Search for pilot and passenger continues after Mornington peninsula collision
Crews will continue their search for a pilot and passenger on board a small military-style jet that crashed into the water off Melbourne’s Mornington peninsula yesterday after a midair collision.
We’re working to get the latest update on this situation, but as Catie McLeod reported yesterday, two light aircraft collided over Port Phillip Bay on Sunday afternoon, with one of the planes crashing into the water.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the two planes were Italian-made Viper S-211 Marchetti jets which are often used for military training. The AAP newswire reported the planes were on a civilian-operated formation flight when they collided.
The second plane – also carrying two people – subsequently landed safely at Essendon airport on Sunday.
You can read more here, and we’ll bring you the latest here on the blog shortly.
Key events
Finishing up his interview on ABC RN, Kevin Rudd said he would work professionally with Donald Trump if he is re-elected as US president at the next election:
The great thing about being an ambassador, having started that job in March of this year, is that I deal with the cards as they’re currently dealt.
I think if we’re all held to account [for] statements we made an earlier capacities in life, including those with independent think tank and when I would have been commenting more freely on American domestic politics, well, frankly, we couldn’t get on and do any other things in life.
My job is to deal with the US government of the day … [if] the American people choose a different administration in future [then I] will deal equally professionally with that administration as well.
In fact, I continue to do so with Republican senators and members of the House on an almost daily basis.
Kevin Rudd said the Australian government has spent 12 months advocating for guardrails between China’s military activities in the region and those of the US and allies, air forces and surface vessels.
He listed a number of incidents, with the sonar incident being the latest. ABC RN host Hamish Macdonald asked whether in his mind, the incidents are deliberate or reckless, or what leads to them?
Rudd:
I think international observers have concluded over the last couple of years … has been increasingly aggressive, assertive and forward-leaning actions by elements of the Chinese PLA.
To give you one practical example, we now have a regular practice of Chinese fighter aircraft crossing the medium line between Taiwan and the mainland. This therefore causes Taiwanese jets to scramble on a regular basis and therefore the number of potential shallow incidents between Taiwanese aircraft and PLA aircraft continues to grow.
That’s the reason why the Prime Minister Albanese, why President Biden and other allied leaders … constantly call for stabilisation measures, the application of guardrails in order to deconflict these forces.
Test of Australia-China relationship lies in the long term, Rudd says
Q: Does this matter undermine China’s position that it wants a better relationship with Australia?
Kevin Rudd answers by commenting on the relationship between China and the USA:
Well, as I have said in my own comments here in the American media [on] the overall impact of the meeting between president [Joe] Biden and president Xi Jinping here in the United States in the last several days, the test of that relationship will lie in what happens on the ground in the weeks and months ahead.
It’s true that both governments have sought to stabilise relationship just as the Australian government has sought to stabilise its relationship with China as well. But that is one thing. Often, what unfolds in the field, that will be subject to day by day, week by week, month by month testing.
In the case of the Taiwan Straits in the South China Sea, the test will lie in what happens for the future pattern activity and exercise direction of the PLA forces there and whether actions are taken to effectively de-escalate.
Question of whether PM spoke with Xi about injured naval divers is ‘a distraction’: Rudd
The former prime minister and Australia’s ambassador to Washington, Kevin Rudd, is speaking to ABC RN about reports Australian naval divers had been injured after a run-in with a Chinese warship:
Rudd is being pressed on whether or not the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, raised this with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, during his recent visit.
Rudd said the actions by the Chinese People’s Liberation Navy against the HMAS Toowoomba were “unacceptable by the international standards”, and that the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, had made this “absolutely clear to the Chinese authorities”.
Rudd added:
The bottom line is these communications occurred between the Australian government through the medium of the acting prime minister, who is also the defence minister.
I’m not in a position to comment on the content of a prime ministerial level discussion with the Chinese president or with any other of the, frankly, dozen heads of government with whom the prime minister spoke while he was here at the Apec summit.
Rudd argued this was a “distraction” from the central question, which is China engaging in “unsafe practices against the Royal Australian Navy”.
