Australia news live: Woodside boss says young people ‘ideological’ on fossil fuels while ‘happily ordering from Temu’

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Government support payments will be provided to more residents along the flood-affected mid-north coast of New South Wales, Albanese has said.

He confirmed the disaster recovery payment would be offered to the local government areas of Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Dungog, Kempsey, mid-coast, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie, Hastings and Port Stephens.

That could be accessed from 2pm tomorrow, providing a one-off payment of $1,000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children.

The ongoing disaster recovery allowance, providing for up to 13 weeks of income support for people who can’t earn their normal income, would be extended to all 19 affected local govenrment areas, he said.

Albanese said:

There are still massive challenges and we need to understand and certainly the Government understands that this is not something that will go away in a matter of days or weeks or even months. This will take some time, the recovery, but Australians are resilient.

PM says flooding in NSW will have effects on entire country

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has warned the devastation to farms and livelihoods from flooding on the mid-north coast of New South Wales will cost not only locals but the entire country.

Albanese is speaking in Taree, a town hit hard by last week’s flooding, at the local state emergency service operations centre. He says:

Every Australian is affected as well, by the fact that we’ve had a loss of dairy industries that will have an impact right throughout Australia, and right throughout the economic impact here as well.

But the human impact, we must remember first and foremost. The loss of five lives through these devastating floods [and] the extraordinary hardship that people have gone through.

Woodside boss calls young people ‘ideologues’ for opposition to fossil fuels

The boss of Australian gas giant Woodside, Meg O’Neill, has attacked young people as being ideologically against fossil fuels while ordering cheap online consumer goods “without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions”.

O’Neill was speaking on Tuesday on a panel during the gas industry’s annual conference in Brisbane, when she was asked by moderator and Sky news contributor Chris Uhlmann if people were aware of where their electricity came from. O’Neill said:

Most people hit a switch and expect the lights to come on, and it’s been a fascinating journey to watch the discussion, particularly amongst young people who have this very ideological, almost zealous view of, you know, ‘fossil fuel bad, renewables good’, that are happily plugging in their devices, ordering things from [online fashion store] Shein and Temu, having, you know, one little thing shipped to their house without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions.

So that human impact and the consumer’s role in driving energy demand and emissions absolutely is a missing space in the conversation.

According to company documents, the sale and burning of Woodside’s gas emitted 74m tonnes of CO2 last year.

Woodside is waiting for new environment minister, Murray Watt, to make a decision later this week on the company’s expansion of its North West Shelf project that wants to extend its gas production for another 40 years to 2070.

The three-day annual conference of industry group Australian Energy Producers, starting today, has already heard from resources minister, Madeleine King, who said the government was working to speed up approvals for projects and increase exploration efforts.

Research shows heat-related work harms to rise by a quarter by 2050

Extreme temperatures are expected to put more Australian workers at risk and lift business costs, with new research predicting heat-related work harms will rise more than a quarter by 2050.

Global heating will result in rising numbers of occupational injuries and illnesses with a potential cost of $94m a year, Australian researchers estimated.

Academics at Charles Darwin University, the University of Adelaide and Monash University analysed more than 2.3m workplace injury claims across Australia’s capital cities, excluding Canberra, from 2005 to 2018.

Heat and cold were responsible for nearly 40,000 or about one in every 60 avoidable occupational injuries and illnesses, they found, using a measure of sunlight-related heat stress. In 25 years’ time, they expect that proportion will rise above one in 50.

Unsuitable clothing, a lack of air conditioning and hot or cold conditions around physically demanding work were key causes.

Extreme temperatures were one of the most threatening health impacts of climate change and the rise in injuries would have to be mitigated, according to Dr Matthew Borg, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Adelaide. He said:

Employers can protect workers by using heat safety measures such as setting work-to-rest ratios based on temperature and job demands, providing plenty of water and access to shade or air-conditioning, monitoring hydration, ensuring proper clothing, creating heat acclimatisation plans for new workers, and reducing heat generated in the workplace.

Revived Victorian State Electricity Commission to begin supplying renewable power from 1 July

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, was up this morning to announce a major milestone for the revived State Electricity Commission, which will start supplying renewable energy to government infrastructure from 1 July.

From the start of the new financial year, all Victorian government operations – including 1,468 public schools, kindergartens and TAFEs, hospitals, police and fire stations, as well as the train and tram network – will be run on 100% renewable electricity run by the SEC.

