source : the age
Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Thursday, August 27. Here’s what you need to know today.
- Thirty-four Australians are among hundreds missing after deadly flash floods hit Nepal and Tibet. Nepal police said 157 bodies have so far been recovered, while China has reported at least three people killed and 265 missing in Tibet. More than 400 tourists are unaccounted for, from Australia, India, the US, UK and Canada. Follow our live coverage of the Nepal floods here.
- Only Australian citizens will be allowed to hold firearms licences, under changes agreed to during a meeting of National Cabinet yesterday.
- Inflation came in stronger than expected in July, figures released yesterday by the ABS showed.
- And Meta has reached a $24 billion settlement to add child safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states in the US.
Minister for Agriculture Julie Collins says the vision coming out of Nepal and Tibet following destructive flash flooding is “extremely concerning”.
“Our sympathies, of course, go out to those people who’ve been impacted in Nepal, Tibet, and China,” Collins told ABC’s News Breakfast.
“DFAT officials are working around the clock urgently to ascertain the welfare of Australians that are known to be in the area. And obviously, the 24-hour DFAT consular assistance line is up and running. So, if people have family members there, they should contact that.”
It remains unclear whether DFAT will dispatch officials to the affected region, Collins said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released a statement on the catastrophic flash flooding through Nepal and China that has resulted in at least 160 deaths and has left hundreds more missing:
We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by the significant flooding in Nepal and Tibet, China.
Australians in the affected area should follow the advice of local authorities.
We are aware of a number of Australians in the area and Australian officials are urgently working to confirm their welfare. We are liaising with local authorities as well as tour operators.
We stand ready to provide consular assistance.
Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas).
Thirty-four Australians have been reported missing. More than 400 tourists are unaccounted for.
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has dismissed the suggestion that his party is grappling with internal division over its migration policy.
“Well, I don’t think so at all. We’ve been very clear about this,” he told Nine’s Today.
The party has faced questions about its migration policy since MP David Farley claimed during an ABC interview on Sunday that One Nation’s migration target was “not too different” from Labor’s.
Party leader Pauline Hanson was forced to intervene to clarify Farley’s claim, and posted to X on Sunday to say her party’s policy was to cut net overseas migration to 130,000 people. She then deleted the post.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has released a statement this morning, following the news of flash floods in Nepal and Tibet.
“The loss of life and destruction caused by flash flooding in Nepal and China is devastating,” she wrote in a post on X.
Wong said DFAT officials were still trying to confirm the welfare of all Australians in the area.
One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has given yet another interpretation of the party’s migration policy in an interview with an influencer associated with white supremacists whose apparent membership of One Nation has prompted the Coalition to weaponise Pauline Hanson’s links to extremists.
Roberts also defended the right of the nation’s main neo-Nazi group, White Australia, to exist on free speech grounds. The remarks were made during an interview with Andre Mamet, who uses the online moniker “Ausmaxx”, posted to X on Tuesday.
Mamet is a right-wing influencer who came to attention when he interviewed Hanson at a conservative conference in London in July – during the same week she met controversial far-right activist Tommy Robinson. The 19-year-old has 14,000 followers on Instagram, and 2300 on X.
This masthead subsequently reported that Mamet is closely associated with figures who attended Nazi training camps. He also enjoys sponsorship from a bookstore selling Adolf Hitler texts and was a paid-up member of One Nation.
One Nation did not deny Mamet was a member earlier this month. But last week, when questions were raised about Mamet condemning criminal charges against National Socialist Network leaders, One Nation claimed Mamet’s membership had lapsed.
Read the full story here.
At least 157 people are dead and dozens of Australians are missing after a suspected earthquake triggered massive flash floods that swept through parts of Nepal and China.
Follow along with our live coverage for the latest updates.
Hello and welcome to our national news live blog for Thursday, August 27. Here’s what you need to know today.
- Thirty-four Australians are among hundreds missing after deadly flash floods hit Nepal and Tibet. Nepal police said 157 bodies have so far been recovered, while China has reported at least three people killed and 265 missing in Tibet. More than 400 tourists are unaccounted for, from Australia, India, the US, UK and Canada. Follow our live coverage of the Nepal floods here.
- Only Australian citizens will be allowed to hold firearms licences, under changes agreed to during a meeting of National Cabinet yesterday.
- Inflation came in stronger than expected in July, figures released yesterday by the ABS showed.
- And Meta has reached a $24 billion settlement to add child safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms, to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states in the US.
