News live: Russian hacker sanctioned; China blames Australia for jet flare encounter

Key events

Australian aid worker who fled Rafah says only way to save children is ‘immediate, definitive ceasefire’

In some international news, Israel has carried out airstrikes in eastern Rafah after issuing orders for the evacuation of 100,000 Palestinians from part of the city earlier on Monday, triggering an exodus of thousands of people. You can read the latest on the developing situation below:

Sacha Myers is an Australian aid worker with Save the Children, who left Rafah just days ago and is now in Egypt. In a statement, she said there were “moments of jubilation” when news of the possible ceasefire deal broke, but “as the bombing increased throughout the night, all hopes were dashed”. She said in a statement:

Having recently met children who have endured severe injuries in this war, including limbs amputated with very little pain relief, I fear for the children in Rafah who may face a similar or worse fate as we enter this new and perhaps even more deadly phase of this war. The worst-case scenario for Gaza’s children is becoming a horrifying reality. And it’s happening as the world watches. The only way to save their lives is an immediate, definitive ceasefire.

Australia has rightly called for a ceasefire and warned Israel not to go down this path but, at the same time, has not committed to banning all military exports to Israel, leaving open the risk that Australian-made weapons or parts of weapons could be used by Israeli forces to commit grave violations against children.

Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst has looked into claims about Australian defence exports to Israel. You can find out more below:

Treasurer flags further tax reforms in upcoming budget

Jim Chalmers was asked whether there will be more tax reform in the budget, beyond what we already know (such as the stage-three tax cuts).

He suggested there would be, and said this would aim to “incentivise the kind of investment that we want to see in the future of our economy and in the Future Made in Australia”.

We have indicated that we are prepared to use the tax system in the service of our big national economic objectives, as the budget will balance the cost of living … with our responsibilities to the future. And the tax system does have a role to play there, and there’ll be some other tax changes as well.

In all of the budgets we’ve done so far there has been modest but meaningful tax reform, and that’s because I believe in doing these things in a sequenced and orderly and methodical way and people should expect to see more of that on Tuesday.

Chalmers on migration: ‘That’s not the only reason why we don’t have enough homes in our country’

Sticking with the federal budget for a moment, and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been speaking to ABC Radio about what we can expect next week.

On housing, he was asked about comments from the RBA governor, Michele Bullock, yesterday that migration was putting pressure on the housing and rental markets.

Chalmers responded that students in particular had returned “much quicker” than expected following Covid and that has put pressure on housing, but “there are other pressures as well”.

That’s not the only reason why we don’t have enough homes in our country … The housing pipeline is not what it needs to be. That’s why we’ve got this ambitious but achievable target [to build 1.2m homes in the five years from July]. That’s why we’re already investing something like $25bn in 17 different housing policies. And that’s why housing will be a big focus and a big priority in the budget as well.

The treasurer also flagged further housing measures in the budget:

The short answer to that is yes, [housing] will be a major focus of the budget on Tuesday. We know that there’s not enough homes, we need to build much more housing in our communities and in our country. We’ve made some quite big investments already and people should expect to see more on Tuesday night.

CFMEU welcomes funding of 15,000 fee-free construction Tafe places in budget

The CFMEU has welcomed a funding boost for apprenticeships and traineeships in the upcoming budget.

As part of a package announced today, the government will fund 15,000 fee-free construction Tafe and VET places over two years from 2025.

The CFMEU national secretary, Zach Smith, said:

This investment will mean more apprentices and trainees will get the training they need to build critical housing and infrastructure that Australia desperately needs …

There’s an often-overlooked distinction between apprenticeships and traineeships but thankfully the government recognises the importance of both – that’s critical to addressing construction skills gaps.

More on the new report showing decline of NSW environment

The report has prompted the NSW Greens and conservation groups to call on the Minns government to act on election promises to better protect the environment and deliver its response to the Henry review of the state’s environment laws.

The Henry review, released in August last year, delivered a damning assessment of the state’s laws, finding they were unlikely to ever successfully protect nature unless they were substantially overhauled.

