Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia will stand with the Marshall Islands as it rebuilds its Parliament – known as the Nitijela – which was devastated by fire yesterday.

From Washington DC, Deputy PM Richard Marles has posted about another awful incident involving emergency services in Victoria this morning.

A bus has crashed at Stonehaven, just west of Geelong, reportedly killing a female student and seriously injuring a male student.

The Geelong Advertiser is reporting that 40 local students were aboard the bus when it rolled at around 8:20am.

The Member for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, has released a statement following revelations that Iran was behind the attack on Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in her electorate.

Confirmation that Iran has orchestrated attacks against the Australian Jewish community, including
Bondi’s Lewis’ Continental Kitchen is horrifying but not entirely surprising.
The Australian Jewish community has sounded the alarm on Iran for years and as an MP I have
advocated for stronger action against the regime, including listing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as
a terrorist organisation, since I was elected.
We now know Iran has been behind at least two attacks in Australia and the ongoing investigation
may reveal more.
I am being briefed by ASIO and speaking directly to the Minister for Home Affairs and his
department.
I have also spoken to the owners of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen who are still dealing with the
aftermath of last year’s firebombing, and I have taken their concerns to the government.
I am working closely with Jewish Australian community leaders and pushing for the government to
commit the funding and resources necessary to ensure the safety of everyone in our community.
Jewish Australians belong here in Australia and must feel safe when they take their kids to school,
go about their lives, or head to work or the synagogue. These are fundamental rights that all
Australians expect and that Jewish Australians must enjoy too.

I am hearing reports that the Iranian Ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, has just vacated the residence in the Canberra suburb of O’Malley.

Morning all.

I began my day chatting with journalists about our new research on greenwashing in Australian universities.

It’s quite insidious. These organisations teach climate science, yet happily take fat cheques from fossil fuel companies causing the problem. Hypocrisy 1.0.

Another thing that perplexes me this morning is the situation Sussan Ley finds herself in. Michaelia Cash‘s freelancing on the Iran situation is unusual, damaging and – like her freelancing on climate policy – appears to be a cheap attempt to undermine her leader. To what end? Why now? Strange.

The other thing I’m keeping an eye on today is the decision in the Brittany Higgins-Linda Reynolds defamation case.

And, of course, the unfolding situation in Porepunkah.

I spent five wonderful years running regional newsrooms, based in Albury, and I know these communities well. My heart goes out to the families of the police officers involved.

In about an hour, WA Supreme Court Justice Paul Tottle will hand down his verdict in Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against Brittany Higgins. We will bring you all those updates.

I am going to hand you over to Glenn Connley for a wee bit while I finish up another assignment I am in imminent danger of missing a deadline on (imminent deadlines are like crack to journalists, we really love pushing it to the extremes, as my poor book publisher has learnt) but I will be back in plenty of time for question time.

Be good and see you soon Ax

Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson has said the quiet part outloud – Anthony Albanese attending the News Corp Bush Summit is giving credibility to some of the other speakers, who are let’s say a bit batshit when it comes to climate:

News Corp’s Bush Summit appears designed to give a platform to some of the country’s most extreme and disturbing anti-net zero, anti-climate action rhetoric. 

It is an echo chamber of dangerous, conservative, climate-denying policy fuelled by a mining billionaire and used to peddle misinformation on the climate action necessary to meet our Paris climate commitments. 

The fact the PM is skipping parliament to attend a conference with dangerous climate deniers tells you everything you need to know about where Labor’s own climate priorities lie. 

Why attend this toxic summit designed to undermine climate action just prior to setting critical national emissions reduction targets? 

The PM’s attendance at News Corp’s Bush Summit is an endorsement of the anti-net zero crusaders it celebrates and should be condemned.” 

That sound you hear is the faux-rage political industry whirring up because the government has offered three preliminary feasibility licences for the off-shore Bunbury Zone in WA. Andrew Hastie, who has wrangled control of the WA Liberals and is now firmly in charge of direction – which is also leading the hard right in the federal parliamentary party – has previously spoken out on this. The Queensland LNP have cancelled wind power projects and have put others under intense review, as the politics overwhelms the evidence, once again.

Chris Bowen announced:

The Albanese Labor Government is taking the next steps in establishing our offshore wind industry, with the offer of three preliminary feasibility licences in Western Australia’s Bunbury Zone.  

In the southern area of the zone Westward Wind and Bunbury Offshore Wind South have resolved an overlap between their projects. They join a third project, also owned by Bunbury Offshore Wind Farm project in the northern area of the zone that is currently in consultation for a preliminary feasibility license. 

The three proposed offshore wind projects off the coast of Bunbury could generate a total of 2.5 GW, enough to power around 1.7 million homes in Western Australia. 

Should these projects go ahead, they could employ over 1,500 workers during construction and another 600 ongoing jobs. These are well paid, high-value jobs – engineers, technicians, operators, riggers, divers, project managers and administrators. And they’re jobs that will rely on the skilled workforce that’s already in the region. 

Traditional owners will now have time to consider the impacts of the Westward Wind and Bunbury Offshore Wind projects before they are offered a final feasibility licence. 

Wind With Purpose are still responding to an initial decision not to grant them a licence for the Catalpa Offshore Wind Farm. 

Australia’s offshore wind industry is progressing, with feasibility licences granted for projects targeting a total of 24.21 GW of renewable energy and preliminary offers for another 5.4 GW.  

The three west coast projects add to the 12 feasibility projects currently under development on the east coast, with more to come. 

The United States has put 50% tariffs on India, which it says is a punishment for buying Russian oil. It amounts to a sanction on the supposed ally, and this comes after lots of talks between the Trump administration and the Indian government.

So it’s almost like speaking to Trump doesn’t matter?

Israel has taken credit for the Australian government decision to expel the Iranian ambassador.

The ABC reports Israel’s government spokesperson David Mencer said Australia had been shamed into taking action by Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of Anthony Albanese. From the report:

Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has made a very forthright intervention when it comes to Australia, a country in which we have a long history of friendly relations,” Mr Mencer said in response to a question from the ABC.

“He made those comments because he did not believe that the actions of the Australian government had gone anywhere near far enough to address the issues of antisemitism. He made very forthright comments about the prime minister himself.

“We certainly see it from Israel that Australia taking the threats against Israel and the Jewish people, Jewish Australians living in Australia — for the Australian government to take those threats seriously is a positive outcome.”

Tony Burke was asked to respond to that this morning by ABC radio’s Sabra Lane and said:

Complete nonsense and, you know, whatever is said by anyone else doesn’t change the obligation of Anthony Albanese as Australian Prime Minister to defend and protect Australians.
There was not a minute between us receiving this assessment and us starting to work through what we do as a response. And as I say, in terms of the response, this is the first time post-war that – in the post-war era that we’ve expelled an Ambassador. You don’t do it lightly. It’s not something without cost to Australia as well. You try to keep embassies open as long as you can.
But the reality, the reality is we as a government had to draw a line when Australians have been attacked in this way.