Record outbreak of bird flu strains
Natasha May
Australia is experiencing its highest ever number of different strains of bird flu at the same time, according to CSIRO’s Australian centre for disease preparedness.
With eggs in short supply and bird flu outbreaks spreading across Australian farms, the centre held a media briefing this morning to share what it has found from its testing so far.
While the centre’s director, Dr Debbie Eagles, confirmed Australia remained the only continent without the highly contagious H5N1 strain of avian influenza which has ripped through poultry and dairy farms in the US, three different regions in Victoria and NSW have been affected by different H7 strains of the virus.
Dr Frank Wong, a senior research scientist at the centre and a World Organisation for Animal Health expert for avian influenza, said avian influenza viruses were named according to the nature of the proteins on the surface of the virus.
Virus gene sequencing had confirmed the different H7 strains in NSW and Victoria were not linked to one another, Wong said. The gene tracing also confirmed that all three different strains had Australian lineage, meaning each outbreak was likely to have spilt over from local wild birds separately.
Eagles said these H7 outbreaks were similar to previous outbreaks in Australia, but what was different this year was that there were three different strains of influenza – “previously it’s been a single strain usually affecting one region”.
It’s unknown why the three separate outbreaks have happened at the same time, with wild bird dynamics, climate, changes in weather patterns or coincidence all possible factors, Wong said.
The infection risk to humans remained low with the Australian strains not showing any infection in people, he said.
Key events
Man arrested after body found in unit car park
A man has been arrested after a body was found in the car park of a unit complex in a beachside Sydney suburb, AAP reports.
Emergency services were called to Ilikai Place in Dee Why, on the city’s northern beaches, just after 7am this morning following reports of the body being found.
Police found a 40-year-old man dead in the car park area of a low-rise apartment building in the quiet cul-de-sac.
Early in the afternoon, police arrested a 37-year-old man at a unit on the same street in relation to the death. The suspect was taken to Manly police station to be interviewed.
There has been a heavy police presence at the site after the body was found, with the area cordoned off with tape.
Anyone with information about the death is being urged to contact investigators.
Gridlock on new energy transmission adds to bill shock
Consumers in New South Wales face the biggest bill shock from the nation’s delays in transmission infrastructure to support renewable energy according to independent modelling, AAP reports.
Households and businesses face higher electricity bills unless federal and state governments get investment back on track, Nexa Advisory’s chief executive Stephanie Bashir has warned.
The latest research found the delays in building energy transmission infrastructure – which average three years – could also compromise energy reliability and put emissions reduction targets in jeopardy.
The cost ramifications were most significant in NSW with residential consumers facing up to $1,100 in additional annual costs if transmission delays continue at this pace, or even more if political squabbles and greater investor caution add to delays.
Small businesses in NSW with 40 megawatt hour electricity consumption could face a 23% bump in costs – up to $7,716 a year – which increases to $24,124 with a seven-year delay, the report warned.
The impact is most severe in NSW, where intra-regional transmission projects such as HumeLink play a critical role in transporting electricity generation from various regions to the major population centre of Sydney, Newcastle, and Wollongong.
Tamsin Rose
Rozelle interchange mess ‘unacceptable’, NSW inquiry finds
The traffic chaos and congestion that erupted in Sydney’s inner west after the opening of a $3.9bn junction was “unreasonable and unacceptable” given the amount of planning that went into it, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
In its final report, after a months-long probe of the Rozelle interchange, the parliamentary committee also found a “concerning lack of clarity and transparency” between the government and Transurban.
The report concluded that the WestConnex model was based on maximising its sale value, which led to increased traffic congestion on the Anzac Bridge and nearby suburbs.
It also found there had been a lack of transparency and accountability for the design given the impact it had on the community. Additionally, benefits promised to the community had “not been realised”.
Here’s a full copy of the Victorian premier’s statement on the news we brought you earlier re the CFMEU:
Tamsin Rose
‘No room for criminality’ in construction – Minns
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said there was “no room for criminality in the construction sector” in the state and vowed to take action against anyone misbehaving in the CFMEU.
