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What we learned today, Saturday 19 November
That’s where we’ll wrap up our live news coverage for the day.
Here’s a summary of the day’s main news developments:
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Residents in low-lying parts of Condobolin were warned to evacuate as the town experiences its worst flood on record.
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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, summarised his achievements at the end of his international summit marathon, hailing “significant steps forward” in Australia’s international relations.
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The Victorian opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has distanced the party from an upper house candidate, Renee Heath, who is a member of a conservative church, saying she will not sit with the Liberals following the election.
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The Albanese government will make it easier for some visa holders to travel outside Australia. Andrew Giles, the minister for immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs, said restrictions applying to temporary protection (subclass 785) and safe haven enterprise (subclass 790) visa holders and some permanent visa holders would be amended.
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Days after prime minister Albanese met his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, a new trade deal between Australia and India has been approved by a parliamentary committee.
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Australia confirmed it supports Taiwan joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal after initial confusion over comments made by Albanese.
Have a good rest of your Saturday.
Man rescued from croc-infested floodwaters in remote WA
A 45-year-old man was left clinging to the top of his submerged vehicle for hours in the middle of rapidly moving floodwaters in Durack last night.
He became stranded at around 7pm but authorities were not notified until a truck driver arrived at the crossing point along the Pentecost River at about 11.20pm to see the man about 100m into the river.
WA Police say:
Kununurra Police attended the scene under emergency conditions and upon arrival established it was too dangerous to enter the water.
The water was flowing quite fast, and the deeper parts of the river are known to be infested with crocodiles.
The officers activated support from DFES State Emergency Service volunteers from Kununurra, who attended the scene with a flood boat.
The SES volunteers deployed their vessel and rescued the man from his submerged vehicle. The man was returned to the road edge about 3:15am and was taken to Kununurra Hospital as a precaution, for a check-up.
The prime minister Anthony Albanese earlier today summarised the “significant steps forward” the nation has made in the past week of international meetings, on the final day of the Apec summit in Bangkok.
(You can scroll back to earlier in the blog about 3 hours ago if you want to catch up on what he had to say in full)
Amongst the leaders he met with, included this morning Thailand’s Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha who he thanked for hosting the summit.
This morning I met with Thailand’s Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, to thank him for hosting this year’s @APEC2022TH summit. Our Asia-Pacific region is stronger when we work together to reduce barriers to trade and create new opportunities for our industries. pic.twitter.com/FKS1JovkrJ
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 19, 2022
Zaki Haidari, a refugee rights campaigner at Amnesty International Australia, has also welcomed the news of the amendments from the immigration minister, but said they need to go further.
Haidari said:
It is heart-warming news that thousands of people like me on temporary protection visas can now travel to see our families in a third country, which has been denied to most TPV/SHEV holders for years. Many of my friends, including myself, are desperate to be able to travel and spend some quality time with our families and loved ones.
The immigration system has also discriminated against people on permanent protection visas who sought protection by sea. It is good news that the unnecessary and cruel punishment of Direction 80 has been amended to allow families to be reunited safer and faster. However, this amendment only applies to people on permanent visas.
These changes don’t go far enough. People on TPVs and SHEVs also have been apart from their families for at least 10 years, highlighting the urgency for the government to deliver on its election promise to abolish temporary protection visas and allow us to be reunited with our families as well.
Changes to travel and family reunion for refugees are welcome but are limited, advocates say
We brought you the news on the blog earlier today that the Albanese government will be easing restrictions on travel and family reunions for refugees on temporary visas.
Andrew Giles, the minister for immigration, citizenship and multicultural affairs, said restrictions applying to temporary protection (subclass 785) and safe haven enterprise (subclass 790) visa holders and some permanent visa holders would be amended.
The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre says the changes are “welcome” but “limited and presented in a confusing way, highlighting the urgent need for clarity”.
In a statement, the ASRC urged the Albanese government to keep its promise to provide permanent protection:
People who sought asylum by sea … need personal approval from the Minister or a delegate if they want to travel and must show “compassionate or compelling circumstances”.
Interpretation of this phrase has been extremely limited, with mothers denied the right to see their children and close relatives prevented from seeing critically ill family members.
The Albanese Government will “broaden” the interpretation of what constitutes a compelling and compassionate reason, only for people on TPV and SHEV, which is a positive but limited change.
This change excludes thousands of other people who sought asylum by sea on other visa types. It also does not give freedom of movement to those on TPV and SHEV, it only lessens extremely restrictive conditions. This also comes at a time of very low permissions to travel for people on TPV and SHEV, from 3,214 being granted in 2019 to only 126 between December 2021 and March 2022, which are the most recent known figures.
