Australia won’t be banning Russian tourists: Marles
Marles also won’t be drawn into making calls for Russia to leave Crimea and restore Ukraine’s border to where it stood in 1991, saying only that the Ukrainian government must be “empowered” to determine its future “on its own terms”.
Marles is also asked about whether Australia will follow other countries and prevent Russian tourists from entering the country.
We have a range of sanctions in place and the focus of our sanctions is on the Russian government, those who are perpetrating what has happened in relation to Ukraine, not focused on the Russian people themselves, so this is not something we are considering at the moment, but we are very much a part of the global base of sanctions against the Russian regime.
Similar visa bands in Europe have been contentious with critics charging that their implementation binds the Russian people closer to the Russian government by cutting off avenues of escape from crackdowns on dissent.
Key events
Royce Kurmelovs
What some consider the ugliest wall in Australia could soon be bigger, with residents pushing to extend the Collaroy seawall on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Northern Beaches council has received a new application by five local property owners to build two new sections of the wall in front of their properties to protect the homes from coastal erosion and massive swells.
Under the plan, 50-metre and 30-metre sections of wall would be added either side of South Narrabeen Surf Life Saving Club. In total there would be an extra 80 metres of concrete wall constructed.
It would add to the 210-metre-long, 7-metre-high existing structure built in response to a fierce storm in 2016 that tore into properties in the area, ripping a private pool from its moorings and leaving some houses at risk of falling into the sea.
Residents would cover 80% of the cost, paying up to $250,000 each, with the state government and local council splitting the rest between them.
Read the full story here:
WA Police to investigate serious high-speed crash
WA Police are investigating a serious crash that occurred in the suburb of Myaree last night after a high-speed chase along the Stirling Highway.
In a statement on Sunday, WA Police said around 8.20pm, a police vehicle was travelling on Stirling Highway with lights and sirens on, responding to an unrelated matter.
A white Toyota Camry, travelling at speed and approaching the police car from behind, overtook it and continued on Stirling Highway “at speed”, the statement alleged.
Further down the highway, police deactivated lights and sirens, and called for the driver of the Camry to pull over.
WA Police said:
The Camry failed to stop, travelled at speed towards Leach Highway and a short evade-police incident ensued.
Around 8:22pm, the Camry contravened a red light, travelling through the intersection of Leach Highway and North Lake Road in Willagee, before colliding with a Jaguar sedan and a Volvo.
The female driver and male passenger of the Jaguar, both in their 50s, received serious injuries and were taken to hospital. The male driver of the Volvo was uninjured.
The male driver of the Camry, in his 30s, was taken to hospital with injuries.
The statement said that due to the nature of the crash, Major Crash Investigation Section officers would review the circumstances of the incident with oversight from the Internal Affairs Unit.
Further to the news that Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is pledging to upgrade and rename Maroondah hospital:
I have stood with you @DanielAndrewsMP even when your decisions were not perfect but if you change the name of a hospital named an Aboriginal word to the name of the dead colonising monarch you will have me against you. https://t.co/h4UYfo5Sx1
— Claire G. Coleman (@clairegcoleman) September 18, 2022
According to Maroondah city council, where the hospital is located, the word “Maroondah” is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning “leaf”, which the council says symbolises the municipality’s green environment.
Australian wins silver medal in UCI Road World Championships
Kieran Pender
Australia has had a strong start to the UCI Road World Championships, being held in Wollongong from today until next Sunday, with Grace Brown winning the silver medal in the women’s time trial.
The 30-year-old was in the hot seat for most of the day, but was narrowly beaten by the final rider of the day to cross the finish line, defending champion Ellen van Dijk of the Netherlands.
The men’s time trial is now on the course – Australia’s Luke Plapp is currently sitting in the hot seat after recording a blistering time of 41:26.83, but he faces an anxious wait with plenty of world class riders to come.
Queensland disaster recovery agency head appointed to national equivalent
The head of Queensland’s disaster recovery agency has been appointed to oversee the newly created national equivalent.
Brendan Moon has been named as the nation’s first coordinator general to oversee the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), AAP reports.
The body was created following a merger of Emergency Management Australia and the National Recovery and Resilience Agency. Moon joins the agency after having led the Queensland Reconstruction Authority since 2016.
Federal Emergency Management minister Murray Watt said on Sunday that Moon would be a strong fit in the new role:
Queensland has had more than its fair share of natural disasters in the past decade and the way in which the QRA, under Brendan’s leadership, has responded and rebuilt has been very impressive.
Brendan will ensure the new NEMA delivers national leadership and strategic coordination for emergencies and disaster preparedness, response, relief, recovery, reconstruction, risk reduction and resilience across all levels of government and sectors.
Watt said the agency was working to prepare the country for the high-risk weather season being forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Right now, officers from the National Emergency Management Agency are rolling up their sleeves and getting on with the job.
The forecast for the next three months showed the country moving into a high-risk weather season with flooding as the major risk, over bushfires or heatwaves, according to the weather bureau.
