Watt announces $14m for SA toxic algal bloom response – as it happened

This blog is now closed Get ourbreaking news email,free appordaily news podcast We will wrap up the live blog here for the evening. Here’s what made the news: $14m in one-off funding was announced by environment ministerMurray Wattto support theresponse to South Australia’s algal bloom crisis. Mark Latham’s portraitwill remain on the wall of the federal Labor caucusroom in parliament house, but with added text, amid debate in the party about Latham in recent weeks. Former Liberal prime minister,Malcolm Turnbull, has rejected Coalition criticisms of Labor prime ministerAnthony Albanese’s trip to China, saying it was“absolutely the right thing to do to go to China”. Ahead of parliament sitting tomorrow for the first time since the May federal election, Albanese has told the Labor caucus to“repay the faith”voters put in them at the election. The opposition leader,Sussan Ley, has said the opposition won’t simply“get out of the way”of the government in the new term. Australian Greens leader,Larissa Waters, has backed theexpulsion of her party’s co-founderDrew Huttonover claims he fostered debate the party deems transphobic, saying the move reflected“good governance”. Hutton is consideringhis legal options. Another childcare centre in Melbournehas confirmedit terminated alleged sex offenderJoshua Dale Brown’s employment. Peter Ryan,a Walkley Award-winning journalist who worked in the field for 45 years,died in Sydneyafter a battle with cancer. We will be back with theAustralian politicslive blog bright and early tomorrow for the first sitting day of the new parliament. Until then, enjoy your evening. Australian Conservation Foundation welcomes ‘overdue’ algal bloom funding Darcie Carruthers,the South Australia-based nature campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, has welcomedenvironment ministerMurray Watt’s funding announcementto support the response to the algal bloom crisis but says it is overdue and more needs to be done: It is long overdue and very welcome assistance. But I would say that the federal government needs to focus on the causes of this economic and environmental disaster to prevent it from happening again. A marine heatwave and the water from the disastrous 2023 Murray Darling floods are both factors that have allowed the algae to take hold and both warming waters and floods are supercharged by burning fossil fuels. If Minister Watt is serious about protecting nature and businesses he’ll stop approving coal and gas and create nature laws that protect them from climate pollution. Carruthers said she also believed it was “reasonable to declare this a national disaster when tens if not hundreds of thousands of animals are dying and local businesses and communities are struggling”: Declaring this a national disaster could render them more assistance. A multi-agency search for a fisher missing off Australia’s east coast has been massively expanded, AAP reports. The search, broadened on Monday afternoon, began after a 56-year-old man failed to return from a day of fishing. He departed from Batemans Bay marina on the NSW south coast about 6am on Saturday. Contact was made with the man about 10am but emergency services were called when he failed to return that night. The search initially focused on an area between Ulladulla and Merimbula but was widened as it continued on Monday. Led by the Marine Area Command, vessels, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters have now scoured as far north as Port Stephens and as far south as the Victorian border – an area spanning about 700km. Four Marine Rescue NSW vessels are involved. The expanded search followed unconfirmed sightings of the man’s eight-metre Arvor cruiser by members of the public. Marine Rescue NSW inspectorStuart Masseysaid crews were determined to find the 56-year-old. There were almost 30 volunteers on the water on Sunday across six vessels, covering an area from Ulladulla to Merimbula and up to 22km seaward under the direction of police, Massey said. Greens says algal bloom support funding nowhere near what is needed Greens environment spokesperson,Sarah Hanson Youngwelcomed the$14m of funding to address the algal bloom crisis in South Australiabut said it was “nowhere near what will be needed.” She told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing she was disappointed the environment minister,Murray Watt, stopped short of declaring a disaster. I understand the point around it does not fit in the checklist. I don’t care about the bureaucracy. She said the parliament makes the laws, so they should be made to fit the crises being faced. If it happened on Bondi beach I think this government would have responded much sooner, the national media would have been much more focused on it, it has been very late coming but I’m glad we are there and it is down to the hard work and advocacy of the South Australian community. They have been up in arms about this for weeks. They wanted the minister to come, he finally went today, put money on the table but there is a long way to go. Hanson Young said it is the climate crisis because of warming oceans. It wasn’t just about the environment, she said, but flow-on effects to the communities along the South Australian coast. What will people do? This will have a long tail, it is a disaster and we need this to be taken seriously. Former Liberal prime minister,Malcolm Turnbullsaid he did not know what the outcome of the review