Major public sites are also included, such as the Melbourne and Olympic Parks precinct, the Melbourne Zoo, the Gallery of Victoria, parliament, Flinders Street station and even the penguin parade on Phillip Island.

It is the first time in three decades that the SEC will deliver power to Victorians after it was privatised by the Liberal government in the 1990s.

Allan says the signing of supply contracts means the SEC will now account for 5% of Victoria’s total electricity consumption, making it the fifth-largest commercial and industrial electricity retailer in the state.

The power will come from a mix of the SEC’s own renewable energy projects and supply secured through the Victorian Renewable Energy Auction contracts, meaning it draws on wind and solar from sites at Berrybank, Bulgana, Cohuna, Dundonnell and Winton.

Later this year, the SEC plans to offer renewable electricity contracts to commercial and industrial businesses.

All profits, Allan says, will be reinvested into new SEC renewable projects.

Dust storms in south-east continuing to clear this afternoon, BoM says

The dust storms and haze affecting Australia’s south-east should continue to clear this afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology has said.

Meteorologist Dean Narramore said south-westerly winds would clear out the dust haze affecting Sydney and surrounds in the next few hours:

It’s just lingering on the east coast in the next couple of hours, and then it’s going to be all gone by this afternoon.

The air quality in the city’s west has already started to improve but remains very poor, the state government is warning. You can find more details on the air quality and health warnings for New South Wales here.

Dust also swept through Melbourne, Canberra and surrounding regions early this morning after strong winds kicked up a haze out of drought-affected areas in South Australia and Victoria’s west, Narramore said.

He told Guardian Australia those conditions have since eased but heavy and possibly damaging winds are still set to impact parts of south-west NSW.

Kamala Harris and husband celebrate visit to Australia on social media

Kamala Harris, the former United States vice-president, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, have celebrated their “great visit” to Australia, after visiting the country this week.

Emhoff posted photos of the pair at Sydney Harbour with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and walking through the harbourside Botanic Gardens. He wrote on Instagram:

Such a great visit to Australia. Thanks to all for the warm welcome and friendship.

Harris was visiting Australia for the first time. She was the guest of honour at the 2025 Australian Real Estate Conference on the Gold Coast in Queensland, where she took a swipe at Elon Musk and warned the world to “remember the 1930s”. You can read about that address here:

Australian police working to extradite alleged fake terror plot mastermind from Turkey

The NSW and federal police are continuing to work to extradite from Turkey the alleged mastermind behind the “fake terrorism” caravan plot.

NSW deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, told reporters a little earlier:

We’re working with the Australian federal police in relation to inquiries in that regard … It’s a current investigation, I can’t really comment any further.

In January, police discovered a caravan packed with explosives in the outer Sydney suburb of Dural, triggering a massive multi agency investigation.

Police alleged in March that the caravan was part of a “fake terrorism plot” orchestrated for personal gain. Police alleged the “con job” was fabricated for personal benefit and that the undisclosed figures were based in Australia and offshore.

Former gym owner and alleged drug dealer Sayit Akca was smuggled out of Australia in 2023 after he was charged the year before with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of illicit drugs and recklessly engaging with the proceeds of crime.

Akca has denied responsibility for the caravan plot – but admits he was involved in having the caravan moved. He told Four Corners earlier this month he was able to divert the caravan – which he says was being moved between an illicit buyer and seller – and informed the AFP about the explosives in an attempt to gain more lenient treatment in the courts.

Jacqui Lambie among island state's returning senators as Hanson's daughter misses out

Jacqui Lambie will have another term in the parliament, with Tasmania also electing two Labor, two Liberal and one Green to the Senate at the election.

The Australian Electoral Commission “pushed the button” to finalise Senate results in Tasmania this morning. Two Labor senators (Carol Brown and Richard Dowling), two Liberals (Claire Chandler and Richard Colbeck) and one Green (Nick McKim) have also been elected in Tasmania, as well as Lambie.

It means Lee Hanson, daughter of One Nation founder Pauline, has missed out. Lambie, the popular independent senator, was elected in fifth place behind Brown, Chandler, McKim and Dowling, with Colbeck – the former aged care minister – in sixth.