The Greens environment spokesperson, Sue Higginson, said the latest figures in the biodiversity outlook report were “extreme and bleak”:

If they don’t mobilise this government into real action I just don’t know what will. Half of all threatened species becoming extinct is an intolerable outcome.

Report after report has shown the terrible decline of biodiversity in NSW, and the Ken Henry review of biodiversity laws gave the government very clear recommendations on how to slow and reverse this trend, but the government still hasn’t responded after seven months.

Clancy Barnard, a spokesperson for the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, said the report showed the government needed to deliver on its election promises for the environment:

This report is yet more proof the government needs to act on its election commitment and stop runaway habitat clearing which is the key driver of biodiversity loss in NSW.

Half of threatened species in NSW on course to be extinct within century, new report says

Half of the threatened plant and animal species in New South Wales are on course to be extinct within a century, according to a new report released by the Minns government, which finds the decline of the state’s environment has accelerated.

The state’s second biodiversity outlook report finds the biggest driver of the continued decline of the state’s wildlife is habitat destruction.

The report finds only 29% of the habitat in NSW has the capacity to support native species – down from 31% at the time of the first report in 2020 – and that the black summer bushfires increased the risk of extinction for many species.

Clearing of habitat increased between 2016 and 2021, a period in which native vegetation laws were relaxed by the previous Coalition government, and clearing for agriculture exceeded that caused by forestry or infrastructure construction.

The environment minister, Penny Sharpe, said the combined threats of habitat loss, climate change and invasive species had put the state’s ecosystems under serious pressure:

Worryingly, this report confirms biodiversity is in decline and getting worse.

We are committed to fixing biodiversity offsets and stopping runaway land clearing. We have adopted a whole-of-government approach to tackling climate change and we have boosted environmental protections to their strongest level yet.

There was some improvement in the report, with the amount of protected conservation land increasing from 8.6% to 11.2% of the state.

New vaping laws needed to help young people who struggle to quit, GPs say

Continuing from our last post: the RACGP president, Nicole Higgins, said the laws were needed to help protect the young people who have found it very difficult to stop vaping once they start:

The withdrawal effects, including anxiety and trouble eating and sleeping, can be a confronting experience.

She encouraged anyone trying to quit nicotine products to book a consult with their GP, with a range of options – “including nicotine replacement therapy, behavioural support, managing withdrawal symptoms and cravings, as well as prescribing medicines to help you quit”.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia national president, Prof Trent Twomey, said community pharmacies welcomed “this strategic alliance of frontline health professionals to prevent children from accessing vapes”.

‘Strategic alliance’ of health bodies backs vaping reforms

The nation’s peak frontline health bodies have formed a “strategic alliance” backing the government’s vaping reforms, and are urging all federal MPs and senators to follow their lead supporting the next round of legislation now before the parliament.

The Australian Medical Association, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia are this morning gathering in Brisbane to throw their support behind the reforms ensuring vapes are available as a therapeutic good to support people to quit smoking, and not as a tool used by big tobacco to hook a new generation on nicotine.

Vaping laws came into effect in March banning the importation of vapes unless the importer has a licence and permit. The next round of reforms now before parliament would force vape stores to close by preventing the domestic manufacture, advertisement, supply and commercial possession of non-prescription vapes.

The AMA president, Steve Robson, described vaping as a “ticking timebomb” that is “threatening the health of future generations”.

Let’s be clear – children and young adults use vapes as their first nicotine-based product. They are not trying to quit, as they’ve never smoked before.

Wong and Birmingham heading on bipartisan trip to Tuvalu

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and her opposition counterpart, Simon Birmingham, will fly to Tuvalu today as part of a renewed bipartisan push to maintain Australia’s standing in the Pacific.

The bipartisan trip comes shortly after Tuvalu’s new government confirmed it would retain the climate and security deal with Australia that was signed last year but was placed in question after elections in late January.