Asked about the deepening union crisis on Monday morning, the Labor leader said that position was “unambiguous” and aligned across NSW Labor.
He said the state’s CFMEU secretary, Darren Greenfield, “should go” while he faced charges of bribery.
Minns said:
In 2021, I made the decision to insist that the secretary of the NSW CFMEU be expelled from the NSW [Labor] party and that’s exactly what happened while he faces these very serious charges…
Clearly these are very serious charges. They are before the court. They couldn’t be more serious. It’s hard to see how he could continue in that role while facing serious charges before the courts. I think he should go.
Police treating one death as suspicious after two bodies found in Melbourne river
Victorian police have issued the following update after two bodies were found in the Maribyrnong River in Melbourne’s west on Sunday. It is believed there are no links between the two deaths, and that only one of them is suspicious.
A spokesperson said:
The homicide squad is investigating the death of the woman whose body was located in the Maribyrnong River in Flemington yesterday morning.
This death is being treated as suspicious.
We are still in the process of speaking to next of kin and will provide any further updates when we are able to.
At this time, there is nothing to link the death of the woman to that of the man whose body was also located in the Maribyrnong River yesterday morning.
Enquiries are under way in relation to identifying the man, however it appears at this early stage that this death is likely to be non-suspicious.
The Bureau of Meteorology says it could snow in Queensland tomorrow:
🥶Cold snap will continue all week, even reaching far north #Qld later this week. ❄️A low chance of snow flurries on the Granite Belt from Tuesday to Thursday. Best chance on Tuesday morning, if it stays cold enough when the showers arrive! Forecasts: https://t.co/ZhiAztv3kh pic.twitter.com/maUB1v2gvj
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) July 15, 2024
Record outbreak of bird flu strains
Natasha May
Australia is experiencing its highest ever number of different strains of bird flu at the same time, according to CSIRO’s Australian centre for disease preparedness.
With eggs in short supply and bird flu outbreaks spreading across Australian farms, the centre held a media briefing this morning to share what it has found from its testing so far.
While the centre’s director, Dr Debbie Eagles, confirmed Australia remained the only continent without the highly contagious H5N1 strain of avian influenza which has ripped through poultry and dairy farms in the US, three different regions in Victoria and NSW have been affected by different H7 strains of the virus.
Dr Frank Wong, a senior research scientist at the centre and a World Organisation for Animal Health expert for avian influenza, said avian influenza viruses were named according to the nature of the proteins on the surface of the virus.
Virus gene sequencing had confirmed the different H7 strains in NSW and Victoria were not linked to one another, Wong said. The gene tracing also confirmed that all three different strains had Australian lineage, meaning each outbreak was likely to have spilt over from local wild birds separately.
Eagles said these H7 outbreaks were similar to previous outbreaks in Australia, but what was different this year was that there were three different strains of influenza – “previously it’s been a single strain usually affecting one region”.
It’s unknown why the three separate outbreaks have happened at the same time, with wild bird dynamics, climate, changes in weather patterns or coincidence all possible factors, Wong said.
The infection risk to humans remained low with the Australian strains not showing any infection in people, he said.
The Star shuts all its pokies after system error
Star Entertainment has closed down all of its pokies machines after a system error occurred while preparing to go cashless.
In a statement, the Star Entertainment Group said all electronic gaming machines and electronic table games in each of the Star’s three properties were shut down from 10pm on 13 July, and will remain so “until the issue is resolved”.
The decision was taken by The Star to ensure compliance with relevant regulations, and to maintain the company’s commitment to safer gambling procedures.
The Star said it was working closely with its external provider to “address the operational issues as soon as possible”. It would provide an update once “operations return to normal”, the statement said.
Tamsin Rose
NSW premier condemns Trump attack
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has condemned the attack on former president Donald Trump at the weekend.
