Key events
2003 Brownlow medal winner Nathan Buckley arrives with partner Brodie Ryan.
The man tipped to win the big prize this evening is Collingwood star Josh Daicos, but all eyes will be on his new fiancé Annalise Dalins when she hits the carpet draped in pearls in a custom gown by Oglia-Loro couture.
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Adam Treloar of the Western Bulldogs arrives with partner Kim Ravaillion looking ravishing in a corseted fishtail silhouette.
Brownlow Medal red carpet gets under way
Attendees at this year’s Brownlow Medal award ceremony have started treading the red carpet and we will be keeping you up to date with all the fashion. Unsurprisingly, we are already seeing some sparkles as the AFL stars pull out their finest for the sport’s night of nights.
The favourite for the award is Collingwood’s Nick Daicos, but also in contention are Essendon captain Zach Merrett, Bulldogs’ Marcus Bontempelli, Carlton’s Patrick Cripps and Brisbane Lions’ Lachie Neale. Neale is the reining winner from last year, with Bontempelli runner up.
Here we have presenters Dale Thomas and Abbey Holmes making their entrance:
Too much pasta? Pesto the penguin expected to lose some pounds as he fledges
If you’re in need of a more lighthearted end to a long Monday, you should definitely read this story about Pesto the chunky emperor penguin chick on your commute home:
Young golf star Jeffrey Guan in specialist care after freak injury
Young golfer Jeffrey Guan is in the hands of an eye surgeon in Sydney after being hit in the face by a golf ball, with the injury threatening his promising professional career, AAP reports.
The 20-year-old has already undergone one round of surgery in Canberra, where he was airlifted after being struck by an errant shot during a pro-am event on the NSW far south coast.
Guan, from Sydney, then travelled from Canberra to seek specialist care at the Sydney Eye hospital.
Golf Australia (GA) issued a statement saying the young gun had been hit just below his eye in the pro-am, played before a NSW Open regional qualifier tournament.
Guan was taken to hospital by paramedics, before being transferred by air to Canberra.
At the family’s request GA wasn’t releasing any further details of the prognosis or treatment.
The injury occurred just a week after Guan made his US PGA debut in California.
Man charged with murder after Palm Island woman dies from head injuries
A man has been charged with murder after a 39-year-old woman from Palm Island died from head injuries.
Queensland Police say the domestic violence offence comes after emergency services were called on 1 September after reports the woman had sustained a life-threatening head injury.
She was airlifted to Townsville university hospital for treatment, but died from her injuries on 3 September.
Police say after extensive investigations, officers arrested and charged a 36-year-old Palm Island man on 16 September, who they alleged was known to the woman.
He was remanded in custody and is due to appear next before Townsville magistrates court on 5 November.
Winning streak snapped as Aussie shares slip from record levels
The Australian share market has retreated from the record highs set last week, snapping its seven-day winning streak before Tuesday’s Reserve Bank meeting, AAP reports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday finished down 56.6 points, or 0.69%, to 8,152.9, while the broader All Ordinaries dipped 53 points, or 0.63%, to 8,384.2.
The Australian dollar was buying 68.22 US cents, from 68.20 US cents at Friday’s ASX close.
Greens: third Bass Strait diesel spill evidence regulator failing to take strong action
Up to 21,000 litres of diesel that has spilled into the ocean from an Esso/ExxonMobil fossil fuel facility in the Bass Strait is another example of why the offshore energy regulator is not taking strong enough action, Greens spokesperson for healthy oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says.
The regulator Nopsema has warned of potentially significant threats to the surrounding marine environment from this recent spill, but the Greens say too little is being done as this is the third spill from an Esso/ExxonMobil facility in just six months.
Whish-Wilson is concerned Esso is now applying to use old gas fields for dumping carbon pollution despite evidently not being able to manage its operational offshore infrastructure.
Esso/ExxonMobil is proving to be a highly problematic and dangerous operator – yet Australia’s embattled offshore oil and gas industry regulator, Nopsema, is failing to take the strong actions necessary to rein in the fossil fuel giant.
Nopsema is supposed to have oversight and regulate the environmental management of the offshore fossil fuel industry, but coastal communities are fast losing confidence in the ‘independent’ regulator, which has become more of an enabler than an investigator of offshore oil and gas projects.
Esso’s inability to manage its operational infrastructure safely is deeply troubling given the company’s currently applying to use old gas fields for dumping carbon pollution.
Fossil fuel corporations make millions from Australia’s offshore oil and gas fields yet repeatedly breach our environmental management laws and have also gotten away with not properly cleaning up after themselves.
Australia desperately needs stronger laws and regulations to govern the offshore fossil fuel industry. How much more must our oceans and marine wildlife suffer before the Albanese government acts to change this?
Sydney protesters reject Dutton’s ‘toxic nuclear scheme’
As we mentioned earlier in the blog, community members rallied outside Peter Dutton’s address at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) in Sydney on Monday.
The protest was organised by GetUp and allies to reject Dutton’s push for nuclear power in Australia. This is what chief campaigns officer at GetUp and Goreng Goreng woman Amy Gordon had to say:
Peter Dutton and the hard right are trying to divide and distract our communities by pushing their toxic nuclear scheme. But today community members turned out in force to say ‘no’ to radioactive nuclear.
For decades, First Nations communities have led the fight to protect water, land and community health from uranium mining and nuclear waste dumps. But Dutton continues to keep communities in the dark about the risks and costs of his seven proposed nuclear plants.
