Most of south-eastern Australia sweltered amid continuing heatwave conditions, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a top of 37C for Melbourne today, hot weather expected for most of Victoria, and extreme fire danger ratings in place for the south-west region of Victoria.
The byelection for Scott Morrison’s seat of Cook was announced to be held 13 April. It is now a very safe Liberal seat, on a margin of 12.5%.
China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, said jailed Australian dissident Yang Hengjun’shealth is “not perfect”.
Twelve-year-old Hussein Al Mansoory was found “safe and well” in an Auburn medical centre stairwell, after being missing for 48 hours.
Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, said the state needs better safety regulations for outdoor festivals, and that the music and arts festival held near the Grampians (which was called off early) was a “disaster waiting to happen”.
A United Airlines flight returned to Sydney with reports of hydraulics fault, joining the airline’s lineup of emergency incidents in the last week.
And in other aerial drama, 50 people were treated by ambulance crews after an incident at Auckland International airport involving an in-bound aircraft, with one patient in a serious condition.
Fifty people treated as one seriously injured after aircraft incident in Auckland
Fifty people have been treated by ambulance crews after an incident at Auckland International Airport involving an in-bound aircraft, with one patient in a serious condition.
The incident reportedly involved a “technical problem” on a LATAM Airlines flight from Sydney to Auckland, according to local news.
Hato Hone St John responded to the incident at 3.58pm with five ambulances, two operations managers, one Major Incident Support Team vehicle, one Command Unit and two rapid response vehicles.
Their crews assessed and treated approximately 50 patients, with one patient in a serious condition and the remainder in a moderate to minor condition, according to a Hato Hone St John statement. Thirteen patients have been transported to Middlemore hospital by ambulance.
Radio New Zealand report that a passenger on board the flight, Jacinto, said there was a “mid-air drop”.
“People got pretty injured,” he said. A number of passengers were not wearing their seatbelts at the time, he said.
BHP economist sees ‘very threatening’ wave of Chinese EVs for other carmakers
Huw McKay, BHP’s chief economist, has been offering his thoughts on China (and other matters) at the AFR’s business summit in Sydney.
Australia’s biggest company by market value (even with today’s 2.6% share price drop) has a lot riding on China’s economic performance (as does Australia). Anyway, McKay sees China’s growth at 4.5%-5% this year, potentially a bit under Beijing’s own “around 5%” GDP growth goal.
As China pivots away from its ailing domestic property sector, it will ramp up exports of manufactured goods such as electric vehicles. Rival traditional carmakers are perhaps downplaying what’s coming “because it’s very, very threatening”. Already the biggest car market, about one in three Chinese car sales are EVs, and it’s rising.
Photograph: Toya Sarno Jordan/Reuters
McKew cited the case of a medium-sized SUV that sells for 40,000 euros ($A66,000) in Turin, Italy. The same car will sell for 5,000-6,000 euros in China, or be exported from China at 20,000 euros. Expect trade tensions to rise – even if consumers in countries like Australia stand to benefit.
On the ongoing conundrum about how China’s construction sector can be in the pits but the iron ore price magically seems to be holding up, McKew remains optimistic. The property sector in China now consumes about 25% of standard steel output in that country, down from 35% a few years ago. And distressed Chinese property firms make up only about 1/10th of that steel demand.
Last year was China’s fifth in a row of 1bn tonnes of steel production and, despite all the headwinds, BHP expects this year will be another one.
The Australian government, with its second straight budget surplus hinging a lot on iron ore prices holding up, will be hoping McKay is right about his forecasts.
The extreme heatwave that has scorched most of south-eastern Australia is expected to ease over the next few days, paving the way for a warm autumn.
South Australia and Victoria continued to swelter on Monday. SA was expecting maximum temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s while temperatures in the high 30s were forecast for Victoria.
A cool change was forecast to bring relief, with temperatures expected to drop to the low 20s in Victoria and low 30s in South Australia on Tuesday. Tasmania was set to record cooler temperatures later on Monday, with maximum temperatures forecast in the mid 20s for most of the state.
