Health News at Your Fingertips

Josh Butler

Police preparing to give a statement on events at Canberra airport

Witnesses have reported hearing “8 to 10” gunshots, after a potential shooting incident at Canberra airport this afternoon.

A large contingent of police have blocked off Canberra airport, with armed AFP officers barring the doors. At least a dozen police vehicles are stationed at the airport, with all visitors evacuated from the terminal. Hundreds of people are gathered waiting outside the building.

One family told Guardian Australia they heard shooting near the Qantas terminal, claiming up to 10 shots were fired.

“They told us “run, run”. It was very scary,” one man, who declined to give his name, said.

Canberra police have confirmed an incident at the city’s airport, but won’t confirm exactly what has happened or whether any arrests have been made. Police have said a statement will be issued shortly.

People waiting on planes at Canberra airport after reports of gunshots

More details are emerging of people being held on planes as police work to respond to the development at Canberra airport.

Guardian Australia is still working to confirm with police that gunshots were fired at the airport.

Early reports suggest at least three gunshots were heard at Canberra airport and a man has been detained after a search of the building by police.

Guardian Australia has not yet confirmed with police that gunshots were fired at the airport.

ABC journalist Louise Milligan was among those evacuated from the Qantas lounge.

There is a heavy police presence and people have reportedly been evacuated at Canberra airport following reports gunshots were heard in the terminal.

We are working to confirm the details of this story and will have more as it comes in.

Queensland announces $20m spend on new police kit

Queensland police will be better protected under a rollout of a new state-of-the-art vest design, as part of a $20m investment from the state government.

The state government said its frontline officers would be among the “best protected” in the world. The integrated vests combined ballistic and edged weapon safety features.

Police minister Mark Ryan said the new vests would allow provide officers with added protection against offenders who may be armed with knives or firearms:

Our officers put their lives on the line whenever they respond to highly volatile and dangerous situations, and they should be protected with the latest technology in officer safety equipment.

Queensland’s police force has been the subject of a landmark inquiry into the institution’s responses to domestic and family violence which concluded this week. It was established after a task force concluded that “cultural problems” within the police force were widespread.

Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 34 deaths from Covid-19:

ACT

NSW

Northern Territory

Queensland

South Australia

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia

Josh Butler

Prime minister back to work on Monday

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is returning from a week of leave tomorrow, and has marked the end of his holiday with a few little social media happy snaps.

The PM spent the week in Broome, and while he was spotted in restaurants and art galleries on his trip, he kept the holiday relatively low-key on his own online channels until yesterday.

After a week where he kept his timeline ticking over by posting some older photos from the previous week of parliament, Albanese last night posted a melancholic photo of the moon illuminating the Western Australian ocean.

The Instagram photo was geolocated at the Mangrove hotel, a beachside accommodation which bills itself on its website as “a bayside escape of unparalleled style and service”.

On Saturday afternoon, Albanese also posted an Instagram story – presumably snapped out the window of his plane – of the emerald green waters off the WA coast, subtitled “see you next time” with an emoji of a waving hand.

Last week he retweeted some photos from the Shire of Broome, showing him at a gallery.

Albanese’s office had been upfront about his quick break, with the PM disclosing the holiday in an ABC radio interview last week and his office saying he’d be off until 15 August.

We’re told Albanese is back on the east coast and will be back on deck tomorrow, to take the reins from acting PM Richard Marles.

No one with Covid-19 has died in the Northern Territory overnight, with the state recording 111 new cases on Sunday morning, 26 people in hospital and one in ICU.

Organised crime ‘rulebook’s been thrown out the window’, say police

Some more on that “assassination” in Sydney, and comments from NSW police that the “unwritten law” of criminals – that they don’t touch families or women – have been “thrown out the window”.

Police detective superintendent Danny Doherty, the homicide squad commander, said:

There used to be an unwritten law with the criminal element, especially in organised crime … you don’t touch family, you don’t touch women.

I think that rule of engagement has almost been thrown out the window now, just disregarded. I think they just don’t care any more. I think this demonstrates how low they’ve got to at this point … they don’t care, they don’t discriminate if you’re male or female.

And I think that’s, that’s quite concerning, that the rulebook’s been thrown out the window.

Women killed in shooting on Saturday night were targeted

NSW police have declared a fatal shooting on a Sydney street a planned and methodical “assassination”.

Two women – one aged 48 and the other 39 (not 36, as originally reported) – died after the offender opened fire on them as they sat in a car in Revesby.

Two people in the back seat – a girl, 16, and man, 20 – were not seriously injured.

