What we learned, Sunday 19 October
We will shut the live blog here for Sunday. Thanks for tuning in. This is what made the news:
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Anthony Albanese flies to Washington DC today to meet President Donald Trump on Monday (which will be very early Tuesday morning, Australian time).
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The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, called for Barnaby Joyce to remain with the party after the maverick MP announced his intention to quit.
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Asked about the hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza approved for visas in Australia and whether the ceasefire changes anything, the home affairs minister Tony Burke said he’s not sure all of those approved for visas are still alive.
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The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathon Duniam, said Australia needs to help Palestinians fleeing to Australia from Gaza “get back to their country where they belong”.
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Burke announced there will be a national disruption group targeting illegal tobacco.
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Guests at a luxury resort in far north Queensland snapped a visitor swimming in their pool – a juvenile crocodile making itself right at home.
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Police used pepper spray on protesters at multiple sites in Melbourne’s CBD as anti-immigration demonstrations and anti-fascist counter-protests moved through the city this afternoon.
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One man was arrested, police said, after two officers were injured during the protests when projectiles were thrown by counter-protesters in Melbourne.
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Tasmania police said the search for missing bushwalker Daryl Fong has continued through the weekend, despite challenging weather.
Until tomorrow, enjoy your evening.
Key events
Two police injured in Melbourne protests
Victoria police say a small group of counter-protesters in Melbourne CBD threw projectiles at police, causing two officers to be injured and needing transportation to hospital.
Police say that projectiles began to be thrown by counter-protesters on Swanston Street at about 12.30pm. The projectiles included rocks, glass bottles and fruit.
A female sergeant is suspected of sustaining a broken hand, while a male senior constable sustained a non-life-threatening laceration to his lower leg.
Police say other officers were struck by projectiles with such force that it cracked their protective shields.
Victoria police confirmed that its public order response team deployed flash-bang devices and pepper spray during the incident, which Guardian Australia reported earlier.
One man has been arrested following the incident.
Commander Wayne Cheeseman, North West Metro region said:
We make no apologies for officers having to use force to separate and safely disperse crowds during protests where police have been presented with an extremely volatile and violent environment.
Police do not attend protests with the aim of using force, but it is always in response to the actions of protestors whether it be violence between different groups, or towards officers.
We want our CBD to be a place where families can safely come for the day that businesses can operate on weekends without hassle. This type of behaviour impacts the broader Melbourne and Victorian community, and we are sick of it.
Officers working at protests have reported being threatened, hit with objects such as bottles and rocks, and being grabbed, pushed or held.
Stephanie Convery
Queensland health authorities investigating after five people consumed rat poison
Queensland Health is investigating how five people may have ingested rat poison after they were hospitalised last week.
The five individuals from a similar geographic area presented to hospital last week with symptoms consistent with brodifacoum poison, according to Queensland Health.
Brodifacoum is the active ingredient in rat poison. It functions by inhibiting vitamin K, which is essential for blood to clot, and it can cause bleeding-related complications in humans.
The five affected people are “well and receiving treatment,” chief health officer Dr Catherine McDougall said.
Investigations are under way to determine the origin of the suspected poisoning but no source has been identified yet.
McDougall said there was “nothing for the community to be alarmed about at this time”:
Clinicians have been asked to monitor for presentations with similar symptoms.
This is routine when patterns in patient presentations are identified, so there is nothing for the community to be alarmed about at this time.
Queensland Health will notify the community if there is a risk to public health.
I encourage anyone with concerns about their health to see their doctor, present to the emergency department or contact 13 43 25.
Three Western Australian locations record hottest October day
Stephanie Convery
Three places in Western Australia recorded their hottest October day on record yesterday, as a heatwave makes its way across the country towards the east coast.
On Saturday, the following new record-high temperatures for October were recorded, according to the Bureau of Meteorology:
44.3C at Telfer, WA
43.6C at Warburton, WA
42.7C at Red Rocks Point, WA
Temperatures were expected to rise up to 15C above average across inland parts of Australia this weekend, before the hot weather sweeps into parts of Queensland and NSW early next week.
A severe heatwave warning is in place in Queensland for the north-west district until Tuesday, with maximum temperatures in the high 30s to the mid 40s and overnight minimum temperatures in the low to mid 20s. The heat is expected to gradually build and extend to areas farther south and east, the bureau says.
TikTok and Meta to front parliamentary inquiry after subpoena threat
Representatives for TikTok and Meta will front a parliamentary inquiry on age assurance and the social media ban on 28 October, after the chair of the committee, Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young, threatened to subpoena them to compel the companies to appear, AAP has reported.
Google appeared before the inquiry last Monday, and Hanson Young made it clear she was unhappy that Meta, TikTok and Snap had not appeared, despite meeting that day with the communications minister Anika Wells and the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, about the under-16s social ban.
The ban is due to come into effect from 10 December.
Hanson-Young confirmed Meta and TikTok’s representatives will face the inquiry when it resumes later this month following her threats to issue a subpoena to compel them to appear.
Inman Grant could not provide further details on what other platforms may be covered under the ban but said a final decision will be revealed in the coming weeks.
She said the list will be “dynamic” and will be subject to review.
The commissioner has warned the popular gaming app Roblox that the ban may apply to it, but said it may be “tricky” to include as the law only allows the government to ban platforms whose “sole or significant purpose” is social interaction.
Benita Kolovos
Continued from last post …
Candidates have also nominated without opposition in seats where current MPs have recently announced they won’t run for re-election in 2026.
Former staffer to Natalie Hutchins, Uros Rasic, has nominated after the long-serving minister and MP for Sydenham announced on Thursday she would not run again.
Former Melton councillor Broden Borg has put his hand up to run in Melton after sitting MP Steve McGhie said it was time to “pass the baton and create space for fresh energy and new ideas to the next generation”.
In Pakenham, where MP Emma Vulin announced she would not run again due to her diagnosis of motor neurone disease, union organiser Alessandra Solive has nominated for preselection.
Christopher Buckingham, the chief executive of The Fair Co and former head of the La Trobe Valley Authority, has nominated in Bass, following Jordan Crugnale’s announcement she would not recontest in 2026. Buckingham has also previously run in the overlapping federal seat of McMillan, which was renamed Monash in 2019.
And in South Barwon, McKell Institute executive director and Labor’s candidate for Melbourne in 2022, Rebecca Thistleton, has nominated for preselection after moving to Geelong since that election. It comes after the sitting MP Darren Cheeseman was removed from the Labor caucus by the premier, Jacinta Allan, after allegations of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace towards staff.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Labor rank and file to vote in first preselection since 2018
For the first time in years, Victorian Labor’s rank and file members will get to vote in preselections, with multiple candidates nominating in two seats in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Preselections closed this week for Labor-held lower house seats, with Pamela Anderson, Julie Buxton and Sorina Grasso nominating for Bayswater, after the shock resignation of MP Jackson Taylor.
Anderson – not to be confused with the Baywatch star of the same name – is the chief of Labor women’s advocacy group Emily’s List, Buxton is a local businesswoman and former candidate in the nearby abolished seat of Ferntree Gully while Grasso is a former Knox councillor and ran in Caulfield at the 2018 state election.
In Ringwood, Labor will field a candidate after the current sitting MP Will Fowles quit the party following assault allegations, which he strenuously denies. It is also a three-cornered contest, with Nildhara Gadani, Rachel Halse and Mannie Verma all nominating.
Gadani ran for the party in this year’s federal election in the seat of Goldstein and is an early childhood educator and founder of the Australia India Women Entrepreneurs Forum. Verma is a lawyer and commentator who ran in the 2022 state election in Rowville. Halse is a union organiser and nurse and wife of Dustin Halse, who held the seat for a term.
The two seats are located in Melbourne eastern suburbs, areas that were once considered Liberal territory but Labor picked up in 2018 and held in 2022.
Local members will get to vote in the preselections – their first since before the 2018 election – after voting rights were stripped for three years after a branch-stacking scandal in 2020. At the May federal election, Labor’s national executive handled preselections at the request of the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.
Victoria police use pepper spray on protesters in Melbourne
Stephanie Convery
Police have used pepper spray on protesters at multiple sites in Melbourne’s CBD as anti-immigration demonstrations and anti-fascist counter-protests moved through the city this afternoon.