Wong and Birmingham are expected to meet the prime minister, Feleti Teo, and his cabinet to discuss what both countries have described as the Falepili Union – a Tuvaluan term for neighbours who live in close houses and seen as reflecting the duty of neighbours to care for, share with and protect each other.

The climate crisis is a key item on the agenda, given that low-lying Tuvalu is especially vulnerable to sea level rise. Wong and Birmingham are due to visit a coastal adaptation project that has involved the reclamation and stabilisation of land, before returning to Australia on Thursday night.

It is the second Australian high-level bipartisan trip to the Pacific in this term of government.

Wong said the joint visit sent a signal to the Pacific “that Australia is a steadfast partner in ensuring a region that is peaceful, stable and prosperous”, while Birmingham said Australia was “stronger when we speak with one voice”.

Good morning

And happy Wednesday – welcome back to another day on the live blog, and thanks to Martin for kicking things off for us. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll take you through our rolling coverage today.

See something that needs attention? You can get in touch via X, @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

Let’s get started.

Australia teams up with UK and US against hackers

Australia has imposed a targeted financial sanction and travel ban on the Russian citizen Dmitry Khoroshev for his senior leadership role in the LockBit ransomware group.

Under Operation Cronos, the Australian Signals Directorate and federal police worked with international partners, including the UK and the US, to identify Khoroshev as part of LockBit’s senior leadership, the government said.

It described LockBit as a prolific criminal ransomware group which works to destabilise and disrupt key sectors for financial gain.

LockBit ransomware has been used against Australian, UK and US businesses, comprising 18% of total reported Australian ransomware attacks in 2022-23 and 119 reported victims in Australia.

The new sanction under the cybersanctions framework makes it a criminal offence to provide assets to Khoroshev or to use or deal with his assets.

The deputy prime minister and minister for defence, Richard Marles, said:

We continue to see governments, critical infrastructure, businesses and households in Australia targeted by malicious cyber actors.

Cyber sanctions are a key component of the Australian Government’s work to deter cybercrime and help protect Australians by exposing the activities and identity of cyber criminals operating across jurisdictions.

Read more here:

Australia’s military engaged in ‘provocative’ behaviour in South China Sea, Beijing says

China has accused Australia’s military of provocative and threatening behaviour after a dangerous episode in international waters.

An Australian navy Seahawk helicopter was forced to take evasive action to prevent being hit by flares launched by a J-10 Chinese air force plane on Saturday evening, according to the defence minister, Richard Marles.

The Australian government has condemned the action, with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, calling it incredibly dangerous.

But China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, said the military had taken the necessary steps to warn Australia.

On Tuesday he told media:

The Australian military aircraft flew near China airspace in a threatening way.

What truly happened was that an Australian military aircraft deliberately flew within close range of China’s airspace in a provocative move which endangered China’s maritime air security.

We urge Australia to stop provocations to prevent misunderstanding and miscalculation.

The appropriate diplomatic representations had been made to Beijing through all channels available to his government, including defence-to-defence, Albanese said.

Read more here:

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to the rolling news blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you a few of the top overnight stories before Emily Wind comes along shortly.

An alleged leader of international ransomware group LockBit has been hit with financial sanctions and banned from travelling to Australia. The government named Dmitry Khoroshev, a Russian citizen, as having a “senior leadership role” in a criminal group that supplied a global network of hackers with the tools and infrastructure to carry out online attacks. The announcement was made overnight in coordination with authorities in the UK and the US. More coming up.

We have an exclusive story on how the Albanese government has successfully suppressed details of the effectiveness of electronic monitoring, arguing that transparency could encourage former immigration detainees to breach ankle bracelet visa conditions. On Friday the high court granted a suppression order on expert evidence relating to how ankle monitors work in a challenge of harsh new visa conditions, set to be heard as early as August.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman has accused an Australian navy helicopter of making “risky moves” after Monday’s encounter with a Chinese jet over the Yellow Sea between the Chinese and Korean coastlines. Australia has condemned China after the plane released flares in front of the helicopter. But Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman said overnight that the helicopter “endangered China’s maritime and air security”. More coming up.