Australia news live: Bondi beach reopens after tar-ball pollution; NT lowers age of criminal responsibility to 10 | Australia news

Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches reopen

Waverley council has confirmed all of its beaches have been reopened following a site inspection, after thousands of tar balls washed ashore.

The council said no remaining evidence of the debris could be found at Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches. Mysterious tar balls washing up in Sydney had forced the closure of seven beaches in total.

The mayor, Will Nemesh, said the council would continue to prioritise the safety of the community, and would continue to monitor the situation closely:

The safety of our community is always paramount. Working with government authorities, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep the community updated and safe.

Coogee beach suspected oil slick: beachgoers warned after black balls wash ashore – video

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DV a key concern in property disputes, peak legal body says

Making domestic violence a key consideration in property disputes would help create a family law system that supports victim-survivors, a parliamentary inquiry will be told.

As AAP reports, Women’s Legal Services Australia will today tell a public hearing into proposed changes to family law about the impact family violence can have on women’s economic wellbeing – which is exacerbated by the “unfair” distribution of property post-separation.

The legislation will seek to make the family law system safer and simpler for separating couples, and ensure the financial breakdown is fair for both parties.

Meaghan Bradshaw, from the peak body for community legal centres specialising in women’s legal issues, said perpetrators often used systems to continue inflicting further violence – such as withholding financial support and failing to disclose financial records. She will say:

Women who access our services often report being scared of seeking a property settlement due to fear of escalating violence. We also know women often do not leave violent relationships because they are effectively forced to choose between violence or poverty.

The inquiry must report back by the end of October.

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Weather forecast in Sydney tonight ahead of royal visit

The Bureau of Meteorology has provided more information about tonight’s forecast in Sydney, as King Charles and Queen Camilla prepare to land in Australia around 8pm.

The Bureau said it would be mostly cloudy in Sydney today, with showers or steady rain gradually easing by the evening – possibly clearing by 8pm.

There is a chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening across Greater Sydney, but is not likely to be severe.

Maximum temperatures at Observatory Hill are forecast between 25C and 26C in the afternoon, remaining warm into the evening and around 22-24C at 8pm.

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‘We’ve got better ideas on housing’, Chalmers says of negative gearing

Continuing to speak on negative gearing, Jim Chalmers said he had been asked about this “countless times” but “people shouldn’t anticipate that this is part of our housing policy.”

Even if it’s a good idea, ABC RN host Patricia Karvelas asked? Chalmers responded:

We’ve got better ideas on housing.

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Chalmers responds to Greens calls to scrap negative gearing

Jim Chalmers was also asked about calls from the Greens to scrap negative gearing.

As we’ve already flagged, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather commissioned Parliamentary Library analysis of NSW Treasury modelling and census data, which showed more than a quarter of a million renters could own their own homes if negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts were wound back.

Chalmers said he had seen the reports, but not the actual analysis, and if the Greens wanted to get more people into home ownership “they’d vote for our Help to Buy scheme”.

It is a fact, not an opinion, that the Greens are holding up the Help to Buy scheme in the Senate. If they were genuine about getting people on low and middle incomes into their first home … they’d vote for that in the Senate, and then we’d take them seriously …

I’ve seen advice on negative gearing over the course of the last couple of years, but if you’re anticipating … one big, new, discrete piece of work, then that’s not the right assumption.

For more on the standoff between Labor, the Greens and the Coalition over housing, you can have a read of this explainer below:

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Saying work in care economy isn’t real job is ‘snobbiness’ – treasurer

Jim Chalmers also responded to comments from the opposition’s Michaelia Cash, who argued about 70% of the jobs created are government-funded rather than in the private sector.

He said those jobs weren’t all necessarily government-funded, and not all public servants, telling ABC RN:

Obviously, as the economy recovers, we want to see more jobs created in the private sector, but we need to recognise as well that care economy jobs are real jobs. You know, I completely reject this sense that it’s only a real job if it’s not in the care economy.

In the context of our aging population and all of the needs that we have, we want to see care economy workers respected. We are paying them more. We don’t want to see them respected less or paid less.

And that seems to be the approach taken by our critics, and there’s a real snobbiness at the core of that critique, which says that if you work in the care economy, that’s not a real job. It is a real job, we value it, we are paying people appropriately.

