Australia news live: Palestinian group welcomes change to Jerusalem status; PM pledges to accelerate Marinus Link

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network welcomes policy shift on West Jerusalem

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has welcomed the Albanese government’s decision to reverse their recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

It said the original decision – made by the former prime minister Scott Morrison in 2018 – was a “flawed political stunt” and “should never have happened in the first place”.

APAN’s vice-president, Nasser Mashni, said the previous government’s decision “completely undermined efforts for Palestinian self-determination, and showed the previous government wasn’t interested in a peaceful resolution”.

In a statement issued today, Mashni said:

This reversal brings Australia back into the international consensus – Australia must not pre-empt the final status of Jerusalem.

Israel asserts that the entire city is exclusively theirs, denying Palestinian connection to their ancient spiritual, cultural and economic capital.

For fifty years, the international community was united in rejecting Israel’s unilateral claim – until former president Trump and then our own former prime minster …

We thank the current Australian government for differentiating itself from the dangerous political posturing of the previous government.

Updated at 23.58 EDT

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Treasurer says effect of floods on cost of living will ‘make things a bit tougher for people’

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is on the ABC this afternoon, and says the government is still “working through” how the current floods will affect the economy in the coming months.

Chalmers was asked if he had any sense as to how the floods in Tasmania and Victoria will affect cost of living. He said things will get “a bit tougher for people”:

We are seeing this primarily with what happens in flood-affected areas, focused mainly on the human consequences which the prime minister said.

We are working through now. Clearly one of the ways most Australians will feel the impact of these natural disasters is in the supermarket aisles. We’ve seen this before, unfortunately. Flooding is becoming a more and more regular occurrence in this country and we’ve seen before what it means for fresh produce, what it means for fresh food, what means for meat and other groceries – so we can expect to see that again.

We are really, as we speak, working through trying to get our best understanding of what it means for inflation. Australians are already under the pump and this will make things a bit tougher for people. There’s no use pretending otherwise.

Updated at 01.16 EDT

Lidia Thorpe praises athletes standing against fossil fuel sponsorships

The Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has thrown her support behind athletes who’ve recently stood against sponsorships with fossil fuel companies.

In a statement, Thorpe name-checks Australian test captain Pat Cummins, netballer Donnell Wallam and former AFL player Dale Kickett for their protests against taking sponsorships from fossil fuel companies.

This was most recently highlighted by the players taking issue with Netball Australia for their new sponsorship deal with mining giant Hancock Prospering.

Thorpe congratulated the players for taking the stand:

This country loves sport. Our athletes are our children’s role models, and we’re seeing a broad spectrum of athletes, fans and community leaders taking action for climate justice. This shows the next generation what good leadership looks like, in caring for our country and community.

We can’t keep enabling greenwashing through fossil fuel sponsorship of sports teams when our country is dying. Increasingly frequent extreme weather events, fires, floods and crop failures show how urgent climate action is. These athletes are using their influence for positive change and that should be commended.

Updated at 01.04 EDT

Watch: Did a whale penis wash up on a Queensland beach?

So, in a bit of a change of pace, we asked and got answers to a very important question: did a whale penis wash up on to a Queensland beach?

If you haven’t seen that viral TikTok and have no idea what this is about, you better strap in:

Did a whale penis wash up on a Queensland beach? – video

Updated at 00.49 EDT

Zoe Daniel echoes Allegra Spender’s criticisms of government’s West Jerusalem decision

The independent MP Zoe Daniel has echoed fellow teal MP Allegra Spender in criticising the government for the way it announced it won’t be recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Daniel, who represents the Melbourne seat of Goldstein, said the government behaved in an “offensive and inappropriate way” by making the announcement on a Jewish holiday:

Australia’s emphasis must be on supporting a two-state solution under which the Israeli and Palestinian people co-exist within secure and peaceful borders.

Suddenly reversing Australia’s position in such an ill-considered way does nothing to advance that policy.

The way in which that decision has been reversed by Labor has shown disrespect to an ally, and without consultation with our Jewish communities. Making such an announcement on a holy day was offensive and inappropriate.

Updated at 00.36 EDT

Thanks Natasha. Good afternoon, Mostafa Rachwani with you for the rest of the day, with much still to get through.

Updated at 00.12 EDT

Thanks for your attention today. You’re now in the excellent hands of Mostafa Rachwani.

See you tomorrow!

Tasmanians on alert for developing rain: SES

Tasmania State Emergency Service (SES) is recommending the community prepare and be aware of forecast rain over coming days.

While flooding in northern Tasmania is continuing to ease from last week, Tasmania SES acting director, Leon Smith, said:

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast wet conditions developing later this week into next, and I recommend everyone be aware of the forecast and prepare accordingly.

Rain is forecast in the northern half of the state on Friday, with showers and possible thunderstorms forecast across the eastern half of the state on Saturday.

Smith said:

With soils and river catchments still saturated from last week, further rainfall may lead to renewed levels of flooding in some areas.

While winds are forecast to be below damaging level, with soils saturated, trees are more likely to fall due to the effect of high winds.

