Australia news live: thunderstorm asthma warning for Victoria’s north as wild weather threatens east coast

With that we’re wrapping up the blog. Before we go, here are the major stories from Sunday:

• The environment Minister, Murray Watt, is adamant Labor will pass its overhaul of the country’s environmental laws;

• Watt also confirmed that the minister will maintain the power of project approval rather than the Environmental Protection Authority under the new reforms;

• Australia must ‘step up to prevent catastrophic and preventable loss of life’ caused by Trump cuts, former US Centre for Disease Control boss says;

• Nationals senator Matt Canavan will “present work” on net zero review to Coalition this week;

• Barnaby Joyce says he remains with Nationals but will not attend party room meetings this sitting fortnight;

• The climate and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has urged parliament to pass environmental reforms to aid energy transition;

• Large parts of Australia’s east coast, from Victoria to Queensland, are being hammered by severe thunderstorms expected to continue into the week;

• A 19-year-old man located near an alleged machete brawl in Melbourne’s north on Saturday night is in a stable condition in hospital, police say;

• A Queensland man has been charged with violating a domestic violence order following a car crash that killed a three-year-old.

  We’ll pick things up again tomorrow.

Unbridled inflation an each-way bet on Cup Day rate cut

Hopes of an interest rate victory on Melbourne Cup Day may be dashed with expectations that inflation will not be reined in.

A stronger-than-expected inflation reading on Wednesday could postpone any rate relief when the central bank meets the following week.

The data will give the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) a better sense of the pressures on Australia’s economy before the board’s meeting in the first week of November.

Economists predict headline inflation to increase to about 3%, up from the last quarterly reading of 2.1%.

Banks are split on changes to underlying inflation, which is the RBA’s preferred measure as it strips out volatile items like power prices.

Some experts believe that figure will remain steady, while others think it will tick up slightly.

Wall Street investors are meanwhile considering cooler-than-expected inflation data and upbeat corporate earnings, which lifted major US stock indexes to all-time closing highs.

The boost sets the stage for next week’s earnings reports and an expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

– AAP

Queensland man charged with violating domestic violence order after boy dies in car crash

A Queensland man has been charged with violating a domestic violence order following a car crash that killed a three-year-old.

The crash happened at 5am on Saturday morning with a witness claiming the vehicle veered off the road into bush.

A 24-year-old man is alleged to have fled the scene with a one-year-old boy. He was later found at an address in Beenleigh about 90 minutes after the incident.

A 22-year-old woman and a three-year-old boy were taken to Beenleigh police station by a witness.

On arrival the boy become unresponsive in the foyer of the police station. Officers attempted to perform CPR but the boy died from apparent head injuries.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Mooney said a domestic violence order had been in place since June 2024 and the couple had been separated for 12 months.

The two adults and the one-year-old were taken to hospital for observation. The one-year-old is not believe to have sustained any injuries.

Large parts of Australia’s east coast, from Victoria to Queensland, are being hammered by severe thunderstorms expected to continue into the week.

A cold front stretching across eastern Australia is bringing widespread rain across parts of Victoria, NSW and Queensland, with severe thunderstorms forecast to lash some areas.

Residents are warned heavy rain could bring flash flooding, large hailstorms and dangerous driving conditions, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Miriam Bradbury said on Sunday.

We are going to see a severe storm potential through Sunday afternoon and evening across the central parts of Victoria, including much of the greater Melbourne area, pushing up across much of the Riverina of NSW as well.

In Queensland, the severe storm risk extends across much of the south-east, including the south-east coast, much of the Darling Downs and the Wide Bay and Burnett area.

Bradbury warned the Brisbane area, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast were also in for a torrid time.

Through this afternoon and evening, we may see some very dangerous thunderstorms developing in these areas.

It’s a good idea to be keeping a close eye out for any warnings we do need to issue.

Damp conditions are expected to linger along much of eastern Queensland next week as a low-pressure trough continues to draw in moisture against the coast.

Tuesday is likely to be the wettest day.

– AAP

Man dies in stabbing after fight erupts at Hobart tourist spot

Two groups have faced off in a city car park off an iconic sandstone-lined tourist strip, with one man fatally stabbed and another sent to hospital.

A young man has been killed and another taken to hospital after a fight broke out in a popular waterfront tourist precinct.

The men suffered stab wounds when two groups clashed off Hobart’s Salamanca Place in the Morrison Street car park about midnight on Saturday, police said.

It happened metres away from the Salamanca Market, along the picturesque sandstone-lined tourist strip.

A 20-year-old man died from his injuries, while a 23-year-old man was still in hospital being treated for non-life-threatening injuries on Sunday morning.

Police said it appeared to be an “isolated incident” that was possibly linked to a previous incident involving a person from each group.

A 20-year-old has been taken into custody, as officers try to track down others caught up in the deadly fight.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers Tasmania.

