Australia news live: McCormack back and Littleproud out of shadow cabinet as Canavan names Nationals’ frontbench

Intensifying storm in northern Australia looms for flood-soaked communities

Northern Australia is staring down the barrel of a possible tropical cyclone that looks set to wreak havoc by twice making landfall across a flood-ravaged region, AAP reports.

The volatile storm in the Coral Sea is intensifying as it inches toward Queensland’s far north just as the area recovers from major flooding.

The system, currently a tropical low, is expected to cross north of Cooktown in the coming days then possibly re-form over the Gulf of Carpentaria and make landfall again in the Northern Territory.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Angus Hines told AAP:

We certainly are seeing an increased chance that this will both strengthen as a weather system and also move on to the far north of Queensland.

This system could affect multiple states over multiple days, but starting with Queensland late this week.

Danish minister for climate change speaks at royal afternoon tea in Canberra

Lars Aagaard, the Danish minister for climate change, was travelling with the group and gave remarks on behalf of the delegation. He described Australia and Denmark as friends in a world that was rapidly changing.

“Our values are deeply rooted in a strong belief in democracy, freedom of speech, respect for our institutions, respect for science,” he said.

We know now that in this difficult world we’re living in, we need to seek even deeper friendship among countries that share our values and interest.

In times of uncertainty, trust is everything, not only within our society, but also between the nations. And Denmark and Australia indeed, have relations based on trust, friendship and common interest.”

Queen Mary and King Frederik enjoy afternoon tea with parliamentary friends of Denmark

Mary and Frederik were the guests at an afternoon tea hosted by the parliamentary friends of Denmark, in the courtyard of House of Representatives speaker Milton Dick.

Around 16 federal parliamentarians joined the event, including Labor MPs Julian Hill, Andrew Leigh, Alicia Payne and Carina Garland; Coalition MPs Tim Wilson, Susan McDonald and Jono Duniam; and independent Rebekah Sharkie.

Guests were served scones with cream, chocolate crackles, spiced pistachio teacake, and gazpacho in cucumber cups, among other treats

Liberal MP Angie Bell and Labor MP Alison Byrnes, the co chairs of the friends of Denmark group, gave speeches to the event. Bell, who said she spent time in Denmark in her youth on a Rotary exchange, spoke half her speech in Danish – an effort which delighted the royal couple and the travelling Danish contingent.

That’s all from me. Ima Caldwell will take things from here. Enjoy the rest of your Monday.

Danish royals greeted by cheering public in Canberra

Queen Mary of Denmark was met with cheers as she greeted a packed crowd outside the War Memorial in Canberra on Monday, on the Australian-born royal’s first state visit with husband King Fredrick X.

The king and queen laid a wreath and floral tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and paused at the Roll of Honour for flying officer Henry James Brock, a Tasmanian-born officer killed in action on 27 February 1944 and buried in Denmark.

The couple also placed a poppy at the memorial for flying officer Geoffrey Herbert Brandon Slinn who was killed in action over Denmark on 27 November 1944.

The royal couple were welcomed by Governor-General Sam Mostyn and partner Simeon Beckett SC, and were joined on the state visit by members of the royal court, as well as a delegate of political leaders, including Danish climate minister Lars Aagaard.

The group will travel to Hobart on Thursday.

Hundreds of onlookers, including Danes living in Australia, schoolchildren, and locals, gathered outside the war memorial on Monday morning, many waving flowers or Australian and Danish flags.

A large Danish flag was unfurled over the security fencing.

Outside the memorial, the couple made their way around the crowd, shaking hands, speaking with children, and at one point kneeling down to pat a dog.

Author Craig Silvey faces additional charges for alleged production and possession of child exploitation material

Western Australia police have laid additional charges against prominent author Craig Silvey, who was charged with possession and distribution of child exploitation material in January.

Silvey, the author of the books Jasper Jones and Runt, was first charged after officers executed a search warrant at his Fremantle home on 12 January. Detectives allegedly found him “actively engaging with other child exploitation offenders online”. He was charged with two counts at the time: one for distribution of child exploitation material and one for possession of child exploitation material.

On Monday, detectives charged Silvey with two additional offences: one count of producing child exploitation material and another count of possessing child exploitation material.

He was set to appear in Fremantle magistrates court today.

Police said as part of their investigation they had also identified a woman, 68, who allegedly produced and distributed child exploitation material online. She was arrested on 18 February and has since been charged with two counts of producing child exploitation material, one count of distribution of child exploitation material and three counts of failure to comply with reporting obligations.