The Australian Electoral Officer for Tasmania, Hannah Brown, said: “As with all aspects of the count, scrutineers appointed by the candidates were able to witness the automated distribution of preferences undertaken today.”

It comes minutes after the Northern Territory was confirmed and a day after South Australia. More Senate results are expected to come later this week in Victoria and the ACT (Wednesday), then Western Australia (Thursday); NSW and Queensland will follow after.

AEC to confirm NT and Tasmanian Senate seats

The AEC is now getting to confirm more senators after complicated vote-counting is finally finishing up. The two senators for the Northern Territory are now decided, and we’re awaiting confirmation of those from Tasmania any minute.

As expected, no surprises in the Territory. Malarndirri McCarthy, the Labor senator and minister for Indigenous Australians, has been elected at number one; Jacinta Namipijinpa Price, the Country Liberal Party senator, was elected at number two.

Price of course helped spark the Liberal-s divorce recently by deciding to switch to sit in the Liberal party room rather than the s (the Country Liberal party lets its members choose which party to sit with).

We’re awaiting the AEC’s written confirmation of who’s been elected in Tasmania, but we’re hearing Jacqui Lambie has been re-elected down there. More to come shortly.

It comes after South Australia was finalised yesterday. Tomorrow we’re hearing we could expect to get results from Victoria and the ACT, with Western Australia on Thursday, and NSW and Queensland to follow either late this week or early next.

Dust storm prompts health warning over Sydney haze

Parts of Sydney are facing “extremely poor” air quality as a dust storm sweeps New South Wales, the state government has warned.

Sydney’s north-west and central west including Parramatta are facing the heaviest air pollution, with very poor air quality also observed across Sydney, stretching as far south as Goulburn and as far north as Muswellbrook.

Poor air quality has also spread through the state’s east.

Those sensitive to air pollution should stay indoors and close windows and doors until air quality improves, or travel to places with air conditioning if preferred to their homes, the government said:

There is currently a dust storm sweeping across NSW which is impacting air quality across the state. Please refer to the Air Quality in your area and follow the relevant health advice.

Adelaide locals resist Tesla factory bid over anti-Elon Musk sentiment

Adelaide residents have pushed back at Tesla’s bid for a new factory in the city’s south, targeting Elon Musk and the company’s environmental and ethical credentials

Of nearly 1,000 submissions sent to the local council, 95% called for the proposal to be struck down, citing “anti-Tesla and anti-Elon Musk sentiment” and “Musk’s influence on global discourse via social media platforms”, as well as the environmental impact and potential loss of green space.

More than half of the 948 community submissions came from outside the council area, but submissions from those in the immediate area of the proposed factory site overwhelmingly opposed the development at 121 against and 11 for.

Dozens of submissions referred to Musk’s interventions in American and European politics and his apparent fascist-style salute earlier this year. One critic, citing Guardian reporting, wrote:

I could not think of a worse developer to sell the land to. Tesla sales have been plummetting [sic] … this is likely to attract protests and negative attention that the neighbourhood does not need or want.

Tesla and South Australian government agencies emphasised the economic benefits to the region in their letters of support, while a handful of residents said the land should be put to productive use and one celebrated Musk’s “visionary approach”.

Staff at the City of Marion officially recommended the council sell the land to Tesla, with the proposal to be discussed at a council meeting tonight.

You can read more about the brand damage Elon Musk has caused to Tesla from the Guardian’s US team here:

Symes says Victoria’s ballooning debt the result of a lack of federal support

Symes defended Victoria’s ballooning debt, which is forecast to rise from $155.5bn by mid-2025 to $194bn by June 2029, arguing the burden was largely the result of a lack of federal support:

I can sit there and look at why we have the debt we do, and a lot of it is because we invested in productive infrastructure – in road, in rail, in a number of things that the feds could have stepped in and they chose not to. But we as a state government chose not to sit back and do nothing ... Our debt profile would look a lot different if the feds, at the time had contributed, as in a fair way.

She says the current federal Labor government had started to increase its contributions, citing the Sunshine station upgrade and the Melbourne Airport Rail project. But she warned Victoria was still lagging behind and flagged plans to push for additional funding:

We’re still a long way behind in both infrastructure and GST ... we potentially have been ignored because we’ve done so well. It’s like the curse of competency, when you step in and do what’s right, we kind of let them off the hook, in a way. But I think now, given where we are financially, I’ll be reminding them of the fact that you can’t just set and forget.

