Jacinda Ardern speaks in Sydney
The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is giving an tackle now on the Lowy Institute in Sydney. We’re livestreaming it right here (above) so you may observe alongside.
Key occasions:
Russia ‘have to be held to account’ – Ardern
Ardern is making some attention-grabbing feedback in regards to the warfare in Ukraine, and, by extension – although she doesn’t title it right here – China. She says Russia “have to be held to account” and that NZ will “intervene as a 3rd celebration in Ukraine’s case towards Russia [in the] worldwide courtroom of justice” to make sure that occurs.
We should useful resource the worldwide prison courtroom to undertake full investigations and prosecution of the warfare crimes and crimes towards humanity dedicated in Ukraine.
However in taking each doable motion to answer Russia’s aggression and to carry it to account, we should keep in mind that essentially that is Russia’s warfare.
And whereas there are those that have proven overt and direct help, comparable to Belarus, who should additionally seen penalties for that position, we should not in any other case characterise this as a warfare of the west versus Russia, or democracy versus autocracy. It’s not. Nor ought to we naturally assume it’s a demonstration of the inevitable trajectory in different areas of geo-strategic contest.
Within the wake of the tensions we see rising in our area, unbiased diplomacy should turn out to be the strongest device and deescalation the loudest name. We gained’t succeed, nonetheless, if these events we search to have interaction with are more and more remoted and the area we inhabit turns into more and more divided and polarised. We should not enable the danger of a self-fulfilling prophecy to turn out to be an inevitable final result for our area.
UN failed in Ukraine warfare response – Ardern
Jacinda Ardern is talking about what she says is her innate optimism, and primarily outlining her place on world affairs – “based mostly on the precept of upholding the rules-based order” utilizing multilateral establishments. However she’s thrown in a number of caveats to that:
Multilateral establishments are imperfect and so they have and they’ll fail us. Once they do fail, our first port of name should all the time be to search out methods to make them stronger. Equally, we can’t be left unable to answer world challenges as a result of we encounter dysfunction or, worse but, ethical failings.
In current occasions there was no higher instance of that than the failure of the UN to appropriately reply to the warfare in Ukraine due to the place taken by Russia within the safety council – a morally bankrupt place on their half within the wake of a morally bankrupt and unlawful warfare. Underneath these circumstances, ready for our multilateral establishments to behave was not an possibility for New Zealand. Right here, when the system fails, we search partnerships and approaches based mostly on the second precept of our unbiased international coverage, our values.
Jacinda Ardern speaks in Sydney
The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is giving an tackle now on the Lowy Institute in Sydney. We’re livestreaming it right here (above) so you may observe alongside.
Victoria information 12 Covid deaths with 592 folks in hospital
There have been 10,265 new circumstances recorded within the state over the previous 24 hours, with 30 folks in intensive care.
The Victorian ombudsman, Deborah Glass, has tabled her report into the state’s public housing complaints administration system in parliament at present.
We’ll have all the small print on what that comprises for you shortly.
Human rights teams hail South Australia abortion transfer
Melissa Davey
Greater than 15 months after being handed by parliament, the Termination of Being pregnant Act 2021 turns into regulation in South Australia at present.
The legal guidelines have been described by the Human Rights Legislation Centre as “a large win for reproductive rights”, with the legal guidelines supporting extra equitable entry to abortion care throughout the state.
The brand new legal guidelines see abortion faraway from South Australia’s prison legal guidelines. This leaves Western Australia as the one state in Australia that has not correctly decriminalised abortion, with abortion entry regulated as an exception to prison abortion legal guidelines.
Human Rights Legislation Centre Affiliate authorized director Adrianne Walters stated:
It’s been an extended, very long time coming however lastly abortion has been decriminalised in South Australia.
It was “a historic second” for South Australia, she stated.
The regulation coming into impact represents an enormous win for the precise of all folks to determine what occurs to their very own our bodies.
It’s notably important timing following the devastating overturning of Roe v Wade by the US supreme courtroom, which confirmed us that we mustn’t ever stand nonetheless in terms of selling reproductive rights in Australia.
Abortion is healthcare and entry to abortion is a vital human proper. Now that proper is a lot better protected in South Australia.

Josh Butler
Murray Watt and David Littleproud jousting continues
A testy Twitter tiff between the agriculture minister, Murray Watt, and his shadow counterpart, David Littleproud, has spilled right into a second day, with the Nationals chief denying claims he “lied” in regards to the federal authorities’s response to a foot-and-mouth illness outbreak in Bali.
The devastating animal virus impacts livestock and may drive the culling of livestock, and circumstances in Indonesia have Australian authorities on excessive alert.
Littleproud tweeted on Wednesday afternoon:
The federal authorities hasn’t taken the danger of foot-and-mouth illness significantly sufficient.
Barely 20 minutes later, Watt (who can be the emergency administration minister, and has been responding to the devastating NSW floods all week) shot again.
“Complete crap,” he replied to Littleproud’s authentic tweet:
Complete crap. At your request, I simply received you briefed by Ag Dept biosecurity workforce, so we might work collectively to guard Oz ag. They defined the varied measures we’ve imposed. And also you’ve chosen to lie about it. Right here is the complete listing, because you didn’t pay attention the primary time. https://t.co/SSWq4qoNWF
— Senator Murray Watt (@MurrayWatt) July 6, 2022
“Right here is the complete listing, because you didn’t pay attention the primary time,” Watt added, together with a hyperlink to a tweet of his personal (printed a number of minutes earlier than Littleproud’s authentic) itemizing expanded measures together with biosecurity detector canine at Darwin and Cairns airports, new signage and social media campaigns about foot and mouth, extra airport biosecurity coaching and enhanced mail inspections.
On Thursday morning, some 16 hours after Watt’s reply, Littleproud responded once more: “I’m not mendacity @MurrayWatt it simply appears you’re not asking the precise questions!”
The shadow agriculture minister included a press launch of his personal, which claimed the federal government’s response was nonetheless “insufficient”:
The federal government has conceded that their proposal to extend the variety of sniffer canine at airports with incoming Indonesian flights can not truly instantly detect FMD if hooked up on boots…
There additionally stays various passengers who falsely declare or don’t declare all of their actions whereas in Indonesia. The one approach to successfully mitigate this vulnerability is to introduce disinfectant foot baths at airports.
We’ll await Watt’s subsequent response.
Second Nasa rocket launches from Northern Territory
A Nasa rocket has launched from the distant wilderness of the Northern Territory following a two-day delay brought on by constant winds, AAP experiences.
The Suborbital Imaging Spectrograph for Transition area Irradiance from Close by Exoplanet host stars, or Sistine, mission took off on Wednesday evening after being delayed on Monday and Tuesday.
Equatorial Launch Australia government chairman Michael Jones stated on Wednesday evening the profitable launch was an thrilling follow-up to ELA’s first launch on 26 June.
Tonight we had been delighted to realize one other profitable launch which additional strengthens the capabilities of our workforce and of the Arnhem Area Centre.
We sit up for our third launch on 12 July after which onwards to the way forward for the Arnhem Area Centre and the Australian area trade.
The primary profitable launch occurred final month from the Arnhem Area Centre on the Dhupuma Plateau, close to Nhulunbuy.
Along with a 3rd rocket to launch later this month, the Sistine rocket will take measurements of ultraviolet gentle to assist slim the seek for liveable planets. The 2 missions will work collectively to get a full image of the ultraviolet gentle coming from stars Alpha Centauri A and B.

Linda Burney confirms Labor plan on referendum for Indigenous voice to parliament

Paul Karp
The Indigenous affairs minister, Linda Burney, has confirmed a narrative in Guardian Australia this morning that, though no choice has been made on a date, Labor is aiming to push forward with a referendum to entrench an Indigenous voice to parliament in 2023.
Burney informed ABC Information Breakfast:
I’m not going to be pushed right into a date. I feel the essential factor is that we seek the advice of. We hear completely different factors of view, and there are lots of factors of view on the market. I feel it’s placing the cart earlier than the horse to call a date after which work backwards from that – there are lots of issues to do. It’s very, very difficult however I’m satisfied that Australia is prepared and standing on the cusp of embracing constitutional reform and the thrilling factor is that there are such a lot of sectors of the group approaching board.
Requested in regards to the particulars of the story that Labor needs to capitalise on momentum and keep away from a marketing campaign in 2024, which could possibly be an election yr, Burney stated:
All the issues that you just’ve simply stated are concerns, after all, however by way of a date, will probably be after session with the suitable folks, session inside the parliament. The actually essential factor right here is to embrace the momentum, have a marketing campaign that’s going to develop that momentum and have a referendum when it’s going to succeed.
I’m so impressed by the outcomes of the 1967 referendum and I really feel Australia goes to do the identical factor once more.

‘We should be quite a bit smarter about the place we construct’ – Perrottet
There’s a little bit of forwards and backwards occurring now on this presser between a journalist and Perrottet, about council planning and constructing approvals, and whether or not (and this can be a tough paraphrase) folks have been misled when being allowed to construct in flood-prone areas.
Perrottet says:
There’ll all the time be floods, there’ll all the time be bushfires … however by way of planning, we should be quite a bit smarter about the place we construct going ahead. When it comes to going again, we’ll have a look at a few of these challenges within the Northern Rivers.
He says he’d wish to see locations like Lismore proceed to flourish, however needs to take a look at how the city can turn out to be extra resilient.
‘We’re trying in direction of restoration mode’ – NSW SES
Damien Johnson, the deputy commissioner of the New South Wales SES, says first responder providers are beginning to flip their consideration to flood restoration:
We’re trying in direction of restoration mode. We’re monitoring the river programs, because the bureau and Diana outlined, by way of seeing these river falls and hopefully the key peaks truly occurring and subsiding. And we’ll proceed to operationally reply each inside the Hunter and the higher metropolitan Sydney and the like, and the Hunter and the mid north coast areas as effectively.
We hope we’re over the worst of it and we’ll proceed to observe the dangers.
Flood rescues nonetheless occurring – SES
Damien Johnson, deputy commissioner of the New South Wales SES, is up on the mic now to carry a little bit of a downer to that barely brighter forecast:
There’s higher climate on its means however there’s nonetheless danger that continues. Our focus as anticipated yesterday was on the mid north coast space, within the Hunter and different areas as effectively. That has resulted in important operational exercise with the main target in these key areas as effectively.
I urge the general public to proceed to heed the warnings and particularly the evacuation orders and the evacuation warnings and observe all instructions from SES and emergency providers personnel. I wish to thank the general public persevering with to observe the instructions of the emergency providers.
We’re nonetheless seeing various flood rescues. Most of these are because of being in automobiles. As soon as once more, can folks adhere to the warnings and never enter into waters, particularly for those who’re on automobiles or on foot, or different mechanisms as effectively. You’ll be able to put each SES volunteers and different emergency providers in hurt’s means and that’s not one thing I like us to be doing.
Rains easing, BoM says
The forecast, although, is trying higher. Eadie says that whereas the river ranges will decrease, we’re unlikely to see rainfall totals within the days forward like we’ve prior to now week.
Wanting ahead, actually simply very coastal showers over the subsequent few days. We might see some bathe exercise on the Sunday, however at this stage not anticipating something like what we’ve seen prior to now few days to return to New South Wales over the subsequent week.
NSW city information highest river stage since 1952
There’s ongoing main flooding within the decrease Hunter space, the Hawkesbury-Nepean, the Macquarie and Tuggerah Lakes as effectively.
Eadie continues:
I’ll begin with Wombi Brook. For Bulga, we noticed 9.1m, which is the very best river stage we’ve seen since 1952. These circumstances are at present easing however will stay at main for a while but.
Singleton was an space of concern in a single day. It appears to be like seemingly we’ve seen the height at round 13.71m, which has exceeded the extent we noticed in March 2022. Excellent news for the Singleton is that it’s seemingly we’ll see the river ranges lower. That being stated, Maitland remains to be in danger and we might see main flooding at 10.5m.
We’re urging folks in these communities to ensure you keep on high of the most recent forecast warnings for these areas.
To the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers, we’re seeing the river ranges slowly lower in these areas however nonetheless across the main stage for North Richmond, Sackville, Wisemans Ferry. There’s nonetheless a whole lot of water flowing by means of the catchments. Be sure to’re utilizing warning once you’re across the water in these areas.