WA news LIVE: Authorities urgently testing nine dead birds found off WA coast

Authorities are eagerly awaiting the results of testing carried out on 9 dead birds found along WA’s coast, from Esperance to as far north as Geraldton – including one in Perth.

The birds are being screened for the deadly H5N1 bird flu following the discovery of two dead birds with the disease near Esperance last week.

Dead birds have also been found on a remote South Australian beach, some 1200 kilometres from Esperance. Samples from the two petrels have been taken for seperate testing.

Nearly 100 reports of sick or dead birds have been reported to WA authorities since a hotline was set up on Friday to try and contain any spread of the deadly bird flu, which can have devastating impacts on wildlife populations.

Here’s what’s making news across the country and around the world:

• Opposition Leader Angus Taylor was asked more than five times about whether he backed a multicultural vision of Australia on Tuesday. It was not until the sixth attempt that he gave a semblance of a direct answer – saying Australians could come from any country or religion so long as they shared values.

• A number of Airbus A380 superjumbos around the world are set to be grounded for emergency inspections after Europe’s air safety regulator detected cracks in an internal part of the plane’s wing.
• Teal independents expected to form a party this week have not approached sitting state MPs or federal candidates who almost won at the last election as questions remain over whether the nascent grouping will have enough MPs to qualify as a minor party.