Greens senator brands Pauline Hanson a ‘political coward’ over press conference bans – as it happened

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Hanson-Young brands Pauline Hanson ‘coward’ for barring media from presser

Josh Butler

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has rubbished Pauline Hanson’s decision to bar the Guardian, the Age and the ABC from a One Nation press conference today.

Hanson-Young claimed Hanson was “running scared of scrutiny”, calling her “a politician who thinks that she should have the right to say whatever she wants, but no one else should have the right to ask questions”.

“Pauline Hanson is showing herself to be a political coward by hiding from certain media because she doesn’t like questions from journalists, and this is a very very bad start to any political campaign,” the Greens senator told a press conference in Parliament House this afternoon.

As we reported earlier, reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of the press conference to announce One Nation’s Victorian state election candidates.

“I’m not putting up with the spin, gotcha moments, wanting to have a go at me … [and] treat us totally different to what you do the other major political parties. Enough is enough,” Hanson said of her decision at the press conference.

That’s where we’ll leave our live news coverage.

Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:

• \n The government has released new details of its news bargaining incentive legislation, after consultations with industry.
• \n The high-profile trial of former broadcaster Alan Jones for indecent assault and sexual touching charges began today in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court and is expected to run for four months and hear from 76 witnesses.
• \n Laurie Daley has ended months of speculation by officially quitting his role as NSW State of Origin coach.
• \n A Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s gambling laws has heard allegations that betting companies and casinos are providing big spending punters with drugs, free accommodation and escorts.
• \n Tolls are set to fall on some Sydney motorways after the operator Transurban reached a long-awaited deal with the NSW government.
• \n Pauline Hanson held a press conference in Melbourne where reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were barred from attending.
• \n Two people are being treated for leg and neck injuries after a partial collapse of a seven-metre-high building in inner Sydney, according to Fire and Rescue NSW.
• \n Tests by the CSIRO have confirmed Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly H5 bird flu and the environment minister, Murray Watt, has warned more mass wildlife deaths will occur as the disease continues to spread. There has also been a suspected H5 bird flu mortality event in Victoria.

Thanks for joining us, see you tomorrow morning!

A mining site in New South Wales’s Hunter Vally has paused operations after a worker died on Monday after “a mobile equipment incident”.

The death happened at the United Wambo Open Cut mine, about 16 km west of Singleton, owned by mining companies Glencore and Peabody.

Glencore said emergency services and police are onsite, and mining operations have been suspended.

In a statement, CEO of Glencore’s Australian operations Peter Sharpe said:

\n Our sincere condolences go out to the worker’s family, friends and colleagues. This is tragic news for our entire workforce. Our immediate focus is on providing support to the worker’s family and our employees.\n

In a statement, NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said:

\n This tragedy highlights the hazards faced by those working in our industry and is a sombre reminder of why the safety of our workforce must always be our number one priority.\n

South Australia’s environment minister says she is concerned about a confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a petrel found in the Coorong, one of several new locations where the deadly disease has been detected in the state.

The migratory petrel is one of 18 confirmed new cases in SA. The new cases include a silver gull in Glenelg, two greater crested terns at Troubridge Island, a silver gull at Southend, a greater crested tern at Monarto and six greater crested terns on Pages Islands.

Five greater crested terns and a silver gull at Baudin Rocks also returned positive results. Those birds were a sample from about 50 dead and 30 sick birds found by aerial surveillance at Baudin Rocks in what has been confirmed as Australia’s first H5 mass mortality event.

The Coorong is a large area that is home to internationally significant wetlands that support populations of waterbirds and migratory species.

SA environment minister Emily Bourke said:

\n That confirmed location is of concern because it is where waterbirds are also located.\n So it’s going from seabirds, but also potentially now into where we know a lot of water birds are nesting and using this space as a safe haven.\n

The Victorian government said a cluster of dead and sick greater crested terns had been identified through aerial surveillance in the Glenelg River estuary near Nelson and across Lawrence Rocks over the weekend.

The government has not yet provided the number of birds observed but state authorities will speak to media later this afternoon.

Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said the observations were consistent with what was recently reported in South Australia, where mass deaths of crested terns at Baudin Rocks were confirmed earlier today as Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly disease.

Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said investigations were under way to better understand the progression of the virus in wildlife.

\n This event is consistent with the type of wildlife impacts we have been preparing for as H5 bird flu becomes established in a bird population.\n Sampling has taken place today, along with further aerial surveillance, to determine any further impacts in other species.\n

There have so far been seven confirmed positive H5 bird flu cases in Victoria in crested terns, five in Portland and two in Nelson.

Guardian Australia has released a statement after being barred from Pauline Hanson’s press conference earlier today.

As reported earlier, reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of a press conference to announced One Nation’s Victorian state election candidates.

A Guardian spokesperson says:

\n Holding public figures to account is the role of a free press and an essential part of the democratic process. It is disappointing that One Nation continues to prevent the Guardian and other news outlets from reporting on its press conferences. Our journalists should be able to ask questions in the public interest and not be deterred from doing their job.\n The Guardian has published important public interest journalism on Pauline Hanson and One Nation and stands by the rigour of its work.\n

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has rubbished Pauline Hanson’s decision to bar the Guardian, the Age and the ABC from a One Nation press conference today.

Hanson-Young claimed Hanson was “running scared of scrutiny”, calling her “a politician who thinks that she should have the right to say whatever she wants, but no one else should have the right to ask questions”.

“Pauline Hanson is showing herself to be a political coward by hiding from certain media because she doesn’t like questions from journalists, and this is a very very bad start to any political campaign,” the Greens senator told a press conference in Parliament House this afternoon.

As we reported earlier, reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of the press conference to announce One Nation’s Victorian state election candidates.

“I’m not putting up with the spin, gotcha moments, wanting to have a go at me … [and] treat us totally different to what you do the other major political parties. Enough is enough,” Hanson said of her decision at the press conference.

Tests by the CSIRO have confirmed Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly H5 bird flu and the environment minister, Murray Watt, has warned more mass wildlife deaths will occur as the disease continues to spread.

Watt told a media conference in Canberra:

\n I want to level with people: this is the beginning of what is likely to be a long, difficult journey in terms of the impacts on wildlife.\n

The mass deaths of greater crested terns were announced in South Australia over the weekend, with 49 dead terns and 35 unwell terns detected by aerial surveillance.

Samples from some of those animals were sent to the CSIRO for verification and have come back positive.

Watt said:

\n The reality is, you can’t stop native and wild birds flying around, and you can’t stop wild animals moving around, and that will mean more mass mortality events like the one we have now seen.\n What we can do, and what we have been doing, is build up the resilience of the populations of our native birds and mammals.\n

Agriculture minister, Julie Collins, said Australia now had 74 confirmed H5N1 cases – 54 in SA, 10 in Western Australia, seven in Victoria, two in New South Wales and one in Queensland.

Two people have been taken to hospital and remain in serious condition after a building collapsed in Sydney’s inner-city.

Emergency services responded to reports of the incident just before 11am on Wattle Street in Ultimo, where paramedics assessed a total of seven people.

The two men, both in their 60s, were taken to Royal Prince Alfred hospital and St Vincent’s hospital.

• \n This post has been updated to clarify that both men were in their 60s.

Pauline Hanson has held a press conference in Melbourne to unveil eight upper house candidates running for the party in the Victorian state election.

Reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of the press conference. Asked whether all media should have access to a press conference in a democracy, particularly given her ambition to form government at the November state election, Hanson responded:

\n Democracy doesn’t happen on the ABC at all.\n

She claimed it was not the first time she had denied ABC access to her events, having done so in 1996 “for eight months” and added, “the same will go with The Guardian”. Hanson went on:

\n I’m not putting up with the spin, gotcha moments. wanting to have a go at me … [and] treat us totally different to what you do, the other major political parties. Enough is enough.\n

In a later follow up question, another reporter asked:

\n Aren’t you cutting off your nose to spite your face here? Don’t you need your message to get out to regional Victoria in particular, and you need the ABC, the national broadcaster to be able to carry it?\n

To which Hanson responded: “We’ve got Rebel News here, I am happy with them.”

