Search to resume for three missing after Rottnest seaplane crash
Four people have been pulled from the water – but three are still missing – after a privately owned plane crashed into the sea off Western Australia’s popular tourist site Rottnest Island.
Rescue efforts – led by police and emergency services crews, but also involving civilian vessels – was still under way yesterday evening.
Police confirmed the seaplane was carrying seven people, including the pilot. Three people were pulled from the water suffering serious injuries, a fourth was rescued uninjured.
But three people remained missing, several hours after the plane went down at 4pm local time.
Key events
Chalmers responds to report showing $7bn shortfall in budget for public sector wages
Jim Chalmers was also asked about a report in the Financial Review showing a $7bn shortfall in the budget for public sector wages – and why the government is forecasting almost no growth for the sector for three years from 2025/26?
The treasurer said it was “important to remember that the numbers in the budgets reflect the best current estimates that we have for departmental expenses, and those departmental expenses are considered each year from budget to budget.”
Usually what happens is that departments are required to meet these wage increases from within their existing allocated resources. That’s been standard practice for some time now, and that departmental funding is subject to regular indexation. But it’s important to remember [the] very, very important difference between us and our political opponents.
The Coalition want to slash a whole bunch of jobs that will cost more, it will deliver less, and it could herald a return to the days of Robodebt. We saw how badly they mismanaged the public service. We’ve been cracking down on external consultants and contractors. We’ve been rebuilding the frontline capacity of the Australian public service, remembering that three quarters of these new jobs are created outside of Canberra … and we will budget for that in the best most accurate way that we can.
Chalmers says government addressing cost-of-living pressures in ‘meaningful and responsible way’
Jim Chalmers was also asked about the resignation of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau amid the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
He was asked why he thinks Australians would give his government a pass and return them to power when cost-of-living pain is so great? Chalmers said they “don’t take any outcomes in the election for granted”.
The election will be very tough. It will be very tight. It will be contested as it always is, and as it always should be, and so we’re not complacent about the outcome of the election.
People are under very substantial pressure, and they often express themselves politically. Our job is to take the right economic decisions for the right reasons.
Chalmers argued the government was responding to cost-of-living pressures in a “meaningful and in a responsible way” and that “if our opponents were in charge, people would be much worse off”.
Chalmers speaks ahead of inflation figures being released today
Just a moment ago, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, spoke with ABC RN before the latest inflation figures being released today.
He acknowledged Australians are still under pressure but said today’s numbers would show “an indication of the progress that we’ve made together, from inflation with the six in front of it to inflation with the two in front of it”.
We know that the big national aggregate figures don’t always perfectly translate into [how] people are feeling or faring in local communities around Australia.
Chalmers pointed to a range of cost-of-living measures the government has implemented and said “any number today with the two in front of it shows that inflation has more than halved since we came to office”.
As for whether there may be an interest rate cut in February, Chalmers said he didn’t want to pre-empt decisions of the RBA but “we do know that inflation in the monthly figures and in the quarterly figures is now within the Reserve Bank’s target range”.
Emergency bushfire warning for towns along Great Ocean Road
An emergency bushfire warning has been issued for Cape Otway and Hordern Vale in southern Victoria.
An out-of-control bushfire is travelling towards Lighthouse Road, VicEmergency said, urging those in the area to take shelter now as it is too late to leave:
It is too late to leave the area safely so you must take shelter now … You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately. It is too late to leave.
A heatwave warning is in place for southern Victoria. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, severe heatwave conditions have eased but low-intensity heatwave conditions are expected to develop across the state later in the week.
This EMERGENCY WARNING – BUSHFIRE – Take Shelter Now is for Cape Otway and Hordern Vale.
You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive.
The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately. It is too late to leave.
More details at https://t.co/3VS4HRjclz pic.twitter.com/X3MZhrraXI
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) January 7, 2025
Australians will need digital permit to enter UK from today
From today, Aussies travelling to the UK will need to apply for a digital permit to visit England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The electronic travel authorisation, or ETA, costs £10 – or $A20. People can get an ETA to visit the UK instead of a visa if they are:
The official website to apply for an ETA is here – keep an eye out for scam websites that falsely offer ETA applications.
Housing market ‘buckling’ says CoreLogic
Eliza Owen, the head of research at CoreLogic Australia, says in a report today that the fall in house prices in December was exacerbated by slowing economic growth and “higher-for-longer” interest rates.
House prices fell by 0.1% in December, led by Sydney and Melbourne. In contrast, Perth saw property prices increase by 0.7% and Adelaide’s market rose 0.6% over the month. Owen said:
After almost two years, the housing market appears to finally be buckling to these pressures. Not just interest rates that have been higher for much longer than expected, but affordability constraints, where there’s a massive gap between what people can realistically afford and what home values actually are.
Read our full report here:
Sarah Basford Canales
Greens calling for laws to ‘Dutton-proof’ upcoming federal election leaders’ debates
The Greens want to see Labor pass laws declaring the ABC official hosts of the upcoming federal election’s leaders’ debates in a bid to “Dutton-proof” the event.
The minor party also wants to carve out its spot on the stage alongside the major parties’ leaders, claiming it is “more important than ever” given the possibility of a minority government.
The party’s communication spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, will announce the proposal today, arguing voters deserved to watch the debate for free and for it to be moderated by the “most trusted media outlet in the country”. She said:
This is a simple and common-sense proposition; our national broadcaster should be the home of our national election debates. When it comes to our democracy and a fair and balanced leaders’ debate, we can’t leave it to the Murdoch[-owned] media.
During the 2022 federal election, three debates were held on commercial television, including one behind a paywall on Sky News.
The former prime minister, Scott Morrison, accepted invitations to appear on the commercial networks but refused a request by the ABC.
Months after Anthony Albanese was elected prime minister, the ABC called for legislation to ensure it hosts and broadcasts at least one leaders’ debate during a federal election campaign.
Hanson-Young said “election debates should be about providing information to Australian voters, not about securing ratings for billionaire media moguls”.
Good morning
Emily Wind
I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our live coverage this Wednesday on the Australia news live blog. If you have any tips, feedback or questions, feel free to reach out via email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.
Let’s go.
Search to resume for three missing after Rottnest seaplane crash
Four people have been pulled from the water – but three are still missing – after a privately owned plane crashed into the sea off Western Australia’s popular tourist site Rottnest Island.
Rescue efforts – led by police and emergency services crews, but also involving civilian vessels – was still under way yesterday evening.
Police confirmed the seaplane was carrying seven people, including the pilot. Three people were pulled from the water suffering serious injuries, a fourth was rescued uninjured.
But three people remained missing, several hours after the plane went down at 4pm local time.
Potential repercussions for Australia amid Zuckerberg move to align closer with Trump
The decision by Mark Zuckerberg to align himself more closely with Donald Trump may have repercussions for the political discourse in Australia in this election year.
In announcing that he was getting rid of factcheckers, the Meta boss, who controls Facebook, Instagram and Threads, said “factcheckers have just been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created”.
He added that Meta was going to “get rid of a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse”.
Read our full story here:
Facebook’s factchecking has a fraught history in Australia – an RMIT-run service was reinstated in 2023 two months after a suspension over News Corp complaints:
However, its page now appears to have been deleted.
Forty more Bushmasters to be built in regional Victoria
Sarah Basford Canales
The Albanese government has announced it will build a further 40 of its Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles in regional Victoria after securing a $100m deal with defence contractor Thales.
The vehicles, known globally for their reliability, will be used by the Australian army and are expected to be based in Adelaide’s north once they are built.
The government said the deal would lock in more than 250 local jobs in Bendigo once production is under way.
The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, said the government’s decision to invest in the armoured vehicles showed its “commitment to modernising the Australian defence force”.
This contract underscores the Albanese government’s commitment to providing the Australian defence force with the capabilities and equipment it needs to keep Australians safe. This additional investment will support hundreds of jobs, underscoring the Albanese government’s commitment not only to the people of the Bendigo region but to building Australia’s future.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you the best of the overnight stories, and then it will be Emily Wind to take you through the rest of the day.
There’s a “massive gap between what people can realistically afford and home values” – that’s the verdict of a CoreLogic report into why the housing market is “buckling” under pressure from the cost-of-living crisis and rising rates. However, homeowners under pressure shelling out huge amounts on mortgages will be relieved that the data analysts think the downturn will be “short-lived”. Inflation figures out later this morning could have some bearing on whether rates will fall soon or not.
Anthony Albanese will travel to the Top End today after getting the ball rolling on the unofficial federal election campaign in Queensland this week. With the run-up to the election likely to be long and fractious, the prime minister will no doubt read with some concern this morning that Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has thrown his lot in with the incoming Donald Trump presidency by saying he will dump factcheckers and “prioritise free speech”.
Three people are missing and three are in hospital with serious injuries after a private plane crashed into the sea off Western Australia’s popular tourist site Rottnest Island yesterday afternoon. A major police operation was launched after the incident at about 4pm, local time, with civilian vessels also helping with the rescue effort. A fourth person was rescued unharmed. The search for the missing passengers continues and we’ll let you know of any updates.
And the Labor government has announced a deal with defence manufacturer Thales to build 40 new Bushmaster vehicles for the Australian army at a cost of $100m. More on that in a few minutes.
