source : the age
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Tuesday, September 1. Here’s what you need to know today.
- A NSW hiker is the first Australian confirmed dead after last week’s devastating flash floods on the border of Nepal and Tibet. The total death toll of the disaster is still rising as search and recovery efforts continue in the devastated region. The combined deaths in Nepal and China have surpassed 950, with more than 4400 people missing.
- Attorney-General Michelle Rowland unveiled reforms to Australia’s privacy laws during a press conference yesterday. The reforms have copped backlash for failing to impose an import ban on smart glasses.
- One Nation leader Pauline Hanson accused the prime minister of inciting violence against her, after he called One Nation dangerous and divisive, and a threat to the country.
- And US President Donald Trump has vowed to “hit Iran hard”, promising further strikes after Iran launched missiles yesterday at two US air bases in Jordan in response to a US attack on Iran’s Larak Island.
Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has again been forced to field questions about the government’s decision not to ban the import of smart glasses in reforms to privacy laws unveiled yesterday.
She said the government understood the need to balance the legal implications of an import ban with the real concerns that the wearable surveillance devices could be used to inflict harm.
“We look forward to people’s views, but also we need to balance that against the fact that Australians have always been early adopters. But we are very concerned about the rate and the propensity for which this can be misused by nefarious individuals,” Rowland told Sunrise this morning.
During a press conference yesterday, Rowland said that the government did not want to play “whack-a-mole” with emerging technologies by banning AI glasses, and that it would be incumbent on businesses to restrict the use of smart glasses on their premises.
She was unable to provide much clarity on how this model would work in practice, but said the government would continue consulting businesses and local councils to determine how the use of these devices might be policed.
The Australian government has yet to receive official confirmation of the passing of NSW hiker Michael Keats in the devastating flash floods on the Nepal/Tibet border, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said.
“We respect the right of families to make public statements and to deal with this as they see fit … The Australian government has not yet received official confirmation of Mr Keats’ passing, he does remain unaccounted for in terms of the information we have,” Wong told Nine’s Today this morning.
Keats, from the NSW South Coast, was described by his partner, Emily Boyd, as “an incredibly important part” of her family. On a fundraising platform last night she said his loss was “heartbreaking and overwhelming”.
“We respect the rights of the families to make the statements they have, and our thoughts go out to his family and to every Australian family who is hoping that the many who are missing can be located,” Wong said.
At least two people have died after a flash flood in the Grand Canyon at the weekend, the US National Park Service said. Some 15 others may be missing or unaccounted as search efforts progress.
The flash flood event happened on Saturday afternoon (US time) in the Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch area. The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River. Now the death toll has increased to two as search and recovery efforts continued, according to a post on X. The National Park Service did not provide further updates on the number of missing people.
Both the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Grand Canyon National Park staff responded to the event and are aiding in evacuations and accounting for those who may have been in the affected areas. The Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office was also on site.
Flooding damaged approximately 40 per cent of the Transcanyon Waterline, leaving the park with limited water reserves. “Visitors are asked to remain out of the closure area while search and recovery operations continue.”
Bloomberg
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has again acknowledged the ongoing difficulty of obtaining information about the Australians who remain unaccounted for in Nepal and Tibet following devastating flash floods.
Speaking to ABC’s 7.30 last night, Wong said:
“We are working to do whatever we can and to provide any information we obtain, it is obviously in the context that many people [are] missing, thousands missing. It is difficult to find, to get information.
“Information is not available, but we will continue to work to to do that. And our heart goes out to the families and friends of those who are not accounted for.”
The minister’s remarks came before news of the death of NSW hiker Michael Keats in Nepal.
The Royal Australian Air Force will depart to Nepal this morning, carrying aid from Australia to assist with disaster recovery.
US President Donald Trump has promised further strikes against Iran after the first tit-for-tat attacks in a month, as a conflict that had lately settled into an economic stand-off threatened to again break into open fighting.
Iran launched missiles at two US air bases in Jordan yesterday in response to a US attack on Iran’s Larak Island, where Washington said it had struck Iranian launchers firing mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” a Fox News reporter quoted Trump as telling the channel. “There will be a response.”
A senior Iranian source told Reuters the exchanges of fire, the first since late July, were a “limited and contained confrontation” but said Tehran would deliver a harsh response if attacked again.
Reuters
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Tuesday, September 1. Here’s what you need to know today.
- A NSW hiker is the first Australian confirmed dead after last week’s devastating flash floods on the border of Nepal and Tibet. The total death toll of the disaster is still rising as search and recovery efforts continue in the devastated region. The combined deaths in Nepal and China have surpassed 950, with more than 4400 people missing.
- Attorney-General Michelle Rowland unveiled reforms to Australia’s privacy laws during a press conference yesterday. The reforms have copped backlash for failing to impose an import ban on smart glasses.
- One Nation leader Pauline Hanson accused the prime minister of inciting violence against her, after he called One Nation dangerous and divisive, and a threat to the country.
- And US President Donald Trump has vowed to “hit Iran hard”, promising further strikes after Iran launched missiles yesterday at two US air bases in Jordan in response to a US attack on Iran’s Larak Island.