Speaking at an event in the Sydney CBD this morning, he said:
It’s important for functioning democracies around the world to unambiguously state that this is appalling. This is a shocking turn of events. Political disagreements, no matter how deeply felt, should never [come to] violent, murderous acts.
Minns said everyone should be grateful Trump was not more badly injured and called on Australians to engage in debate “without it turning to violent confrontation”.
Benita Kolovos
Jacinta Allan was asked – given the allegations – if she regrets attended CFMEU secretary John Setka’s father Bob’s funeral last year. She replied:
I don’t know Mr John Setka well … My attendance at Mr Bob Setka’s funeral last year was in the context of recognising someone who had been involved in one of the worst workplace accidents in our state’s history. It was a traumatic, devastating accident, many people lost their lives and Mr Bob Setka was one of the seriously injured on that worksite.
This is an event that continues to be remembered every single year by the broader Labor movement, both because of the seriousness of the incident but also because it drove substantial cultural change in making workplaces safe for all the construction industry.
She is referring to the accident at the site of the West Gate Bridge in 1970, in which 35 workers were killed.
The press conference has now wrapped up.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian attorney general on plans to toughen anti-bikie laws
Jaclyn Symes is explaining the government’s plans to toughen anti-bikie laws.
Victoria’s attorney general says that when parliament returns from break, it will introduce legislation to lower the threshold for police to issue unlawful association notices to serious criminals.
Symes says:
We will shortly be introducing legislation through parliament, which adjusts the thresholds and makes it much easier for police to issue an association notice for people who they have suspicions of illegal activity.
Jacinta Allan was asked whether she was “asleep on the job” about these issues, as the relevant minister in multiple portfolios and now the premier.
She responded:
During my time as minister and now as premier I have been absolutely clear that I have no tolerance at all for bullying, intimidatory behaviour in any workplace, in any part of our state. And when allegations have been put over that period of time, it was always my expectation [it would] be examined, investigated by the relevant agencies and authorities.
Jacinta Allan said she had “always acted immediately” when issues had been raised with her.
She also said when responding to questions from reporters:
What we have seen with some recent reporting is that we need to take further steps. The federal government has already outlined they are considering all options, all avenues available to them as the holder of the industrial relations powers in this state about what further action needs to be taken. I’ll leave it to the federal government to announce what they action they intend to take.
But I absolutely accept we need to take further action here in Victoria, which is why today I have outlined a range of immediate actions…
Victorian premier flags tougher anti-bikie laws
Jacinta Allan said Victoria would be looking at how it could toughen anti-bikie laws across the state.
We want to make it easier for police, for the courts, to be able to prevent certain individuals from associating with each other.
The Victorian premier said she would request the federal government to exercise its powers under the Fair Work Act to “review and then, if necessary, terminate all CFMEU enterprise bargaining agreements on Victorian construction sites if it’s necessary to prevent criminal activity”.
She also said the state government would be undertaking an independent review of all Victorian government workplace agencies that are engaged with construction companies and unions, to be put into place in coming days.
The state would also review how the Victorian infrastructure delivery authority can direct the removal of individuals with criminal associations from worksites across the state, Allan said.
Speaking to reporters, Victorian premier Jacinta Allan outlined the following actions:
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She has asked the Labor party’s national executive to move to immediately suspend the construction division from the Victorian Labor party.
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She’s written to the state secretary asking “for all political donations from the construction division … to be banned during this period of suspension”.
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She has already written to Victoria police and the independent broad-based anti-corruption commission to investigate.
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She flagged further actions with the federal government.
Premier asks Victorian Labor to suspend CFMEU construction division
Benita Kolovos
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and the attorney general, Jaclyn Symes, are holding a press conference in Melbourne following the CFMEU decision to place the union’s state branch into administration.
Allan says she has asked Labor’s national executive to immediately suspend the CFMEU construction division from the Victorian Labor party.
All political donations from the union have also been banned during this period.
She has also referred the matters to Victoria police and the state’s anti-corruption watchdog.
More to come in a moment.