Furthermore, the announcement also said that there will be amendments to Ministerial Direction 80, which gives the lowest priority to family visa applications of people who sought asylum by sea, making it effectively impossible for people to reunite with loved ones.
However, these amendments only apply to “permanent visa holders” and will therefore exclude the approximately 31,000 people who sought asylum by sea after 2012, including people on TPV and SHEV.
Jana Favero, the director of advocacy at ASRC, said:
This announcement will bring great relief to people on temporary protection visas as a step towards travelling to see family. Family separation has caused much stress over the past decade.
However, people want to be with their families for good. For any announcement that doesn’t include everyone, people will be left with questions and uncertainty. We have already received queries from people who are confused, asking if it applies to them.
Severe thunderstorm warnings across three states
Parts of NSW, Victoria and South Australia have all been warned to prepare for severe thunderstorms and damaging winds.
A SEVERE Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for today, Saturday 19 November, for DAMAGING WINDS for people in parts of Mallee Forecast District. Gusty thunderstorms developing this afternoon in northwest Victoria
For more information, visit: https://t.co/U2WKNw8pK4 pic.twitter.com/R516M5SCua
— VICSES News (@vicsesnews) November 19, 2022
Australia marks first Venomous Bites and Stings Day, as La Niña makes snake sightings more common
Today marks Australia’s first Venomous Bites and Stings Day, which aims to raise awareness about Australia’s venomous creatures and the importance of applying correct first aid to victims of toxic bites and stings.
Australia is the only continent in the world where venomous snake species, of which there are 20, outnumber the roughly 120 non-venomous snake species.
The University of Melbourne researcher, Timothy Jackson, says:
We certainly don’t have any of the world’s most dangerous snakes (by death rates), because in Australia we have, say, three snakebite deaths a year.
But worldwide there are over 100,000 snakebite deaths per year.
However, Australia’s reputation is not entirely unjustified, the toxinologist noted.
Some of these snakes have incredibly toxic venom.
Jackson said he had seen about 40 tiger snakes in his Melbourne suburb this spring, but admitted it was difficult to pin this down to an increase in snake populations.
It’s obviously super wet in a lot of parts of the country.
Water was spreading prey like frogs out further, and tiger snakes were following their stomachs, while floods were giving snakes less real estate to hide, rest or sun themselves.
Jackson said:
Generally speaking, seeing more snakes doesn’t mean there are more snakes. It just means that they’re more conspicuous.
Prof Bill Nimorakiotakis, a retrieval specialist working in remote areas with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, said the season so far had been significant in terms of snake bites:
I’ve certainly, on a clinical perspective, been seeing more people present with snake bite, including those patients being in-venom.
Interestingly though, more than 50% of snake bites were actually “dry bites”, venomless bites designed to ward off larger threats.
For more information on up-do-date first aid techniques and education materials, go to https://www.bitesandstings.com.au/
– from AAP
Condobolin residents told to evacuate
Low-lying properties in Condobolin were warned to evacuate before 2pm this afternoon.
The Lachlan River at Condobolin is currently at major flood level at 7.37 metres. The SES predicts it will peak at 7.8 metres on Monday, which will be a record flood for the town.
A temporary levee over 3km long, made out of dirt and sandbags, has been built to protect the town’s CBD. However, those homes in low-lying areas have already been inundated and residents now warned to evacuate.
The ‘Great Wall of Condo’ holding the floodwater at bay. This spans about 4km separating Condobolin’s CBD from the water. An incredible amount of effort has gone into preparing the town. @abcnews pic.twitter.com/7tkGN4ZKn1
— Kamin Gock (@kamingock) November 19, 2022
Read more here:
Multiculturalism ‘is a national economic asset’, PM says
More on Australia’s relationship with India following bilaterals between the two nations.
Anthony Albanese says:
The opportunities in India are enormous.
If you go back to the Varghese report. I think it has been undercooked in terms of delivering it. It points out India is a diverse economy, a multicultural society as well. It is a society that’s dynamic. It is growing at rates that we could wish for. It is a stable democracy and it’s one that we should have more engagement with.
We have a large Indian diaspora in Australia and that can be a big plus for our business relationships.
Albanese goes on to highlight that India is only one example of how Australia’s multicultural makeup as a nation is an economic asset:
One of the things that strikes me about attending forums like this is that everyone has a connection to Australia. It is a big plus, our multiculturalism. It is a national economic asset as well as providing, in my view, a microcosm for the world, that people can live next door to each other in harmony, of different religions, of different backgrounds, of different political views, and we have a harmonious society.
If you think about the conflict in the world that exists, it is a great thing that in Australia you can have Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists living next door to each other in my neighbourhood and they all get on. They all get on. You go to a local school and you see kids just getting on with each other …
People’s natural instinct is to relate to each other just as human beings. That puts Australia in a really strong position, I believe. When I met his majesty, the king of Thailand last night, this is a guy who studied in Australia for school – he went to Duntroon and graduated from college – and those connections that you see in people you meet with.
