Australia news live: Bruce Highway explosion site ‘looks like a missile has hit’; baby found dead at Brisbane daycare; TWU disbands Victorian and Tasmanian branch | Australia news

Andrew Messenger

Sacked former CFMEU national president launches legal fund campaign

Sacked former CFMEU national president Jade Ingham has launched a legal fund campaign for their high court challenge at a defiant press conference in Brisbane this afternoon.

Ingham said the Electrical Trades Union, the firefighters’ union, the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, the Rail Tram and Bus Union, the plumbers union and “others” have pledged their financial support.

There is significant money that’s pouring in, and not just money, but support as well. They understand that this is not just about the CFMEU unit. This is a very dangerous precedent to set, and what the Labor Party have done is given a blueprint to the conservatives of this country to attack trade unions.

The union is seeking to have the laws declared unconstitutional and the administrator sacked. Ingham said:

It’s our belief that these laws are unconstitutional. They’re undemocratic, and they’re definitely un Australian. These laws should concern any Australian who is concerned about our democracy and who cares about our country,.

Asked if the union would be seeking to have the administration set aside while the case is underway, Ingham said “we will assess all possibilities along the way”.

Fines for feeding crocodiles bite harder

People who feed and interact with crocodiles face harsher penalties as Queensland authorities crack down on risk-taking behaviour, AAP reports.

Knowingly staying near a crocodile which is on or partly on land can now cost $806 on the spot while interfering with crocodile traps attracts a $2,580 fine on the spot, or up to $26,615 in court.

Discarding food including fish frames, scraps and bait in public places like a boat ramp, jetty or campground can result in an on-the-spot fine of $483 under penalties introduced by the state government. The maximum court-imposed fine is $6,452.

Existing fines have also increased, including for deliberately disturbing or feeding a crocodile, costing $2,580 on the spot or up to $26,615 as a court penalty. Conservation officers have the power to move people away from crocodiles under the changes.

Sarah Basford Canales

Reynolds’ lawyer describes claims made by Higgins on The Project as ‘litany of lies’

Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, has described a number of the claims made by Brittany Higgins about the then defence minister in her televised interview on The Project as a “litany of lies”.

The defamation trial in Perth is in its final days and lawyers on each side are offering their closing arguments.

Bennett is going through the transcript of Higgins’ appearance on The Project in February 2021, disputing a number of the former Liberal staffer’s claims.

In particular, Bennett is focused on the claims Reynolds and her then chief of staff, Fiona Brown, mishandled her rape allegations in March and April 2019.

Higgins told the program she was made to feel like a “problem” and that the meeting with Reynolds and Brown felt like a “HR ticking a box moment”.

Bennett disputed many of Higgins’ characterisations of the two as lies or mistruths.

The trial continues.

A five-metre crater remains where a truck full of chemicals exploded after a fatal crash on the Bruce Highway in central Queensland, AAP reports.

Some nearby homes “look like someone has kicked the door in” and other residents claim it felt like their roof lifted off during the blast.

A section of the Bruce Highway closed for days after the fiery collision and is expected to partially reopen at midnight, but road repair work may last for weeks. The Gladstone mayor, Matt Burnett, said the site itself “looks like a missile has hit the side of the road”.

The male driver of a ute died in a head-on collision with a B-double semi-trailer carrying more than 40 tonnes of ammonium nitrate near Bororen early Friday. Hours later the truck – carrying the chemicals commonly used in fertilisers – exploded with a blast radius of 500 metres, but shock waves were felt for kilometres.

The full extent of damage to nearby properties was unclear, with assessments under way. Burnett said some people were “reporting significant damage to their houses”.

Then there was the impact of the highway’s closure, with some businesses that rely on the highway’s heavy traffic reporting losses of up to $10,000 a day. Burnett said:

We know these communities rely on Bruce Highway traffic and for five days no one has been through … I have never seen a crash close the highway this long … and I have been on the council 24 years.

Burnett said they would be seeking state and federal support.

Clinicians telling women their pain is ‘psychological’, pain inquiry hears

Women are being told by health professionals that their pain is a psychological or personality issue, according to Victoria’s health minister, who detailed early findings from a women’s pain inquiry that heard from 13,000 women, girls, clinicians and carers.

As AAP reports, participants shared instances of sexism and misogyny in healthcare and described the toll of chronic pain on their lives and experiences of being ignored, the state government said. About 4,500 people described living with endometriosis, 3,000 with migraines and 2,500 with period pain.

The state’s health minister, Mary-Anne Thomas, said it was clear women’s pain was not taken seriously enough, with women describing difficulties navigating both public and private health systems.

Overwhelmingly, they told us that they’re not being listened to, and instead their pain is being attributed to either psychological or personality factors.

This is simply not good enough, when women are not being listened to it means that their diagnosis is not happening where and when it should.

The report is yet to be finalised but the minister expected recommendations to include educating clinicians about women’s health. The final report is due to be handed down at the end of 2024.

Hundreds evacuated from 68-level building in Sydney after garbage fire

About 500 people have been evacuated from a 68-level building in Sydney, after garbage bags in the basement caught on fire.

A spokesperson with Fire and Rescue NSW said after initial responders confirmed the fire, it sent 18 fire trucks and 72 firefighters to the scene to begin battling the blaze.

There’s a fair bit of smoke throughout the building … the fire was contained, and it’s been now extinguished, and it’s been contained to that garbage room area.

The spokesperson said there were no reports of injuries, but some people with mobility issues needed assistance during the evacuation process.

Once the building was completely clear of smoke and air monitoring was complete, the occupants would be able to return.

The building is a mixed residential and commercial building on Bathurst Street.

Transport Workers Union disbands Victorian and Tasmanian branch

Adeshola Ore

The Transport Workers Union has disbanded its Victorian and Tasmanian branch after an investigation found the branch had “significant operational and cultural problems”.

The inquiry – led by retired judge Frank Marks – was sparked by allegations of misconduct against the union secretary, Mem Suleyman. But it cleared him of wrongdoing. In a statement, the union’s national committee of management says it is “deeply concerned” that the inquiry revealed unfounded allegations against Suleyman.

The TWU says its national council agreed to disband the branch, effective immediately. The union’s national president, Tim Dawson, says the decision was not taken lightly:

However, we believe it is necessary to urgently address the systemic issues identified in Mr Marks’ report and to refocus our efforts on what truly matters – fighting for the rights and interests of our members.

Mr Marks’ investigation uncovered serious operational and cultural problems within the branch. Given these issues, National Council has formed the view that the National Committee of Management should move to immediately oversee governance while a long-term solution is prepared.

The union says its Victorian and Tasmanian members will continue to be represented under the national committee of management.

Sarah Basford Canales

Reynolds’ lawyer claims in court Higgins exaggerated wait time for counselling to ‘suit’ narrative

Linda Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, has said Brittany Higgins had exaggerated her wait time for counselling support after her rape allegations to “suit” her narrative.

Bennett is pointing to contemporaneous notes kept by the senator’s then chief of staff, Fiona Brown, of events in March and April 2019, as well as text records and Brown’s affidavit in the failed defamation trial by Bruce Lehrmann last year.

Bennett said Higgins was offered employment assistance services in the week after the allegations were first revealed to the senator and Brown.

In her televised interview with The Project, Higgins said she was handed a brochure for those services but there was a “two-month wait”. The court was shown text messages showing she had been offered an appointment with the counselling service on 18 April 2019 – nearly a month after the alleged rape. Bennett said:

It’s not the trauma of a rape victim getting it wrong, it’s on her phone … it wouldn’t suit her purpose to correct that fact.

In his closing arguments, Bennett is attempting to show Reynolds and Brown had not mishandled the rape allegation. Earlier, Bennett said she was “no ordinary employer”, given she had just been given a cabinet position in the federal government and was preparing for budget submissions.

The defamation trial continues.

More warm weather and elevated fire risk later this week, BoM says

Hot conditions are continuing across northern and western parts of the country today, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

Warm weather would push into the eastern states from Thursday, it said, increasing fire danger through much of western and northern Australia as temperatures rise and winds increase.

Sydney is forecast to reach a top of 29C on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, Alice Springs could reach a top of 34C on Friday.

Man arrested after fatal vehicle and pedestrian incident at Kingaroy

Queensland police have arrested a man after a fatal vehicle and pedestrian incident at Kingaroy this morning.

A black Mercedes allegedly struck a 36-year-old Kingaroy man this morning, before the vehicle left the scene. It will be alleged the man was walking with a 27-year-old man when he was hit by the vehicle, police said.

The 36-year-old was declared deceased at the scene, and the 27-year-old man was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Police located a Mercedes at an address on Boonenne Ellesmere Road in Taabinga, and a 30-year-old man was taken into custody.

Investigations were ongoing, and anyone with information has been urged to contact police.

Mick Lowe, SES Tasmania’s executive director, said impact assessments were being conducted on homes affected by flooding:

We’ve got some drones that are flying to confirm exactly how many properties have been inundated, but we believe we’ve managed to notify most of those properties prior so we’re hoping most people are out of the danger areas …

The total number of houses, either isolated or in danger, was around 70 in the Meadowbank, Bushy Park and Macquarie Plains area. That’s the total and we’ll have further figures once we’ve done the rapid impact assessment.

Minor flooding could persist in Tasmania for ‘several days’, emergency personnel say

Circling back to the flooding situation in Tasmania, and emergency service personnel were giving an update from Hobart just earlier.

They said the Derwent River peaked at 8.17 metres, marking the record highest peak at that site since it was installed in 1974.

They said minor flood warnings could persist for “several days”, particularly the bigger catchments.

It will take a little bit of time for the water to work its way down. And with the potential for snow melt with warm days during the middle of this week, that could feed extra water flow into some of those catchments.

A second front is expected on Thursday and Friday, where isolated wind gusts up to 100km/h could hit.

It’s, of course, an evolving situation. It’s a few days away and we’ll continue to monitor that closely and [we’re] not expecting anything like the widespread destructive gusts that we saw last weekend.