Livestream and recorded footage of the protests, seen by the Guardian, show counter-protesters being pepper sprayed by police near parliament, while loud bangs were audible, followed by scattering demonstrators.
Early estimates suggest between 300 and 500 people attended the anti-immigration March for Australia, with a similar-sized counter protest.
Victoria police has been approached for a response.
1,600 Dodo email accounts accessed, telco says, with 34 unauthorised sim swaps
Vocus-owned internet provider Dodo says it detected suspicious activity on email accounts for Dodo customers on Friday night, which led to 34 unauthorised sim swaps.
The company said it detected the activity on Friday and temporarily suspended email services for Dodo and iPrimus customers – which was restored on Sunday.
The investigation found 1,600 Dodo email accounts were accessed leading to the swapped sims. The company is working to reverse the sim swaps.
Dodo customers will need to call 1300 038 224 to restore complete access to their email account by setting a new password.
Vocus said it was monitoring the situation and had notified the relevant authorities.
Protests under way across Australia
A series of anti-immigration protests and counter protests are taking place across the capital cities in Australia.
In Melbourne, Victoria police were seen keeping the anti-immigration protesters separated from the counter protesters around Flinders Street station.
Waist-deep snow and weather challenging Mount Field Field search for missing hiker
Tasmania police say the search for missing bushwalker Daryl Fong has continued through the weekend, despite challenging weather.
The 30-year-old was on a day hike in the Mount Field area, and hasn’t had contact with anyone since 5 October.
Fong has not been seen or heard from since then, and the personal located beacon he is believed to have been carrying has not been activated.
Search and rescue operations including the use of a helicopter have been ongoing, but efforts on Sunday are being hampered by dangerous weather conditions, including waist-deep snow, police say.
Crocodile spotted in Port Douglas hotel pool
Benita Kolovos
Guests at a luxury resort in far north Queensland have snapped a visitor swimming in their pool – a juvenile crocodile making itself right at home.
Two TikTok users posted footage of the crocodile in the lagoon-style pool at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas on Saturday afternoon. Guardian Australia has confirmed the incident occurred, though staff were unable to comment.
“I don’t want to alarm anyone, but there is a crocodile in the Sheraton pool,” Lisa Keller says in her TikTok video.
In a second video, she showed people continuing to sunbathe on lounge chairs around the pool with the caption “not a single person cares”.
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Another user shared footage of the crocodile along with the popular “sit back and relax” audio, often used on TikTok to poke fun at peaceful travel moments interrupted by annoying tourists. But this time, it was the crocodile causing the disturbance.
“just a croc casually having a dip in the Grand Mirage Port Douglas pool,” user @jasssyyl posted.
Another user replied that it was not the first time a crocodile made an appearance at the hotel, with another spotted on the golf course. Earlier this year, a large saltwater crocodile was also spotted on the 10th hole fairway of the Palmer Sea Reef golf course, about 3km away from the Sheraton hotel. Room rates at the five-star hotel range from about $400 to $1,900 a night.
Tasmanians urged to stay indoors as damaging winds batter state
Severe weather in Tasmania has prompted the state’s police to urge the public to stay indoors, and especially off the water and away from remote areas.
Severe weather warnings for damaging winds were issued on Sunday morning for most of the state, including Hobart. Damaging north-westerly wind gusts of about 100km/h were possible around the city with heavier winds expected in elevated terrain and in exposed far-southern Tasmania today, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.
Wind gusts of 154km/h were recorded this morning on Maatsuyker Island, off Tasmania’s south coast, at 8.46am and a 139km/h wind gust was recorded at Scotts Peak at 8.44 am.
In an alert this morning, Tasmania police urged the public to “reconsider any non-essential outdoor activities, especially those involving watercraft or remote areas.”
The statement continued:
These sorts of weather conditions impact our ability to conduct search and rescue response, with high winds preventing helicopter operations.
Please reconsider any high-risk activities, including boating or hiking, and make choices that prioritise your safety and the safety of others.
Stay informed, stay safe, and help emergency services by making responsible choices.
While the winds may ease off this evening, they are expected to redevelop around mid-morning on Monday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