I encourage the community to keep up to date with the weather warnings and utilise resources on the SES website to plan to make decisions safely.

In addition, TasALERT is the single point of truth in regard to warnings relative to the actual conditions on the ground and Tasmanians are urged to make themselves familiar with the TasALERT site.

Updated at 00.05 EDT

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network welcomes policy shift on West Jerusalem

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has welcomed the Albanese government’s decision to reverse their recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

It said the original decision – made by the former prime minister Scott Morrison in 2018 – was a “flawed political stunt” and “should never have happened in the first place”.

APAN’s vice-president, Nasser Mashni, said the previous government’s decision “completely undermined efforts for Palestinian self-determination, and showed the previous government wasn’t interested in a peaceful resolution”.

In a statement issued today, Mashni said:

This reversal brings Australia back into the international consensus – Australia must not pre-empt the final status of Jerusalem.

Israel asserts that the entire city is exclusively theirs, denying Palestinian connection to their ancient spiritual, cultural and economic capital.

For fifty years, the international community was united in rejecting Israel’s unilateral claim – until former president Trump and then our own former prime minster …

We thank the current Australian government for differentiating itself from the dangerous political posturing of the previous government.

Updated at 23.58 EDT

Federal and Victorian governments commit $150m in joint funding for flood clean-up

Victorians whose homes and businesses have been damaged in the floods can receive clean up assistance at no cost.

The Australian and Victorian governments have announced joint funding through the commonwealth-state disaster recovery funding with an initial investment of $150m to prioritise hazard assessments.

Registration is now open for the first phase of the jointly funded clean-up program to be coordinated by Emergency Recovery Victoria, with additional support from the Australian defence force.

ERV will work with local contractors to demolish, remove and dispose of structures that were destroyed or damaged beyond repair by the floods. They will also remove hazards and debris that pose a threat to property or work crews.

About 50,000 homes, 14 hospitals and 300 schools and early childhood facilities have been identified within flood-affected areas in Victoria to date, with numbers expected to grow even higher as water levels travel downstream in the coming days.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said:

The first step in rebuilding is ensuring properties are made safe, and hazardous debris isn’t putting families at risk – it’s an enormous job but we’ll be there with Victorians every step of the way.

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said arrangements would help lessen the stress of those affected by the floods.

We’re ensuring Victorians can begin what will be a long road ahead with our full support – but without the expense and stress of having to navigate that initial clean-up on their own.

Updated at 23.53 EDT

Opposition criticises Labor’s reversal on recognising West Jerusalem as Israeli capital

The shadow foreign minister, Simon Birmingham, has told ABC News the government has damaged its relationship with Israel, following the Albanese government’s decision to no longer recognise West Jerusalem as the capital.

President Biden has not overturned the decision that was made around the same time. The substance of this issue, and in the substantive sense, West Jerusalem under essentially all propositions for peace and a two-state solution, remains part of Israel. It’s essentially the functioning capital for much of the Israeli government.

When the decision was made, it was very clear that from Australia’s perspective, East Jerusalem needed to be negotiated in terms of its status as part of a final two-state solution and that is what we continue to aspire to see.

But then there is the fact that this has been handled in such a poor and shambolic way in which Australian voters who were misled prior to the last election, in which Jewish and Israeli community groups, were not consulted properly.

The Israeli government was not consulted or informed properly. And the announcement was made at a sensitive time, both on the Jewish calendar as well as in the timing of the Israeli elections, and the government really does now need to put effort and work into seeking to repair a damaged relationship with the Israeli government.

Updated at 23.43 EDT

Rochester residents warned to move to higher ground

Updated at 23.25 EDT

Federal support for live music to help festivals

The minister for the arts, Tony Burke, has announced that the next round of federal support for live music in Australia will be dedicated to helping music festivals, amid a marked increase in festivals being cancelled due to logistical and climate-related complications.

The first four rounds of funding in the $20m Live Music Australia program were previously open to small to medium music venues around the country, to help them both during and after Covid restrictions were lifted.

Today, Burke announced that round five, worth $2.5m, will be aimed at “assist[ing] with the rising costs of organising and hosting music festivals”.

Music festivals will be able to apply for up to $100,000, and they will be required to demonstrate their primary focus is live music and a commitment to programming Australian acts.

Several Australian music festivals have been postponed or cancelled, citing logistical challenges and waterlogged sites in a very wet year. The first day of NSW festival Splendour in the Grass was called off due to flooding, while more recently, Strawberry Fields, Sunset Sounds, This That festival, Yours and Owls and Jungle Love are among those cancelled due to weather.

Full Tilt and Flow festival were also cancelled, with organisers citing supply chain issues.

In Victoria, Grapevine Gathering festival in the Yarra Valley was cancelled due to flooding two weeks ago.

The devastation of festival sites has followed years of Covid-19 restrictions that prevented them from being held.

Burke said:

I love music festivals. I’ve been visiting them for years and I want to see them pumping out great live music as soon as possible.

The next round, which will open in early 2023, will be targeted at live music venues again.

Updated at 23.20 EDT