Federal, state funding for South Australia’s shorebird and wetland habitat
The federal and South Australian governments have announced $17m to improve shorebird and wetland habitat in the Murray River region.
This includes habitats through South Australia’s Coorong, Lower Lakes, Murray Mouth and south-east landscape, which is home to internationally recognised wetland that supports a diverse range of plants and animals, including the endangered Australasian bittern and the vulnerable sharp-tailed sandpiper.
A statement from the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, the deputy premier, Susan Close, and the Greens’ environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the federal and state governments would work together to deliver the project. The $17m funding would go towards infrastructure, maintaining food webs and improving breeding habitat.
Close said:
A number of important habitat restoration projects are already planned or well underway, and this new funding will add to the work being undertaken.
It is vital that we help our wetland environments to thrive so they can remain strong into the future for the important wildlife that relies on them.
Sarah Hanson-Young and Tanya Plibersek last year. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Hanson-Young said the Greens had spend years working to “protect this area from corporate greed and overextraction”.
This project will be an important step for our precious waterways and ecosystems.
Dutton’s Port Arthur comparison ‘disrespectful to broader Australian public’: NSWCCL
The New South Wales’ Council for Civil Liberties has denounced opposition leader Peter Dutton’s decision to compare a pro-Palestine protest to the 1996 Port Arthur massacre.
President Lydia Shell said Dutton’s comments were both insensitive to the victims and survivors of the Port Arthur tragedy, but also “disrespectful to the broader Australian public”.
In a statement, the council argued such statements “lack factual basis” and “dangerously conflate unrelated issues, leading to misinformation and unwarranted associations”.
Shell said in a statement:
The Port Arthur massacre stands as one of Australia’s darkest moments, and any attempt to exploit its memory for political gain or to deflect from critical discussions is deeply concerning…
It is essential to distinguish between legitimate expressions of political dissent, such as protests advocating for a ceasefire in Palestine, and heinous acts of violence like the Port Arthur massacre. Drawing parallels or suggesting connections where none exist not only undermines public confidence in our civil institutions, but also risks inciting division within our communities.
Peter Dutton made the comments during a speech on Wednesday night. Photograph: Steven Saphore/AAP
Shell said parliamentarians must “resist the urge to exploit the senseless loss of human life for their own political purposes”.
The leader of the opposition’s disgraceful comments tarnish the position he holds and the party he represents. We urge Mr. Dutton and all political leaders to refrain from furthering divisive narratives and to focus on addressing pressing issues with integrity and respect for democratic values.
We can’t afford to ‘talk exclusively to those countries we agree with’: NZ foreign minister
New Zealand’s foreign minister says the country is facing the most unstable global environment in decades, and cannot afford to “talk exclusively to those countries we agree with”.
As we reported earlier, Winston Peters met with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, in Washington. The pair released a joint statement and said they would work more closely with like-minded partners to achieve a shared vision, “especially our mutual ally Australia”.
This comes as former prime minister Scott Morrison has urged New Zealand to consider abandoning its anti-nuclear stance of the past 40 years as the nation considers membership of pillar 2 of the Aukus pact (read more here).
Peters said in a statement:
We cannot afford to sit back in splendid isolation in the South Pacific, pontificate smugly, and talk exclusively to those countries we agree with.
It is critical that we show up, listen to all perspectives, and enhance partnerships with our traditional friends, so that we can adapt to the complex global environment.
- with Reuters
Antony Blinken at a meeting with Winston Peters in Washington. Photograph: Lenin Nolly/NurPhoto/Rex/Shutterstock
CDU vice-chancellor says he is ‘pleased’ academics participating in Middle Arm inquiry
Charles Darwin University’s vice-chancellor, Scott Bowman, has said in retrospect it was “unnecessary” to suggest a federal inquiry not publish submissions by three of its staff who criticised the Middle Arm development in Darwin.
You can read the full story on this from my colleague Lisa Cox:
Regarding the two submissions in question, I felt the criticisms of the process were unfair and could not see the value in these matters of process being published.
In retrospect, this was unnecessary, and I am pleased these academics are participating in the Inquiry.
The chancellor, Paul Henderson, was aware that CDU was making a submission to the enquiry. He had no input into the content or visibility over CDU’s submission.