Albanese says he wants to see more international educational interaction, praising the actions of the former Coalition foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop in this space:
I give Julie Bishop credit for bringing back the Colombo Plan, of picking out leaders. I spoke with the Thai PM this morning about part of our program of our partnership with Thailand is taking future leaders to Australia. With India, we spoke with Prime Minister Modi about increasing the educational interaction. He wants universities to have a presence in India, Australian universities, and for Indian students to be able to study so you do a four-year degree, two years in India.
Reporter:
Have you had informal interactions with the Taiwanese delegates?
Anthony Albanese:
We have informal interactions because we’re all in the same building. I am a polite bloke, I say hello to people. I noticed one of the rather strange criticisms was that I smiled when I met one of the leaders. I would hope that you are courteous to each other. It costs you nothing to be courteous. People need to not overread these things completely. If someone says hello to me, I have never ever not said hello back. That is my style. I hope you have noticed that. I do it even with people in the media, although you also know that I love each and every one of you.
As mentioned earlier on the blog (in a post by Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy, who is in Bangkok with the prime minister), there has been some confusion about whether Australia would support Taiwan joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Asked to clarify Australia’s policy, Anthony Albanese says:
Our position has not changed. We will deal with applications, they are dealt with by consensus for economies applying to join the CPTPP. At the moment they’re dealt with one at a time. As I said yesterday, the issue that is being dealt with at the moment, that was agreed to be dealt with by all the countries, by consensus is the UK. Those negotiations have been going on for a year and they are continuing to go on. We will deal with the applications on their merits.
Anthony Albanese is asked about the lack of a shirt given out to all conference attendees at Apec. Albanese tells the reporter “I’m sorry you’re disappointed” but “it is what it is”:
Unlike the other forums, we didn’t get a shirt at this Apec – it is what it is.
For context, here is the long-sleeve G20 shirt from the meeting right before Apec:
Asked about the US Inflation Reduction Act, Anthony Albanese says investing in clean energy will bring international opportunities for Australian companies:
With that comes the opportunity – the Inflation Reduction Act envisages an enormous investment in clean technology. Australia has an opportunity through green hydrogen, through other innovation as well, to gain jobs and economic activity because the US is looking at not just doing it by themselves as a closed nation state but part of that will inevitably involve partnerships with companies. Australia historically has punched above our weight. There would be not a PV solar cell in the world that doesn’t have something that was developed at the ANU or University of New South Wales. What we haven’t been good at in the past is commercialising those opportunities and giving Australia the advantages of it. I see the Inflation Reduction Act as being part of that.
Leaders respond positively to Australia’s plan to host climate conference, PM says
Anthony Albanese says he has received support from the nations he’s met with on the prospect of Australia and the Pacific co-hosting the global Cop climate talks.
I have had a very positive response from all of the nations that I have raised it with, particularly those in this region are very keen to see a Cop hosted here in 2026. Next year’s is in the Middle East region, the year after will be in Europe, the year after will be in central America and it is a good opportunity, I believe, for Australia to show and to host what is a major global event.
‘We enter into the Aukus agreement positively’, Albanese says
Reporter:
Are you confident that Australia will be able to develop the sovereign capability to deliver and maintain a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines?
Anthony Albanese:
I am very confident that the Aukus arrangements that we’re dealing with through the National Security Committee with our allies in the United States and the UK will serve the interests of our three nations but also serve the interests of global security and peace as well. We enter into the Aukus agreement positively. We are positive about the outcomes, we’ve had further discussions over the last week about some of those details, and we will continue to work on those issues with our officials as well as with our partners.
Anthony Albanese is asked about his ambitions for trade with China following that historic meeting.
A reporter highlights the New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has been invited to travel with a trade delegation to China, but Albanese says he’s not getting ahead of himself.
What we have had this week is first steps and I’m not getting ahead of myself. I think that engagement with China, like engagement with other nations, is constructive. It has been this week and I believe – I travelled to China on four occasions as a minister, one of the discussions that I have had with President Xi was about his travel to Australia. He has been to all states and territories of Australia. A lot of Australians haven’t done that. We will continue to, arising out of this week’s progress, take steps forward together.
Moving on to questions, Anthony Albanese is first asked about comments from Kim Jong-un.
The North Korean leader has said he will respond to US threats with nuclear weapons, according to state media today.
Albanese says the rhetoric calls for an emergency meeting of the UN security council.
There is no place for either the rhetoric of the North Korean leader, or for the actions of the North Korean state. This is a rogue state that is endangering regional security and that is just another reason why the UN security council should be convened in an emergency meeting.
