source : the age
Thanks for reading the national news blog. This is where we’ll end today’s coverage.
To conclude, here’s a look back at the day’s major stories:
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and one of the Pacific’s key leaders united to condemn China’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch, labelling it a provocative, threatening and unfriendly act undertaken without sufficient notice.
- Albanese became the first foreign leader to participate in Independence Day celebrations in the Solomon Islands, where he unveiled a suite of diplomatic offerings, including an education package.
- A seabird in South Australia has been sent for further testing over fears it could be the eighth case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu in Australia.
- Decades of property prices rising far faster than incomes have left young people facing a bleak future and a fall in living standards, the head of the Productivity Commission has warned.
- The AFL will this weekend pay tribute to Nathan Fitzgerald, with every player across the league to wear black armbands following the local footballer’s tragic death.
- And in world news, the death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes has risen to 3535, while almost 18,000 people remain homeless more than a week after the disaster struck the capital and nearby coastal areas.
Thanks again for joining us.
YouTube has been accused of having a “really serious deficiency” in its hateful speech guidelines after the royal commission was told a video suggesting the Bondi Beach massacre was a false flag event remained on the video-sharing platform.
Counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, Richard Lancaster, issued a stinging rebuke of YouTube today after its head of government affairs in Australia, Rachel Lord, confirmed that the video had been reviewed and had not violated any guidelines.
The video featured in evidence to the commission last week, in which Bondi massacre victim Arsen Ostrovsky detailed the attacks levelled at him on social media after the December 14 massacre.
The Jewish Australian, who had taken shelter in Israel during the October 7, 2023 attacks, had been described as a “trauma tourist” and a “false flag actor” after a photo of his blood-soaked head was shared online, with his permission, following the terror attack.
As we reported earlier, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and one of the Pacific’s key leaders have united to condemn China’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch, labelling it a provocative, threatening and unfriendly act undertaken without sufficient notice.
The comments by Albanese and Solomon Islands leader Matthew Wale came after the Trump administration accused Beijing of pursuing an opaque and rapid nuclear weapons build-up.
In his first public comments since China announced it had fired a long-range ballistic missile from a submarine over the Pacific Ocean on Monday, Albanese told reporters in the Solomons capital of Honiara: “We have made clear our concerns to China in both Beijing and in Canberra, and I’m making our concerns clear here as well.”
Albanese said there was “no doubt that this is a provocative act by China, which does destabilise the region, and therefore we will put forward our strong view”.
A graphic depicting the missile’s flight path is embedded below, and you can read more here.
Donald Trump has said that a resolution to the more than four-year-old war in Ukraine is “getting closer than people realise” and that he will talk about Ukraine during this week’s NATO summit in Turkey.
The US president made his remarks after speaking at the weekend with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky. He gave no specific reason for his assertion that a solution to the conflict was in sight, and overnight, Russia hammered Ukraine with missiles and drones, killing at least 28 people.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he believed the American position on resolving the conflict remained unchanged. But Zelensky, interviewed by the Financial Times, said he believed Trump was viewing the war in a new light after recent Ukrainian successes.
“This is one that I think we’re getting much closer than people realise. And President Putin wants it to end. I will tell you that very strongly,” Trump told reporters.
The AFL will pay tribute to Nathan Fitzgerald this weekend, with every player across the league to wear black armbands, and a minute’s silence to be held before Melbourne’s clash with Richmond at the MCG following the local footballer’s tragic death.
Fitzgerald, 27, died after suffering catastrophic head injuries during a Northern Football Netball League reserves match on Saturday, in a tragedy that has devastated Victoria’s football community and prompted renewed scrutiny of the safety of synthetic cricket pitches on football ovals.
In a statement, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said the game’s thoughts remained with Fitzgerald’s family and everyone affected by his death. Here’s what Dillon had to say:
The AFL, on behalf of the football community across Australia, extends its deepest condolences to Nathan Fitzgerald’s family, friends, teammates and everyone connected with the Epping Football Netball Club, Lalor Football Netball Club and the Northern Football Netball League.
Nathan’s passing has deeply saddened everyone in the football community. Our thoughts are with everyone who knew and loved him, and with the many people across local football who have been affected by this tragic loss.
At times like these, football is about much more than the game itself. It is about coming together to support one another, with the team at AFL Victoria working closely with those affected and continuing to provide wellbeing support to Nathan’s family, his club and everyone impacted across the days and weeks ahead.
As a tribute, all 18 clubs across AFL matches this weekend will wear black armbands as a mark of respect. In addition, the Melbourne Demons and Nathan’s beloved Richmond Tigers will hold a minute’s silence before their match on Sunday at the MCG.
The AFL will also communicate to all community football leagues and clubs around the country and encourage all players to wear black armbands during this weekend’s matches.”
In Washington, US President Donald Trump says Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary that builds Marine One helicopters, will fund a new White House landing pad intended for the next-generation aircraft.
Trump said Sikorsky would spend between about $US5 million ($7.2 million) and $US6 million on a granite landing pad on the White House South Lawn, saying the more powerful helicopters have damaged the lawn during landings.
“They [Sikorsky] didn’t tell us how powerful these helicopters were and they felt a little bit guilty,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Marine One, the call sign for Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president, commonly refers to the fleet of presidential helicopters.
Some further news on H5 bird flu: a cormorant found at Narrabeen in Sydney’s north at the weekend has tested negative, the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development today confirmed.
The bird was tested at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in Sydney as part of the ongoing response to H5N1 in Australia.
NSW Chief Veterinary Officer Jo Coombe said it was not normal procedure to report negative results, as the department routinely performed these exclusions.
But because of the significant interest in the case, the department chose to report that the bird tested negative.
A seabird has returned a suspected positive test result for the highly transmissible H5N1 bird flu in South Australia.
The seabird, a giant petrel, has been sent for further testing. If confirmed, it would bring the nation’s total to eight infected birds found after landing in Australia. It was found at Hardwicke Bay on the Yorke Peninsula.
Another giant petrel in South Australia, found at Knights Beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula, was confirmed with H5N1 on June 14.
Infected birds have also been found in NSW and Western Australia.
People should avoid contact with sick birds, and take photos or video and mark their location before reporting it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
As we reported earlier, Anthony Albanese today became the first foreign leader to participate in Independence Day celebrations in the Solomon Islands.
Before concluding his visit to the island nation, the prime minister attended an event marking the handover of the Naha Birthing and Urban Health Centre – a state-of-the-art medical facility in Honiara, for which Australia contributed $45 million.
The facility includes a 24/7 birthing suite and 17 inpatient beds. It represents “one of the most significant single investments in Solomon Islands’ health system since its independence”, Albanese said.
“It was an honour to be the first foreign leader to speak at the annual Solomon Islands Independence Day celebrations and announce a significant investment by Australia in the education of Solomon Islanders,” Albanese said in a statement.
“Australia and Solomon Islands have a strong and enduring partnership, and by investing in health, education and security across the Pacific, we are supporting a stable, resilient and prosperous region.”
Free-range poultry farmers may need to keep their birds indoors due to the risk of the deadly H5N1 bird flu, as another seabird became Australia’s seventh case of the highly transmissible virus.
The most likely infection pathway for poultry farms is wild birds flying in to mingle with free-range birds. Cage and barn-laid farms are considered lowerrisk for transmission.
An outbreak could have a significant impact on egg production, given free-range eggs comprise about 60 per cent of Australia’s market, and cage and barn-laid eggs about 20 per cent each.
However, state and territory chief veterinary officers have issued a joint statement advising commercial poultry producers to house free-range birds inside, to reduce the risk of their flocks interacting with wild birds.
