snoop Dogg as the grand final entertainment this year, saying the artist has changed and is now a grandfather, philanthropist, helps rehabilitate youth and has performed at both the Super Bowl and the Olympic closing ceremony.
Updated at 03.01 EDT
Penry Buckley
NSW SES has responded to more than 760 callouts this week
The NSW SES has provided an update on callouts it has received amid this week’s heavy rainfall and flood warnings.
It now says it has responded to more than 760 callouts since Monday, and more than 400 incidents in the past 24 hours, including six flood rescues.
That includes the search for two men who went missing after a vehicle crashed into the Macdonald River last night. As reported earlier, police say two bodies have now been found, although they have yet to be formally identified.
It also includes a man who was rescued after he was trapped in a vehicle in flood waters at Douglas Park, south-west of Sydney, early this morning.
Further flood rescues have also been undertaken at Albion Park in the Illawarra, Ourimbah on the Central Coast and Hawks Nest on the mid-north coast.
According to the NSW SES’s website, there are now 35 warnings in place across the state, including “watch and act” warnings for Goangra in the state’s north-west, and Yarramalong on the Central Coast. Residents of Gunnedah and the Tamworth suburb of Calala have been told to “prepare to isolate”.
Updated at 02.39 EDT
Pro-Palestine protesters ordered to cancel planned march across Brisbane’s Story Bridge
Pro-Palestine activists have been ordered to cancel a planned protest march over Brisbane’s Story Bridge in a court hearing this morning.
It’s unclear whether organisers will follow the order, made in the Brisbane magistrates court. They refused to commit either way when asked earlier this week.
Chief magistrate Janelle Brassington approved an application for a ban by the Queensland police service, made on the basis of community safety.
It’s the second time this year a group has been banned from marching over the bridge for the same reason. An active transport group was blocked in May.
In a statement earlier this week the police said they had participated in mediation with organisers Justice for Palestine Magan-djin on Monday, but couldn’t come to an agreement.
More than 100,000 protesters marched over the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this month after overcoming a court challenge by New South Wale police.
“The QPS respects the right to peacefully assemble; however, this must be balanced with the need to ensure public safety and minimise disruption to the broader community,” a spokesperson for QPS said, on Tuesday.
Updated at 02.23 EDT
Lehrmann’s lawyer argues Network Ten mischaracterised attack on Higgins as a violent assault
Adeshola Ore
Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer says the federal court judgment that her client raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019 found it was a “soft rape” but was characterised in a Network Ten broadcast as a “violent” assault.
Lehrmann is appealing against the ruling that he was not defamed by Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, and that on the balance of probabilities he raped former Liberal staffer Higgins in Parliament House in 2019 before the full court of the federal court.
Solicitor Zali Burrows, acting for Lehrmann, said she didn’t like to use the term “soft rape”.
“But I have to use it,” she said.
“No doubt the media are going to make fun of that, but it was pleaded as a violent rape.”
Justice Michael Wigney disputed Burrow’s characterisation of “violent rape” and said the allegations were that it was “forceful”.
Burrows said Higgins’ allegation that her leg was pinned during the alleged assault and she suffered bruising was a “different type of rape to what your honour found”.
Justice Wigney said Lee made no finding about the alleged assault being “violent” or “soft”.
Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
Updated at 03.12 EDT
Victoria police lay 127 more charges over alleged illegal recording device at Melbourne hospitals
Victoria police have laid 127 additional charges to six already laid against a 27-year-old Croydon man over an alleged illegal recording device in Melbourne hospitals.
The alleged offending occurred at the Austin hospital in Heidelberg, the Royal Melbourne hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
The charges relate to allegations of stalking, producing intimate images and installing an optical surveillance device.
It is alleged a mobile phone was used as a recording device in staff toilets at the three hospitals.
The man was first charged last month relating to the alleged offending initially identified at the Austin hospital.
The man will appear at the supreme court tomorrow.
Police say they are investigating further medical facilities where the man worked between 2020 and 2025, and further alleged victims are expected to be identified.
Updated at 02.01 EDT
Two dead after fuel tanker and transport truck collide head-on north of Brisbane
Two men have died in a catastrophic truck crash after a fuel tanker and another heavy vehicle burst into flames on a major highway, AAP reports.
Emergency services attended the D’Aguilar Highway at Nukku, north-west of Brisbane, before 6am on Thursday after reports the tanker and a heavy rigid transport truck were involved in a head-on smash.
Both drivers – men aged in their 30s and 50s – sustained critical injuries and were treated by paramedics, but died at the scene. Reports have suggested the vehicles burst into “incredible flames” upon the collision.
Up to 13 fire crews attended the scene. A 1km exclusion zone boundary has been established, encompassing the D’Aguilar Highway, the northern end of Nukku Rd and southern end of Nukku Boundary Rd.
NSW estimates hears patient ‘fears that he will die’ if he returns to Blacktown hospital – video
NSW estimates hears patient ‘fears that he will die’ if he returns to Blacktown hospital – videoShare
Nick Visser
That’s all from me, thanks for sticking with us. Josh Taylor will take things over from here. Take care.
Allegra Spender’s One Big Idea: Australians could keep more of their wages if we rebalanced taxes on other forms of income
Independent MP Allegra Spender has one big idea during the ongoing economic roundtable that she shared with Guardian Australia: A dual-income system that would encourage people to invest in themselves while reducing incentives to split or reclassify income to exploit lower tax rates.
Read more here:
Allegra Spender. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareNSW police find two bodies after car crashes into river north of Sydney
Police have located two bodies during their search for two men who went missing when a car crashed into a river north of Sydney just before midnight last night.
NSW Police said emergency divers began a search of the area, about 20km north of Wisemans Ferry, earlier today and found the missing vehicle at about 11.20am. Further searches led to the discovery of the bodies, which have not been formally identified.
Another man, 24, was able to escape the vehicle last night. He did not require treatment by paramedics.
Police said earlier they believed the trio were a father and his two sons.
Updated at 00.42 EDT
NSW SES urge communities that may be isolated by flooding to stay up-to-date on alerts
NSW SES has responded to more than 500 incidents, including five flood rescues – videoShareASX200 hits a record 9,000 points as Australian share market surges
Luca Ittimani
The Australian share market has hit a historic high as companies report strong profits and falling interest rates boost confidence in the economy.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index surpassed 9,000 points for the first time on Thursday, after the combined value of Australia’s 200 biggest share market-listed companies rose nearly $30bn this morning.
ANZ is holding at a market value of more than $100bn, a record it briefly hit for the first time yesterday. NAB is also at a record high capitalisation of $130bn, with rising bank share prices among those pushing the index over the line.
Photograph: David Gray/Reuters
Miners led the growth on Thursday, while market darling CSL has begun to claw back ground after a shock restructure announcement dashed its stock price back to 2019 levels.
The index surpassed 7,000 points at the start of 2020 before the pandemic wiped a third of the market’s value. It took until July 2024 to surpass 8,000 points, and just over a year later has hit 9,000.
The broader All Ordinaries index, which captures the 500 biggest publicly listed companies, surpassed 9,000 points in July and is now sitting at more than 9,250 – it’s climbed a little faster than the ASX200 has in the last year.
The ASX200 held above 9,000 points for an hour just after midday and has since slipped to 8,993. We’ll be monitoring and will update readers when markets close at 4pm.
Updated at 00.26 EDT
Flood rescue pictures emerge from south-west Sydney
We have some images from a flood rescue earlier today. Crews from NSW Police, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Ambulance and NSW Rural Fire Service all assisted a multi agency effort led by the NSW SES.
We reported earlier on this rescue, in Douglas Park, south-west of Sydney. A man attempted to drive through flood waters, which reached the headlights of his vehicle before he was trapped.
The driver was rescued and is unharmed.
This morning NSW SES crews led a multi agency rescue on Douglas Park causeway in Wollondilly. Photograph: Rural Fire Service Photograph: Rural Fire ServiceShare
Updated at 00.28 EDT