Australia news live: SA algal bloom a climate change ‘wake-up call’, Ken Henry says

Thank you Nick Visser. I’m Daisy Dumas and I’ll be with you for the remainder of today’s live news coverage – including humpback whale updates, of course.

That’s all for me. Whale aficionado Daisy Dumas will be your blog guide for the rest of the afternoon. Take care.

Sydney’s most curious nautical visitor has now made its way over to Balmoral on the city’s north shore.

The sub-adult humpback was first spotted in Sydney Harbour at about 8am today and has swum close to Fort Denison, Circular Quay, Garden Island and Watsons Bay since.

Whale expert Dr Vanessa Pirotta, who is on a New South Wales Maritime boat shadowing the creature, said the animal was highly inquisitive and appeared to be relaxed.

Just now, it was seen swimming close to a paddle boarder with onlookers watching on from Balmoral beach in the background.

Pirotta told Guardian Australia:

This whale continues to surprise me. It’s just hanging out and in such shallow water – I’d expect this from a southern right whale, not a humpback whale.

More than 400 drones fall into Yarra River during Women’s World Cup light show – video

Here’s a video of the moment all those drones fell from back in 2023.

NSW police seek information after major Sydney tunnel shut down during car fire

A major arterial road tunnel in Sydney was closed for about an hour this morning after a car caught fire, but police are now searching for the drivers of the vehicle after saying drugs were found inside.

NSW police said emergency services responded to reports a silver Audi was on fire in the M5 tunnel in Sydney at around 6.20am. Two occupants reportedly left the vehicle and walked out of the tunnel before Fire and Rescue NSW arrived to extinguish the fire. All eastbound lanes and one westbound lane were closed until about 7.50am, prompting major traffic delays.

Police allege officers later found methamphetamine and cannabis inside the car. They are appealing for information about the occupants, noting the vehicle was not reported stolen.

Strong winds blamed for 427 drones falling into Yarra River during Women’s World Cup light show

Strong winds have been blamed for more than 400 drones that fell from the sky into Melbourne’s Yarra River during a light show celebrating the Matildas before the Women’s World Cup.

The light show, using 500 Damoda drones, was scheduled for the evening of 14 July 2023 over the river in Docklands, in Melbourne’s CBD.

The drones, part of a show celebrating Australia’s women’s football team, launched at 6.30pm. Less than two minutes later many began showing critical errors indicating an autopilot failure, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report into the incident, released this week.

Read more here:

Childcare educator workloads include many unpaid hours, impacting quality of care, study finds

Childcare educators are spending only two-and-a-half hours of undistracted time per day with children due to heavy workloads and unpaid hours, according to an Australian-first study.

AAP reports the study, published on Wednesday, also found more than three-quarters of educators work an average of nine unpaid hours per week, directly impacting the quality of care they can give to children.

University of Sydney lead researcher Erin Harper said the findings paint a stark picture of a sector in crisis:

Many educators said they spend a lot of time working away from children in their care and are often interrupted by multi-tasking, administrative work, or cleaning duties.

The research, which surveyed 570 educators, indicates unpaid hours make up a significant portion of the overall workload.

Henry was just asked about the devastating toxic algal bloom in South Australia that has fouled beaches and devastated marine life over the last few months. Henry said the event was not an early warning of the impacts of climate change, but a late one that scientists had been warning of for decades.

He told the National Press Club:

It’s well past time that we, and others in the world, dealt properly with the threats of climate change and the warming of the oceans. …

It’s another wake-up call, but it’s not an early wake-up call. We should have been well awake decades ago. And of course, some people were. Some people were awake decades ago, and were calling for action decades ago. And I think that that is how we should treat this.

