From 30m ago 22.27 BST Former ADF chief to advise government on response to
Gaza aid worker deaths The
Australian government has appointed a special adviser to look at the “sufficiency and appropriateness” of Israel’s response to its strikes that killed Australian humanitarian worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues. Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin will engage with Israel and the Israel Defense Forces on its response to the attack, a statement from foreign minister Penny Wong announced this morning. Binskin served as ADF chief from 2014 to 2018 and was vice chief of the ADF, and chief of the air force, before this. A statement from Wong said his experience means he is “eminently qualified” to advise the Australian government on the “sufficiency and appropriateness of steps taken by the
Israeli government”. Australia has made clear to the Israeli Government our expectation and trust that this engagement will be facilitated … The special adviser will provide advice to the Australian government regarding any further representations or actions that could be taken to ensure a full and transparent investigation and to hold those responsible to account. The Australian government has been clear that we expect full accountability for these deaths. The appointment of ACM Binskin will ensure the family of Zomi Frankcom, and the Australian people can have confidence in this process. Former ADF chief Mark Binskin. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian Binskin’s work will include the examination of: arrangements for the investigation of the incident, IDF policies and procedures for operational incidents, measures taken to hold those responsible to account, if further investigation is warranted, and measures adopted to prevent such incidents happening again. Share Updated at 22.36 BST Key events 22m ago Major transport impacts amid flood clean up 26m ago Aukus countries consider expanding pact 30m ago Former ADF chief to advise government on response to Gaza aid worker deaths 34m ago Welcome Filters BETA Key events (4) Australia (3)
Sydney (3) 3m ago 22.54 BST ABC RN host Sally Sara : What kind of penalties or fines would be in place if the big supermarkets are not toeing the line? Craig Emerson : If they do it in a very egregious, systemic way? That could be massive, like $10m, or even 10% of the annual turnover of a supermarket in the preceding court months – now that runs into the billions… Emerson defined this conduct as supermarkets telling their buyers to “screw” suppliers, break contracts with them, de-list them and “brutalise them in order for [the supermarket] to maximise [its] profit”. Now, you would hope and expect that sort of behaviour won’t happen, but just having the watchdog off the back porch where the watchdog is now, you know, in the dark, and on the front porch and off the leash… is designed to focus the attention of the supermarket management so that they know exactly what their buyers are doing, and don’t condone it and don’t try to incentivise it. Share 8m ago 22.49 BST Emerson outlines interim report on supermarkets Former Labor trade minister Craig Emerson was on ABC RN earlier this morning to discuss his interim report on the supermarket giants, which has recommended a mandatory code of conduct. Daniel Hurst has all the details on this below: Australia’s big supermarkets could face penalties of up to $10m under proposed mandatory code Read more Emerson said his inquiry has been examining the relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers, and he’s found that if suppliers get a better deal, this does not necessarily mean prices will go up: Because if the suppliers are really you know, operating on survival mode, they’re not going to have the money to invest to upgrade their facilities, provide [better] products at lower price. So this actually fits into the cost of living issue quite well, and what I’m trying to do here is have the best of both worlds. And by that I mean yes, have ACCC watchdog enforcement through a mandatory code, but also keep some of the provisions of the existing voluntary code where people are encouraged to sort things out amicably through mediation, but ultimately, if necessary, through arbitration. I’m asking the supermarket’s to accept arbitration and the outcome of arbitration interestingly, under the Constitution, that can’t be required by a government, or the ACCC – so I’m asking them to sign up to that. View image in fullscreen Former trade minister Craig Emerson. Photograph: Alan Porritt/AAP Share 17m ago 22.40 BST NSW premier discusses flood situation, recovery and preparedness The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns , said 30 homes had been inundated during the floods in Sydney and surrounds. Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, he said about 800 people had been evacuated from their homes, or were under an evacuation order – from 300 homes. Obviously that’s devastating for those families [who have been inundated]. But it could’ve been a lot worse. We’re very grateful for the SES and emergency services across the state who kept us safe during a difficult period. Minns said the state government would “come down hard on” any insurance companies found to be “dragging their feet”. There’s no easy answers. We have committed $200m for evacuation routes and local levies. That’s part of a half-a-billion package we want to spend in the next 10 years. We’ve taken a decision to not allow homes to be built in flood-prone land in Sydney’s west. It was a controversial decision, but it’s about managing a difficult situation. We need to be there for families who have been in those towns for decades. Share Updated at 22.48 BST 22m ago 22.35 BST Major transport impacts amid flood clean up Rain has eased across NSW after the weekend’s wild weather but flooding still poses a risk to hundreds of people in the Sydney region, AAP reports. The Hawkesbury River peaked at the major level late on Saturday evening, and at the moderate level at Windsor yesterday. As water levels began to recede, about 