Signage at Charles Darwin University in Darwin. Photograph: Esther Linder/The Guardian
Let’s just recap the main points from thatNorthern Territorypress conference, regarding the Alice Springs youth curfew:
The curfew is scheduled to end at 6am next Tuesday.
Chief minister Eva Lawler said the Alice Springs community would continue to see a “high-visibility police presence” even once the youth curfew ends.
This will include 25 additional police officers stationed at Alice Springs until the end of June. These will come from other policing units across the Northern Territory.
Support service Territory Families will have additional resources on the ground, with additional staff from 10pm to 6am every night.
A safety hub will be established in the mall.
Lawler said she would be “more than happy” to call another youth curfew in the future if needed.
'I'm more than happy ... to do it again': NT chief minister on youth curfews
Asked what measure is used to determine whether there will be another curfew enforced in the future, NT chief minister Eva Lawler says:
Well, I think what we saw on Tuesday two weeks ago was abhorrent behaviour, young people that seemed to be out of control. The fear that I could feel, the conversations that I could hear when I came to Alice Springs the next day …
I will continue to work with the police commissioner, with the agency heads, and in the future, those decisions will be able to be made. We tried a curfew. It was high risk to try a curfew, it wasn’t something we knew whether it would work or not. But there was a reluctance in the past to have a curfew. We’ve seen it be successful in Alice Springs so of course, if we’ve got that string to our bow, I’m more than happy as chief minister to do it again.
NY chief minister: ‘high-visibility police presence’ will continue in Alice Springs
NT chief minister Eva Lawler is outlining actions that will come after the Alice Springs youth curfew ends next Tuesday, including more police presence and additional resources for Territory Families:
There will continue to be a high-visibility police presence in Alice Springs. There will continue to be … officers at every bottle shop in Alice Springs. There will be 25 additional police officers stationed in Alice Springs until the end of June … We know the additional officers in Alice Springs have made a difference.
Territory Families have also had additional resources on the ground. They had the co-responders, but additional staff on the ground from 10:00pm to 6:00am every night in Alice Springs, and that will continue as well. We’re going to establish a community safety hub in the mall. That will provide a visible presence of people such as traditional owners, but also police auxiliaries, Territory Families staff, engagement officers, we’ll have people in the mall providing that support to the community as well.
Northern Territory chief minister Eva Lawler. Photograph: Neve Brissenden/AAP
NT chief minister: ‘How do we get the same effect of a curfew without a curfew?’
Northern Territory chief minister Eva Lawler is speaking to the media, with the Alice Springs youth curfew set to end at 6am next Tuesday. She says:
We know the success of the curfew. The people of Alice Springs have been telling me over and over how positive the curfew has been. We have been working to come up with how do we get the same effect of a curfew, without a curfew?
Australians consuming less of every major food group, with the biggest decrease in fruit and vegetables
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has taken a look at Australian eating habits, revealing we have been consuming less of every major food group.
Vegetables had the largest drop (14 grams per person per day), followed by fruit (down 12 grams), milk products (down 11 grams), and non-alcoholic beverages (down 9 grams).
Australians bought around 3.9% less food in 2022-23 than in the previous year – that is a a drop of 63 grams, or 337kJ, a day. Are we all on a diet, or is it just the cost of living crisis?
Paul Atyeo, ABS health statistics spokesperson, says it is part of a longer-term trend:
Many of the foods that dropped during 2022-23 are part of longer-term trends. We’re consuming between 5 and 8 per cent less cow’s milk, bread and fruit juice per person compared to 2018-19.
Australians are still having more of certain foods than we did five years ago. Notable are potato chips (up 16%), chocolate (up 10%), and cereals and convenience meals – including pizza, pasta dishes, wraps, pasta salad, sushi – (up 9%).
Federal government releases national heat index map
The federal government has released a national heat index map to help identify risks to residents during heatwaves.
A statement from assistant climate change minister Jenny McAllister said extreme heat leads to “more deaths and hospital admissions annually than any other hazard in Australia”.
The map was developed as part of the first national climate risk assessment, and uses community-level data – such as housing, access to transport and vegetation factors – to create a risk score.
McAllister said the index provides better understanding of climate risks at a granular level and will assist locally led climate adaptation.
The heat map was developed by the Australian Climate Service, a partnership between the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Geoscience Australia.