Rebel News Australia is run by Avi Yemini, a former Israeli soldier and self-styled investigative journalist.

New South Wales taxpayers will foot a $143m bill for one-off cuts to tollways while the multinational operator faces no net cost.

The operator, Transurban, said the reforms were neutral for its prospects and its share price held steady in early trading. Transurban expects the state to pay $600m in equalisation payments and cover the cost of the M7-M2 widening, while it and its co-investors in the M2 and the eastern distributor will repay the state $600m earlier than previously agreed.

The NSW transport minister, John Graham, said the reforms will cost the state a net $143m over the next five year, even as the companies say they face no net cost. When asked what that included, Graham told reporters:

\n The accounting is complex here, but that’s the budgeting.\n

He also acknowledged the one-off 10% reduction to tolls on a few motorways “will eventually” be offset by the operators’ regular increases to tolls.

Chris Minns, the premier, denied this implied taxpayers were footing the bill for the deal. He told reporters:

\n We need toll relief now and it’s better to have it at a lower base given the multiple increases that they have through the year.\n

The government already spends over $100m a year to foot the bill when a motorist spends more than $60 each week on tolls.

Returning to the NSW Icac’s Operation Rosny: Reformers member Robert Assaf has been giving evidence about the breakdown of his friendship with fellow Reformer Christian Ellis.

Assaf had described beginning to distrust Ellis over the payment of a 10% finder’s fee to Assaf for signing up new clients to lobbying company Beckington.

He today described becoming concerned about Ellis’s links to the fugitive property developer Jean Nassif. Last week, he gave evidence that the Reformers became concerned that Ellis was “getting rich” from payments to the group.

Icac is investigating the allegation that between 2020 and 2023, Liberal figures, including Ellis, solicited or accepted donations “in exchange for the pursuit of outcomes sought by Mr Nassif”.

Under questioning from counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC this morning, Assaf also discussed being concerned after being told that Ellis “may have been trying to … hit up some members of parliament” for public money, including their communications budgets.

Assaf says he spoke to one of the MPs, former NSW upper house Liberal Lou Amato, and advised him against giving money to Ellis.

\n Dwyer: So you were saying: ‘Don’t give him your comms budget, your public money comms budget to fund effectively the work of the Reformers’.\n Assaf: No, I don’t think it was for the Reformers.\n Dwyer: OK, so it was for him personally?\n Assaf: I don’t know what he was going to do with it. I just didn’t, and I didn’t want to know. I just wanted to get out of there.\n

Average petrol prices are at or above $2 a litre this morning in all the capital cities besides Sydney and Perth, according to Motormouth.

As the table below shows, Canberran motorists are paying the most for regular unleaded and diesel, with Darwin and Hobart close behind.

Prices are set to climb higher this week after the end of the government’s 16-cent litre fuel excise discount.

How long it takes the more expensive fuel to flow through to service stations depends on how quickly they restock, and the ACCC is keeping an eye out for dramatic price moves that can’t be explained.

Jim Chalmers, the treasurer, this morning sent this warning:

\n Servos and suppliers are on notice. The regulator will be watching them like a hawk, and they can’t use the return to normal settings with the excise as cover for treating motorists as mugs.\n

With the global oil shock far from over and even worsening in recent weeks, Chalmers told ABC radio that “it’s not our intention” to bring the excise back but that “obviously we keep all of our policies under review”.

He then went on to note that “prices are substantially lower than they were when we first introduced it at the end of March” – when petrol was over $2.50 a litre, and diesel more than $3.20.

Tolls are set to fall on some Sydney motorways after the operator, Transurban, reached a long-awaited deal with the New South Wales government.

Motorbike tolls will be halved on all motorways gradually, starting from July 2027.

Tolls will fall 10% on 1 July 2027 for the Lane Cove Tunnel and “longer journeys” on the M2. The cross city tunnel’s toll will fall 20% when the new western harbour tunnel opens, scheduled for 2028.

M7 trip fees at present stop rising after 20km. That cap will fall to 18km from 1 January 2028, pending a deal to widen the motorway.

The eastern distributor motorway is set to bring in tolls in both directions from when the western harbour tunnel opens, but with north and south tolls at just over half of the current northbound level.

The government has previously promised to bring in two-way tolling on to the harbour bridge as well. The promised 4% toll hike from 1 July 2027 for the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the harbour tunnel has been trimmed to 3.25%.

Users of the Westconnex motorway will not get any discounts. The government said ti could not reach an agreement with Transurban that would have been “good value” for motorists and taxpayers.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) has begun the second of eight weeks of hearings as part of Operation Rosny today.

Robert Assaf, the first witness from the conservative right Liberal factional group the Reformers to give evidence so far, is appearing before the commission again today. Reformers Jean-Claude Perrottet and Jeremy Greenwood will give evidence later this week.

The inquiry is investigating allegations that Reformers including Assaf, Perrottet and Greenwood solicited or accepted illegal donations to recruit or renew members to the party, a practice known as “branch stacking”, which is not of itself illegal. The group wanted more conservative policies on same-sex marriage, transgender rights, abortion and euthanasia.

Damien Tudehope, the NSW shadow attorney general and Liberal leader in the upper house, is expected to appear before the inquiry later today. Tudehope, who has stood aside from his shadow cabinet roles during the inquiry, is not named in any allegations and is not accused of any wrongdoing.

His name was mentioned frequently during the first week of hearings. Reformers Jean-Claude Perrottet and Christian Ellis worked as staffers in Tudehope’s office, and Tudehope gave frequent talks at Reformers recruitment events. His former business partner Michael O’Hara, who is alleged to have made illegal donations, was the inquiry’s first witness. O’Hara disputed whether his payments to the Reformers counted as political donations.

Jean-Claude Perrottet has previously denied any wrongdoing.

A Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s gambling laws has heard allegations that betting companies and casinos are providing big spending punters with drugs, free accommodation and escorts.

Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello told Monday’s hearing he was preparing to give a character reference to a man being detained in Sydney’s Silverwater prison, who was allegedly targeted by promoters.

The man is preparing to plead guilty to charges over theft of more than $12m, Costello said.

Costello alleged to the hearing that gambling companies including TAB and Sportsbet offered the man drugs, escorts, and free accommodation.

\n He was given free accommodation at Star Casino. He had to leave each week so they could technically say he wasn’t living there and come back the next morning.\n He was the TAB’s biggest customer in that time. They were giving him $50,000 bonus bets. He was also Sportsbet’s biggest customer.\n They were flying him to grand finals. They were offering him escorts, drugs, whatever he wanted. He was doing turnover of more than $20m a month.\n He is very distressed, having been brought up in a church family, about the disgrace to his family and to himself, and that’s why he’ll be pleading guilty.\n

Laurie Daley has ended months of speculation by officially quitting his role as NSW State of Origin coach, AAP reports.

The NSWRL on Monday paid tribute to “true blue” Daley while announcing he would be stepping down after NSW successfully won back the shield from Queensland following a turbulent 2026 campaign.

The Blues claimed the series 2-1 after becoming only the fourth team in Origin history to win a decider at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

NSWRL chief executive David Trodden said:

\n NSWRL owes a massive debt of gratitude to Laurie for the service he has given to his state as both a player and a coach.\n He has also led NSW to arguably two of the greatest Origin series wins of all time as a coach, after ending Queensland’s eight-year winning streak in 2014 and overcoming adversity to steer the Blues home in 2026.\n Those wins transcended football. They lifted and reinvigorated the whole state. He deserves to leave the NSW Origin arena as the hero that he is.\n

McDermott Aviation, the company that owns the two firefighting helicopters that collided in Greece, released a statement this morning saying it was deeply saddened by the accident.

John McDermott, the founder and president of the company, said in a statement:

\n We are deeply saddened to confirm that the two crew members aboard one of the helicopters have lost their lives. The two crew members from the second helicopter are in the care of medical professionals.\n Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families, friends and colleagues of those affected by this tragic incident. Both crews were undertaking the critical work of supporting firefighting operations to help protect communities.\n McDermott Aviation is working closely with the relevant authorities and will continue to assist as they undertake their investigation into the incident.\n

The government has released new details of its news bargaining incentive legislation, with LinkedIn no longer exempt from the agreement – which will force platforms to pay for news content.

