Northern Territory police say they believe five-year-old Sharon was led away from an Alice Springs town camp by 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who was seen holding her hand shortly before she disappeared.
Sharon has not been seen since about 11.30 pm on Saturday night after she was put to bed in her family home.
NT police’s assistant commissioner crime and intelligence, Peter Malley, told reporters that there have been no confirmed sightings of the young girl or Lewis.
NT authorities believe Sharon is still alive but acknowledge significant concerns given the length of time she has been missing.
“Our number one mission is to find her safe and well,” Malley said. “But, as you know, as time goes on, the chances of finding her alive and well are reduced. Hence, the amount of resources we have presented here in Alice Springs camp.”
That’s all from me. Cait Kelly will take things from here, you’re in good hands.
Man dies after being swept from the rocks at WA beach
Western Australia police said a man died yesterday after he was swept off the rocks near Yallingup.
Officials said emergency services were called to the area, at Wyadup Rocks, around 12.20pm on Monday. A search of the water found the man unresponsive and he was not able to be revived.
Police said his death is not suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Australians are being lulled into a false sense of security about threats of conflict, a Coalition senator says, as he calls for more transparency on risks to defence.
In a major speech to the National Press Club on Tuesday, shadow defence minister James Paterson said military leadership and the government needed to be more forthcoming on looming dangers, AAP reports.
He said openness would allow the public to be more on board with rises in military spending in coming years.
“If the Australian public knew how likely conflict is in our own region in the near future, and how ill-prepared we were for it, they would be marching in the streets demanding higher defence spending,” Paterson said in the address.
Instead of being honest with the Australian people about the threat and our preparedness, they are being lulled into a false sense of security.
Paterson said a way to lay out the threats would be an annual address by the chief of the defence force on the security challenges. Such a speech would be similar to the annual threat assessment done by Asio head Mike Burgess.
Australians are hungry for more candour about the dangers we face and they are entitled to it.
ANU council removed from decision to appoint next university chancellor
Julie Bishop’s replacement as chancellor of the Australian National University will be done independently of the university’s council, following a string of controversies around ANU’s governance.
Bishop, the former Liberal foreign minister, will end her term as ANU chancellor at the end of 2026. She has been accused of bullying by an academic and former ANU council member who gave evidence to the Senate.
The ANU voluntarily requested an undertaking from the university quality and safety body, TEQSA, to appoint the next chancellor. The body raised concerns over the culture of the ANU council in late 2025.
The majority-independent panel who will choose the next chancellor will be chaired by Emeritus Prof Peter Coaldrake, a former chief commissioner of TEQSA and vice-chancellor of the Queensland University of Technology.
Google, Meta and TikTok face new levy to pay for Australian news as Albanese reveals media plan
Anthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits.
Releasing an exposure draft for the government’s news bargaining incentive (NBI) scheme on Tuesday, the prime minister said platforms who sign new deals with publishers to pay for news content would receive offsets of between 150% and 170% from the new levy.
Any revenue collected will be directed to support Australian journalism.
Read more from our full report here:
Former Canadian PM answers questions about global conflicts during Melbourne conference
Young women from around the world subjected Canada’s former prime minister and his chief of staff to questions about global conflict and compromising values for political expediency at a feminist development conference on Tuesday.
Justin Trudeau and Katie Telford appeared at the six-day Women Deliver 2026 conference in Melbourne as part of a lineup that also included UN deputy secretary general Amina Mohammed, Victorian premier Jacinta Allan, Australia’s governor general Sam Mostyn, New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern, and many more.
Guardian Australia attended this session – described as a “fireside chat” – expecting it to also include New Zealand’s former prime minister Helen Clark, and we were hoping for a robust discussion between the two erstwhile world leaders. Clark’s name, however, was removed from the event’s online listing in the last 24 hours. (We’ve enquired about what happened there.)
Bathed in pink light in the “youth zone” of what one participant described as “feminist Coachella”, Trudeau claimed his government’s “unequivocally pro-choice” position was driven largely by youth, but said in response to a question that mentioned Israel’s war in Gaza, that there was “usually no right answer” on issues in which “strong emotions” became involved:
If you’re trying to find a response that pulls as many people together as possible, you’re probably going to piss off everyone … Any time you get strong emotions involved, it becomes so much more difficult to govern. And that’s not a bad thing. I mean, there are things that really matter in the world that people need to get emotional about. But as a government, you sometimes, often, have to make compromises that seem extremely difficult for people to live with.