ofAukuswould be. On shadow defence ministerAngus Taylor’s call for commitment to Taiwan from Australia, Turnbull said Taylor “clearly misspoke and is not sufficiently familiar with his portfolio”. Why on earth would Australia be giving an undertaking to take any action in respect of Chinese attempt to invade Taiwan if the United States has not made any commitment itself? Former prime ministerMalcolm Turnbullresponded to reports he had spoken with the US under secretary of defence policyElbridge Colby, who is leading the US review ofAukusabout the project before Colby was appointed tothe review. He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that Colby is “one of the smartest, most clear-sighted people in the defence policy world in Washington and has been for some years”. He said the reservations about Aukus Colby has expressed are ones that “any rational American policy official or policy thinker would have. They are, firstly, the Virginia class submarines are the most valuable and survivable parts of the US Navy. The US Navy does not have enough of them. They are producing about half as many as they need for their own purposes, let alone to spare any for Australia, so the question is how can this be any for Australia in 2031? He said the second issue Colby raised prior to being appointed was around if Australia was investing sufficiently in its defence capabilities. This problem has been exacerbated by the decision to go into naval nuclear propulsion which is hugely expensive and we have already seen one program after another being cancelled because there is not enough in the defence budget after spending money on Aukus to pay for it … There is a real question in the Americans’ mind as to whether Australia is able to sustain its small capable military and, at the same time, pay for the submarines within the defence budget so you can understand that he would be saying no doubt to the Australian government, if you are not prepared to increase your budget, maybe you would be better off just finding a small capable military and leaving the nuclear submarine to those who are prepared to pay for it. Former Liberal prime minister,Malcolm Turnbull, has rejectedCoalition criticisms of Labor prime ministerAnthony Albanese’s trip to China, saying it was “absolutely the right thing to do to go to China”. He told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing he would have done the same when he was in office: I think the visit to the great wall and going further afield out of Beijing and Shanghai was very good. If I had had more time when I had a similar official visit in 2016, I would have done the same thing, so it makes perfect sense. He said the visit went about as well as it could go, and it was a “storm in a tea cup”: The criticism the opposition has made of his visit to China is opposition for the sake of opposition. I know what it is like, I have been leader of the opposition. You end up becoming a whinger and a knocker all the time and sometimes you have to hold back because it does the opposition much more harm that it does the government. Just more on the earlier news of the $14m support package for thealgal bloom crisis in South Australia. Environment ministerMurray Watthas stopped short of calling the event a national disaster or emergency. Speaking at a press conference in Adelaide on Monday afternoon, Watt said: The federal cabinet was unified in recognising that this is a very serious event facing South Australia and that we need to step up federal government support for South Australia as they lead the response effort here. Mark Latham’s portrait will remain on the wall of the federal Labor caucus room in parliament house, but with added text, amid debate in the party about Latham in recent weeks. The ABC reported the words: “In 2017 Mark Latham was expelled from the AustralianLabor partyand banned for life. His actions do not accord with Labor values and fail to meet the standards we expect and demand” will be added to the portrait but it would remain up on the wall. Portraits of former leaders and other significant MPs hang in the party room where members meet regularly during sitting periods. Latham was Labor leader from 2003 to 2005, when the party remained in opposition. He now sits as an independent in the NSW parliament, but has faced calls to resign from parliament following losing a defamation case regarding homophobic comments he made about independentMPAlex Greenwich, and criticism of Latham airing confidential medical information about Greenwich in parliament. Last week Latham also faced allegations of emotional, physical and financial abuse that were aired from a former partner in court documents. Allegations Latham has strongly denied. He was expelled from Labor in 2017after joining the Liberal Democrats. The finance minister and minister for women,Katy Gallagher, told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing the addition of a statement was an acknowledgment that “you can’t erase history” andthat Latham didn’t align with modern Labor’s values or standards of behaviour. Latham posted on social media after the move was announced, likening the decision to Josef Stalin’s purges. The federal environment minister,Murray Watt, who is in SA today announced a one-off $14m package of support for the toxic algal bloom event in South Australia, which has killed thousands of animals that are washing up on SA beaches. Watt said the package was requested by the SA government. Having officials