The platforms – Google, Meta, TikTok and now LinkedIn – will have to make deals with at least six media organisations (an increase from four under the draft legislation) or pay 2.5% of their digital revenue made in Australia.

The government has announced the changes after consultations with industry.

The charge rate for companies that don’t sign deals has increased, from 2.25% to 2.5% of their digital advertising revenue. The government has changed the rules from the platforms having to pay a percentage of their total revenue made in Australia to just digital advertising revenue.

It means revenue from the phones Google sells, for example, will be exempt from the news bargaining incentive payments – since that doesn’t count as digital revenue.

Guardian Australia revealed last month that Microsoft had lobbied the government in March 2025 to keep LinkedIn and Bing exempt from the new rules. Bing still won’t be liable to pay the incentive, because its digital advertising revenue in Australia is under the $250m threshold.

In a statement, the minister for financial services, Daniel Mulino said the changes “do not alter the intent of the legislation and remain true to the policy rationale”.

\n We want digital platforms to do deals with a diverse range of media organisations and have shown good faith with both the platforms and media companies during the consultation process.\n

Good morning, and happy Monday. Nick Visser here to get the week’s news going. Here’s what’s on deck:

The high-profile trial of former broadcaster Alan Jones for indecent assault and sexual touching charges begins today in Sydney.

LinkedIn has been pulled into the government’s news bargaining incentive legislation and will no longer be exempt from the agreement. The announcement comes after consultation with the industry, with the government saying the changes “remain true to the policy rationale”.

The treasurer Jim Chalmers, has issued a warning to service stations amid ongoing tension in the Middle East, saying he will be watching them “like a hawk”. The fuel excise cut has now come off but it is expected to take a few days for the changes to flow through to the bowser.

Stick with us.

Key events

• 11h agoWhat we learned – Monday 3 August
• 11h agoHunter Valley mine pauses operations after worker dies in ‘equipment incident’
• 11h agoSA minister concerned about bird flu case in Coorong – a 'safe haven' for water birds
• 14h agoAerial surveillance has detected a suspected H5 bird flu mortality event in Victoria
• 14h ago‘Holding public figures to account is the role of a free press,’ Guardian Australia says after blockage from One Nation press conference
• 14h agoHanson-Young brands Pauline Hanson ‘coward’ for barring media from presser
• 15h agoCSIRO confirms first mass mortality event from H5 bird flu
• 15h agoTwo people taken to hospital after building collapse in Sydney
• 16h agoHanson bars ABC, the Age and Guardian from press conference
• 16h agoNSW’s new toll deal to cost taxpayers now, but not the toll company
• 17h agoReformers member may have allegedly tried to ‘hit up’ MPs for public money, inquiry hears
• 17h agoPetrol prices push above $2 a litre as excise discount ends
• 18h agoSydney road tolls to fall under state government deal
• 18h agoNSW Icac’s Operation Rosny hearings resume
• 19h agoParliamentary inquiry told gambling companies provided drugs to big spending punters
• 19h agoLaurie Daley steps down as Blues coach
• 20h agoHelicopter company ‘deeply saddened’ after fatal accident in Greece
• 21h agoLinkedIn dragged into news bargaining incentive legislation, despite lobbying from Microsoft
• 21h agoGood morning

What we learned – Monday 3 August

That’s where we’ll leave our live news coverage.

Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:

• The government has released new details of its news bargaining incentive legislation, after consultations with industry.
• The high-profile trial of former broadcaster Alan Jones for indecent assault and sexual touching charges began today in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court and is expected to run for four months and hear from 76 witnesses.
• Laurie Daley has ended months of speculation by officially quitting his role as NSW State of Origin coach.
• A Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s gambling laws has heard allegations that betting companies and casinos are providing big spending punters with drugs, free accommodation and escorts.
• Tolls are set to fall on some Sydney motorways after the operator Transurban reached a long-awaited deal with the NSW government.
• Pauline Hanson held a press conference in Melbourne where reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were barred from attending.
• Two people are being treated for leg and neck injuries after a partial collapse of a seven-metre-high building in inner Sydney, according to Fire and Rescue NSW.
• Tests by the CSIRO have confirmed Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly H5 bird flu and the environment minister, Murray Watt, has warned more mass wildlife deaths will occur as the disease continues to spread. There has also been a suspected H5 bird flu mortality event in Victoria.