Here is the full story by our transport and urban affairs reporter, Elias Visontay, on the NSW government’s interim report on Sydney’s toll road network and potential increases. The report recommends that Sydneysiders driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and tunnel should be forced to pay fees in both directions and proposes all paid roads be unified under a consistent “declining distance-based rate” of tolling. Read more here:
New LNP candidates for state election will ‘reflect modern Queensland’, opposition leader says
Queensland’s Liberal National party has announced a 22-year-old environmental activist as one of its latest candidates as the party aims to bolster its female representation.
Ariana Doolan, 22, was announced on Monday as the LNP candidate for the state seat of Pumicestone, while Amanda Cooper, a former Brisbane city councillor, will contest the seat of Aspley for the party.
Both electorates are included in the count of 14 seats the LNP needs to win the October election.
The leader of the opposition, David Crisafulli, said the party has put forward 10 female candidates in the 14 most marginal seats in the state.
When I stood before you, three years ago, I staked my leadership on making sure that [LNP candidates and MPs] would reflect the modern Queensland. I said I wanted to see more women, more young people …
I want Queenslanders to see how serious we are about making sure that we drive generational change.
The LNP currently has just six women out of 34 members in the state opposition.
Tasmanian Labor leader announces shared-equity home ownership scheme
Back to the upcoming election in Tasmania.
Labor leader Rebecca White says the housing crisis is so bad even people with “good jobs” had been shut out of the market.
White, who is having a third tilt at becoming premier, announced Labor would introduce a home ownership shared-equity program enabling first-time owners to buy a house with no deposit.
The scheme will be open to couples earning up to $200,000, or single people earning up to $150,000, with “extra allowances” for those with children.
White said the standard arrangement would be for the government to take a 20% share of the property.
The value of eligible properties will be capped at $600,000 for existing houses and $800,000 for newly constructed homes.
White said there would be no cap on how many people could participate, with the scheme to be reviewed after two years.
We’ll put up the deposit you need – and you can pay us back when you sell the house or when you’ve saved enough to buy us out.
Liberal housing spokesperson and incumbent MP Nic Street said the pledge was virtually the same as an existing scheme.
The MyHome program, introduced in 2022 and accessed by 190 households, allows people to buy their first home with a 2% deposit.
Street said:
All Ms White has done is take our existing policy, put a lick of paint on it, and shamelessly tried to pretend it’s something brand new.
The Liberals again campaigned on tourism, a day after announcing they would help fund construction of the world’s largest chocolate fountain at the Cadbury headquarters in Hobart.
They promised $4m for more destination marketing and a $5m fund for aviation opportunities.
United Airlines flight returns to Sydney with reports of hydraulics fault
United Airlines flight UAL830 from Sydney to San Fransisco has returned to Sydney Airport with reports of hydraulics fault, Guardian Australia understand.
The aircraft has been taken offline while the fault is investigated and passengers deboard from the aircraft.
The incident joins a line up of United Airlines emergency landings in the last week. On Friday, United flight 821 from San Francisco to Mexico City became the fourth emergency, landing at Los Angeles international airport after crew reported hydraulics issue.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has rallied the ALP’s “true believers”, conceding the only Labor opposition in Australia faces a tough battle to win the Tasmanian election.
The island state is heading to the polls on 23 March with the Liberals, who have been in power for a decade, chasing a record fourth term.
If voting follows recent opinion polls, neither of the two major parties will have the required 18 seats to form majority government.
Labor has just 26% of voter support, with the Liberals on 39%, according to a survey of 1,000 people in February.
Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is on the hustings with Tasmanian Labor leader, Rebecca White, before the 23 March state election. Photograph: Ethan James/AAP
Albanese says if state Labor leader Rebecca White becomes premier, her No.1 priority will be to address the cost of living.
“Last year, down in Hobart, we came together to celebrate 120 years of Tasmanian Labor,” Albanese told the party’s campaign launch at a Launceston brewery on Monday.
Through every one of those years Labor has relied on the energy ... of our true believers ... in the union movement and the branches.
... that has never been more important.
Because in tough contests like this election, at a time when people are busier than ever and the media they consume is more fragmented than ever, real conservations face-to-face ... they matter more than ever before.