She remains in custody and will appear before court on 2 April.

Daly River in NT to remain at major flood heights for ‘at least a week’

Communities around Daly River in the NT could have to wait several days for water levels to fall enough for them to return to their properties, the Bureau of Meteorology says, as attention turns to the next flood event in southern parts of the NT and northern South Australia.

Senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said the Daly River may have peaked but levels will remain at major flood heights “for at least a week”, which will mean it could be “some time yet before those people can return home”.

The Daly River peaked on Sunday morning at 16.42 metres but remained high at 16.33 metres as of lunchtime today. The Katherine River has also started to drop.

In Queensland’s east, river levels are also on a downward track, including in the town of Longreach and Thomson River. The peak has likely been hit there at levels similar to the 2019 flood, but below the level of the town’s new bridge.

A stream of tropical moisture was now moving through central parts of the country that was feeding rain and storms, with a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall currently in place in southwest NT and northern South Australia.

Bradbury said:

The focus for the next few days is moving to the central band of the country. Over the next few days we could have 100mm or more and in local areas it could be much much higher.

Everything is already saturated and the chance we will see riverine flooding again is quite high.

We have a full list of the new Nationals frontbench lineup, announced earlier by Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan. The former leader David Littleproud has been dropped from shadow cabinet but will remain on the party’s frontbench.

Here are the roles for the junior Coalition partner:

Shadow cabinet

• Nationals leader Matt Canavan: trade, investment and tourism

• Nationals deputy leader Darren Chester: agriculture, fisheries and forestry

• Kevin Hogan: shadow assistant treasurer

• Bridget McKenzie: infrastructure and transport, regional development, local government and territories

• Micheal McCormack: shadow minister for water, veterans’ affairs

• Susan McDonald: shadow minister for resources and northern Australia

Outer shadow ministry

• Sam Birrell: shadow assistant minister for agriculture, regional education

• Anne Webster: shadow minister for regional health, regional communications

• David Littleproud: shadow minister for tourism, emergency management

• Jamie Chaffey: shadow assistant minister for regional development, local government and territories, energy security and affordability

Victoria settles class action brought by businesses over Covid-19 response

Gabrielle Williams also confirmed the Victorian government had settled a class action brought by businesses that suffered during the state’s deadly second wave of Covid-19 – sparked by failures in the hotel quarantine program – for $125m.

Williams said:

I’m conscious that while there has been a settlement reached, that that settlement has to still be endorsed by the supreme court so I will be very cautious in the comments I make. I understand that the settlement that’s been so, so far reached, but not yet endorsed, is for $125m.

She says the Covid-19 pandemic was unprecedented and governments across the globe had acted to prevent “large scale death”:

We need to look at the actions that were taken in that frame … leaders and decision makers worked really hard to ensure that, through the best of our abilities, with the knowledge that we had at the time, that we were protecting the Victorian community. In terms of the settlement, I will, given that it’s yet to be endorsed by the supreme court, curb my remarks just there. There will be opportunities in down the line for others to make further comments on that. But I think for now, it’s probably safest to leave it there.

No major issues on trial of tap and go payments on Victorian train lines, minister says

The Victorian minister for transport infrastructure, Gabrielle Williams, provided an update this morning on the trial of tap and go payments on four train lines.

She said as of 9am, there’s been almost 1,200 “tap-ons” across 650 devices:

That’s pretty healthy numbers for day one. What we expect to see though over the course of coming days and weeks, is the awareness grow about the trial across those four lines, and those numbers start to steadily increase.

Williams says there’s been “no significant issues” so far.

This is obviously the point of a trial, and we expect that over coming days and weeks, as the numbers of people using this new technology grow, that we will effectively be stress testing the system, and that’s what it’s all about – building confidence … so that we can get this technology rolled out across the network as soon as possible, but also as safely as possible.

‘Never seen this happen’: small town Victorian service station owner says fuel shortage unprecedented

A small town service station owner says his business is in the midst of the worst fuel shortages in more than 25 years, AAP reports.

Nathan Falvo was forced to ration the latest fuel delivery at his petrol station in Robinvale, in Victoria’s far north-west, after running completely dry over the weekend.

Falvo said the shortage had spread to the town’s two other stations, which have also introduced a $50 sales limit.

“Basically the whole town, which is one of the fruit bowls of Australia, was out of fuel,” Mr Falvo told AAP on Monday morning.

I’ve been here at this business for 25 years and I’ve never seen this happen before. All three stations were out.

The conflict in the Middle East has caused huge disruption to fuel supply, sending unleaded petrol prices in Australia above $2.20 a litre, and diesel to more than $2.60 a litre.