Thanks for joining us, see you tomorrow morning!

Hunter Valley mine pauses operations after worker dies in ‘equipment incident’

A mining site in New South Wales’s Hunter Vally has paused operations after a worker died on Monday after “a mobile equipment incident”.

The death happened at the United Wambo Open Cut mine, about 16 km west of Singleton, owned by mining companies Glencore and Peabody.

Glencore said emergency services and police are onsite, and mining operations have been suspended.

In a statement, CEO of Glencore’s Australian operations Peter Sharpe said:

double quotation markOur sincere condolences go out to the worker’s family, friends and colleagues. This is tragic news for our entire workforce. Our immediate focus is on providing support to the worker’s family and our employees.

In a statement, NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said:

double quotation markThis tragedy highlights the hazards faced by those working in our industry and is a sombre reminder of why the safety of our workforce must always be our number one priority.

Josh Butler

Former ACCC chair has ‘real concern’ over news bargaining scheme

The former competition watchdog boss Rod Sims says the government has a “lack of ambition” on the news bargaining incentive, raising concerns that many smaller publishers will miss out on deals and that not enough money will be raised from the big tech companies.

Sims, a former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said there were positives in Labor’s latest plan, including making progress on the framework after it had appeared stalled, and changes to include LinkedIn – which had previously been carved out from the plan that includes TikTok, Google and Meta platforms.

But Sims says the government should be looking to raise higher sums than it has outlined.

The assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino said today that the NBI “should see benefit to the media in the order of $200 million to $250 million” – but Sims said that was similar to what the former news bargaining code raised five years ago from only two companies at the time (Google and Facebook).

Sims said the government should be aiming higher than that, more in the realm of $300m plus, with more companies included and inflation added.

Sims said:

double quotation markThere’s a lack of ambition, and simple arithmetic here.

Rod Sims at the National Press Club in 2024. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Sims also worried that many outlets would miss out on benefit, with big tech companies only obligated to make six deals minimum. He said.

double quotation markIt just means not everybody will get a deal, in fact most won’t … some outlets in public interest journalism won’t get some. That’s a real concern.

Another former ACCC chair, Alan Fels, gave similar feedback. He said it was positive the government was making progress, but worried the scheme didn’t go far enough to “extract more from the platforms” for Australian journalism.

A Microsoft spokesperson, responding to the inclusion of their service LinkedIn in the NBI, said the company “shares the Government’s objective of promoting a sustainable Australian news ecosystem” and said it would continue “constructive engagement with Government, publishers and industry stakeholders to support high-quality journalism, innovation and economic growth.”

Petra Stock

Little penguins among species at risk from H5 bird flu, says Victorian biodiversity chief

In an update on Victoria’s H5 bird flu situation, the state’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said the little penguins at Phillip Island and St Kilda were among the species considered at risk from the deadly virus.

He said the state government was working with Phillip Island Nature Park and Zoos Victoria on the potential for vaccination in little penguins and in captive threatened species held by Zoos Victoria.

double quotation markObviously one of the challenges around vaccines is that you need to be able to administer more than one dose, that’s largely impractical for wild populations. But we’re working with Phillip Island Nature Park in relation to penguins and also Zoos Victoria in relation to a range of threatened species.

A little penguin. Photograph: ozflash/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The state’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said aerial and ground surveillance in the south-west of the state – around Portland and Nelson – showed “clear evolution of a form of cluster that is entirely consistent with what has happened in South Australia”.

double quotation markLast week we talked about individual detections; the first cases of the H5 bird flu in Victoria. We are now seeing a change as the disease spreads out and has further impacts.

