Australia news live: only 43 votes between Bradfield candidates as tense count continues; Roberts-Smith awaits appeal verdict
Only 43 votes between Bradfield candidates as count continues
An update on the narrowing race in electorates yet to be called.
In Bradfield, Liberal Gisele Kapterian leads independent Nicolette Boele by just 43 votes, with 303 left to be counted.
And Liberal Tim Wilson continues with a tight lead of 292 over independent Zoe Daniel in Goldstein. There are 717 votes still to be counted.
Today is the last day for postals to be received, so there may be a handful still to come.
We will keep you posted.
Key events
Sussan Ley says she and former opposition leader Peter Dutton have different leadership styles and personalities.
The new opposition leader appeared on Today a short while ago. She was asked if she is “partly responsible” for the Liberal’s recent election loss as Dutton’s deptuy.
Ley responded:
We all have to accept responsibility and I don’t step back from that, and after every election, we look at what went wrong, at what we didn’t do that we should have done, and we’ll do that in an open and transparent way, and that will of course happen.
But now is about the future, it is about the next election, it is about the team that I lead, and it is about optimism and a sense of purpose, and always remembering that we are elected … I’m elected here in my seat representing my community. My colleagues and their own individual life experiences bring tremendous passion and tremendous determination for that future that we want to provide for the Australian people. As I said, to get up every day to work for them.
Peter Dutton and I have different styles, we’re different personalities, and I will bring a different approach to my leadership.
Ley’s elevation to leadership about ‘so much more’ than being female, she says
Asked what took the Liberal party “so long to elect a female leader,” Sussan Ley said her appointment “is about so much more than that”.
The opposition leader was speaking on Today earlier this morning:
I’m incredibly humbled to have the endorsement of my party room just a few days ago to be the leader of the Liberal party, it’s an incredible honour. Now, Karl, people reflect on the female aspect and I understand that and I want to say it’s significant, but my appointment is about much more than that. We didn’t meet the expectations of the Australian people at the last election. We have to change, we have to step up, we have to have a fresh approach.
D-day for Ben Roberts-Smith’s appeal
After a marathon legal battle spanning seven years, disgraced special forces veteran Ben Roberts-Smith will learn this morning whether he has cleared his name of war crime allegations, Australian Associated Press reports.
The Victoria Cross recipient sued Nine newspapers and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters for defamation over their reports in 2018 which claimed he had committed war crimes.
But Justice Anthony Besanko found the claims that Roberts-Smith was responsible for the murder of four unarmed civilians when deployed in Afghanistan were substantially true.
But Roberts-Smith launched an appeal against findings, which was heard in the federal court over 10 days in February 2024.
More than a year on, three justices will hand down their decision on Friday morning.
If Roberts-Smith is unsuccessful, only the high court could overturn the war criminal findings.
The 46-year-old steadfastly denies any wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged.
If his appeal is dismissed, it could clear a path for a criminal investigation by the Australian federal police and the Office of the Special Investigator.
Roberts-Smith could be forced to pay out tens of millions of dollars over the legal saga after the cost of the defamation proceedings was tipped to exceed $25m back in 2023.
Taking into account the subsequent appeal and interlocutory issues, the final bill could be far higher.
Today the full court will also rule on Roberts-Smith’s push to reopen the appeal over a secret recording he claims reveals an alleged miscarriage of justice.
In a taped call, McKenzie can be heard telling Roberts-Smith’s ex-lover that two crucial witnesses were “actively briefing us on his legal strategy” during the initial trial.
But the journalist has denied claims he obtained privileged information while investigating Roberts-Smith, whose reputation was tarnished by his reports in 2018.
Roberts-Smith rose to prominence in 2011 after he was awarded Australia’s highest military honour, the Victoria Cross, for single-handedly taking out machine-gun posts to protect pinned-down colleagues in Afghanistan.
– Australian Associated Press
Fresh delay for Australian-made rocket launch
The first Australian-made rocket was set to be test launched into orbit from north Queensland today after being pushed back by a system issue, but has been delayed again.
“During final launch preparations last night, an electrical fault triggered the system that opens the rocket’s nose cone,” Gilmour Space Technologies said in a statement this morning. “This happened before any fuel was loaded into the vehicle.”
No one was injured, and there has been no damage to the rocket or launch pad. An investigation was under way into the cause of the issue, they said.
As a result, we’ll be postponing this test launch campaign to fully understand what happened and make any necessary updates.
The Queensland-based company got the green light from the Australian Space Agency to launch the Eris TestFlight1 from 7:30am yesterday morning, but they had to halt plans after the team “identified an issue in the ground support system during overnight checks”.
There is no new test flight date yet.
Its launch would be the first orbital launch from Australia in more than 50 years and the first Australian-made rocket to attempt orbit.
Only 43 votes between Bradfield candidates as count continues
An update on the narrowing race in electorates yet to be called.
In Bradfield, Liberal Gisele Kapterian leads independent Nicolette Boele by just 43 votes, with 303 left to be counted.