NSW fuel shortages ‘not so much a supply issue as a distribution issue’, premier says

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has told an emergency roundtable convened to discuss fuel shortages that the state is experiencing “not so much a supply issue as a distribution issue” amid concerns created by the conflict in the Middle East.

The meeting between the government and regional mayors and farmers, as well representatives from unions and the fuel and transport industries has now concluded. The chair, the NSW energy and environment minister, Penny Sharpe, told the meeting that about 32 out of 3,000 fuel stations in the state were “problematic” according to the latest information.

Addressing the roundtable at its start this morning, Minns said:

I think there’s acute challenges as it stands today in regional NSW. It’s not so much a supply issue as a distribution issue, and there’s key intelligence and information that the government can gather to help fuel companies and the commonwealth government better distribute that fuel so that we’re not seeing acute shortages in regional towns.

At a press conference this morning, Minns told reporters NSW had the onshore supplies to deal with its energy needs if consumers acted “in a common sense way” and did not panic buy or stockpile, which he said was already causing shortages for consumers and businesses in regional NSW.

He said the roundtable would focus on “contingencies with a timeline based on the length of the conflict in the Persian Gulf”.

The premier has previously flagged that contingencies have been discussed for hospitals and emergency services, in particular the provision of diesel for ambulances and generators. He announced today a fuel compliance check blitz by NSW Fair Trading “to ensure that there is appropriate and legal distribution of petrol at the retail level” was being brought forward by a week and the number of inspectors doubled.

Matt Canavan, the new Nationals leader, has announced changes to the party’s frontbench line-up, with former leader David Littleproud surviving on the frontbench.

Pat Conaghan is among the losers from the shake-up but Littleproud will stay, as the shadow minister for emergency services and tourism. Canavan is the shadow minister for trade, investment and tourism.

Former leader Michael McCormack is back on the frontbench too. He takes on the water and veterans’ affairs portfolios. Susan McDonald takes on resources and northern Australia.

The former deputy leader Kevin Hogan replaces Conaghan as the new shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for financial services.

“The Nationals understand that we won’t restore our living standards without a strong economy and we will be at the forefront of the economic debate,” Canavan said in a statement.

Canavan prepares changes to Nationals frontbench

Matt Canavan, the new Nationals leader, is preparing to announce changes to the party’s frontbench line-up, with David Littleproud and Pat Conaghan expected to be among losers from the shake-up.

Littleproud quit the leadership last week, saying he was “buggered” after a tumultuous nine months since the election. The period included two splits with the Liberal party and often chaotic decisions from within the Coalition.

Littleproud is expected to be relegated to the backbench. He said last week he would serve in whatever capacity the party’s new leader decided was appropriate.

Conaghan, the outgoing shadow assistant treasurer and financial services minister, issued a statement confirming he had been dumped. His announcement pre-empted the news from Canavan.

“In politics, a change to the party leadership signals a change in the ministerial teams and last week’s events have triggered this for the National party,” he said.

While I am of course disappointed by the decision, I respect that this is the process and remain absolutely committed to the National party and our role in representing the real needs of regional people right across this beautiful country of ours.

Under Coalition rules, Canavan nominated Nationals MPs to be part of opposition leader Angus Taylor’s frontbench line-up.

Australian soldiers’ bodies ‘very likely’ disturbed by Israeli bulldozing at Gaza cemetery, senator says

The bodies of Australian soldiers buried in Gaza have “very likely” been disturbed, the independent senator David Pocock says, as new photos tendered to parliament show widespread damage of graves by Israeli bulldozers.

About 146 of the 263 graves of Australian soldiers buried in Gaza have been damaged, Senate estimates heard last week.

New pictures tendered to Senate estimates show damage to headstones, as well as tonnes of earth displaced and pushed into high berms.

The director of the Office of Australian War Graves, Maj Gen Wade Stothart, also told estimates that it was “quite possible” that the bodies of soldiers had been disturbed, moved or damaged.

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Oil prices rise after Trump claims US ‘totally demolished’ Iran’s Kharg Island export hub

Oil prices have climbed again amid mounting supply fears after the US struck Iran’s vital Kharg Island oil hub and Donald Trump demanded allies help reopen the strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.8% to $104.98 a barrel during early trading on Monday.

Another weekend of violence across the Middle East compounded concerns over the conflict, and its ramifications for global energy markets.

The US president claimed on Saturday that US strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, telling NBC News that its military may hit site “a few more times just for fun”.

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