News live: Marles will ‘make right decision in Australia’s interest’ over deploying navy vessels to Red Sea, Farrell says

From 5h ago

Sarah Basford Canales

Marles will ‘make right decision in Australia’s interest’ over deploying navy vessels to Red Sea

Earlier this morning, trade minister Don Farrell left open the possibility Australia could deploy navy vessels to the Red Sea amid ongoing attacks against commercial shipping from Iran-backed militia.

This week the US asked Australia to send a warship to the region as part of its duties as a member of the international naval security taskforce, the combined maritime forces.

It comes as the Yemen-based and Iran-backed Houthis warned they would target all ships heading to Israel through the sea, which lies between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula, regardless of their nationality.

Speaking to Sky News, Farrell said:

We generally focus our activities in our own region and as we know we’ve got the ships in the South China Sea at the moment. My understanding is that the, our defence minister, Richard Marles, has received the request and we will give due consideration in the days and the weeks ahead … [Marles] will make the right decision in Australia’s interest as to whether we do or we don’t deploy in the Red Sea.

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Here is the latest warnings on major flooding in far north Queensland:

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Major flooding is occurring at Peets Bridge, with renewed river rises being recorded following a peak this morning. The Mulgrave River is at 8.8m and rising, and is likely to peak near 8.9m this afternoon. It is expected to stay above 8m this evening.

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Meanwhile the Mulgrave River at Gordonvale is currently at 19.95m and rising, with moderate flooding. It is likely to peak at 16.10m this afternoon, and remain above the moderate flood level of 14.6m into the evening.

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Rainfall totals of up to 480mm have been recorded in the Mulgrave and Russell River catchments in the 24 hours to 9am today, local time. Since 9am this morning up to 75mm has been observed in both catchments.

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Heavy rain is expected to continue for the rest of the weekend before easing late Monday.

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An emergency alert has been issued for the Bluewater Estate at Trinity Park in Cairns, amid heavy rainfall and flash flooding in far north Queensland.

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The Cairns regional council has advised a “dangerous flood” is now occurring at the estate. Residents should leave immediately, or get up “as high as you safely can”.

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The Queensland SES has responded to more than 500 requests for assistance during the last 24 hours. A number of water rescues have been conducted, and in some instances, crews haven’t been able to reach families due to the flooding.

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A Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokesperson said in the 24 hours to midday today, there were 532 requests for assistance across the state, with most being in the far north.

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Almost 300 of these relate to flooding requests, and the rest are structural issues – such as damaged roofs, trees down, wash outs, re-supplies and evacuations.

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On top of this, there were also 48 requests from other agencies for assistance.

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Early this morning crews attempted a rescue a family inside a house from Mount Molloy, however could not reach them due to flooding around Mossman.

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We were liaising with occupants and they were told to find a safe space at a higher level in their house.

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An occupant was rescued from a car in floodwaters at Mena Creek, with no injuries reported. A separate group of people in Mena Creek relocated to a neighbours house, after crews were unable to reach them for a rescue operation due to the flooding.

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Meanwhile around 3am, QFES assisted Queensland Police with door-knocking about evacuations in Gordonvale. A 90-year-old was evacuated.

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The Bureau of Meteorology said major flooding was likely at Cairns airport this afternoon. The Barron River is expected to reach the major flood level of 3.5m.

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In the Barron River catchment, 513mm of rain was recorded in the 24 hours to 9am today, local time.

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Rainfall totals of up to 500mm were recorded across the Johnstone River catchment, where the McAvoy Bridge peaked at 7.5m this morning.

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The South Johnstone River at Mourilyan Mill is likely to remain above the major flood level of 10m today.

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Trade minister Don Farrell has said Australia’s support for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was the “sensible thing to do” after criticism from some within the Jewish community.

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Farrell, appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Agenda, was asked whether the decision was “a bit naive” after the 7 October attack by Hamas against southern Israel and with hostages still being held by the militant group.

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On Wednesday Australia joined 152 other nations in voting in favour of a United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire after earlier abstaining from a similar motion in late October.

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The Albanese government’s move was a break from the US position, which voted against the motion with nine other nations, and garnered criticism from the opposition and the Israeli embassy in Australia.

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The Israeli ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, criticised Canberra’s decision, saying he found it “difficult to understand how Australia can support Israel’s right to defend its people from terrorist aggression, while also voting in support of a ceasefire that will embolden Hamas and enable it to resume its attacks on Israelis”.

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The death toll in Gaza now stands at more than 18,000 Palestinians, according to the Gazan health ministry.

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The trade minister said he didn’t believe the shift was an “unreasonable” one given the circumstances:

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Right from day one, Australia has condemned the murderous assault by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel, we’ve continued to support Israel’s right to defend itself but, like most countries around the world, we are concerned about the number of civilian deaths in Gaza as Israel moves further and further into Gaza.

