PM says transparency around aid worker’s death ‘in Israel’s interest’ – as it happened

Dutton calls Emerson response ‘political response from political mate of the Labor party’

Dutton also argued the interim report has delivered a “political response” to the supermarkets issue. He claimed that the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, gave “instructions” to Craig Emerson over the interim report:

I think [what] we’re talking about is a political response from a political mate of the Labor party, and I don’t think anybody would be surprised about the fact that Mr Emerson’s views line up with the instructions he was given by Mr Chalmers.

Dutton responds to interim supermarket report findings

Opposition leader Peter Dutton is speaking to the media from Brisbane about the interim food and grocery code report, published today.

Dutton does not believe the changes announced by the government today will reduce the price of goods at the checkout:

… I don’t think Australians will see any reduction in their prices at the checkout under what the Labour party has proposed and recommendations Emerson has provided. They are not going to be the solution consumers are looking for.

Earlier today, the prime minister Anthony Albanese said he was “absolutely” confident the changes would lead to a drop in prices.

University of Adelaide aboard Nasa’s search for lunar volatiles

One of Nasa’s three new lunar surface science experiments will search for lunar ice and other volatiles using input from the University of Adelaide, helping prepare for human missions to Mars.

The three lunar surface experiments have been announced as part of Nasa’s Artmeis III mission. The Lunar Dielectric Analyzer (LDA) will utilise input from the University of Adelaide’s Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR).

Associate professor John Culton, director of the ATCSR, said:

We are excited to be directly involved in Nasa’s quest to establish a long-term presence on the Moon. The [LDA] will measure the regolith’s ability to propagate an electric field, which is a key parameter in the search for lunar volatiles, especially ice.

This LDA experiment will gather essential information about the structure of the moon’s subsurface, monitor dielectric changes caused by the changing angle of the sun as the Moon rotates, and look for possible frost formation or ice deposits.

Culton said Artemis III experiments will collect “valuable scientific data about the lunar environment, the lunar interior, and how to sustain a long-duration human presence on the Moon”.

This will help prepare Nasa to ‘live off the land’ as its astronauts establish a permanent presence on the Moon, and later explore Mars.

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BoM says Tropical Cyclone Olga unlikely to cross into Western Australia

The Bureau of Meteorology has shared a video update on Tropical Cyclone Olga, located off the coast of Western Australia. The system is unlikely to impact the mainland, according to the Bureau.

Olga is a category three system, located over the open water well to the north-west of Broome.

It is expected to continue weakening as it moves further south, remaining well to the north of the Pilbara coast. Tomorrow, Olga is forecast to weaken below tropical cyclone intensity.

While it is not expected to impact the mainland, peripheral gales may impact offshore islands on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, the bureau said.

Family seek answers as inquest into teen’s death begins

A fresh inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager will seek to find out how he ended up on train tracks in regional NSW more than three decades ago, AAP reports.

Mark Anthony Haines’ body was found south of Tamworth on 16 January, 1988. An autopsy showed the Gomeroi 17-year-old died from a traumatic head injury. An inquest into his death returned open findings in 1989.

A stolen car was found nearby and police concluded the teenager had laid on the tracks either deliberately or in a dazed state, something his family has never believed. His sister Lorna Haines said the family hoped this inquest would be their “path to justice”.

My family have been waiting 36 long years to find out the truth about what happened that night. We hope that the coroner will not rest until all the facts come out. All we want is accountability and truth.

The latest inquest began in Tamworth today, before the deputy state coroner, Harriet Grahame. Directly addressing Haines’ family in court, Grahame said she was taking the task of finding out what happened to the teenager “extremely seriously”.

I know how long you have been working towards this day and I acknowledge your perseverance and resilience.

In his opening statement, counsel assisting the coroner Chris McGorey said it was likely someone had more information about Mark’s death.

McGorey said one of the key questions for the inquest was how Mark came to be on the tracks. He said the previous inquest heard Mark’s shoes were clean, despite the ground being muddy from rain that evening.

Here’s some video footage from the rural township of Charleville, which is facing major flooding after south-west Queensland copped heavy rain over the weekend.

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Experts request full release of reasoning on not pursuing eradication of gold clam pest

Continued from last post:

Dr Carol Booth from the Invasive Species Council said authorities must release the full assessment behind the decision not to attempt eradication of the freshwater gold clam from the Brisbane River.

She said there could be enormous economic and environmental consequences for Australia if the clam spreads:

It tends to become extremely abundant, sometimes more than 10,000 a square metre, and outcompete native mussels.

It can alter nutrient cycles, reduce water quality, and transform food webs. During extreme weather events, large numbers can die and release toxic amounts of ammonia.

Booth pointed to a research paper published in 2022 that suggested the global cost of the pest was more than $US12bn over the past 40 years. She says that’s an underestimate, given costs have mostly only been documented in North America.

- from AAP

There will be no attempt to eradicate a new exotic pest that could threaten river health and water infrastructure in Australia, AAP reports.

Authorities announced the country’s first detection of the highly invasive freshwater gold clam in mid-February, saying it had been detected at several locations in the Brisbane River.

The fast-growing, prolific breeder had been on a list of priority exotic pests Australia wanted to keep out due to its capacity for environmental harm.

A single clam can produce 400 offspring a day and up to 70,000 a year, meaning they can quickly form large populations capable of blocking waterways, driving down water quality, and crowding out native species.

It has now emerged the pest was in the Brisbane River for a year before its presence was confirmed. The decision not to attempt eradication was made in January before the public learned of its arrival.

So far it’s not believed to have spread beyond the Ipswich region of the river.

The federal agriculture and fisheries department says the National Biosecurity Management Consultative Committee met in January and agreed eradication from Queensland was not technically feasible, because the clam is now “well established” in the Brisbane River and because of the lack of effective eradication methods.

Freshwater gold clam has not been successfully eradicated from any locality it has invaded globally.

In March, the Queensland department said work had started on a national surveillance and preparedness strategy to manage the clam’s spread and impact.

Summary of the interim supermarket report’s findings

We’ve been talking a lot about the interim supermarket report today, courtesy of Craig Emerson. The government established a review into the food and grocery code earlier this year which Emerson was appointed to lead, and his findings were released today.

In case you’ve just joined us, here are some of Emerson’s key findings, as outlined by AAP:

• The existing voluntary food and grocery code designed to ensure grocery retailers and wholesalers treat suppliers fairly is “not effective”.

• A “heavy imbalance” exists between suppliers and the concentrated supermarket sector.

• The code should be mandatory with “heavy penalties” for major breaches by supermarkets with revenues higher than $5bn – a threshold capturing Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and wholesaler Metcash.

• A serious or systemic breach should attract fines as high as $10m or 10% of a supermarket’s annual turnover or three times the benefit gained from breaking the rules, whatever is greater.

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would enforce the code;

• The code should better protect suppliers, especially from retribution from supermarkets.

• The existing code does not contain penalties for breaches but does offer compensation of up to $5m if a supplier wins a dispute, although compensation has never been paid.

• The report does not support forced divestiture powers, noting it could force large incumbents to sell stores to other large players and increase market concentration rather than reduce it.

The final report is due to be released in June.

As we reported earlier, a major flood warning remains current for the Warrego River. This comes as parts of south-west Queensland face major flooding.

Major flooding is occurring along the Warrego Diver downstream of Charleville. At Bakers Bend, the flood level peaked at 10.16m early this morning and is currently falling. It’s likely to remain above the major flood level of 9m into tomorrow, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Here are some photos of the flooding:

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