Aerial surveillance in the south-west since 14 July showed a “clear increase in the number of dead terns” along the coast, he said. However, access to some areas, such as Lawrence Rocks, was limited by large swells. The area is home to an important breeding colony of Australasian gannets, seal colonies as well as the Glenelg Estuary and Discovery Bay, an internationally significant wetland site.

SA minister concerned about bird flu case in Coorong – a 'safe haven' for water birds

Lisa Cox

South Australia’s environment minister says she is concerned about a confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a petrel found in the Coorong, one of several new locations where the deadly disease has been detected in the state.

The migratory petrel is one of 18 confirmed new cases in SA. The new cases include a silver gull in Glenelg, two greater crested terns at Troubridge Island, a silver gull at Southend, a greater crested tern at Monarto and six greater crested terns on Pages Islands.

Five greater crested terns and a silver gull at Baudin Rocks also returned positive results. Those birds were a sample from about 50 dead and 30 sick birds found by aerial surveillance at Baudin Rocks in what has been confirmed as Australia’s first H5 mass mortality event.

The Coorong is a large area that is home to internationally significant wetlands that support populations of waterbirds and migratory species.

SA environment minister Emily Bourke said:

double quotation markThat confirmed location is of concern because it is where waterbirds are also located. So it’s going from seabirds, but also potentially now into where we know a lot of water birds are nesting and using this space as a safe haven.

Birds at sunrise in the Coorong near the mouth of the Murray River. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Media freedom alliance condemns Pauline Hanson’s press conference bans

The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom has condemned One Nation’s Pauline Hanson for barring the Guardian, the Age and the ABC from a press conference today.

Executive director Peter Greste said “no political party should have the right to pick and choose the news outlets who ask them questions”.

In a statement, he said:

double quotation markOne of the strengths of our democracy is the ability of all journalists to robustly interrogate politicians on behalf of the people who hire them – the voters. It isn’t always comfortable, but that freedom is one of the reasons our political system is one of the world’s most stable and effective. By locking out the ABC, The Age and The Guardian, One Nation is directly weakening our democratic system.

Two men sustain neck and leg injuries after building collapse in Sydney

Two people are being treated for leg and neck injuries after a partial collapse of a seven-metre-high building in inner Sydney, according to Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW).

FRNSW said emergency services responded to the incident around 11am on Wattle Street in Ultimo, where a total of seven people were assessed by paramedics.

Ambulance NSW say the two men, both in their 60s, were taken to Royal Prince Alfred hospital and St Vincent’s hospital, where they are now in stable conditions.

The collapsed building in Ultimo on Monday. Photograph: Damian Shaw/AAP

Earlier we incorrectly reported that one of the men was in his 30s.

FRNSW said the wall collapsed on to an adjoining service station, where debris damaged several parked cars.

Emergency crews at the scene in Ultimo. Photograph: Damian Shaw/AAP

The service station remains closed as a precaution, and its employees have been evacuated. Some neighbouring buildings have also been cleared.

Read more:

Josh Butler

News Corp claims media bargaining changes ‘gut’ scheme

The government’s changes to the News Bargaining Incentive have also not impressed News Corp, with the publisher claiming the updates would harm Australian media outlets.

News Corp’s Australian chair, Michael Miller, was unhappy with the changes to settings which would see narrow the charge base of how the fee is calculated on big tech companies, but increase the rate of charge. He said:

double quotation markThese changes gut the incentive for tech platforms to strike fair deals with Australian media, right when those rules need strengthening, not softening. On an already uneven playing field, getting this wrong won’t just hurt Australian media. It will erode the quality and independence of news every Australian relies on. Tech giants cannot keep dodging their obligations. Australia deserves full revenue transparency, backed by severe, non-negotiable penalties for any platform that flouts local law.

Josh Butler

News code changes will ‘short-change’ Australian media, Coalition says

The Coalition claims Australian journalists will be “dudded” by the government’s changes to the News Bargaining Incentive, and that the new framework will not collect enough money from big tech platforms.

Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson and shadow assistant treasurer Kevin Hogan have released a statement on today’s announcement, calling it “a concerning free kick to the multinational tech giants at the expense of Australian news outlets” and raising concerns it would lead to “dramatically short-changing Australian media companies.” They said:

double quotation markWhile the government has increased the charge rate to 2.5 per cent, it is estimated this about-face will mean billions of dollars of revenues earned by the tech giants will not be included in the scheme.

Henderson accused Labor of letting big tech “off the hook” with the changes. She said:

double quotation markNot only will Labor’s scheme mean less money for Australian journalism, the government is now doing even less to encourage commercial deals with big tech which is extremely disappointing. Labor’s dithering and delay on a promised replacement scheme has left tech giants unaccountable for their use of Australian copyrighted news content, while newsrooms and regional newspapers face uncertainty about their future.

Hogan said the Coalition welcomed the inclusion of LinkedIn in the scheme – which had previously been given a carveout under the draft framework.

Penry Buckley

NSW Icac hears of potentially illegal meetings between Reformers after summons

The NSW Icac has adjourned early for the rest of the day. Not long before lunch, Reformers witness Robert Assaf admitted to having three meetings with another person named in allegations, Jeremy Greenwood, after receiving a summons to appear at a private hearing before the inquiry this year.

Under section 114 of NSW’s Icac Act, it can be a criminal offence if a person discloses any information about a summons from the watchdog “that is likely to prejudice the investigation to which it relates”, punishable by up to 12 months imprisonment.

Asked about meetings at a cafe in Belfield and another on the Cooks river track in Sydney, Assaf admitted the men left their phones and laptops in Greenwood’s car before going for a walk so their conversations could not be traced.

Assaf said during the meetings they discussed the nature of evidence they would give to Icac, including potential vulnerabilities for the group at the inquiry.

Counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC, asked: “Did you understand at that point in time, given what you were told when you received the summons, that it was important not to discuss your evidence?”

Assaf, who has described being stressed and nervous after receiving communication from Icac, admitted that he did.

The inquiry will return tomorrow with the NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, and businessman Frits Maré expected to give evidence first.

Nick Visser

That’s all for me. Achol Arok will take things from here, take care.

Garma festival 2026 in pictures

The theme of the 26th Garma festival was Bukmak, meaning all of us, everyone together in Yolngu language. The four-day gathering at the Gulkula ceremonial grounds in Arnhem Land is the largest First Nations cultural event in Australia.

See more here:

Members of the Gumatj clan take part in the bunggal. Photograph: James Ross/EPA

Russell Gurruwiwi of the Gumatj clan before the bunggal. Photograph: James Ross/EPA

Lena Gurruwiwi of the Galpu clan paints a yidaki. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Aerial surveillance has detected a suspected H5 bird flu mortality event in Victoria

Lisa Cox

The Victorian government said a cluster of dead and sick greater crested terns had been identified through aerial surveillance in the Glenelg River estuary near Nelson and across Lawrence Rocks over the weekend.

The government has not yet provided the number of birds observed but state authorities will speak to media later this afternoon.

Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said the observations were consistent with what was recently reported in South Australia, where mass deaths of crested terns at Baudin Rocks were confirmed earlier today as Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly disease.

Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said investigations were under way to better understand the progression of the virus in wildlife.

double quotation markThis event is consistent with the type of wildlife impacts we have been preparing for as H5 bird flu becomes established in a bird population. Sampling has taken place today, along with further aerial surveillance, to determine any further impacts in other species.

There have so far been seven confirmed positive H5 bird flu cases in Victoria in crested terns, five in Portland and two in Nelson.

‘Holding public figures to account is the role of a free press,’ Guardian Australia says after blockage from One Nation press conference

Guardian Australia has released a statement after being barred from Pauline Hanson’s press conference earlier today.

As reported earlier, reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of a press conference to announced One Nation’s Victorian state election candidates.

A Guardian spokesperson says:

double quotation markHolding public figures to account is the role of a free press and an essential part of the democratic process. It is disappointing that One Nation continues to prevent the Guardian and other news outlets from reporting on its press conferences. Our journalists should be able to ask questions in the public interest and not be deterred from doing their job. The Guardian has published important public interest journalism on Pauline Hanson and One Nation and stands by the rigour of its work.