And Liberal Tim Wilson continues with a tight lead of 292 over independent Zoe Daniel in Goldstein. There are 717 votes still to be counted.
Today is the last day for postals to be received, so there may be a handful still to come.
We will keep you posted.
Greens leader Larissa Waters was asked whether she could bring independent senator Lidia Thorpe “back into the fold” on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago.
Waters said:
Look, I’m not sure that’s what Lydia is after. There was a bit of a media circus about that yesterday … Lydia is a really strong person and I respect the work she does. But I don’t think there’s any truth to the suggestion she wants back in.
She’s doing strong work in the way she’s doing it now.
Larissa Waters decries poll campaign’s ‘tokenistic’ treatment of violence against women
Greens leader Larissa Waters is “dismayed” that violence against women was addressed as “an afterthought” in recent election campaigns.
She is speaking on ABC News Breakfast. Asked about whether there will be a focus on preventing violence against women under her leadership, Waters says:
I was really dismayed that it didn’t get a look-in, until, as you say, the last week of the campaign with what felt to me like some fairly tokenistic announcements. They were really small financial commitments and it just felt like a bit of an afterthought. It’s not an afterthought to ordinary people. It’s not an afterthought to the vast legions of women who are facing violence.
We need to make sure there’s no women’s refuge that doesn’t have the funding that it needs to help everyone that needs help. We need to make sure those women’s legal services are fully funded, we got to work on prevention, we got to change the attitudes that’s leading to this crisis. That’s a job for all of us. But government funding has a lot to do there.
Larissa Waters says climate and nature at core of Greens
New Greens leader Larissa Waters is speaking on ABC News Breakfast this morning.
Asked if the party will “return to its roots” under her leadership after its campaign made “more noise about renters, about dental” in the recent election, Waters says:
We have always had a broad policy platform … We have always had a number of priorities. Climate and nature is at our core.
My personal priorities have always been acting on the climate crisis and protecting biodiversity. That’s why I was an environmental lawyer, that’s what drives me personally. I’m a strong feminist and gender equality and ending gender violence against women. But making sure that everyone can have the things they need. And have good healthcare, have good-funded schools, and you know make sure we’re just a bit of a kinder and a less unified … community that’s not struggling so much.
Rafqa Touma
Thanks to Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog. I’ll be keeping you posted from here – let’s go.
Woman allegedly splashed with chemicals in Sydney attack
A young woman has been injured in an alleged unprovoked chemical attack in Sydney’s north, New South Wales police have said.
They said an unknown woman had approached a 27-year-old woman at the intersection of Norfolk Road and Callistemon Close in North Epping about 6.15pm on Wednesday.
The stranger allegedly splashed an unknown liquid from a cup she was holding at the 27-year-old, which landed on her face, clothing and headphones, police said in a statement yesterday afternoon.
They said the 27-year-old contacted them and then attended Ryde hospital, where she was treated for a chemical burn.
Police said they established a crime scene and patrolled the area but were unable to find the alleged attacker.
As part of their inquiries, police have said they would like to speak to a woman who may be able to assist. Police have described the woman as being of Asian appearance and said she was seen wearing a light-coloured cap, a N95 white face mask, black jumper and dark long pants.
She was holding a silver-coloured metal cup in her hand, police said.
Cait Kelly
Energy bill hardship targeted in proposed changes
In Victoria, the Essential Services Commission is expected to propose a suite of reforms today aimed at easing energy hardship.
The proposed changes will include obligations for retailers to move customers receiving assistance under the payment difficulty framework on to their cheapest plan, and address the “loyalty penalty” where consumers on expensive contracts more than four years old must be switched to a reasonable price.
In response, the Consumer Action Law Centre said it strongly supported the draft decision, which would help the increasing number of Victorians struggling with energy costs and growing debt.
Consumer Action senior policy officer Eirene Tsolidis Noyce said:
People who call the national debt helpline tell us they often forego other expenses in order to meet their electricity costs – one of the proposals is that people experiencing energy poverty are identified and supported to find a more competitive offer and prevented from accruing larger debts.
The ESC’s draft decision estimates Victorians could save up to $730 per year on electricity, and up to $1,890 per year on gas bills, by requiring retailers to automatically switch consumers in payment difficulty to their best offer. For those stuck on bad deals, the dollar amount is likely to be much higher.
These reforms will address some longstanding issues in the energy market, making it easier for Victorians to access an affordable energy price.
Welcome
Martin Farrer
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then my colleague Rafqa Touma will take over.
Our top story this morning concerns the meeting yesterday between the new Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, and her Nationals counterpart, David Littleproud. Ley said progress on a new cooperation agreement with the Nationals would take time, but the problem areas promise to be a Nationals push to ditch net zero policies and even end the longstanding coalition with the Liberals. More coming up.
It’s a huge day in the courts for disgraced special forces veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who will learn today whether he has cleared his name of war crime allegations. The ruling by three justices is expected in Sydney this morning and we’ll have their verdict as soon as it’s out.
