Part of NSW hit with magnitude 5 earthquake
Part of New South Wales was hit with a magnitude 5 earthquake just moments ago.
Geoscience Australia has reported the earthquake hit the Wollemi national park at a depth of 10km.
Region: Denman, NSW
Mag: 5.0
UTC: 2024-08-23 02:01:59
Lat: -32.38, Lon: 150.81
Dep: 10km
For more info and updates, or if you felt this earthquake, go to https://t.co/83Rhrbpg6A— EarthquakesGA (@EarthquakesGA) August 23, 2024
Key events
NSW earthquake revised down to 4.8 magnitude
Geoscience Australia is now reporting that the earthquake near Denman, NSW just over an hour ago was a 4.8 magnitude earthquake.
It was earlier reported as being magnitude 5.
Humpback whale tangled in Sydney Harbour now swimming freely
Members of the rescue team that disentangled a humpback whale from Sydney Harbour this morning just spoke to the media.
They said whales don’t usually hang around the harbour too long before heading back out to sea, so the outcome has been a positive one:
We did have our maritime vessels tracking that whale, whale even after it was freed, and it did head safely out the heads and pointed itself south. So hopefully heading back down to where it was intended to go in the first place.
Shane Davie, the principal manager for NSW Maritime, said an exclusion zone was maintained around the whale the entire time the disentanglement team was “delicately freeing it”.
The whale is not being tracked with a satellite tracker at this point, and is swimming freely.
It did leave the harbour last night, and we saw it come back in this morning. So fingers crossed it continues on its way, and now that it has been disentangled, hopefully it continues south.
Elias Visontay
Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand in codeshare agreement
Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand have announced their new codeshare agreement has been authorised by regulators in each country.
The agreement means customers of Virgin Australia – which only operates services into Queenstown in its post-pandemic slimmed down form – will be able to directly book Air New Zealand flights into Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
The codeshare means Virgin customers can earn loyalty points on Air New Zealand flights.
Alistair Hartley, Virgin Australia chief strategy and transformation officer, said “the regulators’ endorsement reflects the strong consumer benefits the partnership will unlock, including greater value, choice and loyalty rewards for travellers across the Tasman”.
The authorisation of the agreement bolsters Virgin’s position at a time of flux for Australian aviation.
The government’s white paper for the industry is expected to be released imminently, as the sector looks to recover from the collapse of budget carrier Bonza and Rex’s jet operations on major city routes, developments which the competition watchdog this week warned could lead to Qantas, its budget carrier Jetstar, and Virgin Australia capitalising on their market dominance and increasing airfares.
Master Builders welcomes CFMEU external administration
The CEO of Master Builders Australia said it welcomed the governments move to appoint an external administrator for all branches of the CFMEU construction and general division.
The attorney-general Mark Dreyfus made the announcement earlier today.
Master Builders CEO Denita Wawn said in a statement that this was “a critical first step in getting the building and construction industry on the road to meaningful cultural change.”
Master Builders applauds the bipartisanship approach at federal and state levels to clear the way for the administrator, Mark Irving KC, to hit the ground running.
This culture has existed for decades and has stifled productivity and increased the cost of construction at the expense of the community, taxpayers, jobs and small business.
We all, whether as employers, workers or union members, deserve to work in an industry that is lawful, safe and free from corruption, coercion, bullying and intimidation.
More than 1,800 earthquake reports after a magnitude 5 tremor hit NSW Hunter region
According to Geoscience Australia, there has been more than 1,800 “felt reports” from people who felt the earthquake near Denman, NSW, along the east coast.
The felt reports have been lodged from as far south as Canberra, and as far north as Armidale. People also reported feeling the earthquake as far inland as Dubbo.
The earthquake was felt at the strongest intensity in and around Muswellbrook, according to the map.
Sarah Basford Canales
ABS to begin delivering results of general wellbeing survey in 2026
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will begin efforts to deliver the results of its first general wellbeing survey in 2026 as part of a relaunched dashboard showing 50 indicators covering health, security and prosperity.
Launched last year by the Treasury, the Measuring What Matters dashboard will now be managed by the ABS to offer more up-to-date insights on a broad range of areas, such as overall life satisfaction, climate change challenges, acceptance of diversity and trust in institutions.