800 people in the Sydney region were still affected by evacuation warnings. NSW State Emergency Service assistant commissioner Dean Storey said it was likely these evacuation warnings would be in place over the next few days: It is our priority to get people back to their homes as soon as it is safe to do so. Once the flood water recedes our crews will be out in force on the ground assisting with damage assessments. So far in the Illawarra region 57 properties have been found to be damaged, 28 inundated with flood water and 14 deemed non-habitable. View image in fullscreen A flooded road in the Sydney suburb of North Narrabeen. Photograph: Glenn Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images Residents have been warned that the effects of the weekend’s record-breaking rain could still present danger in the region, with damage to roads and train lines. Parts of the South Coast train line have been closed due to damage from the weekend’s flooding. The SES had fielded about 4,900 calls for help since the floods began as of Sunday evening. Share Updated at 22.47 BST 26m ago 22.31 BST Aukus countries consider expanding pact Daniel Hurst Australia, the US and the
UK are expected to announce – as soon as today – that they will launch formal talks aimed at collaborating with other countries on advanced defence technologies. Members of the Aukus pact have long expressed openness to inviting other countries, such as
Japan or
New Zealand , to partner with them on certain “pillar 2” projects. Pillar 2 covers collaboration on technologies such as hypersonic weapons and
Artificial intelligence, but not the high-profile project for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. The Financial Times reported over the weekend that the Aukus defence ministers would announce talks on Monday. The paper reported that Australia and the UK had, for months, been pushing back at the idea of inviting Japan into the pact too soon, as they wanted to first iron out existing practical issues. When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles , said any engagement of additional countries in Aukus projects would be “trilaterally decided and announced”. The spokesperson said: The deputy prime minister has said publicly, and to Japan, that we will seek opportunities to engage close partners in Aukus pillar 2 as our work on critical defence and security capabilities progresses. Japan is an indispensable defence partner for Australia . View image in fullscreen The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, during question time last month. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Share Updated at 22.41 BST 30m ago 22.27 BST Former ADF chief to advise government on response to Gaza aid worker deaths The Australian government has appointed a special adviser to look at the “sufficiency and appropriateness” of Israel’s response to its strikes that killed Australian humanitarian worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues. Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin will engage with Israel and the Israel Defense Forces on its response to the attack, a statement from foreign minister Penny Wong announced this morning. Binskin served as ADF chief from 2014 to 2018 and was vice chief of the ADF, and chief of the air force, before this. A statement from Wong said his experience means he is “eminently qualified” to advise the Australian government on the “sufficiency and appropriateness of steps taken by the Israeli government”. Australia has made clear to the Israeli Government our expectation and trust that this engagement will be facilitated … The special adviser will provide advice to the Australian government regarding any further representations or actions that could be taken to ensure a full and transparent investigation and to hold those responsible to account. The Australian government has been clear that we expect full accountability for these deaths. The appointment of ACM Binskin will ensure the family of Zomi Frankcom, and the Australian people can have confidence in this process. View image in fullscreen Former ADF chief Mark Binskin. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian Binskin’s work will include the examination of: arrangements for the investigation of the incident, IDF policies and procedures for operational incidents, measures taken to hold those responsible to account, if further investigation is warranted, and measures adopted to prevent such incidents happening again. Share Updated at 22.36 BST 34m ago 22.23 BST Welcome Emily Wind Good morning, and happy Monday – welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind , and I’ll take you through today’s rolling coverage. The Australian government has appointed a special adviser to look at the “sufficiency and appropriateness” of Israel’s response to its strikes that killed Australian humanitarian worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues. Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin will engage with Israel and the Israel Defense Forces on its response to the attack, a statement from the foreign minister, Penny Wong, announced this morning. The Aukus countries – Australia, the US and the UK – are considering expanding their pact, expected to announce formal talks to collaborate with other countries on advanced defence technologies. The announcement could come as soon as today, with the countries long expressing an openness to invite Japan or New Zealand on board with certain “pillar 2” projects. Daniel Hurst will have more on this shortly. Meanwhile, rain has eased across New South Wales after the weekend’s wild weather, but flooding still poses a risk to hundreds of people in the Sydney region, AAP reports. About 800 people in the Sydney region are still affected by evacuation warnings. See something that needs attention on the blog? You can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com. Let’s get started. Share Explore more on these topics Australia news Australian politics Aukus Penny Wong Australian
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