6m agoSeal confirmed first mammal death from bird flu in Australia
31m agoFirst exhibitions on display at new Powerhouse Parramatta museum in Sydney
48m agoVictorian Liberals announce plan for new appeals court to ensure tougher sentences
A long-nosed fur seal has died from H5 bird flu in South Australia, marking the first confirmed case in a mammal on the Australian mainland. The New Zealand fur seal was found dead at Beachport on Wednesday on the state’s Limestone Coast. It marks a fresh escalation in the spread of the virus days after the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, announced three mass mortality events on offshore islands involving more than 1,000 greater crested terns. The highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has killed millions of birds globally and crossed over into mammal species, including elephant seals. Long-nosed fur seals and the endangered Australian sea lion are among the mammal species the federal government has assessed as facing very high risk from the virus. The SA government has also confirmed a little penguin found at Kangaroo Island this week also tested positive for H5 bird flu.
Farley ‘impressed’ with PM after rice factory help promise
David Farley says he was “impressed” with Anthony Albanese after receiving an in-person guarantee from the prime minister that the Labor government would help out rice factories in his electorate.
Rice producer SunRice announced 78 workers would be sacked from mills in Leeton and Deniliquin this week, but ABC’s Insiders host, David Speers, says a funding package is being prepared to help out the producer and save those jobs.
I was impressed how Albanese at the Governor-General’s event the other night came straight up to me and said, ‘Look, I’m aware of it. I’m working on it. We’ll get it done’ ... even after, as we left the chamber the other day, we spoke all the way across to the Senate talking about it. How could it be done and put together? So you know, I tilt my hat to them.
David Farley rejects claim One Nation has no serious policies
The One Nation MP David Farley has rejected claims from Liberal Andrew Hastie that his party has no serious policies, just “thought bubbles”.
Appearing on ABC’s Insiders this morning, the member for Farrer said:
Those policies are there … There’s a powerful amount of work goes on it.
Farley also suggested the minor party’s net migration target is closer to 230,000 in order to include backpackers, Pacific workers, and more skilled workers.
He said One Nation’s net overseas migration (Nom) target is 130,000 plus a minimum of about 100,000 workers.
We’re focusing on the Nom in its true form, and then we’ve got these programs that have been available now for over a decade that drive our economy ... the raw number is not too different, but the reality is, where do we need them? We don’t need them in the great urban metroplex. We need them out to be productive, working in agriculture, engineering, mining, etc.
Before being elected, Farley said Australia’s net overseas migration of 306,000 last year was “probably not” too many. The party’s leader, Pauline Hanson, said she had a conversation with him about the comments.
Man driving stolen car in Melbourne dies in crash
A 46-year-old Melton man driving a stolen car has died following a fatal collision in East Melbourne overnight, according to Victoria police.
The man was seen in the Richmond area of Melbourne on Saturday night “erratically” driving a stolen white Subaru, which was bearing false plates and had been stolen from Glen Iris on 20 August, police said in a statement early this morning.
The man, reportedly travelling on the wrong side of the road at the time, then collided with two vehicles, one of which was a Mustang, near Punt Road and Boulton Parade at about 9pm.
He got out of the crashed vehicle and jumped into the Mustang before driving off, police said. The driver of the Mustang wasn’t injured and wasn’t in the vehicle at the time.
The man continued driving erratically in the stolen Mustang onto Barassi Way where he collided head on with a Range Rover and then into a Toyota Camry. He was ejected from the Mustang and died at the scene, police said.
The driver of the Range Rover received an injury to her arm and was taken to hospital. The other motorist was not injured.
Police are also following up reports the vehicle was seen driving erratically in Clarendon and Whiteman streets prior to the first collision, and have appealed for any witnesses to the collision or with dashcam vision to contact Crime Stoppers.
Powerhouse Parramatta – a museum and gallery project 12 years and $915m in the making – has unveiled its inaugural exhibition program. The five exhibitions focus on “immersive” experiences, including 3D cityscape, a crystal tunnel and historic aeroplanes.
