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Commercial contractor to complete Taipan recovery operation
The department of defence has provided an update on the recovery operation of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter which killed four army airmen last month.
In a statement, the department said a commercial contractor will be hired to finalise the recovery operation.
From left: Warrant Officer Class 2 Joseph “Phil” Laycock, Corporal Alexander Naggs, Troop Commander Captain Daniel Lyon and Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent were all killed during the incident.
The contractor is expected to begin work from about August 22.
“The recovery operation has been conducted in an exceptionally challenging environment and has reached the point of requiring specialist equipment not available within the Australian Defence Force,” the department said.
The department said so far, divers have managed to recover items including “personal effects and wreckage” from the aircraft as well as voice and flight data recorder.
Private jet crash kills ten in Malaysia
A small private jet crashed into a motorbike and a car while attempting to land at an airport on the outskirts of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, leaving at least 10 people dead, officials said on Thursday.
The light private business jet, was carrying six passengers and two crew when it crashed near Elmina township at 2.08pm, just before it was due to land, Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan told reporters.
Members of the fire and rescue department inspect the crash site.Credit: Reuters
The Beechcraft jet lost contact with the air traffic control tower and crashed into a motorbike and a car on the highway, he said.
“There was no emergency call, the aircraft had been given clearance to land,” Hussein Omar said.
On Friday, the national Bernama news agency quoted witnesses as saying the airplane exploded upon impact.
You can read more on the incident here.
Labor stays the course over Palestine recognition
Labor is facing calls for the recognition of Palestine to become a priority for the government after including a commitment to statehood in their party’s policy platform.
No timeline has been attached to implement the policy, with some pro-Palestinian Labor delegates pushing to have it expedited.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the Australian Labor Party (ALP) National Conference in Brisbane on Friday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
But pro-Israel elements of the party threatened to try and strip the policy from the platform if the other side attempted to alter it at the national conference in Brisbane.
No amendments were moved and the same wording remains in the policy platform with no timeline attached.
Labor MP Susan Templeman spoke in favour of recognition at Labor’s national conference on Friday, saying the actions of Israel’s extreme right-wing government were “deeply concerning”.
The three-day national conference continues until Saturday.
“The extreme right-wing policies of the Netanyahu government that speed up the expansion of settlements are a serious impediment to the two-state solution that we are all committed to,” Templeman told Labor’s national conference on Friday.
She said she supported “the call our platform makes for the recognition of Palestine as an issue of priority” as Palestinians suffered inequality at the hands of Israeli settlements.
It comes after Foreign Minister Penny Wong strengthened Australia’s objection to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and expressed concerns about what they would mean for peace in the region.
AAP
Rescued Australian surfers begin journey home
By Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies
The Australian surfers rescued at sea in the Banyak Islands are on their way back home after the misadventure of a lifetime, leaving their private island beach retreat on Friday.
Elliot Foote, Steph Weisse, Jordan Short and Will Teagle and the rest of the party of 12 friends on holiday in Indonesia left the remote Pinang Island on the catamaran of Australian skipper Grant Richardson, one of the boatmen involved in the search for them this week.
They travelled to Nias, a three to four-hour journey by sea, the same one they endeavoured to make last Sunday when one of the two boats they were travelling in took in water in a storm, forcing the four Australians and three Indonesian crew on board into the ocean.
Steph Weisse, Elliot Foote, Will Teagle and Jordan Short in the video they recorded from the island.
They were greeted by Australian embassy officials and the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas, at the island from where there are direct flights to the city of Medan on Sumatra.
From there they can fly to Jakarta and onwards to Sydney to be reunited with their families.
You can read more about their journey home here.
Women’s World Cup generates $887m in revenue
FIFA president Gianni Infantino says the Women’s World Cup has “broken even” after generating more than $US570 million ($A887 million) in revenue, a statement that will intensify calls for equal prize money.
The current World Cup prize pools sit at $US110m for women and $US440m for men.
Infantino has consistently dismissed calls for a level playing field in terms of payments - including from the Matildas prior to the tournament.
On Friday, he suggested demands for equal prize money were a “slogan” that “would not solve anything”.
But the head of world football’s governing body was happy to talk up the funds brought in by the “best and greatest and biggest Women’s World Cup ever” in Australia and New Zealand.
“Some voices were raised, where it cost too much, we don’t make enough revenues, we will have to subsidise,” Infantino said at the FIFA Women’s Football Convention in Sydney on Friday.
“And our opinion was, ‘Well, if we have to subsidise, we will subsidise’, because we have to do that. But actually, this World Cup generated over $US570m in revenues, and so we broke even.
“This shows what? This shows that our strategy was probably not too bad. That, of course, we have to do still much better.”
AAP
Vietnam veterans honoured during commemorative services
Multiple services have taken place throughout Friday to mark Vietnam Veterans’ Day, with today commemorating 50 years since the end of Australia’s involvement in the conflict.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attended an event in Ipswich in Queensland, while Veterans Minister David Harris was at the Cenotaph in Sydney alongside RSL NSW President and Vietnam veteran Ray James.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton attended an event at Mandurah in Western Australia.
