Australia live news: Vatican mass for George Pell; Perrottet battles internal enemies

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‘A matter for him’: Albanese on NSW premier’s Nazi uniform admission

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has responded to the admission of the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, that he wore a Nazi uniform to his 21st birthday party.

At a press conference just finished in Townsville, Albanese said had been in PNG but had seen the statements from the NSW premier.

I have observed his statements. That’s a matter for him, and then for others who’ll make judgments based upon the premier’s explanation.

Updated at 19.22 EST

New technique reveals otherwise invisible fingerprints on banknotes

Federal police are using a new forensic technique to reveal otherwise invisible fingerprints on banknotes, allowing them to make breakthroughs in a number of major operations.

The Australian Federal Police says it is using a technique known as vacuum metal deposition (VMD) at its Canberra-based forensics lab. The technique uses the thermal evaporation of metals, typically gold, zinc, or silver, inside a chamber.

The process causes the metals to form thin films and develop invisible fingerprints, which can then be analysed by forensics experts.

AFP forensic coordinator Dr Nathan Scudder said the technique has allowed for breakthroughs in operation ironside, allowing for arrests to be made following 20 seizures of proceeds of crime money. Scudder:

These banknotes were sent to our Majura Forensic Facility to undergo specialist fingerprint development in a purpose built machine.

This is an extremely powerful and sensitive process where precious metals such as gold can actually enhance the fingerprints of individuals that have touched the exhibits, such as banknotes.

Suddenly evidence that was not visible before has been miraculously recovered, thanks to this capability.

George Pell lying in state in Vatican church

The body of Cardinal George Pell is lying in state in a dark brown coffin on the floor of the small Church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians in Vatican city.

Early on Friday in the Vatican, Reuters reports about 20 people were seen kneeling in prayer in the church when it opened for 10 hours of lying in state. Parts of the church date back to the fifth century.

Reuters reports the preparations for a funeral mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican – scheduled for 9.30pm AEDT today – have been overshadowed by revelations Pell was the author of an anonymous memo that branded the papacy of Pope Francis a catastrophe.

Pope Francis praised Pell for his “determination and wisdom” earlier this week, before news broke of the anonymous memo.

Pell’s coffin is just metres away from the Pope’s Santa Marta residence. Pell’s funeral mass will take place across the road from the church.

Plunging in to sewage diving: Australians reveal their weird careers

What’s the weirdest job you’ve ever had? Besides, say, being a journalist?

Fancy plunging in to a career as a sewage diver? How about leaping in to a vocation as a frog sniffer? Have you got your eye on being an ocularist making prosthetic eyeballs? Or maybe trying your hand at hand modelling?

Donna Lu has asked five Australians about their odd careers.

Mal Venturoni, Managing Director of Professional Diving Services Australia. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

Updated at 18.08 EST

Rental crisis hits asylum seekers

My colleague Stephanie Convery writes how the rental crisis is hitting asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers in Australia are increasingly at risk of homelessness as the rental crisis continues to bite, with more than 70% of people who turn up to a leading asylum seeker support charity in housing distress unable to be placed in accommodation.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre has shifted resources since the pandemic to provide emergency accommodation for asylum seekers who are sleeping rough or at immediate risk of homelessness.

But right now, only 40 of the 150 or so people turning up to the centre for support can be accommodated.

Kanye West “marries” Australian designer: reports

The world’s tabloid online media is awash this morning with reports of an apparent “marriage” between controversial rapper Kanye West – now known as Ye – and Australian designer Bianca Censori.

In recent months Ye has unloaded a flurry of anti-semitic remarks, taken to praising Adolf Hitler and posting an image of a swastika inside a Star of David on his Twitter account – the latter getting him thrown off that social media site.

In case you don’t want to quickly rush away to search for all the news, photographers have reportedly seen the pair wearing wedding rings and they went on a holiday to a “posh Utah resort” which is being reported as a honeymoon.

