Afternoon Update: Nauru refugees land in New Zealand; EVs to become cheaper; and a giant goldfish
New Zealand has received the first six refugees from Australia’s offshore processing facility in Nauru – nine years after it offered to take refugees from the island.
It ends more than eight years of detention on Nauru for the six men – four of whom are Rohingyan men from Myanmar, one who is from Sudan and one who is from Cameroon.
The flight is the first of a resettlement deal which will see New Zealand take 150 refugees from Australia’s offshore centres every year. New Zealand offered the deal to Australia three prime ministers ago, but it was only agreed to in March this year.
Top news
EV boost |Electric cars are set to become cheaper after the Greens and independent David Pocock agreed to back a bill to cut taxes for fleet buyers. It’s hoped that by encouraging employers to switch their fleets to EVs – in addition to government fleets going green – the number of affordable, secondhand electric vehicles will increase in coming years.
Josh Cavallo criticises Fifa |The Adelaide United player who came out as gay a year ago says he has lost respect for Fifa over its ban on rainbow armbands worn by players at the World Cup. Players aren’t the only ones facing rainbow hurdles – Welsh fans said they had their rainbow hats confiscated before their Group B opener against USA. Vic Labor-Greens stoush |The Victorian Labor party is taking what it calls the “Greens-dominated” Darebin city council to court for allegedly removing candidate billboards. Darebin sits within the marginal Labor seat of Northcote in Melbourne’s inner north, which the Greens are hoping to flip at this Saturday’s election. With polls tightening, the Greens could hold the balance of power if results fall their way. But the premier, Daniel Andrews, again ruled out a deal with the minor party in the event of a hung parliament.
PM in Eugowra |Anthony Albanese got a mixed reception when he visited the flood-stricken central west NSW town of Eugowra. One resident asked the PM “where have you been?”, while another said his visit – accompanied by the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet – showed “there’s support there”.
Pacific tsunami warning |People in Solomon Islands are being urged to move to higher ground after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck nearby. The US tsunami warning system said
waves between 30cm and one metre could hit Solomon Islands, with waves of up to 30cm possible for Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
Apple store crash |An SUV crashed through the front window of an Apple store Monday local time in Massachusetts, killing one person and injuring 16 others. Police were investigating but didn’t immediately say whether the crash was believed to be accidental.
France horror murder |A 31-yearold man has been charged over the abduction and murder of a schoolgirl in France, one month after a separate killing of a girl in Paris caused national outrage. The latest victim, a 14-year-old named as Vanesa in French media, was taken on her way home from school in the town of Tonneins last Friday.
China factory fire |Thirty-six people have died and two are missing after a fire at a factory in Anyang city in central China. Authorities said “criminal suspects” had been taken into custody, but did not provide further details. Industrial accidents are common in China due to weak safety standards and corruption.
Giant goldfish |Not fit for your usual fishbowl – a goldfish has come in weighing more than 30kg. Angler Andy Hackett managed to catch the giant fish – named Carrot – in Bluewater Lakes in Champagne, France.
Full Story
Buy now, pay later and the revolving door of debt
The Albanese government is considering new laws to protect consumers from buy now, pay later services. A Treasury paper released this week warns these platforms are landing vulnerable people in a spiral of debt. Can these services be trusted or is it a one-way street to debt? Listen to this 26-minute episode.
What they said …
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“If you look at the history of Australia from 1900, whenever the workers lined up for a pay rise, there was someone moaning and groaning.” – Bill Shorten
The Labor MP was defending the government’s industrial relations bill which the party and unions say are crucial to improving wages. Independent senator and kingmaker David Pocock continues to withhold support, reiterating his concerns of the “impact on small business”.
In numbers
In total, the equivalent of 200,000 football fields of threatened species habitat was destroyed in Queensland in 2018-19 without being assessed under national environmental laws. Almost all of it was cleared for livestock pasture expansion.
Before bed read
The tragedy of “mateship” is that men just don’t talk about stuff that really matters.
“Mates were for doing stuff with,” Paul Daley writes. “Surfing. Playing – or going to the – footy. Later, drinking in pubs in groups.”
The cost of these overwhelmingly masculine notions of mateship is loneliness.
“I’ve known of so many older blokes who are desperately lonely and emotionally bottled-up because they have effectively outsourced, during long relationships, their social lives to their wives or partners.”
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