– AAP

PM thanks Anangu people for their grace

Anthony Albanese also attended Saturday’s celebrations marking the return of Uluru to the Anangu people, saying that 40 years ago, after decades of exclusion, the Anangu’s rightful relationship with their land was finally recognised.

And the Anangu responded by choosing to share it with all of us.

On behalf of Australia, I say to the Anangu, ‘we thank you for your patience, we thank you for your grace’.

Uluru is included in the Unesco world heritage list and is one of the most recognisable natural sites in the world.

On Sunday, governor Gen Sam Mostyn will unveil a plaque commemorating the 40th anniversary of the return as Anangu people continue their celebrations.

Governor general thanks Anangu people for sharing Uluru on 4oth anniversary of handback

Australia’s leaders have thanked the Anangu people of the Red Centre for sharing Uluru with the world after it was handed back to them 40 years ago.

Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the handback, when then governor general, Ninian Stephen, presented the title deeds to Traditional Owners.

The return of Uluru and nearby Kata Tjuta, also known as Ayers Rock and The Olgas, on 26 October 1985, was a symbolic high point for Aboriginal land rights.

The governor general, Sam Mostyn, addressed a celebration marking the anniversary at Uluru on Saturday, noting Ninian’s role.

So it is very special to me, as your governor general now, to come here 40 years later and to celebrate and thank Anangu.

Mostyn praised the Anangu people for their custodianship, care and sharing of Uluru, as well as their “fire” that led to the handing back.

At the 1985 handback ceremony, the Anangu signed a joint management agreement, leasing the land back to the Australian Parks and Wildlife Service (now the Director of National Parks) for 99 years.

The handback followed decades of lobbying by Traditional Owners to have their rights recognised and set the scene for other land returns across Australia

– AAP

Attorney general stands by Brereton after defence consulting revelations

The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, has reiterated her support for Paul Brereton after it was revealed he had consulted for the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force on 11 occasions since taking over his role as National Anti-Corruption Commissioner (NAC).

Rowland was speaking to reporters in her electorate on Sunday when she was asked whether Brereton ever disclosed this work to her.

She said disclosures were made to her predecessor “as part of the process for [Brereton’s] appointment and on an ongoing basis”.

Certainly, all those disclosures are made through the department so they are known, but they are done in the proper way. And I would just like to say that the government and myself, as attorney general, have confidence in the NAC and the NAC Commissioner, and it is getting on with its important work.

Asked about comments from the NAC’s CEO, Philip Reid, who previously said he was not aware of the consulting work or that it had been disclosed, Rowland said:

It is appropriate that disclosures are made and that is the ordinary course of events that are done, and the department has satisfied itself of that.

The climate and energy minister, Chris Bowen, has called on parliament to pass the government’s environmental reforms, saying the environment minister, Murray Watt, has been doing a “first-class job”.

Bowen was speaking to reporters alongside the attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, in Rouse Hill to mark the success of the government’s home-battery program, which has now installed 100,000 systems in four months.

Bowen said the reforms would speed up the rollout of renewable energy and that Watt was speaking to the Coalition and the Greens to pass them.

Murray Watt has done a first-class job, he’ll introduce the legislation this week. This will be important not only for our renewables rollout, of course it will be – we want to get to faster yeses and faster no’s. Not every project is in the right time at the right place, that’s what the planning approval system is for. We want to see these results happen quicker, whether it’s a yes or a no – not just for renewables, but for housing across the board; to see jobs created across our country. So, I think we’re hopeful that the parliament will pass sensible reforms.

Victoria’s chief health officer has warned that a thunderstorm rolling in across the state has a high probability of triggering asthma-like symptoms.

The risk for an epidemic thunderstorm was raised to high on Sunday for the northern country district.

Epidemic thunderstorm asthma is when large numbers of people suddenly develop asthma symptoms over a short period, and is thought to be triggered by a unique combination of high pollen levels and a specific type of thunderstorm.

The assessment is supported by the Bureau of Meteorology.

Conservationists say new EPA plan falls short as minister retains project approval power

The Australian Conservation Foundation (AFC) has issued a release about the scope of the Albanese government’s promised environment protection agency.

The environment minister, Murray Watt, on Sunday announced the scope of the government’s agency, which confirms the minister will retain the ability to approve projects.

The ACF says this falls short of “creating a fully independent EPA”. It says a better model would be one in which the minister makes nature protection rules, and the EPA assesses and approves projects based on national environmental standards.

The acting ACF chief executive, Paul Sinclair, said developers were able to pressure and influence ministers for decades.

Tragically, this has resulted in millions of hectares of valuable bushland and habitat being razed by bulldozers, and Australia’s natural wealth significantly degraded.

We remain strongly of the view that independent, expert decision making by the EPA on assessments and approvals is the best way to the deliver the consistency and certainty that is needed under our national nature protection laws. Arm’s length decision making is better for nature and better for business.