TMZ reports that: “Despite the wedding ceremony, the union isn’t legal because the pair do not appear to have filed a marriage certificate.”

Elle reports Censori works as a designed at Ye’s company Yeezy.

All this comes after Ye and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian reached a divorce settlement last November.

Kanye West Photograph: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Updated at 17.39 EST

Morning. Graham Readfearn with you now. Thanks to Martin Farrer for covering the first hour of the day.

Vatican mass for deceased George Pell late on Saturday

The Vatican mass for George Pell will be held at 11.30am local time in Rome today, which is 9.30pm AEDT today.

The mass will be held at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the same church where the funeral for former pope Benedict was held last week, Australian Associated Press reports.

Pope Francis will give a final commendation for Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, who died in Rome this week aged 81.

Mourners gathered in St Peter’s square for the funeral of the Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on 5 January. Photograph: Valeria Ferraro/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

In keeping with tradition for deceased cardinals, the mass will be said by the dean of the College of Cardinals, Italian Giovanni Battista Re, and the Pope will give the final blessing and commendation.

The cardinal will also be remembered in a funeral at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, before being interred at St Mary’s crypt, but no date has been set.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and Victoria’s Daniel Andrews ruled out holding state services for the former archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney.

Andrews said on Thursday a state funeral or memorial would be distressing for victim-survivors, but the cardinal’s legacy would be for others to judge.

North Queensland on flood alert

After a week that saw devastating floods in Western Australia, Queensland’s north coast is on alert for potentially life-threatening flash flooding as a monsoon trough brings severe thunderstorms and intense downpours to the region.

The Bureau of Meteorology says six-hour rainfall totals between 100 and 180 mm are likely and isolated 24-hour totals of more than 300mm possible along a 450km stretch of coast between Innisfail and Bowen and inland areas on Saturday and into Sunday, Australian Associated Press reports.

It has issued flood watch notifications for Charters Towers, Bowen, Townsville, Palm Island, Ingham, Innisfail, Ayr, Cardwell, Giru, Abergowrie, Clare and Lucinda. The bureau said:

Locally intense rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is also possible over small portions of the warning area during this period.

A vast swathe of inland central and northern Queensland could also see moderate to major flooding with 17 catchments placed on flood watch.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services warned residents to keep up to date with warnings and alerts and not to attempt to drive through floodwaters.

Police echoed the caution as the “extraordinary weather” set in over the next several days. In a statement they said:

Trying to navigate these hazards, either in vehicles or on foot, can be treacherous, as water levels rise and fall quickly and very often with little or no warning.”

Emergency services are struggling to comprehend why some motorists ignore notice signs and warnings that are erected on flooded roads.

Updated at 16.48 EST

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage this Saturday morning. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll get you started with the top stories overnight before my colleague Graham Readfearn takes the wheel.

The travails of New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet continue to dominate the headlines with the focus really now not so much on his donning of the Nazi uniform but who within the Liberal party wanted to use the revelation to damage him. Our state political reporters Michael McGowan and Tamsin Rose report that one insider says it’s a bit like the film Knives Out – “there are about 20 people who it could’ve been and they all had a motive”. Ouch.

The other big story of the week was the death of George Pell and, as the Vatican prepares to honour him later today with a funeral mass at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, we look at the cardinal’s significant political legacy. Pell forged strong links with conservative politicians such as John Howard and Tony Abbott, writes our reporter Christopher Knaus, and “was afforded a degree of power and influence few other religious leaders could boast”.

It’s been another lively night in America with Donald Trump’s business empire, the Trump Organization, sentenced in a New York court to the maximum allowable fine of $1.6m for a tax fraud scheme going back at least 10 years.

One of our Washington reporters, Chris Stein, says that although the fine itself is relatively small for a huge business, the symbolism of a criminal conviction for an entity so close to the former president is significant.

Updated at 16.40 EST