When asked if he had taken positions that didn’t align with his values, Trudeau said he was “fairly confident” he hadn’t “compromise[d] on positions of fundamental importance”, before describing the controversial crude oil pipeline project his government oversaw as doing a “massively good job of starting to bend the curve” towards environmental sustainability:
I was true to my principles, even though a lot of people are like, well, if you’re buying a pipeline, you’re burning down the planet and you’re betraying everything you live for.
Anthony Albanese confirmed growing speculation that his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, will visit Australia next week.
In office since October, Takaichi will visit Canberra amid sensitivity about energy exports stemming from the Iran war and the closure of the strait of Hormuz.
Japan is one of the largest investors in and purchasers of Australian gas. Labor is under pressure to increase the tax paid by gas exporters but appears unlikely to use the 12 May federal budget to make changes.
Albanese said the visit will be Takaichi’s first official travel to Australia, coming in the 50th anniversary year since the signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan.
The two prime ministers will hold the annual Australia-Japan Leaders’ Meeting in Canberra on Monday.
“Australia and Japan share strong strategic alignment. Our cooperation is essential to maintaining a peaceful, stable and prosperous region,” Albanese said.
Our enduring trade and investment ties underpin our relationship, creating jobs, providing opportunity and delivering economic growth to both our nations.
Victorian government makes new funding announcements
The Victorian government is continuing its pre-budget blitz, with the deputy premier, Ben Carroll, and the minister for transport infrastructure, Gabrielle Williams, both out today to make funding announcements.
Williams announced $100m for more bus services. This includes expanded bus hours and weekend services across the network, two new routes in Melton South, another connecting Drysdale and Ocean Grove, and better access to universities, including La Trobe, Monash and RMIT’s Bundoora campus.
She said the annoucement completed the Labor government’s decision to extend free public transport until the end of May and then halve fees until the end of 2026:
More buses north, south, east and west – and it’ll be half-price to ride for the rest of the year. With Donald Trump’s war driving up costs at home, more bus services help Victorians save money and time.
Carroll, meanwhile, used International Workers Memorial Day to announce a $13.7m workplace safety package. This package includes funding for 20 extra WorkSafe inspectors, the establishment of a new “health care and social assistance compliance and enforcement” division and a three-year pilot program to support families grieving a loved one killed at work.
He announced that the state government, the City of Melbourne and Victorian Trades Hall Council would jointly build a permanent memorial sculpture in Melbourne to remember those killed at work.
Rebel Wilson denies mistreating star of The Deb, says she sees herself as a champion of women
Rebel Wilson has denied mistreating the star of her directorial debut, saying she sees herself as a champion of women in her defence of a blockbuster defamation suit, AAP reports.
The Pitch Perfect star is being sued by Charlotte MacInnes, the Australian lead actor of the musical comedy The Deb. MacInnes claims she was defamed by social media posts from Wilson that suggest she is a liar who retracted a sexual harassment complaint to advance her career.
Wilson was in the federal court witness box on Tuesday when she was questioned about a public statement portraying herself as a champion of women.
“Do you still say you regard yourself as a champion of women?” MacInnes’ barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, asked.
“Yes,” Wilson replied. “If you look over my 25-year career, you can see many evidences [sic] of me supporting women.”
The Hollywood star denied mistreating MacInnes, the film’s co-producer Amanda Ghost or co-writer Hannah Reilly while working with them on the film, labelling accusations of private and public bullying as “absolute nonsense”.
Returning to our earlier post about a major update to NSW’s public transport ticketing system:
NSW premier Chris Minns said the updates will make public transport “more reliable” and an “affordable option for millions of people across NSW”:
This upgrade is about improving the everyday experience, making it easier to get around, to save money and easier to rely on public transport.
We are investing not just in new lines, but in the services people use every day like buses, trains and the systems that keep them running.
John Graham, the NSW minister for transport, said:
Opal was introduced more than six years before the first metro service even ran in Sydney. It’s time for this tech-led transformation.
