Australia news live: SA premier angry at Anzac Day service booing; ‘extreme mouse situation’ in parts of WA and SA

Key events

Show key events only

Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature

Sarah Collard

NT police call for assistance to locate man allegedly linked to abduction of five-year-old girl

Northern Territory police are calling for urgent public assistance to locate Sharon, a five-year-old girl missing from an Alice Springs town camp, at Marshall Court, Old Timers Camp, Alice Springs.

In a press conference, NT police said they are looking for a 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who is known to police, but has not been located and may be able to assist with their investigation. A police official said:

double quotation markWe do believe Sharon has been abducted, and we believe Mr Jefferson may be able to provide us with some information.

We can confirm that he is believed to have been in the area around that time and staying at the residence. He currently remains one of the few people who were in old timers camp at the time, and who has not made themselves known to police,

Police say the man is known to authorities for domestic and family violence-related offences.

Around 1:35am, police received reports that Sharon could not be located at her residence on Marshall Court, Old Timers Camp, Alice Springs.

She was last seen wearing a dark blue short sleeve T-shirt with a white ring stripe around the neck and white ring stripe around the end of the sleeves, and a pair of black boxer-style underwear.

Updated at 02.36 CEST

Petra Stock

How can Australia be the world’s fourth-largest black truffle producer?

Black truffles aren’t native to Australia but, since the first oaks and hazelnuts were planted in the 1990s, the local industry has flourished, becoming the largest producer outside Europe.

Now, scientists have identified the environmental factors that appear to have contributed to that success.

Associate prof Gregory Bonito from Michigan State University collecting black truffles in Australia for the study. Photograph: Gregory Bonito/Michigan State University

Many types of fungi produce truffles, a fruiting body that grows underground. But a handful of species, including French black (or Périgord) truffles from Europe, are considered gourmet delicacies, highly prized for their earthy bouquet and rich, savoury notes.

They were introduced relatively recently, with the first host trees planted in Tasmania in 1995, the first black truffles harvested in 1999 and Australia’s first exports in 2007.

Two bodies found after house fire near Blue Mountains

NSW police said two bodies have been discovered after a fire tore through a home in Bowen Mountain, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, overnight.

Emergency services were called just after 2am amid reports of a fire. A man and four children were able to escape the house, but two others were unaccounted for at the time.

The two bodies are believed to be those of the unaccounted for individuals. They have yet to be identified, but a formal process is under way to ID them and determine how the fire broke out.

The man and four children who escaped the blaze were taken to the hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation and minor burns.

Updated at 01.48 CEST

‘Extreme mouse situation’ in parts of WA and SA

Andrew Wiedeman, the southern region director at Grain Producers Australia, told RN this morning there is an ongoing “extreme mouse situation” in Western Australia and parts of South Australia.

He said in some areas, the group is seeing thousands of mice per hectare.

double quotation markParticularly in the Geraldton area, we’re seeing numbers of calculated numbers of around 8,000 to 10,000 a hectare, which is just an extreme mouse situation.

Once it gets over five to six, you’re talking plague proportions. … At the end of the day, that certainly is a plague and we’re now looking at trying to put control measures to try and help farmers through.

Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

He said without additional control measures, the numbers of mice would cause “a lot of grief” for many farmers as they’re sowing seeds.

You can read more on the issue here:

Concern grows for missing 5-year-old girl in Alice Springs

Concerns are mounting for a girl missing in Alice Springs as the search for her enters its second day, AAP reports.

The girl, Sharon, was reported missing from her residence at Old Timers Aboriginal town camp at about 1.30am on Sunday after being put to bed.

A search involving about 50 police officers, members of the Northern Territory Emergency Services and a police helicopter was unable to find her on Sunday, with the search set to resume early on Monday.

Det Acting Supt Michael Ordelman told reporters it was probable Sharon wandered out of her home, but police were not ruling out suspicious circumstances.

Because of the amount of time Sharon had been missing, police held “mounting concerns” for her safety, he said.

Police have appealed to the public to contact them with any information that may lead to finding Sharon.

Updated at 01.18 CEST

Firefighters say two missing in Blue Mountains house fire are children

Back to that house fire in the Blue Mountains we reported earlier:

AAP reports the two missing people are believed to children, adding four people have been hospitalised after the fire ripped through a country home, causing the roof to collapse.

The two missing people are believed to be young children, firefighters told the Today Show. Police have established a crime scene.

“There are parts of the home that are still hot and smouldering and many parts of the home have collapsed,” RFS commissioner Trent Curtin told Today.

double quotation markFirefighters are moving into the home with hose lines to gain access to the areas where they can search for the unaccounted for people.

The four hospitalised include a man in his 30s, a male in his late teens and two primary school-aged boys.

Updated at 01.47 CEST

SA premier ‘deeply saddened’ by booing at Anzac Day ceremonies

The South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, said he was “deeply saddened” by the booing at Anzac Day ceremonies on Saturday. He told RN this morning:

double quotation markWhen I thought about it a bit more as the … day rolled on, I couldn’t help but feel a bit angry about it as well, which I think is a human response to a tragic set of circumstances.

I don’t want to exaggerate it, but nor do I want to dismiss it. I think there was a couple of people that partook in the activity. And the reason for the anger is it’s just so self-indulgent.

Malinauskas said he believes those who participated in the booing made Anzac Day about themselves.

double quotation markAny act of self-indulgence or any attempts to commandeer Anzac Day away from the cause that it actually represents, I think should be responded to with a full-hearted response by leaders around the country just about how outrageous it is.

Peter Malinauskas. Photograph: Sia Duff/The GuardianShare

Updated at 00.44 CEST

Two missing after house fire near Blue Mountains

Two people are unaccounted for after a fire at a home in Bowen Mountain, at the foot of the Blue Mountains in NSW.