Police detective superintendent Danny Doherty, the homicide squad commander, described the attack as an “organised, methodical, planned murder”.

“Significant resources attended last night, and significant resources are there now,” he said.

“That will be ongoing because this is an appalling attack on two women who lost their lives in a planned assassination.

“It’s not acceptable … it’s unprecedented.”

The 48-year-old woman was known to police, Doherty said, because of past relationships.

“One theory is that she would have been more than likely the target,” he said.

Doherty said there was no evidence of a link to current bikie gang conflicts, but that the killing bore the hallmarks of organised crime.

Police are concerned that the attack seems to breach an “unwritten law” of criminal gangs not to target families or women.

“I think they just don’t care any more,” he said.

Police have established Strike Force Laurantus. They are searching for ballistic evidence and any other clues across a range of crime scenes, and asking the public for assistance.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

No one with Covid-19 died in Western Australia overnight, with the state recording 1,559 new cases on Sunday morning, 298 people in hospital, and eight in ICU.

No one with Covid-19 has died in South Australia overnight, with the state recording 1,000 new cases on Sunday morning, 274 people in hospital, and 11 in ICU.

New South Wales police say they believe the shooting that left two women dead in Sydney’s south-west was targeted.

They believe the shooting at Revesby was an “assassination” and a “planned murder” targeting a 48-year-old while she was on a night out with three others in the car.

Another 39-year-old woman also died during the attack overnight. Two others were uninjured.

More details to come.

New South Wales police are about to begin a press conference with details on the shooting death of two women in Revesby in Sydney’s south-west overnight.

We will bring you the details when they come.

Victorian Liberals pledge free public transport for health workers if elected

Adeshola Ore

Victoria’s opposition has pledged to offer the state’s healthcare workers free public transport if it wins the November election.

In a pre election cost of living promise, the Victorian Liberals said all 260,000 healthcare workers in the state would receive free public transport. The measure would be available for nurses, aged care workers, allied health care workers, paramedics and other staff. The scheme would run for three years from November.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy said eligible healthcare workers could save $7200 on public transport across the three year scheme:

To fix the healthcare crisis we need innovative solutions to attract, retain and reward health workers.

Daniel Andrews backs skilled migration boost

Adeshola Ore

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has backed the federal government’s plan to raise Australia’s skilled migration cap to plug critical workforce shortages.

The Albanese government has announced it wants to increase the migration intake to between 180,000 to 200,000. The current cap is 160,000.

Speaking to reporters, Andrews said he supported increasing the nation’s skilled migration intake:

I’m all for lifting that and for more and more people coming and making their home Melbourne, Victoria.

I can say that with a sense of clarity because we’re investing very strongly in our domestic training.

Andrews on Sunday said Victoria had recruited more than 700 international healthcare workers over the past year. The government’s budget in May included a $12bn health funding blitz which included a plan to hire and train 7,000 healthcare workers including 2,000 from overseas.

National average weekly fuel costs rise above $100 for first time

Average weekly fuel costs have risen more than $5 to 100.39 a week across the country in the past three months, according to figures from motoring body AAA.

According to its latest Transport Affordability Index the weekly household transport cost in capital cities is now $412.21 and $342.98 in regional households.

These figures include the halving of the fuel excise rate, an inflation rate of 6.1% and the flow on effects of price shocks caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement on Sunday, AAA managing director Michael Bradley said this is the first time the national weekly average spent on fuel has passed $100 since the index’s inception in 2016.

Average fuel costs now stand at an average of $98.37 in capital cities with the average cost breaking down.

• Hobart ($102.63 pw)

• Darwin ($99.84 pw)

• Sydney ($99.13 pw)

• Canberra ($98.92 pw)

• Brisbane ($98.15 pw)

• Melbourne ($97.29 pw)

• Perth (95.71 pw)

• Adelaide ($95.28 pw)

Regionally costs are more expensive at $102.71 per week with Bunbury ($122.70 pw), Geelong ($118.31 pw) and Launceston ($114.67 pw) the highest.

Sydney is still Australia’s most expensive capital city for total transport costs averaging $486.18 per week, followed by Melbourne ($461.01 pw) and Brisbane ($454.52 pw).

Alice Springs is Australia’s most expensive regional city at $370.59 per week followed by Bunbury ($362.85 pw) and Geelong ($361.53 pw).

Queensland has recorded 1,944 new Covid cases on Sunday morning, with 468 people in hospital and 27 in ICU.

The state is not reporting death numbers on Sunday and Monday.