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It’s an extremely difficult set of circumstances. There are no easy solutions here but the government believed that that was a sensible thing to do in the circumstances.

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Don Farrell said he expects China will lift all of the $20bn in trade sanctions the Albanese government came into by next year, with lobster and wine next on the list.

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Beijing slapped trade sanctions on $20bn worth of Australian products at the height of a diplomatic feud in 2020, including tariffs of between 107% and 212% on Australian wine.

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Wine exports to China were valued at more than $1bn before the tariffs were put in place but that figure has plunged to a little more than $10m.

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In October Australia agreed to suspend its World Trade Organization dispute with China over its wine sanctions while Beijing undertakes an “expedited review” of duties, which is expected to take five months. Australia will resume the WTO dispute if the sanctions are not removed by the review’s end.

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The trade minister told Sky News he was “very confident” there would be a “favourable result” from the Chinese authorities early next year allowing Australian wine back into the country.

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Farrell on Tuesday announced China had lifted suspensions on three Australian meat exporters but others still remain suspended.

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Lobsters were now the last major product on his list, Farrell said:

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We started, when we came to office, with something like $20bn worth of trade impediments with China. Bit by bit, we’ve whittled that down and really the major product now that has not been let back into China is lobster, and I’ve raised this issue now five times with my Chinese counterpart, and I’m hoping that sometime in the near future that final product will be allowed back in and that that $20bn worth of trade will be resumed.

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A 10-year-old girl is fighting for her life after being struck by lightning on the Sunshine Coast as more wild weather has descended on Queensland, AAP reports.

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It happened at a private property in Beerwah at 2.30pm yesterday amid severe thunderstorms due to ex-Cyclone Jasper.

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The girl was taken to Sunshine Coast University hospital and then flown to Queensland Children’s hospital in a critical condition, Queensland police confirmed.

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Two major international shipping lines (Maersk and Hapag Lloyd) have suspended their movements through the Bab-al Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

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This comes after a number of vessels in the Red Sea have “come under attack” from “shore-based installations” in Yemen since Friday, according to the Freight and Trade Alliance.

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FTA director Paul Zalai compared this to when the mega-vessel “Ever Given” ran aground in the Suez Canal in March 2021, and said the impact of this waterway closure for six days “threw vessel schedules internationally into disarray”:

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We are likely to know more in coming days – should marine insurers withdraw policies for ships passing through the area or declare the Red Sea a “war zone”, shipping lines will be commercially left with little option but to abandon this key waterway.

\n

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Zalai said the withdrawal of vessels from this route, and a diversion via the Cape of Good Hope, would add 10 days to transit time.

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Any prolonged closure would add to the cost of goods in Australia, already under pressure from the effects of inflation, he added:

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\n

The timing could not be worse as vessel scheduling due to industrial action is already chaotic to and from Australia – the latest global events will further compound the complexity of international trade leaving exporters and importers with a lack of reliable access to and from markets well into the New Year.

\n

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You can read more on this below:

","elementId":"249aa63b-3279-40c9-8f79-1e4f1018b2bf"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/16/shipping-companies-suspend-red-sea-traffic-after-yemen-rebel-attacks","text":"UK and US navy vessels shoot down suspected attack drones in Red Sea","prefix":"Related: ","role":"thumbnail","elementId":"494d1803-c36b-4629-96c8-6116149cbbfb"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1702764641000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"17.10 EST","blockLastUpdated":1702779346000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"21.15 EST","blockFirstPublished":1702766750000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"17.45 EST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"17.45","title":"Major shipping lines abandon movements in Red Sea, raising concerns about cost of goods in Australia","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Sat 16 Dec 2023 23.45 EST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Sat 16 Dec 2023 16.53 EST"},{"id":"657e1c458f08a684d3bd878e","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"

A number of Australians have been stranded in Tuvalu after Fiji Airways cancelled all flights to and from the Pacific Island nation due to damage to the airport’s runway.

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Craig Bradbrook is just one Australian stranded in Tuvalu. He told ABC News Breakfast there is “no information on flights coming in and out at all”.

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He said there two flights had been so far, and that about 140 people were waiting to leave:

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As each day goes by and flights are cancelled – there’s usually three per week – that just increases the number of people waiting to get out of here.

\n

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Bradbrook said eight to 10 hours of heavy rain on Wednesday had damaged the airport’s runway and that locals “hadn’t experienced that amount of rain before”.

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He said Fiji Airways had not responded to emails from customers. Bradbrook also said there was a lack of ATMs and that he had met fellow passengers who were running out of money and medication:

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At this stage we’re all in limbo … and Christmas is around the corner.

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We have contacted Fiji Airways for further information and will bring you this as soon as we can.

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As we flagged just earlier, there is a severe weather warning in place for parts of far north Queensland in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Jasper, with nearly 500mm of rainfall since 9am yesterday.

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The former cyclone is now over the northern gulf country district and is expected to move into the eastern Gulf of Carpentaria tonight, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

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This, plus a separate coastal trough moving across the north tropical coast, is bringing increased rainfall.

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The BoM said this rainfall could bring “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding”, with six-hourly rainfall totals up to 200mm possible:

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A separate Severe Thunderstorm Warning will be issued if very dangerous thunderstorms with intense rainfall are detected.

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⚠️🌧️Intense rain is exacerbating ongoing Major Flooding across #FNQ this morning. Nearly 500mm has fallen since 9am yesterday. Numerous flood warnings are current, including the Herbert, Murray, Daintree, Mulgrave and Johnston Rivers. Warnings: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/annXr8qp42

&mdash; Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 16, 2023

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Major flood warnings are in place for the Daintree, Mossman, Mulgrave, Russell, Johnstone and Herbert rivers.

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Significant rainfalls since 9am local time on Saturday include:

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• 507mm at Upper Fisher Creek (Johnstone River)
• 450mm at Gordonvale (Mulgrave River)
• 465mm at Menavale
• 405mm at Davidson Creek (Tully River)
• 405mm at Nerada (Johnstone River)
• 392mm at Myola (Barron River)

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A crackdown has been launched on dodgy NDIS suppliers jacking up prices, with a new taskforce charged with stamping out inflated costs for the disability support scheme, AAP reports.

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Some providers are accused of increasing prices just because their customers are connected to the scheme, which NDIS minister Bill Shorten likened to the so-called “wedding tax” of suppliers increasing charges for marriage ceremony-related services.

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Changes are being made to strengthen the NDIS Act and NDIS rules so the scheme’s commissioner can ban providers and have greater action on compliance.

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Shorten said unscrupulous providers who exploit participants would be stopped:

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\n

We are cracking down on unreasonable pricing practices to ensure every possible dollar in the NDIS is being used to support people with disability.

\n

Labor is committed to getting the NDIS back on track, which includes addressing dodgy pricing to protect participants and safeguard the longevity of the scheme.

\n

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and the National Disability Insurance Agency are involved in the $6.7m taskforce.

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Shorten encouraged participants to report providers charging unreasonable price differences as they should not be paying more for equipment and services than those who are not connected to the scheme.

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Welcome back to another Sunday on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind and I’ll bring you our rolling coverage today.

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Making news today: intense rainfall is exacerbating major flooding across far north Queensland in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Jasper. Nearly 500mm has fallen since 9am yesterday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, and numerous flood warnings are current, including for the Herbert, Murray, Daintree, Mulgrave and Johnstone rivers.

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As AAP reports, a crackdown’s been launched on dodgy NDIS suppliers jacking up prices, with a new taskforce charged with stamping out inflated costs for the disability support scheme. But, as we’ve reported today, the federal government is also under the spotlight itself as a former disability minister accuses it of being more concerned with costs than people.

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And a number of Australians have been stranded in Tuvalu after Fiji Airways cancelled all flights to and from the Pacific Island nation due to damage to the airport’s runway.

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We’ll bring you more on all these stories shortly.

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If you see something that needs attention on the blog, you can get in touch via X/Twitter @emilywindwrites or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

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With that, let’s get started.

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Key events

Supporting UN ceasefire motion the ‘sensible thing to do’, Farrell says

Sarah Basford Canales

Trade minister Don Farrell has said Australia’s support for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza was the “sensible thing to do” after criticism from some within the Jewish community.

Farrell, appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Agenda, was asked whether the decision was “a bit naive” after the 7 October attack by Hamas against southern Israel and with hostages still being held by the militant group.

On Wednesday Australia joined 152 other nations in voting in favour of a United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire after earlier abstaining from a similar motion in late October.

The Albanese government’s move was a break from the US position, which voted against the motion with nine other nations, and garnered criticism from the opposition and the Israeli embassy in Australia.

The Israeli ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, criticised Canberra’s decision, saying he found it “difficult to understand how Australia can support Israel’s right to defend its people from terrorist aggression, while also voting in support of a ceasefire that will embolden Hamas and enable it to resume its attacks on Israelis”.

The death toll in Gaza now stands at more than 18,000 Palestinians, according to the Gazan health ministry.

The trade minister said he didn’t believe the shift was an “unreasonable” one given the circumstances:

Right from day one, Australia has condemned the murderous assault by Hamas terrorists in the south of Israel, we’ve continued to support Israel’s right to defend itself but, like most countries around the world, we are concerned about the number of civilian deaths in Gaza as Israel moves further and further into Gaza.

It’s an extremely difficult set of circumstances. There are no easy solutions here but the government believed that that was a sensible thing to do in the circumstances.

The Guardian