Attending the Canberra event at the Australian Forces National Memorial was Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh and Shadow Veterans’ Minister Barnaby Joyce, who could be seen struggling with a rain poncho as the weather turned sour during the ceremony.
Shadow Veterans’ Affairs Minister Barnaby Joyce. Credit: AAP
With AAP
Maui’s emergency services chief resigns after not activating sirens
The head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency resigned abruptly on Thursday [US time] just a day after saying he had no regret about not using sirens to warn residents of wildfires that devastated the historic seaside community of Lahaina and killed at least 111 people.
That decision from the agency directed by Administrator Herman Andaya, coupled with water shortages that hampered firefighters and an escape route that became clogged with vehicles, has brought intense criticism from many residents.
The aftermath of a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii.Credit: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
The lack of sirens has emerged as a potential misstep, and The Associated Press reported that it was part of a series of communication issues that added to the chaos.
Mayor Richard Bissen accepted Andaya’s resignation effective immediately, the County of Maui announced on Facebook.
Andaya cited unspecified health reasons, with no further details provided.
“Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible,” Bissen said in the statement.
A day earlier, Andaya defended the decision not to sound sirens as the flames raged. Hawaii has what it touts as the largest system of outdoor alert sirens in the world.
Read more on the issue here.
AP
This afternoon’s headlines at a glance
By Caroline Schelle
Thank you for reading our live coverage this morning.
I’m heading off, and my colleague Sarah Keoghan will be anchoring the blog for the rest of the day.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know:
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese intervened in a fierce debate over whether the Labor Party should enshrine support for nuclear-powered submarines in its national platform, delivering an impassioned plea to party members.
- Opposition Leader Peter Dutton believes the unions have too much power over policy for the Labor Party, particularly on national defence.
- Services will mark Vietnam Veterans’ Day today, commemorating 50 years since the end of Australia’s involvement in the conflict.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre) lays a wreath during a service to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War at the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall at Ipswich.Credit: AAP
- Advocates for the so-called progressive No vote on the Voice referendum are putting lives at risk, says a senior figure at the Central Land Council.
- Aluminium giant Alcoa has struck a nine-year deal to secure 50 per cent of the electricity required for its smelter in far south-west Victoria.
- Consumer finance business Latitude Group confirmed the hit to its business from a crippling cyberattack this year as it reported a first-half loss.
- Independent analysis from the Grattan Institute rents could be up to 8 per cent lower, saving renters $32 billion in payments to landlords and real estate agents over the next decade.
‘Watch this space’, the PM says of women’s sport funding after Matildas plea
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked what he was going to do to mark the success of the Matildas, after champion Sam Kerr called for a funding boost for women’s football after their loss to England.
“Watch this space,” he told Sky News this morning.
“We’ve been considering issues of sporting infrastructure and these issues for a long period of time,” he said.
President of FIFA Gianni Infantino, left, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, right, stand ahead of the Women’s World Cup semifinal soccer match between Australia and England.Credit: AP
However, this masthead reported the Albanese government stopped short of promising more money.
In response to questions about whether a funding boost for the Matildas and grassroots soccer was in the works, a federal government spokesperson said: “We want funding to be fit for purpose, so more women and girls can participate and compete in sport at all levels – and we will always look for more ways to do that.”
He also lashed the previous Coalition government for their handling of the women’s sports program, which he said, “undermined what was there”.
“They were in Government for ten years, the one specific program they had was rorted and was a debacle.”
This week Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pledged $250 million to support grassroots sport, and improve facilities for girls and women.
PM will respect outcome on Voice referendum
Turning now to the Voice to parliament, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will “respect the outcome” of the referendum when it’s held later this year.
Albanese told Sky News earlier that the Labor Party was united in its support for the Voice, and it was a matter of conviction.
“They are united around getting this done. This isn’t a matter of convenience. This is a matter of conviction,” the prime minister said in Brisbane today.
If the referendum failed it would be a lost opportunity for Australia and a setback for reconciliation, he said.
The policies developed at the three-day conference in Brisbane, Anthony Albanese says, will launch the party to election victory in 2025.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“What we know from the republic referendum that was held at the end of the last century .... not only has it not returned in the quarter of a century since, it’s not on the horizon in the next couple of years.”
He said he was confident when Australians focused on the questions, they would support the Voice.
But Albanese would not be drawn into a discussion about a potential date for the referendum, saying it will be held in either October or November.
The prime minister was asked whether he would campaign for a Voice or constitutional recognition if the referendum failed.
“I’ll respect the outcome, whatever it is. You have to respect the decision that Australian people say in a democracy,” he said.
He said he would “of course” continue to support constitutional recognition.
“But there won’t be another vote next week or next year.
“I still will do whatever I can to assist closing the gap. But what we know is it will be harder because a Voice will make it easier.”
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2023-08-18 07:16:33Z
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