Victorian treasurer says no plans to change current work-from-home policy for public servents

Jumping back to the Victorian treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, who is speaking at a Property Council breakfast: Symes is also asked whether the Victorian government would consider changing its work-from-home policy for public servants. She says no, pointing to the federal Coalition’s policy hurting them during the federal election campaign:

I’m not sure if you were watching the federal election results and what happened when a government came out and said that they might change some settings in relation to working from home.

Victoria currently requires public servants to be in the office at least three days a week. Symes says maintaining this flexibility was essential to attracting and retaining staff:

People are searching for quality workplaces, they’re searching for flexibility. We know that if we were to change those settings, not only would it not attract the best and brightest, we would lose some of the people that we need to provide the best services that Victorians rely on. We don’t have any plans to change those settings because of the negative ramifications that would occur.

Nick Visser

Dust storms blanketed parts of South Australia on Monday

A dust storm in the town of Orroroo, South Australia, on Monday blocked out the sky and covered the area in an orange haze.

The BoM said dry conditions and strong winds caused the large dust clouds to form, leading to poor visibility and bad driving conditions that prompted some road closures.

Symes ‘skeptical’ over Liberal state opposition stance on housing

Symes is asked about the opposition’s policy, to be announced later this morning, to scrap stamp duty for first home buyers spending up to $1m if elected next year. The government, meanwhile, has extended its stamp duty discount announced last year but only on off-the-plan apartments, apartments, units and townhouses.

Symes says she is not across the details of the opposition’s plan but has a “degree of skepticism on announcements from the party that block home building”. She goes on:

If you block home building, there’s not much you can do to ensure that people have a home to buy. Obviously, also when you create a policy that has a financial impact, the obvious question is, what services, what hospitals will suffer as a consequence?

NSW police launch Taskforce Falcon to target gangland violence

The NSW police minister Yasmin Catley has announced a new effort called Taskforce Falcon after a spate of gangland violence. The effort will bring together 13 separate investigations under one umbrella involving 150 people, including 100 detectives.

Catley said:

The recent violence we have seen on our streets is absolutely horrific. We will not tolerate these lawless thugs, getting out there with their vendettas against each other and putting in danger innocent victims in our community. …

Let me tell you, if you intend to become a part of these organised gangs, you are either going to end up in a small cell for the rest of your life, or dead.

NSW police’s deputy commissioner, David Hudson, pointed to a series of recent shootings allegedly linked to gangland activity, saying when people were being shot in “broad daylight … then we have to take action”.

Minister defends Victorian relaxation of rules on townhouse planning

Symes also spoke about the government’s plan to relax rules around townhouse construction and subdivision, describing them as the “achievable dream of the modern millennial” that will have a minimum impact on heritage:

Two stories, two bathrooms, two minutes from the shops but not $2m. Of course, there is a place for heritage, and I respect heritage, but I fail to see how a row of townhouses affects heritage value, especially when heritage cited is usually a row of terraces, which in any other country would be called townhouses.

I respect heritage, but the built form of our city and its 3m dwellings can’t just tell us a story of the past. It must write our future. Some old planning professors, the ones who perhaps designed the rules to block your projects, they speak from a position of privilege, not a position of fairness. They say a Carlton terrace for me, but not an Oakleigh townhouse for thee.

Young people see straight through this. They just want a house near [public transport] or work where they can raise a family and get on with their life.

Victorian treasurer says property planning overhaul about getting ‘young people on the property ladder’

The Victorian treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, is continuing to do the rounds at events after handing down her first state budget last week.

This morning, she spoke at a Property Council breakfast, where she discussed the government’s overhaul of planning announced last year which involves taking over from council control over 50 train and tram stations in Melbourne’s inner suburbs. Symes admits the plans to increase density in these “activity zones” has “made a splash”:

The point is not for everyone to agree with it, although the research does suggest that most Victorians do. The point is to get young people on the property ladder so they can live in security and retire with dignity, and to do it in a way that doesn’t cause continued growth pressure for our suburban families.

She says the plan recognises the need to “build in and build up”, particularly in areas where young people are currently locked out:

According to Yimby Melbourne, 92% of the activity centre train stations are in places where the population of children has been in decline. We don’t want a system that turns our suburbs into time capsules. That’s why we’re changing it. Most councils are joining us.