Severe storms, intense rainfall, and giant hail are expected to hit the eastern states, with bushfires to affect the northern part of Australia.
Art Gallery of New South Wales construction upgrades completed
A fritted glass canopy will be the centrepiece of the newest addition to the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
Works have been completed on the new standalone building, public art garden and revitalised historic building, which means the gallery is right on track to open to the public in December, AAP reports.
Pritzker prize-winning architects SANAA designed the new, open and accessible home for art, sensitive to the gallery’s beautiful parkland setting overlooking Sydney Harbour.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet said on Sunday that the government’s $244m investment into the project would help inject $1bn into the NSW economy as well as inspire the next generation of artists:
The new building is an architectural masterpiece, befitting some of the world’s finest artworks and we can’t wait to welcome the public in December.
The expansion was supported by more than $100m from private donors.
Kenyan Moses Kibet claims historic victory in Sydney marathon
The top three finishers all bettered the previous fastest time on Australian soil.
Kibet clocked a winning time of two hours, seven minutes and three seconds on Sunday, crossing the line just two seconds ahead of countryman Cosmas Matolo.
Ethiopian Chalu Deso Gelmisa – the victor in the Paris marathon earlier this year – was third in 2:07:08.
The three Africans smashed the Australian all-comers record of 2:07:50 set by Japan’s Yuta Shitara on the Gold Coast in 2019.
Ethiopia’s Tigist Girma Getachew won the women’s marathon in 2:25:10 ahead of compatriot Letebrhan Haylay Gebreslasea and Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu Gebrehiwet.
Jun Hiromichi won the men’s wheelchair marathon in 1:52.47, with Australian Richard Colman second in 1:53:28.
Australian Sinead Diver – who was a creditable 10th in the marathon at last year’s Tokyo Olympics – claimed victory in the women’s half-marathon at the Sydney Running festival in a course record of 1:13:07.
Diver was also fifth in last month’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games marathon which was won by countrywoman Jess Stenson.
The Sydney marathon is in the first year of a three-year candidacy to join the prestigious World Marathon Majors.
– from AAP
Bigger, better hospital to be named in honour of Queen if Victorian Labor re-elected
Victoria premier Daniel Andrews has promised his government will redevelop Maroondah hospital and rename it in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
As part of his election pitch, Andrews said the hospital would be rebuilt and refurbished “from the ground up” with a new emergency department, operation theatres, day procedure facilities and specialist care spaces.
The new emergency department will have an additional 14 treatment spaces with the election commitment costing between $850 to $1.05m.
Andrews said in a statement that the Queen “holds a special place in the hearts of Victorians”.
Only Labor is doing what matters – investing in hospitals, training and hiring thousands of nurses and paramedics and making it free to study nursing.
Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the hospital will provide “modern facilities” that health workers have been asking for.
We’ve made it free to study nursing and midwifery, creating a pipeline of future healthcare workers – so when the new Queen Elizabeth II hospital opens from 2029, we’ll have the workforce we need ready to go.
The announcement comes a day after Victoria’s opposition promised a $400m upgrade to Maroondah hospital, if it wins the election in November.
The opposition has previously stated it would scrap part of the Suburban Rail Loop and redirect $35bn earmarked for the project into the health system.
– with AAP
Caitlin Cassidy
Sick, sad, or in need of comfort? Young adult fiction can be the perfect balm
There’s something about a mild case of the flu that has me reverting instantly to my childhood.
Usually when illness strikes, I will go round to my parents’ house, get out my teddy bear-shaped heat pack and lie on the couch dramatically, periodically requesting packeted macaroni and cheese or cups of tea.
While there, my favourite indulgence is having a bath while regressing to my childhood bookshelf. It’s packed with my oldest and most beloved classics – Winnie the Pooh, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden and the Famous Five.
When I fell sick this winter, though, it was the first time I’d been unwell and solo in a foreign city. I couldn’t get home to my old books, and I felt vulnerable in a new way. I gazed at my bookshelf blankly. I love The Bell Jar, but do I want to read it when I am feverish and sweaty?
Instead, I did what any reasonable adult would do: I donned a mask, a comically large jacket, and drove myself to a bookstore.
Read the full story here:
Anthony Callea to perform at Queen’s Australian service
Anthony Albanese announced earlier today that Anthony Callea will perform at the Queen’s memorial service in Australia on Thursday.
AAP has some more details on that, saying the appearance of the former Australian Idol contestant comes after he met and sang to the Queen in 2006.
Melbourne-born Callea performed The Prayer, his cover of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli’s song, for the Queen at a church service in Sydney’s St Andrew’s Cathedral that marked Commonwealth Day in 2006.
He also performed it at Bert Newton’s state funeral in November 2021 and Shane Warne’s memorial service at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March.
Callea said in a statement to AAP:
The passing of Queen Elizabeth II has obviously resonated throughout the world, especially in Australia.
Having previously had the privilege to perform for her, and after receiving the call from the Prime Minister’s office, I look forward to performing again, this time to celebrate her incredible life.