Read more here:

Ken Henry, ex-treasury head, says ‘of course’ Australia needs a carbon tax

Ken Henry, the former treasury secretary who now leads the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, is speaking before the National Press Club, where he was just asked if it was time for the nation to reconsider the need for a carbon tax. He had this to say:

It still boggles the mind that we had the world’s best carbon policy, and then, for purely political reasons, decided that we could afford to do without it. A country that’s capable of creating the best and then decides that it doesn’t need anything at all – well, my God. Of course we need a carbon tax.

But in the meantime, we’ve got something else, and we’ve got to make this something else work … I am not of the view that without a carbon tax we should give up. Clearly I am not of that view and that’s why I’m here. We’ve got to make what we’ve got work.

Read more here:

Jewish advocacy group says adoption of antisemitism definition ‘valuable tool’

Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, fired back at Labor MP Ed Husic, who said this morning Australia shouldn’t necessarily get “hung up” on definitions of antisemitism.

Ryvchin said Husic was entitled to his own opinions, but not “to his own facts”, adding:

Antisemitism is becoming more entrenched among young people. … This is unsurprising given that generation has grown up almost completely relying on digital platforms as the source of news and information.

Ryvchin went on to say the adoption of a definition of antisemitism, as proposed by the federal envoy on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, would be a “valuable tool in understanding what is and isn’t antisemitism”:

Ms Segal’s plan seeks to grapple with the precursors to violent antisemitism. That is essential to reversing the increasing normalisation of racial abuse, exclusion and violence in our society.

Segal’s report recommending the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism has caused controversy.

You can read more about the differences in opinion on the report here:

Alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown has been linked to another daycare centre not previously listed by authorities, bringing his total known workplaces to 24.

Childcare operator G8 wrote to parents on Tuesday to tell them that the 26-year-old worked at World of Learning in Point Cook, in Melbourne’s west, on 24 August 2023.

The letter reads:

Based on our review of our records, there are no records of Mr Brown working at World of Learning Point Cook on any other day. This information has been provided to Victoria Police. We are writing to you because your child attended World of Learning Point Cook on 24 August 2023. In the interest of transparency, it was important we inform you of this information as soon we could and apologise that we were unable to provide it earlier.

The centre, however, was not listed by police on Tuesday when they revealed four more childcare centres had been added to Brown’s work history, along with additional employment dates at 10 other centres.

Nor is it on the website that contains the list of Brown’s workplaces, which is being managed by the health and education departments.

Here’s our Victorian correspondent Benita Kolovos with the latest:

Decision over contempt referral for Nine Entertainment over Antoinette Lattouf’s employment case due in on Friday

Justice Darryl Rangiah has reached a decision on whether Nine Entertainment will be referred for contempt and will hand down his judgment on Friday, according to the federal court.

Members of a pro-Israel lobby group who complained to the ABC about Antoinette Lattouf’s employment asked the court to refer the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald for criminal contempt.

They accused eight editors, reporters and lawyers from Nine of breaching a suppression order in the Lattouf case which said that the names of the people who complained about Lattouf should not be published.

Nine submits the suppression order does not apply to articles published before it was made and has asked the court not to refer Nine for contempt.

Family of murderer Bradley John Murdoch issue statement after his death

Bradley John Murdoch, who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio, was “much more than the headlines”, his family have said in a statement.

We understand that the public perception of Bradley will always be shaped by his conviction, but our intention is simply to share the man we knew, the version of him that was rarely, if ever, seen beyond our family and close friends.

He was deeply loved. He will be deeply missed.

Murdoch died without ever revealing the location of Falconio’s remains.

A sub-adult humpback is taking in the attractions of Watsons Bay in Sydney’s east, having swum close to Circular Quay, Fort Denison and Garden Island, says whale expert, Dr Vanessa Pirotta.

Speaking from a NSW Maritime boat in the harbour just now, the scientist and organiser of the Wild Sydney Harbour citizen science project said the whale was first spotted close to Fort Denison about 8am.

While it’s not unusual for a whale to take a detour off the “humpback highway” running down Australia’s east coast – four humpbacks have been seen in the harbour this migratory season, she said – it is “crazy” for the creatures to be as inquisitive as the whale seen today.