NSW police said emergency services were called just after 2am to reports of a blaze. On arrival, firefighters extinguished the flames, which caused extensive damage.

Five people escaped the fire, but two more are unaccounted for.

An investigation is under way.

Updated at 00.28 CEST

Red and yellow flags at many NSW beaches set to come down as ‘traumatic’ summer season ends

It’s the last day of the patrol season for Surf Life Saving NSW, with the red and yellow flags set to come down at many of the state’s beaches at the end of the day.

Steven Pearce, the CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW, told RN Breakfast this morning it had been a traumatic summer for many patrolling the state’s beaches, pointing to a spate of shark attacks, the Bondi shooting and the number of drownings in recent months.

Pearce said:

double quotation markIt’s been probably one of the most tumultuous and traumatic summers we have seen because of the amount of shark attacks we’ve been involved with. Obviously, the response to the Bondi shooting and the drownings.

So the volunteers have done a great job and I think everyone’s looking forward to scaling back a little bit just over these autumn and winter months.

Photograph: zstockphotos/Getty Images/iStockphotoShare

Marles said on RN earlier the additional Bushmasters would amount to a “major reinvestment” in Australia’s protected mobility fleet.

double quotation markThe heart of this spend is what we’re doing in Bendigo in the production of an additional 268 Bushmasters. And the vast majority of them are destined for the Australian army.

He said the commitment to keep making the vehicles in Bendigo reflected a real “vote of confidence” in their work.

Updated at 00.02 CEST

Government announces funding for new Bushmaster vehicles

Krishani Dhanji

The big defence spend continues, with the government promising three-quarters of a billion dollars to build 268 new Bushmasters in Bendigo, Victoria, over the next seven years to 2033.

You might already be familiar with the Bushmaster fleet – they’re the vehicles donated to the Ukrainian military to combat Russia.

The government says the vehicles are “critical to the integrated force”, with the Netherlands set to buy a fleet.

An Australian-built Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle donated to Ukraine. Photograph: LACW Emma Schwenke/AP

The deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, is also announcing $450m of funding towards upgrades of the Hawkei protected mobility vehicles.

The spend follows the government announcing an extra $53bn of funding for Australia’s defence capabilities over the next decade earlier this month.

Marles said:

double quotation markThis announcement is great news for Australian industry and great news for regional Victoria. The Australian-built Bushmaster and Hawkei are recognised as world-leading protected mobility vehicles – supporting not just the Australian Defence Force, but the defence forces of our international partners as well.

Updated at 23.58 CEST

Richard Marles says booing at Anzac Day services ‘disgraceful’

The defence minister, Richard Marles, said booing at Anzac Day dawn services was “disgraceful”, saying a welcome to country was simply a respectful thing to do.

Marles told RN Breakfast:

double quotation markAnzac Day is a day on which we show respect. And to have booing in the face of that is profoundly disrespectful and in my mind goes against all that Anzac Day stands for …

Indigenous Australians deserve that respect … Indigenous Australians who served in our defence force deserve that respect. And that’s what we should be thinking about.

Marles said he didn’t agree with Angus Taylor when asked if welcomes to country were “overused”.

double quotation markYou know, Australians around the country in different contexts engage in welcome to countrys, and that’s a good thing.

Richard Marles. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare

Updated at 23.53 CEST

Nationals MP says welcome to country is generally a ‘good part’ of ceremonies

Nationals MP Michael McCormack said he thinks welcome to county ceremonies are generally a “good part” of ceremonies after the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, said on Sunday he thought they were overused.

Taylor made the comments after booing incidents at some of Saturday’s Anzac Day dawn services. McCormack said he believed that booing seemed to be almost “orchestrated” and was unacceptable. But when he was asked if he agreed with Taylor’s view on welcome to country, McCormack told RN Breakfast:

double quotation markI can, if you have several speakers and every one of them takes a lot of their speech time to do welcomes to country when it’s already been done. If you do it at the start, you do it appropriately, I think most people find that to be a good part of the ceremony, and then you get on with what the actual event is all about.

And I think that’s probably appropriate.

Michael McCormack. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare

Updated at 23.50 CEST

Wong to visit Japan, China and South Korea to secure fuel supplies

Krishani Dhanji

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will travel to Japan today as part of another diplomatic tour to secure Australia’s fuel and energy supply chains.

The government has said Australia has more fuel now than before the Iran war, after underwriting several additional shipments, but Wong is on her way across Asia to make sure the supplies keep coming.

Wong will travel to China on Wednesday and Korea on Thursday, and said Australia will “continue working with international partners to help secure the supplies we need – including diesel, petrol and fertiliser – and ensure Australia is prioritised as a reliable energy partner”.

double quotation markThe Middle East conflict and closure of the strait of Hormuz continue to disrupt global energy markets, with Asian refineries and the Indo-Pacific region disproportionately affected. Direct, in-person engagement with counterparts across our region will help ensure we are coordinating effectively as these disruptions continue to unfold.

Earlier this month Wong travelled to Singapore, after the PM, who also visited Malaysia and Brunei.

Good morning

Good morning, Nick Visser here to guide you through the day’s news. Here’s what’s on deck:

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, will travel to Japan today, part of a diplomatic trip to secure fuel supplies that will also include visits to China and South Korea. She said the effort will help “ensure Australia is prioritised as a reliable energy partner”.

The government will spend three-quarters of a billion dollars on 268 new armoured vehicles over the next seven years, which will be built in regional Victoria. Defence minister Richard Marles also announced $450m in funding upgrades towards protected mobility vehicles.

Stick with us.

Share

Source

Visited 2 times, 1 visit(s) today