Powerhouse describes the forthcoming exhibitions as follows:
The Dark: an immersive exhibition created for children aged 4 – 12 years old. Developed in collaboration with creatives Kip Williams, Elizabeth Gadsby and Marg Horwell, The Dark is a bedroom, a crystal tunnel, a forest, and a gateway to a land of giants. It is magical with many things to be discovered one by one.
Es Devlin: The Turning is an exhibition of 5 major works by British artist, Es Devlin whose genre-defying work ranges from sculpture to film, architecture, language and performance. Her work immerses audiences into atmospheric environments that draw on Earth’s vast biodiversity, maths and our collective imaginations.
Overflow: A First Nations-led exhibition grounded in the living principles of Water Country, working with seven Aboriginal organisations to consider the importance and care of salt and freshwater systems throughout NSW. These stories are brought to life through the cinematic lens of acclaimed film-maker and Kamilaroi man Ivan Sen.
Task Eternal: will explore the intersection of design, innovation and technology and trace humanity’s quest to defy gravity, take flight and journey into the sky.
The Mall: across two storeys, the exhibition examines the history, evolution and cultural significance of the shopping mall, exploring Australian and global innovation across architecture, design, technology, engineering, and fashion.
The institution isn’t scheduled to open its doors until 7 November. Admission will be free, but visitors aged 16 or over will be charged a fee to see Task Eternal.
Lisa Havilah, Powerhouse’s chief executive said in a statement this morning:
Powerhouse Parramatta will redefine how museums connect with community, industry and learning. As Western Sydney’s first NSW cultural institution, it will be a place that celebrates the creativity, ambition and diversity of our communities, connecting local stories and knowledge with international innovation. These five foundational exhibitions place audiences at the heart of the museum, bringing to life stories of technology, creativity and excellence. Together, they reflect our ambition to create a museum that amplifies community, creates new opportunities and helps define the future. We are deeply grateful to our patrons for their visionary support and for joining us on the journey to create one of the world’s great new museums. We can’t wait to open the doors this November.
Powerhouse Parramatta will redefine how museums connect with community, industry and learning. As Western Sydney’s first NSW cultural institution, it will be a place that celebrates the creativity, ambition and diversity of our communities, connecting local stories and knowledge with international innovation.
These five foundational exhibitions place audiences at the heart of the museum, bringing to life stories of technology, creativity and excellence. Together, they reflect our ambition to create a museum that amplifies community, creates new opportunities and helps define the future. We are deeply grateful to our patrons for their visionary support and for joining us on the journey to create one of the world’s great new museums. We can’t wait to open the doors this November.
The Victorian Liberals have announced that, if elected, they will split the court of appeal into two and appoint a new judges to set precedent they say will match “community expectations”.
The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, will today announce a plan to split the existing court of appeal into two separate courts – a court of criminal appeal and a court of civil appeal – and appoint additional judges specialising in criminal matters to the former.
The Coalition said the new court of criminal appeal would have “broad oversight across Victoria’s courts” to ensure “sentences for serious crime match community expectations” and give effect to new bail and sentencing laws that they would enact before Christmas.
They argue the decisions of this court would then flow down through the entire system, pushing up sentences handed out in courts across the state.
Our new criminal court will empower specialist criminal law judges to ensure sentencing of criminals meet community expectations. Each sentence they hand down will form part of case law going forward, helping to establish appropriate consequences for criminal actions.
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s Sunday live news blog. My name is Stephanie Convery, and I’ll be with you until this afternoon.
A man driving a stolen vehicle has died after a fatal collision in East Melbourne overnight, Victoria police said this morning. The man was seen driving a stolen white Subaru “erratically” in the Richmond area before he collided with two vehicles near Punt Road and Boulton Parade about 9pm, police said.
The Sydney Swans – both the men’s and the women’s teams – will be back on the field today in a double header intended to celebrate the success of the AFLW team, but which has been overshadowed this week by the off-field behaviour of some members of the men’s team.
And the new Powerhouse Parramatta museum in Sydney has unveiled its inaugural exhibition program ahead of its official opening in November.
Grab a coffee, and we’ll bring you more on all of those shortly.