The Australian government did not just respond privately and through diplomatic channels, the Australian government went public through the acting prime minister, Richard Marles, and made our position equally clear publicly.
Josh Butler
Merger rules to be reviewed amid concerns they are ‘too permissive’
Rules around mergers will be reviewed under a new federal process, with the government today releasing a consultation paper on potential reforms – with concerns raised that current rules are “too permissive” and not deliver benefits to the wider economy.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the competition minister, Andrew Leigh, made the announcement overnight, saying the government wanted to ensure that merger processes “support competitive markets, economic dynamism, and better outcomes for the Australian people”.
The consultation paper looks at current rules and processes, to ensure they address mergers that could be anti-competitive. The ministers said:
We want mergers to drive improvements in productivity, to put downward pressure on prices and to deliver more choice for Australians dealing with cost of living pressures.
Increasing economic concentration has emerged as a concern in many countries including Australia. International evidence suggests current merger rules may be too permissive, allowing some mergers that don’t deliver benefits to consumers, workers and the wider economy.
Chalmers and Leigh said the paper would also look at tests around whether mergers would lessen competition, and how the effects are analysed.
Submissions on the consultation paper will be open until 19 January 2023.
The Albanese Government is focused on tackling cost of living pressures now and laying the foundations for future growth. Making our economy more competitive is critical to both of these goals.
Josh Butler
Cybersecurity program to give small businesses ‘health-checks’ and assistance
Small businesses will get more federal help to boost their cybersecurity, with a new government program giving security checks and tailored assistance to firms needing to upgrade their resilience.
The cybersecurity minister, Clare O’Neil, and the small business minister, Julie Collins, made the announcement overnight on Sunday, sharing details of two new programs aimed at small and medium businesses.
There’s $11m for the Small Business Cyber Resilience Service, a program giving “one-on-one assistance to help small businesses navigate their cyber challenges, including walking them through the steps to recover from a cyber attack”, the ministers said in a statement.
Additionally there’s $7.2m for a voluntary cyber health-check program. O’Neil and Collins said this program would “allow businesses to undertake a free, tailored self-assessment of their cyber security maturity”.
Businesses can use this health-check to determine the strength of their cyber security measures, and access educational tools and materials they need to upskill.
Businesses that have an especially high risk exposure will also be given access to more sophisticated assessment tools for more security.
The new announcements are part of the upcoming 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy, which the ministers said would include new support for small and medium businesses that are more vulnerable to the impacts of cyber incidents. O’Neil and Collins said:
This new support will be critical as we know that cyber attacks can cause serious financial and reputational damage to businesses of all sizes. Industry consultation in the development of the Strategy heard that small and medium businesses are less likely to have the financial resources, time and expertise to invest in cyber security.
Search for pilot and passenger continues after Mornington peninsula collision
Crews will continue their search for a pilot and passenger on board a small military-style jet that crashed into the water off Melbourne’s Mornington peninsula yesterday after a midair collision.
We’re working to get the latest update on this situation, but as Catie McLeod reported yesterday, two light aircraft collided over Port Phillip Bay on Sunday afternoon, with one of the planes crashing into the water.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the two planes were Italian-made Viper S-211 Marchetti jets which are often used for military training. The AAP newswire reported the planes were on a civilian-operated formation flight when they collided.
The second plane – also carrying two people – subsequently landed safely at Essendon airport on Sunday.
You can read more here, and we’ll bring you the latest here on the blog shortly.
Good morning
Emily Wind
And happy Monday. Welcome back to another week on the Australian news live blog – I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage today.
Making news this morning, a search remains under way for a pilot and passenger who were onboard a small military-style jet that crashed into the water off Melbourne’s Mornington peninsula after a midair collision.
Small businesses are set to get more federal help to boost their cybersecurity as part of the upcoming 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy.
Rules around mergers will be reviewed under a new federal process, with the government today releasing a consultation paper on potential reforms – with concerns raised that current rules are “too permissive” and do not deliver benefits to the wider economy.
We will have more on all these stories shortly.
And overnight, Australia was crowned Cricket World Cup champions for the sixth time.
If you see anything that needs attention on the blog, you can send me an email: [email protected].
With that, let’s get started.