White, who is having a third tilt at becoming premier, announced Labor would introduce a home ownership shared-equity program enabling first-time owners to buy a house with no deposit.
Sydney homeless numbers continue to rise, more people sleeping in their cars
The latest annual homeless Sydney Street Count shows homelessness figures have slightly increased from previous years:
This year’s street count found 280 individuals sleeping rough in the local area.
This represents a 1.1% increase from the 277 counted during the same month last year.
Crisis and temporary accommodation beds, vital for providing immediate relief and support, were at 96.6% occupancy during the same period, showing an increase of 3.6% from last year.
The latest homeless figures confirm what we already know: Sydney has a housing problem. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Simone Parsons, chief operating officer at Bridge Housing, says:
The annual street count reaffirms what we already know: Sydney has a housing problem. The increase in occupancy of crisis and temporary accommodation beds underscores the urgent need for more housing and sustained support.
While the numbers may show a slight increase in homelessness, we are seeing higher numbers in some communities, including an increase in people sleeping in cars. More housing takes time, in the meantime we need to focus on the transformative power of initiatives like Together Home. It’s time for the NSW Government to recognise its efficacy and commit to permanent funding.
Police call for businesses to check premises for missing boy pays off
NSW police is giving an update on Hussein Al Mansoory, the 12-year-old boy who has now been found “safe and well” at a local medical centre in Auburn after being missing for more than 48 hours.
A staff member at the medical centre “thought to check the stair well” after public messaging around the search for Hussein, the police spokesperson said.
He was found well. He smiled. He was sitting up. He’s been taken to hospital just for a check-up. But on all accounts, he’s doing well.
His family were told immediately that we had found him. They were ecstatic and attended the scene straightaway.
So, I would like to thank all the police involved. A big thank you to the SES over the last couple of days. We’ve had over 200 volunteers drop everything to assist. And … hundreds of members of the public who assisted in the search. I would like to thank everyone, it’s a great result.
CBA’s Comyn compares banks favourably to the likes of Apple
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has singled out Apple, which made roughly $12bn in revenue and paid $160m in corporate tax based on the 2020 corporate tax transparency report from the Australian Tax Office data.
That leaves their corporate tax rate at effectively 4%, so obviously we’re at 30.5%.
He also says when tech companies attend official hearings, their “attitude towards answering questions is completely different to the attitude of Australian corporates”.
Big tech should be in policymakers’ sights, CBA boss Comyn says
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn says regulating big tech should be a “very important agenda item” for the federal government.
The head of Australia’s biggest bank defended domestic industries from accusations of a lack of competition and dominance by a few key players, saying the gaze of regulators and policymakers should also be directed at the global tech giants.
CBA boss Matt Comyn says he worries about criticism aimed at large Australian companies. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP
He told the Australian Financial Review’s Business Summit:
I sometimes worry and wonder about the criticisms that are levelled on Australian companies, and particularly large Australian companies.
He said big corporates employed millions and the top 15 firms represented 42% of corporate tax paid in the nation.
While Comyn welcomed the questions asked of corporate Australia in the form of various parliamentary committees – the latest round of which has been directed at the supermarket sector – he said there was “insufficient scrutiny” on major digital platforms and technology firms.
“I hope it is a very important agenda item for both the government and policymakers in this country,” he said.
Victoria needs better safety regulations for outdoor festivals, opposition leader says
Benita Kolovos
Victorian opposition leader, John Pesutto, says the music and arts festival held near the Grampians, which was called off early, was a “disaster waiting to happen”.
The CFA advised festival-goers attending the event in Moyston to leave on Saturday morning because of the risk of bushfires but the event continued until Sunday, when authorities cancelled the remainder of acts due to perform.
Pesutto says the government should have taken a proactive role in cancelling the event earlier, citing safety concerns:
This was a disaster waiting to happen and that there was no major fire event around the festival is just something we can be thankful for but could have been much worse. We need a better system for mitigating the risks, making sure that festival organisers are not going to put young people and anyone else attending those festivals in harm’s way. We don’t want to see regional Victoria suffer with the absence of these events. We want them to be held but held responsibly, where there are proper safety management plans in place, [where] we don’t have thousands of people whose only means of access and egress from the site is a single dirt track.
