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.
The bodies of a Texas chiropractor and at least one other person have been found after a major flash flood swept through the Grand Canyon, and officials said on Monday that one person remains unaccounted for after about 80 others were rescued at the weekend.
Saturday’s flash flood severely damaged the only water pipeline into the canyon. Officials barred tourists from staying at lodges and hotels inside Grand Canyon National Park and issued emergency water restrictions for year-round residents.
Waves of torrential rain had hit the Bright Angel Creek area of the tourist destination that welcomes 4.4 million visitors a year.
Grand Canyon deputy superintendent Brian Drapeaux said officials anticipate “miles of the pipeline being destroyed”, but a full evaluation of the devastation won’t be completed until Tuesday at the earliest.
The Greens have accused the Albanese government of hypocrisy as the first shale gas begins to flow from an enormous basin in the Northern Territory.
Natural gas at the Shenandoah South project, operated by Tamboran Resources Corp., is set to begin flowing into the NT network on Tuesday.
It marks a major step toward monetising the Beetaloo Basin, which holds one of the country’s largest onshore gas reserves and is forecast to generate more than $17 billion in economic value over the next two decades, according to the territory government.
Speaking in Melbourne, Greens energy spokeswoman Steph Hodgins-May said the timing of the gas flow was ironic.
Jakarta: Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung has erupted, spewing a column of black ash and smoke 3500 metres from the top of the mountain into the sky over Sumatra island.
There were no immediate reports of casualties, evacuations or disruptions to flights in the region. But residents, visitors and tourists were advised to refrain from activities in nearby villages and areas within six kilometres of the summit.
Officials raised the volcano alert level to “Watch”, the second-highest level for volcanic activity, which expanded the safe zone around the 2600-metre mountain.
“This eruption is considered an initial eruption, and it is possible that a larger eruption could occur,” Lana Saria, chief of Indonesia’s Geological Agency, said in a statement.
Washington: A divided Supreme Court allowed the White House to continue construction on a $US400 million ($558 million) ballroom project as lawsuits play out, a win for President Donald Trump as he flexes unprecedented executive power and remakes the capital in his image.
The decision replaces a temporary order from Chief Justice John Roberts issued hours before a lower-court decision halting the work would have gone into effect. Roberts publicly dissented from the latest order, however, joining with the court’s three liberal-leaning justices, who called the construction “likely unlawful”.
The majority did not decide the legality of the project but found a preservation group likely did not have the legal right to challenge it.
The lawsuit will return to lower courts but documents say that key portions of the project could be complete within months – a quick timeline compared with a typical legal case.
WiseTech Global has appointed former Seven West Media boss Jeff Howard as its chief financial officer, ending an interim arrangement that has run for almost two years.
Howard starts on September 28. He was Seven West’s finance chief from 2020 and took over as chief executive in 2024. He briefly led the merged company after its tie-up with Southern Cross Media in January, then stepped down a month later.
Shares in the logistics software group fell about 2 per cent to $39.53 this morning.
Caroline Pham, interim chief financial officer since October 2024, will stay on to support the handover.
A woman randomly stabbed two people in New York City’s Times Square, killing one woman, and was then fatally shot by police, according to the New York Police Department.
The shooting happened next to a New York Police Department substation, just outside One Times Square, the building that hosts the city’s annual New Year’s Eve ball-drop celebration. It is one of the most heavily touristed and policed spots in all of New York.
The woman pulled out two knives from a shopping bag and stabbed a 68-year-old man in the abdomen before quickly turning and stabbing a 32-year-old woman also in the abdomen, police said at a news conference a short while ago. Both were taken to the hospital. The woman died and the man is in stable condition, according to police.
Videos posted on social media show a group of at least 10 officers gathered around the woman, who is holding two large kitchen knives. At least one officer appears to try to subdue her with a Taser but it does not incapacitate her, the video shows.
Albanese has said now is not the appropriate time to question whether the devastating flash floods impacting the Nepal-Tibet border region were caused by climate change, despite the Nepali government calling for a “global effort” to address its environmental impact.
“On Nepal, there will be time to examine the science and what has occurred here. My thoughts are solely focused at this point in time on the families and on the extraordinarily difficult time that we’re going through, and offering our support to Nepal,” Albanese told a press conference on the Pacific island of Palau.
“Those debates will take place, but I don’t think, from Australia’s perspective, now’s the time. My focus is very much on people who are incredibly traumatised by not knowing what has happened to their loved ones.”
Earlier in his press conference Albanese shared his support for those affected and the Nepali community in Australia. He also said that climate change would be a significant focus of the ongoing Pacific Islands Forum, which he is attending this week.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off repeated questioning over tensions between China and Taiwan that are overshadowing the Pacific Islands Forum being held in Palau, one of the few countries that recognises Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung attended the opening ceremony of the forum and will participate in several events over coming days, infuriating China. Beijing has lodged complaints and threatened retaliation over the decision to allow the self-governing island to have such strong representation at this year’s event.
Asked whether this was distracting from the event, Albanese said: “I’m not distracted. I’m focused on members of the Pacific family, and that is precisely the meetings that I have scheduled here. And I think this is primarily a gathering of the Pacific family, the members of the Pacific Islands Forum. I look forward to the engagement. That’s the engagement that I’ve had.”
The prime minister refused to say whether it was appropriate for China to make threats or whether Chinese leaders were “bullying” Palau.
“I’m Australia’s spokesperson and I speak on behalf of Australia,” Albanese said.
The Australian government will invest just under $16 million over the next four years to support athletes in the Pacific preparing for the Brisbane Olympics, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said.
Speaking from a press conference on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, Albanese said the 2032 Games was “an opportunity, particularly to engage with the Pacific for them to see this as a part of their engagement with Australia and, indeed, with the world”.
Albanese said negotiations on climate change response and security would be integral to the ongoing forum, which has been marred by a number of high-profile absences.
“Australia’s commitment to the Pacific is unshakeable. No other part of the world is more important to us, which is why we have prioritised that engagement with the Pacific,” Albanese said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in Palau for the first day of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting and held a press conference.