So-called ‘ghost buses’ have been a bugbear for Sydney commuters, and this solution is going to end that era once and for all.
The PM was also asked about the search for Sharon during his press conference. He said:
Well, this breaks the heart of everyone who hears about this story. Every parent’s worst fear is your child going missing.
You know, if you don’t know where they are for five or 10 minutes, it can cause a great deal of anxiety for parents out there. We just hope that this little girl is found.
It is of great concern that little Sharon, she’s five years old, and she went missing from her home in Alice Springs. The search is now in its third day. So, our hope is that this ends well.
Northern Territory police say they believe five-year-old Sharon was led away from an Alice Springs town camp by 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis, who was seen holding her hand shortly before she disappeared.
Sharon has not been seen since about 11.30 pm on Saturday night after she was put to bed in her family home.
NT police’s assistant commissioner crime and intelligence, Peter Malley, told reporters that there have been no confirmed sightings of the young girl or Lewis.
NT authorities believe Sharon is still alive but acknowledge significant concerns given the length of time she has been missing.
“Our number one mission is to find her safe and well,” Malley said. “But, as you know, as time goes on, the chances of finding her alive and well are reduced. Hence, the amount of resources we have presented here in Alice Springs camp.”
PM says he is confident Aukus is ‘full steam ahead’
The PM has also been asked about a British parliamentary committee that has looked into Aukus, saying the program looks like it might falter because of a lack of investment and commitment.
He said:
There is overwhelming support from the British government, from prime minister Keir Starmer as well as from the defence personnel in the United Kingdom.
Aukus is, to quote President Trump, full steam ahead and I’m confident it will be so.
The PM has also announced the news bargaining incentive – a law that imposes a new levy on tech giants such as Meta, Google and TikTok unless they do deals to fund local media – will go to the next stage, with legislation being introduced in the winter sitting.
We have just come from cabinet and we can announce today that our [government] is taking the next steps to ensure that Australian journalism is sustainable now and into the future by ensuring that large digital platforms cannot avoid their obligations under the news media bargaining code.
Anthony Albanese marks 30th anniversary of Port Arthur massacre
The PM is speaking in Canberra, where he has marked the 30th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre.
He said:
Australia pauses to remember the 35 people whose lives and futures were stolen from them at Port Arthur 30 years ago.
We think of everyone whose world was shattered by the loss of those innocent victims.
We think and thank the first responders again, and we think of the broader Tasmanian community as well.
First female defence boss named
Anthony Albanese has named industry department boss Meghan Quinn as the new secretary of the Department of Defence, the first woman to hold the role.
Quinn has advised governments on a wide range of Australian and international policy matters in the past, holding several deputy secretary roles at the Department of the Treasury and leading work on the Asian Century white paper. She has previously worked for mining company BHP and the Bank of England.
Her five-year appointment at Russell starts on 18 May. Albanese said:
This is a historic appointment with Ms Quinn becoming the first woman to substantively hold the position of secretary of the Department of Defence.
I would like to thank Mr Greg Moriarty AO for his service as secretary of the Department of Defence and I look forward to working with him in his new role as Australian ambassador to the United States of America. I would also like to thank Ms Cath Patterson for acting as secretary.
The New South Wales government will spend $820m to upgrade the state’s public transport ticketing system, including a new Opal app and the introduction of a digital Opal card.
Officials said the program will deliver better real-time information on public transport options, including the installation of digital information screens on 5,000 buses. Those screens will include information on upcoming stops, times to those stops and onboard audio announcements.
Travellers waiting at bus stops will also get much better information about when the next service will arrive.
Public transport options will also get 25,000 new Opal readers, replacing those on buses, trams, trains and ferries for more than a decade.
The first hardware installations will begin in 2027 and are expected to be completed by 2028.
Follow along with ultramarathon swim attempt in Western Australia
As we reported earlier, ultramarathon swimmer Andy Donaldson is attempting a 55km swim in the upper Ord River, from Lake Argyle to Kununurra’s Diversion Dam in Western Australia.
The Ord is known for its large population of freshwater crocodiles. Donaldson is attempting to break the record set by the only other swimmer to do so, Simone Blaser, who completed the effort in 16 hours and 12 minutes in 2024.
You can watch the attempt on YouTube below:
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