‘Care economy jobs are real jobs’: Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
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Treasurer tight-lipped on rate-cut chances after jobs data

Jim Chalmers would not comment on whether the latest job figures, announced yesterday, have dashed chances of a rate cut this year.

The treasurer said this was the “first time, and only time” 1 million jobs had been created in a single parliamentary term and “our job, and the Reserve Bank’s job, is to get on top of inflation without ignoring the risks to growth”.

In terms of the rate cut, he said that was “a matter for the independent Reserve Bank”.

They’re primarily focused on inflation, and inflation has been coming down really considerably, and that’s a very good thing. Even though people are still under pressure, inflation in the monthly figures most recently was less than half what it was in the year we came to office. That’s a good thing.

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Chalmers hopes death of Hamas leader will help bring end to war

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has been speaking with ABC RN.

First up, he was asked about news overnight that Hamas’s leader, Yahya Sinwar, has been killed by Israeli forces. You can read more on this below:

Chalmers said that “we don’t mourn for one second the death of a terrorist leader”, but “we do mourn his victims”.

And we do mourn the tens of thousands of innocent lives lost to this conflict, and we hope that his death helps and hastens bring an end to the war, because we want to see a ceasefire. We want to see the humanitarian aid get in, and we want to see his hostages released.

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Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches reopen

Waverley council has confirmed all of its beaches have been reopened following a site inspection, after thousands of tar balls washed ashore.

The council said no remaining evidence of the debris could be found at Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama beaches. Mysterious tar balls washing up in Sydney had forced the closure of seven beaches in total.

The mayor, Will Nemesh, said the council would continue to prioritise the safety of the community, and would continue to monitor the situation closely:

The safety of our community is always paramount. Working with government authorities, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep the community updated and safe.

Coogee beach suspected oil slick: beachgoers warned after black balls wash ashore – video

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One Direction members ‘completely devastated’ at Liam Payne’s death

The former members of One Direction – Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan – have released a statement following the death of their bandmate Liam Payne.

Payne died of multiple traumas and internal and external bleeding caused by a fall from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, the Argentinian prosecutor’s office has said.

The statement, released about 15 minutes ago, reads:

We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when everyone is able to, there will be more to say. But for now, we will take some time to grieve and process the loss of our brother, who we loved dearly.

The memories we shared with him will be treasured forever.

For now, our thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the fans who loved him alongside us. We will miss him terribly. We love you Liam.

Liam Payne performs at the 28th Aria Awards in Sydney in 2014. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/EPA/Shutterstock
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‘Major’ power outages in western NSW could last up to three weeks

The NSW Rural Fire Service says far western parts of the state are experiencing “major” power outages following severe storms. The outages are expected to last for two to three weeks, it said.

According to Essential Energy, there has been extensive damage to transmission towers between Buronga and Broken Hill, with 1,444 customers impacted.

Customers are being supplied power via backup generator in Broken Hill. There are additional faults between Mt Gibbs and Sunset Strip.

Parts of far western NSW are experiencing major power outages following severe storms. With outages expected to last for 2-3 weeks, the #RFS has deployed resources to ensure our brigades remain operational and can continue supporting their communities. pic.twitter.com/gVYDymHzCH

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) October 17, 2024

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More back-and-forth over PM’s property purchase

The deputy leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley, was up on Sunrise this morning to discuss comments from Peter Dutton, who argues the PM would not last a second term if re-elected.

Ley said Dutton was referring to “actions from the prime minister this week” – as in the purchase of a new home – and said:

[Anthony Albanese is] entitled to make whatever purchases he wants. He’s planning for that next stage of his life. I don’t think all his colleagues are happy about it.

She said it was not about the purchase itself, but the response from his Labor colleagues.

When you look at the response to that, that’s coming from his colleagues. It’s not coming from us. We’re saying who is unhappy about this? Who is talking about it? Who is revealing their thoughts? Who is worried about it? Labor party members. That demonstrates the distraction that’s at the heart of the Albanese government…

Sussan Ley claims Albanese is ‘planning for that next stage of his life’. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Labor PM Jason Clare, also on the program, said there was “no” truth in this argument and “the time for professional whinging from Peter Dutton and Susan is over”.

We have an election in 12 months. It’s time they came up with a plan and stop the whinging. Peter Dutton [is] crazy if he thinks this will happen … You can’t wait for someone to retire to get your go. He has to come up with policies. The only thing he has going is shutting down Woolworths and building nuclear reactors. That’s not what the Australian people want.

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