here on the ground last week has helped finalise what that request would be and having received that we have been able to turn that around very quickly. Now, they will need to be some further discussions between ourselves and the South Australian government about exactly the details of how that funding is used. But it is intended to deal with a number of short-term requirements and some of the longer term needs that South Australia is going to face as it recovers from this event. He said discussions would continue over the next couple of days but the funding would support activities including cleaning up the beaches, and supporting businesses in the area. There are businesses doing it really tough as a result of this event. It is likely this support will also provide further community awareness about what this event involves and how people should be dealing with it and importantly, looking more long-term, there is clearly a need to invest more in science and research about this event, on top of the substantial resources we and the state government are already putting into science and research. German backpacker who went missing in WA back home The German backpacker who went missing in outback Western Australia for 11 nights has reportedly returned home. German publication Bild reported on SundayCarolina Wilgahasnow returned home. Wilga hit her head in a car crash and left the car “in a state of confusion” and got lost as as a result. She was last seen on 29 June in a shop in Beacon, 300km north-east of Perth. Police sent land and air resources to comb the remote Wheatbelt area for Wilga. After her van was found bogged and abandoned in Karroun Hill, nearly 150km away from Beacon, Wilga was found alive the following day 24km from her car. Cashless gaming trial to begin in Victoria in September A long-awaited trial of cashless gaming will begin in September at pokies venues across three Victorian local government areas. The minister for casino, gambling and liquor regulation,Enver Erdogan, on Monday announced the trial will run across all 43 venues with gaming machines in Monash, Greater Dandenong and Ballarat LGAs from September to November. Punters at these venues will need to use a YourPlay card to play electronic gaming machines and set loss limits. Erdogan said “account-based play” will offer people more control over their gambling habits and can provide them with greater insight into how much they spend gambling: This trial is an important first step – helping people take control of their gambling and make better choices. It comes after the premier,Jacinta Allan,faced backlash from her Labor caucus in Mayfor delaying the trial. It was originally scheduled to begin in mid-2025 and become mandatory by 2027 but the necessary legislation didn’t pass parliament in time. Former premier,Daniel Andrews, first announced the plan to move to cashless gaming in July 2023, as part of a broader plan to reduce gambling harm. Since then, the government has introduced several measures including mandatory closure periods from 4am to 10am, slower spin rates in new pokies machines and a cap on the number of machines in the state at the current level until 2042. Sydney man to face court on allegations of impersonating a foreign police officer A man will face court today on charges he impersonated a foreign police officer, including driving a car with an unlawful police insignia, after he was stopped by NSW officers in Sydney last week. NSW policesaid officers with the force’s traffic and highway patrol saw a black sedan in the suburb of Strathfield on Friday around 2.50pm during their patrols that had the insignia of Chinese police on the hood. Officers spoke with a 20-year-old man at the scene, who allegedly showed them ID documents and a disability pass. Officers later searched the vehicle, seizing ammunition. A search of a home in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills suburb later resulted in the seizure of two firearms. The man was taken to Burwood police station where he was charged with several offences, including use display of an emergency services insignia, driving a motor vehicle with unlawful police insignia, the use of false document to influence exercise of public duty and several weapons charges, among others. He was refused bail. ‘It could be Bondi tomorrow’: Greens call for support package for SA algae bloom The Greens have welcomed the environment minister,Murray Watt,travelling to South Australia to inspect the toxic algae bloom, which has killed thousands of animals and resulted in fish carcasses to wash up on beaches. Greens senatorSarah Hanson-Youngtold the media in Canberra this afternoon that the government needs to provide a ‘Covid-style’ care package, and will be pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into the issue. Hanson-Young warned the bloom is a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for climate change: About bloody time that the environment minister showed up in South Australia to have a look at what is an unfolding disaster … We need the federal government to recognise that this is a national disaster … I’m just gobsmacked that the more experts I speak to about this issue, the more they say they tried to warn government … They asked for help and support so that they could help the government get ahead of the game, and they were ignored. That’s all for me, thanks for sticking with us this morning.Josh Taylorwill be your news guide for the rest of the day. Take care.