source : the age
Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Wednesday, July 1. Here’s what is making headlines today.
Health Minister Mark Butler has backed Australian security agencies after the Chinese ambassador to Australia launched a remarkable attack on ASIO, accusing the agency of fabricating spying claims against his nation.
Xiao Qian, who has represented China in Canberra since 2022, accused ASIO of smearing China in a video aired before director-general Mike Burgess’ annual threat assessment last week, suggesting it could undermine ongoing legal proceedings.
“China itself has long suffered from foreign interference and has no intention of, nor has it ever engaged in, so-called interference in Australia,” Xiao wrote in an opinion piece submitted to this masthead.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament House in Canberra, Butler said: “We fully support the work of the ASIO director, MikeBurgess, he’s a terrific public servant, and he and all of his staff at ASIO provide great work for Australian security.”
Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Justin Bassi hit out at the Chinese ambassador, accusing him of “trying to undermine confidence in ASIO and turn Australians against the people whose job it is to keep them safe”.
“That is not a legitimate use of Australia’s freedom of speech and the ambassador should be called in by DFAT [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] or the government,” he said.
A roof collapse at a tutoring centre under construction in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore killed at least 14 schoolchildren on Tuesday, police and rescue officials said.
Eight other children were injured and being treated at a hospital, senior police official Faisal Kamran said, adding that the owner of the tutoring centre and another person have been arrested.
Kamran said rescuers were searching through the rubble after receiving reports that more children could be trapped beneath the debris. He said the tutoring centre was in an ageing building and that the roof of an unfinished second floor apparently collapsed because of poor construction quality.
Building collapses are common in Pakistan, where construction standards are often poorly enforced and safety regulations are frequently ignored to reduce costs.
Serena Williams has lost her first singles match in nearly four years to Australian Maya Joint.
Joint triumphed with a 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 victory over the former world No.1 on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
The 44-year-old Williams was given a standing ovation on Wednesday morning (AEST) as she walked onto the grass court where she won seven of her 23 grand slam singles titles.
Several supporters held up signs with messages like “Welcome Back” and one wore a T-shirt with the text “Unstoppable Queen”.
House prices have seen their biggest monthly decline in almost four years, as data compiled by Cotality showed national dwelling values dropped by 0.4 per cent in June. It was the largest single monthly fall since December 2022.
Labor frontbencher Mark Butler said the decline could not be attributed only to the government’s capital gains tax changes, and told ABC News Breakfast this morning there was “a lot happening in the housing market,” including RBA interest rate rises and the war in Iran.
“First home buyers are getting a fair crack for the first time in a long time, they’re bidding against each other for houses rather than bidding against investors that have the benefit of a tax break, and that’s exactly what we were seeking to achieve.”
Butler said the government had thought about the changes “very carefully,” and said more time was needed to assess their impact.
“The history of house prices in Australia is one of growth,” he said. “We’re very confident in Treasury’s forecasts. House prices [and] house values for existing owners will continue to grow. They’ll just grow a little bit more softly for a period than otherwise would have.”
Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have planned meetings with mediators about the implementation of an initial deal to end the war in Iran, following more crossfire in the Persian Gulf.
They won’t directly negotiate with Iranian diplomats and will instead use mediators as go-betweens, said Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.
Iran was also sending a delegation to Qatar, but has no plans to meet with the American side at any level, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. His statement left open the possibility of messages being passed through the Qataris.
It comes as Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told an interview with state TV that any meetings held by Iran are solely aimed at fulfilling MoU commitments. He said Iran will not enter further negotiations until conditions of the memorandum of understanding signed between Iran and the United States are met.
Iran has sovereignty in the Strait of Hormuz along with Oman and it will never compromise on its rights in the Strait of Hormuz, Qalbaf said, adding passage without cost in the strait is only for 60 days per the US agreement.
With AP
Millions of workers will get a pay rise from the first full pay period after today after the Fair Work Commission approved a 4.75 per cent increase to award wages. Workers on the minimum wage will get a 6 per cent boost.
The increase takes the minimum annual wage, based on a 38-hour working week, to above $50,000 a year for the first time. It will hit $1004.90 a week, or $26.44 an hour, up from $948 a week and $24.95 an hour last year.
Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sally McManus urged workers to compare their final June payslip with their first full payslip after July 1, to confirm the new rate has been correctly applied by their employer.
“July is pay rise month for millions of Australian workers. It’s not just those on award wages, but many collective agreements have pay rises that also kick in on 1 July,” she said.
“It’s important that everyone who is affected checks their payslips this month to ensure their employer is paying what unions fought for and so they can experience the cost-of-living relief that comes from extra pay.”
Workers who are concerned they may not have received the wage rise should keep records of their pay slips, contact their union or call Australian Unions on 1300 486 466, McManus said.
Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Wednesday, July 1. Here’s what is making headlines today.