Pushing slow-to-build nuclear allows polluting coal and gas to burn for decades longer, exacerbating the climate impacts we’re already seeing with extreme floods, fires and heat.
The only people who benefit from Dutton’s radioactive scheme are mining billionaires like Gina Rinehart.
Together, we’re building a movement to take on the Coalition’s dangerous anti-renewables and pro-nuclear disinformation – and stop Peter Dutton becoming prime minister.
Lawyers for Indigenous NT police officers will go to federal court if mediation fails
The human rights complaint lodged against the Northern Territory government and its police commissioner on behalf of serving Aboriginal police officers, follows Commissioner Michael Murphy’s public apology in August to Indigenous Territorians for past harms and injustices caused by members of the NT Police.
Lawyer Dana Levitt says this apology was offensive to Aboriginal community police officers because it implied they had been complicit in the system.
It was a blanket apology about racist conduct by the NT Police.
It didn’t distinguish between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members of the force … the way it was worded caught them up in the apology themselves, and they don’t have anything to apologise for.
The lawyers say they plan to pursue the matter in the federal court if mediation is unsuccessful.
– AAP
Racism complaint is a ‘positive step’, NT police commissioner says
Three serving Aboriginal police officers have lodged a complaint against the Northern Territory government and police commissioner, alleging racial discrimination over a 20-year period, AAP reports.
The complaint, lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission, alleges racial vilification and derision, and an unequal system of pay and promotion.
Sydney-based law firm Levitt Robinson lodged the complaint on the officers’ behalf. Lawyer Dana Levitt says:
(Aboriginal Community Police Officers) have been subject to racist conduct since their position was invented. A lot of them have complained about the treatment to which they were subject or they’ve seen other community members subject and nothing has been done about it.
Levitt says these are not historical complaints – “they are still very much of today”.
In a statement, Commissioner Michael Murphy says it would be inappropriate to comment on the specifics of the case, instead saying the police force is “invested in cultural reform”.
What I can say is that it is a positive step for NT Police that members have the confidence to speak up about issues such as racism.
Victoria still talking to federal government about rail loop funding: Jacinta Allan
So far, the first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop project is expected to cost $34.5bn and has been funded to the tune of $14bn.
The state government is contributing $11.8bn and the federal government has committed $2.2bn.
Premier Jacinta Allan says discussions are continuing with the commonwealth about funding and Victoria cannot afford not to build extra transport connections.
She says the project “absolutely stacks up” after winning support at two state and one federal election:
Melbourne is the biggest city in the country … and it deserves to get its fair share of infrastructure funding from its national government.
They’re the conversations I’ve been having and will continue to have with the federal government.
Opposition spokeswoman Jess Wilson claims the money for the project “doesn’t currently exist”.
The premier is focused on talking about a suburban rail loop that nobody seems to want, it’s unfunded.
We are constantly seeing from this government talks of the federal government stepping in and providing significant amount of money for this project.
– AAP
Melbourne adopts Sydney Metro’s tunnel boring machines
The first stage of the Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop will be built using tunnel boring machines that carved out the new Sydney Metro, AAP reports.
From 2026, the machines will start creating a 16km stretch of tunnels running from Cheltenham to Glen Waverley, due to open in 2035.
Two of the four machines Victoria ordered from German company Herrenknecht were used to build the Sydney Metro.
There is renewed focus over the project’s cost, after a Parliamentary Budget Office assessment earlier this month found the first two stages of the orbital train line around Melbourne will not provide adequate value for money.
The two main sections, dubbed SRL East and SRL North, will form a 60km metro line that will run through the city’s middle suburbs and across 13 stations.
The independent analysis requested by the state opposition found construction costs would be about $96bn, with every $1 spent returning social benefits of between 60 and 70 cents.
Good afternoon everyone! Plenty of news coming your way, including more nuclear reaction and the Brownlow Medal red carpet fashion later this evening.
Emily Wind
Many thanks for joining me on today’s blog. I’ll hand over to Natasha May who will guide you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care.
NFF president praises Tony Mahar’s ‘passion, professionalism and approachability’
Continuing from our last post, National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke has recognised Tony Mahar’s decade of service to the organisation and the agriculture sector, as he leaves to become the new Energy Infrastructure Commissioner.
Jochinke says:
During his tenure, Tony has strengthened NFF’s position as the leading national advocacy body for agriculture through his integrity, stakeholder management skills, and dedication to the industry.
His passion, professionalism and approachability earned him respect across industry, government, and corporate partners, and we have greatly appreciated his leadership …
It is a challenge to lead a national peak body, in this case bringing together all elements of our primary industries, and engaging effectively with supply chains both upstream and downstream, and I commend Tony’s professionalism, credibility, and determination in doing so.
Government appoints new Energy Infrastructure Commissioner
The Albanese government has appointed a new Energy Infrastructure Commissioner to facilitate the renewables rollout.
Tony Mahar, the outgoing chief executive of the National Farmers Federation, has been appointed to the role – to act as an intermediary between farming and regional communities, and industry and government.
A statement from climate minister Chris Bowen says Mahar’s work will include investigating the optimal delivery of long-term social and economic benefits to host areas, and “promoting more information and transparency to combat misinformation” about major energy projects.
Mahar will stand down from the NFF to take up this non-statutory appointment for an initial term of three years. Bowen says:
Mr Mahar has great experience working with business, government, farmers and farming communities and has the respect of both landholders and the energy industry.
Bowen thanked John Sheldon who served as the interim Commissioner, following the retirement of former Commissioner Andrew Dyer.