The data itself draws from a variety of sources, including the ABS and other government-run surveys as well as data from private organisations.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the assistant competition minister, Andrew Leigh, said the renovated dashboard was an interim step to inform a more comprehensive federal government statement every three years.
The ministers conceded there were “still too many holes in this data, and some of it is still far too old”.
The ABS will also begin work to deliver its first general social survey measuring overall wellbeing with the first results set to become available from 2026.
Several aftershocks follow Denman earthquake
The Seismology Research Centre has says several aftershocks have occurred after the earthquake near Denman, NSW.
It said the largest aftershock occurred at 12.15pm, at a magnitude of 2.7.
The Bureau of Meteorology has said there is no tsunami threat after the magnitude earthquake felt near Denman, NSW.
Jordyn Beazley
The magnitude 5 earthquake, which just hit near the Wollemi national park in Denman, was felt in Sydney.
My colleague, who is based in the Sydney suburb of Petersham, said she felt her bed shake. Her mother, who lives near Newcastle, saw the cabinet doors shake.
There have been reports on X that the earthquake was also felt in Bondi.
Part of NSW hit with magnitude 5 earthquake
Part of New South Wales was hit with a magnitude 5 earthquake just moments ago.
Geoscience Australia has reported the earthquake hit the Wollemi national park at a depth of 10km.
Region: Denman, NSW
Mag: 5.0
UTC: 2024-08-23 02:01:59
Lat: -32.38, Lon: 150.81
Dep: 10km
For more info and updates, or if you felt this earthquake, go to https://t.co/83Rhrbpg6A— EarthquakesGA (@EarthquakesGA) August 23, 2024
Jordyn Beazley
Electrical Trades Union urges NSW premier to revoke CFMEU administration legislation
A union has written a letter to the NSW premier, Chris Minns, calling on the government to revoke the recently passed CFMEU administration legislation, and expressing concern at what a future Liberal government could do to the trade union movement under the new laws.
The NSW parliament passed the law last week, granting the government powers to appoint an administrator to the state’s branch of the CFMEU.
The NSW/ACT branch of the Electrical Trades Union wrote in the letter, seen by Guardian Australia, that the legislation was “undemocratic” and “rushed through” and there was no “meaningful” consultation with the trade union movement.
The union also expressed concern at comments made by the Liberal party that “many more administrators will be appointed in the next decade”, pointing to comments made by Damien Tudehope – the Liberal leader in the legislative council – that the “Electrical Trades Union might be the next one in our sights”.
The union’s state secretary, Allen Hicks, wrote in the letter to Minns:
It is deeply disappointing to see this precedent set by the party of the trade union movement.
This sort of legislative intervention has never been used to respond to misconduct of employers in Australia – the double standard is glaring and deeply unjust. The presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of our democracy … The CFMEU deserves their day in court. Natural justice and procedural fairness must apply.
We are concerned about the potential impact on tens of thousands construction workers who have not been alleged to have engaged in any criminal activity but whose hard-fought wages and conditions will be at direct risk by this legislation.
It comes after the national leadership of the Rail Tram and Bus Union this week sent a letter to the federal industrial relations minister, Murray Watt, saying the federal CFMEU administration legislation passed on Monday could embolden employers and compromise workplace safety.
Two volunteer firefighters injured in Queensland grassfire
The commissioner of the Queensland Fire Department, Steve Smith, said two volunteer members were injured at a grassfire near Kingaroy yesterday afternoon.
One volunteer was airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital with burns, while the second received treatment for minor burns at Kingaroy hospital and has been released.
Smith said he and RFSQ acting chief officer, Ben Millington, spent time with the family at hospital last night and are extending their support.
Our strong focus right now remains on the injured volunteer members and supporting their families and crew. QFD is investigating the matter. The family has requested privacy at this difficult time.
Occupational Therapy Australia CEO responds to NDIS changes
The chief executive of Occupational Therapy Australia, Samantha Hunter, has responded to the new NDIS reforms, which passed both houses of parliament yesterday.
Hunter said the changes leave NDIS participants with “uncertainty about their therapy and support funding”, as well as leaving the OT profession “reeling” amid existing workforce shortages, price freezes and increasing costs to service providers.
This further uncertainty and lack of specific changes and timelines exposes the scheme to market failure and, according to disability advocates, has the potential to place the people it purports to serve at the risk of harm.
We have repeatedly advocated for more consultation and collaboration of the allied health sector in the proposed reforms.
Occupational therapists are fundamental to a successful NDIS, and therapists who are fundamentally important in the lives of people with a disability have been largely locked out of these discussions. You cannot re-design a system relying on allied health professionals without giving them a voice.
Whale freed from entanglement in Sydney Harbour
Jessica Fox, the second vice-president of volunteer rescue organisation Orrca, has just confirmed the humpback whale caught in Sydney Harbour has been freed.
The humpback whale was tangled in ropes and buoys attached to its tail, and was between Middle Head and North Head in the harbour earlier this morning.
We’ll bring you the latest on this as more information becomes available.
Thousands of ambulance workers caught in super stuff-up
Thousands of Victorian ambulance service staff were paid the incorrect amount of superannuation for more than six years, AAP reports.
Three days after Ambulance Victoria’s chief executive resigned amid a protracted pay dispute, an external review has revealed about 3,000 employees were affected by payment errors between July 2017 and December 2023.
Some superannuation guarantee contributions were underpaid while others were overpaid due to wage code errors. The Victorian Ambulance Union said in a bulletin:
Please be aware that this error is in no way the fault of the workers in the AV payroll department. Once again this highlights the need for AV to invest in proper payroll systems, readable payslips, and enough payroll staff to handle the growing workload.
Underpayments were below $1,000 for most employees. The money owed, plus 10% interest a year, has been sent to the tax office and will be passed on to staff’s nominated superannuation accounts, Ambulance Victoria said in a statement.
We want to apologise to those who have been impacted by this wage code error and we have started the process to repay staff members whose superannuation has been underpaid.
This impacts employees who are members of accumulation superannuation funds, which is primarily our corporate and casual/surge workforce.
The service said the error had been resolved and that it won’t seek to recover overpayments.
Foreign trio charged with smuggling people by sea
Three foreign nationals have been charged with conspiring to collect and conceal a group of asylum-seekers who landed in Western Australia, AAP reports.
A man aged 26 and two women, 54 and 32, are expected to appear before court in Sydney today after being arrested on Thursday, with each facing one count of conspiracy to conceal non-citizens.
If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in prison for the alleged people-smuggling venture in early April.
Australian authorities describe non-citizens arriving by boat as unauthorised maritime arrivals, and about 95 have been held in offshore detention on Nauru in recent months.
Police in April found a missing member of a group of asylum-seekers who had become separated in a remote area of the Kimberley region, not far from the Mungalalu-Truscott airbase.
Christopher Knaus
Inquiry hears of information sharing problems between family and magistrates courts
Circling back to the parliamentary inquiry into domestic violence orders (see earlier post), which has heard of deep problems sharing information between the family court – where family law disputes are heard – and magistrates courts, where intervention orders are sought to protect women’s safety.
Terese Edwards, the chief executive of Single Mothers Families Australia, told the inquiry there had been a “long-standing recommendation” to develop a live dashboard that would allow magistrates and courts to have comprehensive information about all court proceedings before them.
She said the technology already existed. The current gaps in information sharing meant courts were operating oblivious to the detail of family violence orders or child protection orders.
I don’t understand why it’s still so complex. There has been a recommendation, a longstanding recommendation, for some time to have a live dashboard that would have all the [information from] every system before the court, live and updated information on [apprehended violence orders]. Also, the gap means that child protection orders are often missing and, in those child protection orders, they can be the voice of the child or professional who’s made a safety determination upon that child.
Daisy Dumas
Judge finds Roxanne Tickle victim of indirect gender discrimination
In a win for transgender rights, federal court justice Robert Bromwhich found that Roxanne Tickle had been discriminated against when she was barred from using the “women-only” social media app Giggle for Girls.
Bromwich found that Tickle was a victim of indirect gender discrimination, but not direct gender discrimination. The judge needed to be satisfied on one of those pathways to find that the discrimination was unlawful.
In court this morning, he explained that direct gender identity discrimination is by reason of a person’s gender identity, while indirect gender identity discrimination is when a condition has the effect of disadvantaging a person.
He said that the evidence did not establish that Tickle was excluded from Giggle “by reason of her gender identity, although it remains possible that this was the real but unproven reason”.
Instead, the indirect discrimination case succeeded because Tickle was excluded from the use of the Giggle “because she did not look sufficiently female”.