“It’s the most inquisitive whale. It’s thin, but from its behaviour, it’s very relaxed,” she said.

It’s not every day a whale takes a detour and hangs out in Watsons Bay – maybe it’s having fish and chips.

Most will hang out around Manly and then work out it’s not in the right place and swim away but this one is having the full harbour experience.

Pirotta said the whale’s condition suggested it was migrating south and that its harbour trip was posing a navigational challenge to ferries and vessels.

NSW Maritime and NSW Parks and Wildlife are literally escorting a school bus-sized mammal out of the harbour. It’s so easy for vessels to strike whales.

They do things when you least expect it – [we’re] making sure it has space and is escorted out of the harbour, because this one is very inquisitive.

She said the whale was in “OK” health and that the Wild Sydney Harbour citizen science project had “delivered” today, after commuters on the harbour first spotted the whale.

Chinese and Australian business leaders were treated to a full rendition of Australian rock classics at a dinner last night, Anthony Albanese says.

Speaking a moment ago at the Great Wall of China, the prime minister said a band played songs by Paul Kelly, Midnight Oil and Powderfinger as a gesture of respect to the visiting leaders:

I’ve got to say that the band there in the Great Hall played a different version of Paul Kelly’s To Her Door, of Midnight Oil’s Power and the Passion, and a range of songs as well. That obviously took them a long period of time and those gestures matter. Respect matters between countries. And I think I took that as being a very warm gesture indeed and they did it very well, I must say.

Powderfinger as well – they did the full kit and caboodle and so it was a splendid occasion.

Albanese says China trip emphasises need for ‘positive relationship’ between nations

Anthony Albanese is speaking from the Great Wall of China, affirming the longstanding economic relationship between the two countries and his government’s continued support for free trade. The prime minister said:

Yesterday was an opportunity as well for us to develop the relationship between Australia and China. I’ve said consistently that we’ll cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, but engage in our national interest. It is very clear that it is in our national interests for us to have a positive relationship with China.

Tasmanian leaders to face off in only debate of snap election at 12.30pm

Liberal and Labor leaders will front up for the only debate in Tasmania’s snap election campaign as the prospect of another hung parliament looms, AAP reports. Voters will head to the ballot box on Saturday, six weeks after the minority Liberal premier, Jeremy Rockliff, lost a vote of no-confidence in parliament.

The latest opinion poll has the Liberals on track to win more seats than Labor, but not enough to reach the 18 mark required for a majority. Both major parties have ruled out doing a deal with the Greens, meaning they will probably have to rely on an independent-heavy cross-bench to govern.

Rockliff and the state Labor leader, Dean Winter, will go toe-to-toe on Wednesday at a debate hosted by Sky News and the Mercury newspaper at 12.30pm local time.

Clare was asked if men should be barred from working in childcare centres. The education minister pointed to safety reviews that found doing so was not the best path forward. He said:

We know what we need to do here. In none of the reports do they recommend this, but they recommend the register and national mandatory safety training, so that the 99.9% of people who work in our centres, who are good, honest people … have the skills they need to identify [a] person that is up to no good …

There will be individual centres that we will talk to mums and dads about the way they operate in the system, but just cutting blokes out altogether is not going to be the solution.

Read more here:

Clare orders racism review of Australian universities

Clare was asked about federal antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal’s report suggesting universities could have funding withheld if they fail to take action against hate. He said he would not say how the government would respond to those recommendations just yet, noting:

There is no place for the poison of antisemitism in our universities. There is no place for the poison of racism in all of its ugly or noxious forms in our universities or anywhere else. I’m not going to say what our response to the recommendation will be.

Clare said he had asked the race discrimination commissioner, Giridharan Sivaraman, to conduct a review of racism in Australia’s universities, pending another report from the special envoy to combat Islamophobia.

Read more here: