Australia news live: SA lead smelter to get $135m rescue package; First Nations group sues to block Olympic stadium | Australia news

Andrew Messenger

More than 5,800 charges have been laid under Queensland’s “adult crime, adult time” legislation.

Director-general Sarah Cruikshank revealed in state parliamentary estimates that about 1,250 children have been charged under the Making Queensland Safer bills, which passed in December and in May.

About 85% of the charges laid under the legislation were of unlawful use of a motor vehicle, entering premises, and burglary, in that order, she said, representing more than 30% of the cases going through the children’s court.

Attorney-general Deb Frecklington told estimates “nearly half of all juveniles sentenced for an adult crime … are now spending time remanded in custody before their case is finalised”.

We are starting to see more young people sentenced to more intensive sentences, detention and probation, with a corresponding drop in less intensive sentences, like good behaviour orders and community service orders.

The laws violate the rights of children including their right to be free from “protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”, discriminate against them, and will disproportionately affect Indigenous Queenslanders.

Jordyn Beazley

More on MP Gareth Ward

More on convicted rapist MP Gareth Ward seeking an injunction to stop him being expelled from the New South Wales parliament, and which will see him remain, for now, the state member for Kiama.

The New South Wales supreme court confirmed on Tuesday morning that Ward had launched proceedings against Labor MP and leader of the house, Ron Hoenig.

The common law duty judge, Justice Deborah Sweeney, made an order that Hoenig be restrained from taking “any steps to expel or otherwise resolve to expel” up to and including Friday at 10am. This is when a one-hour hearing for the matter is currently set.

A five-minute directions hearing is planned for tomorrow.

Popular Melbourne hotspot 1-800-Lasagne enters administration

1-800-Lasagne, a Melbourne dining darling, has entered into voluntary administration.

The restaurant said it was working closely with an administration team to “streamline and restructure our model to ensure we take the best steps while moving forward”, saying:

Our loyal suppliers and our beloved staff are and will continue to be our highest priority through this process. 1800 Lasagne has always been about people, passion and plates of love – and that hasn’t changed.

We’re grateful for the support of our incredible community and encourage everyone to keep showing love and support to local hospitality.

Police investigating fatal stabbing of teenage girl in Lake Macquarie

NSW police have established a strike force after the fatal stabbing of a teenage girl in Lake Macquarie last night.

Officers responded to reports of a stabbing about 10.20pm last night, and on arrival emergency services found the teen with an injury to her torso. She was treated at the scene by paramedics and taken to a local hospital, but was pronounced dead later that night. She is believed to be 14, but has not been formally identified.

Another girl, 13, was arrested at the scene and remains in police custody. Police said the pair were known to each other. Officials said a kitchen knife was located during a search of the home and has been seized for forensic analysis.

No charges have been laid.

Tory Shepherd

Aussie editor to lead new rightwing tabloid in California

In case you missed it in our story today about Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp launching a Californian, rightwing tabloid next year – the new boss will be an Aussie import (presumably without the tariffs).

Nick Papps, weekend editor of Melbourne’s Herald Sun and a man with a long history with the company, will be the editor-in-chief of the California Post, a version of the company’s New York Post.

It comes as Murdoch’s relationship with US president Donald Trump has hit some wobbles. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson said:

Los Angeles and California surely need a daily dose of The Post as an antidote to the jaundiced, jaded journalism that has sadly proliferated.

The metal producer Nyrstar will get a $135m bailout from a coalition of the federal government and the governments of South Australia and Tasmania, which will support the company’s Port Pirie facility in SA.

Nyrstar said in June its lead smelter in Port Pirie was losing tens of millions of dollars a month, saying the future of its zinc smelter in Hobart was linked to the success of the one in SA. It called on urgent government intervention, the ABC reported at the time.

The federal government will kick in $57.5m, South Australia $55m and Tasmania $22.5m, the SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, said in a news conference:

This $55 million contribution from the South Australian government is part of a $135 million package that’s all about setting up Port Pirie for a more prosperous future. We know there is a journey in front of us to be able to tackle the challenges we see, particularly coming out of China. But we should be upfront and honest about them.

Andrew Messenger

First Nations group lodges legal action to halt Olympic stadium development

A First Nations’ group has lodged legal action in the federal court to halt development of an Olympic stadium in inner-city Brisbane.

Victoria Park is slated to play host to both the 2032 opening and closing ceremonies, at a brand-new 63,000 seat stadium, among other venues. The state government recently passed legislation overruling a swathe of state laws to get around a mooted legal challenge, including heritage, planning and environment acts.

The Yagara Magandjin Aboriginal Corporation and advocacy group Save Victoria Park made an application under section 10 of the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act, which allows the commonwealth to declare long-term protection of a significant Aboriginal area.

The Queensland premier, David Crisafulli, ruled out a stadium in the park during last years’ state election. YMAC spokesperson and Yagarabul elder Gaja Kerry Charlton said:

We know this is a place of great significance and history, not only for Yagara people, but for other First Nations and non-Aboriginal people as well.

It was a complete shock when the premier came out with his stadium plans. He said the park would be protected from stadiums; I thought the park was safe. Now the government wants to destroy it. We are very concerned there are ancient trees, artefacts and very important ecosystems existing there. There may be ancestral remains.

An updated on SES rescues during flooding in NSW the last few days

The NSW State Emergency Service received more than 4,300 calls and responded to more than 2,300 incidents over the last few days amid intense rainfall across parts of the state. That included 34 flood rescues.

Parts of low-lying areas in Gunnedah remain under evacuation orders, and the SES is moving assets to some areas near Wee Waa and Narrabri in anticipation of possible river rises as flood waters move downstream. But flooding is easing in the Hunter.

Still, more than 40 warnings are still in place across the mid-north coast, the upper Hunter and New England regions. You can see how those affect your area at the Hazard Watch site.

Josh Taylor

NBN picks Amazon’s Kuiper to replace satellite service

The 300,000 homes in regional and remote parts of Australia that were only able to access the NBN via the ageing Skymuster satellites will be able to upgrade to low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services beginning mid-2026 under a deal signed between NBN Co and Amazon.

Despite hundreds of thousands of Australians already switching to Elon Musk’s Starlink, Amazon won out the deal to provide LEO services to the 300,000 homes covered by the Skymuster satellites that will be decommissioned in 2030, following a request for proposal process. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but NBN chief executive Ellie Sweeney said the agreement would be funded by NBN Co rather than needing a cash injection from taxpayers.

The services will begin to come online mid-2026, starting in Tasmania, as Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites begin to cover Australia. Full coverage should take weeks, the company said.

NBN Co will begin consultation with communities and retail service providers in the coming weeks on product offerings, speed tiers, wholesale pricing and the upgrade process required for those on the existing satellite service. Users on Starlink today pay a premium for the service compared with NBN pricing, and Sweeney said equity would be an important feature in the pricing so someone in regional Australia has the same level of service as someone in metropolitan areas.

Sweeney said:

It’s now time to evolve, with full fibre in many areas, in upgraded fixed wireless in others and now with LEO satellites, we’re committed to ending buffering in the bush.

Andrew Messenger

Queensland government releases second damning report into state DNA lab

Queensland’s state government has released more information about the work of its public DNA laboratory.

Yesterday’s review by forensic scientist Prof Kirsty Wright found that virtually all forensic science work done at the laboratory was being done late, typically by hundreds of days.

A second review, by FBI expert Dr Bruce Budowle, found the service remains “in a state of sustained crisis”. He found that scientific methods had been implemented “without proper validation”, risking the “integrity” of the results, but others not adopted due to “perceived or real challenges” which could have been overcome. Budowle said:

The workplace culture at FSQ appeared to the Review Team to be quite toxic.

A pair of commissions of inquiry in 2022 and 2023 uncovered systematic errors within the laboratory – including an error which called into question DNA evidence used in thousands of criminal cases, including for crimes such as rape and murder. Wright found the same error had been repeated again last year. She recommended contracting out most of the work done by the lab to outside laboratories while it undertakes reform.

Jordyn Beazley

Motion to be moved by NSW Labor MPs condemns ‘ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians from Gaza’

Guardia Australia has obtained a copy of the motion NSW Labor MPs are planning to move in a party meeting today condemning conditions in Gaza and endorsing the right to protest.

The motion, to be moved by upper house member Sarah Kaine and seconded by MP Lynda Voltz, moves that the caucus:

• Condemns the destruction of Gaza, the mass civilian deaths and the Israeli government’s open endorsement of the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians from Gaza.

• Condemns all crimes against humanity, including genocide, the murder of civilians and the hostage taking.

• Thanks the people of Sydney for the mass protest rally conducted peacefully on Sunday.

• Endorses the right to protest

• Requests the attorney general to report back to caucus with an options paper for the development of a Human Rights Act in this term of the parliament, which we note the attorney has already said he supports.

My colleague Anne Davies had more on this story yesterday: