Afternoon Update: Labor’s $50bn boost to defence; Queensland LNP backs emissions cuts; and Australia’s Olympics uniform revealed
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Australia is pouring an extra $50bn into defence spending over the next 10 years, as part of an overhaul that the federal government says will ensure the military can project power further from its shores.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, has also flagged plans to recruit non-citizens to serve in the Australian defence force to address workforce shortages. Marles, who appeared at the National Press Club today, said the national defence strategy would transform the ADF and equip it “to survive in a much less certain world”.
But the Coalition’s defence spokesperson, Andrew Hastie, said the opposition was committed to more defence expenditure than the Albanese government and claimed the ADF would be worse off under the new plan.
Top news
Police working through footage and evidence of people who attended riot | NSW police believe events outside the Christ the Good Shepherd church after a Sydney stabbing attack were a result of the attack being livestreamed and, because the alleged offender was arrested inside the church, “some people turned up to get access to him”. Police have reports of up to 600 participants but the state’s police commissioner, Karen Webb, said not all were rioting.
Queensland LNP will support state government’s clean energy bill | The state opposition will support the government’s clean economy bill, which legislates an emissions reduction target of 75% by 2035. The shadow environment minister, Sam O’Connor, has told parliament he “recognises the threat of climate change to our environment”.
Condition update on Bondi Junction stabbing victims | As of 8pm last night, six people remain in hospital after the Bondi Junction mass stabbing at the weekend. A nine-month old baby, who is among the victims, is in a serious but stable condition at Sydney children’s hospital. Waverley council and the New South Wales government have arranged a vigil to honour the victims at 5.30pm this Sunday at the Dolphin court at Bondi beach.
Australia reveals Olympics uniform with 100 days to go | On Wednesday, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) unveiled the team’s official uniform, which will be worn by athletes travelling on a flotilla of barges down the Seine as part of an elaborate and unconventional opening ceremony on 26 July. Australia’s chef de mission for the Paris Olympics, Anna Meares, also used the moment to address security fears.
Family pays tribute to Melbourne woman as police investigate whether she consumed mushrooms | Rachael Dixon, 53, became ill after consuming a drink at the Soul Barn retreat in the town of Clunes, north of Ballarat, at around midnight Sunday. She died at the scene. The retreat describes itself on social media as an alternative and holistic health service.
Labor MPs call on Albanese government to expand visa access for Palestinian refugees | The group of state MPs, who wrote to the federal government on behalf of Labor Friends of Palestine, called for “a clear, consistent approach”, warning that there must “never again” be a repeat of people’s visas being cancelled while they are in transit or trapped in airports.
Dubai floods as UAE hit by heaviest rainfall in 75 years | The rains began on Monday night and by Tuesday evening, more than 142mm (5.59in) had soaked the desert city of Dubai – normally the average year sees 94.7mm (3.73in). Homes were flooded and vehicles were abandoned on roadways across Dubai as authorities sent tanker trucks into the streets to pump away the water.
300,000ha cattle station bought for conservation after anonymous $21m donation | Vergemont station, 110km west of Longreach, was acquired in a joint purchase by the Queensland government and the Nature Conservancy, which brokered the deal. The group said it is likely the single largest philanthropic contribution to land protection in Australia.
Peter Jackson to release restored version of Beatles’ 1970 documentary | Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Let It Be captures the recording sessions of the band’s final album of the same title. It was originally released mere weeks after the Beatles officially announced their split. None of the members of the band attended its premiere in 1970.
In pictures
‘Very totemic and very Aboriginal’: Australia’s entry at Venice Biennale is a family tree going back 65,000 years
Archie Moore’s meticulous genealogy, kith and kin (pictured above), is a memorial to Indigenous lives lost – but Moore’s work – Australia’s official entry in the 2024 Venice Biennale, which opened this week with the theme “Foreigners everywhere” – is about much more, and its grand scope reveals itself slowly.
What they said …
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We know there are people deliberately trying to stoke division on social media, deliberately lying to create that social division. Switch it off, if you can. Switch it off.
Speaking with ABC Breakfast, the Labor cabinet minister, Tanya Plibersek, took issue with the role of social media off the back of the “shocking” events in Sydney over the past few days.
In numbers
The Australia Institute data, released on Wednesday, estimates that the cost of eradicating red imported fire ants will be three to nine times higher than forecast in 2021.
Before bed read
How are we to understand the pervasive journalistic arrogance of the Bruce Lehrmann imbroglio?
The defamation case against Network Ten revealed media mediocrity plus a lack of self-awareness and humility. Many journalists should have known better, writes Margaret Simons.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: TAT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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