Key events

What we learned – Monday 3 August

That’s where we’ll leave our live news coverage.

Before we go, let’s recap the day’s top headlines:

• The government has released new details of its news bargaining incentive legislation, after consultations with industry.

• The high-profile trial of former broadcaster Alan Jones for indecent assault and sexual touching charges began today in Sydney’s Downing Centre local court and is expected to run for four months and hear from 76 witnesses.

• Laurie Daley has ended months of speculation by officially quitting his role as NSW State of Origin coach.

• A Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s gambling laws has heard allegations that betting companies and casinos are providing big spending punters with drugs, free accommodation and escorts.

• Tolls are set to fall on some Sydney motorways after the operator Transurban reached a long-awaited deal with the NSW government.

• Pauline Hanson held a press conference in Melbourne where reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were barred from attending.

• Two people are being treated for leg and neck injuries after a partial collapse of a seven-metre-high building in inner Sydney, according to Fire and Rescue NSW.

• Tests by the CSIRO have confirmed Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly H5 bird flu and the environment minister, Murray Watt, has warned more mass wildlife deaths will occur as the disease continues to spread. There has also been a suspected H5 bird flu mortality event in Victoria.

Thanks for joining us, see you tomorrow morning!

Hunter Valley mine pauses operations after worker dies in ‘equipment incident’

A mining site in New South Wales’s Hunter Vally has paused operations after a worker died on Monday after “a mobile equipment incident”.

The death happened at the United Wambo Open Cut mine, about 16 km west of Singleton, owned by mining companies Glencore and Peabody.

Glencore said emergency services and police are onsite, and mining operations have been suspended.

In a statement, CEO of Glencore’s Australian operations Peter Sharpe said:

double quotation markOur sincere condolences go out to the worker’s family, friends and colleagues. This is tragic news for our entire workforce. Our immediate focus is on providing support to the worker’s family and our employees.

In a statement, NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said:

double quotation markThis tragedy highlights the hazards faced by those working in our industry and is a sombre reminder of why the safety of our workforce must always be our number one priority.

Former ACCC chair has ‘real concern’ over news bargaining scheme

The former competition watchdog boss Rod Sims says the government has a “lack of ambition” on the news bargaining incentive, raising concerns that many smaller publishers will miss out on deals and that not enough money will be raised from the big tech companies.

Sims, a former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said there were positives in Labor’s latest plan, including making progress on the framework after it had appeared stalled, and changes to include LinkedIn – which had previously been carved out from the plan that includes TikTok, Google and Meta platforms.

But Sims says the government should be looking to raise higher sums than it has outlined.

The assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino said today that the NBI “should see benefit to the media in the order of $200 million to $250 million” – but Sims said that was similar to what the former news bargaining code raised five years ago from only two companies at the time (Google and Facebook).

Sims said the government should be aiming higher than that, more in the realm of $300m plus, with more companies included and inflation added.

Sims said:

double quotation markThere’s a lack of ambition, and simple arithmetic here.

Rod Sims at the National Press Club in 2024. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Sims also worried that many outlets would miss out on benefit, with big tech companies only obligated to make six deals minimum. He said.

double quotation markIt just means not everybody will get a deal, in fact most won’t … some outlets in public interest journalism won’t get some. That’s a real concern.

Another former ACCC chair, Alan Fels, gave similar feedback. He said it was positive the government was making progress, but worried the scheme didn’t go far enough to “extract more from the platforms” for Australian journalism.

A Microsoft spokesperson, responding to the inclusion of their service LinkedIn in the NBI, said the company “shares the Government’s objective of promoting a sustainable Australian news ecosystem” and said it would continue “constructive engagement with Government, publishers and industry stakeholders to support high-quality journalism, innovation and economic growth.”

Little penguins among species at risk from H5 bird flu, says Victorian biodiversity chief

In an update on Victoria’s H5 bird flu situation, the state’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said the little penguins at Phillip Island and St Kilda were among the species considered at risk from the deadly virus.

He said the state government was working with Phillip Island Nature Park and Zoos Victoria on the potential for vaccination in little penguins and in captive threatened species held by Zoos Victoria.

double quotation markObviously one of the challenges around vaccines is that you need to be able to administer more than one dose, that’s largely impractical for wild populations. But we’re working with Phillip Island Nature Park in relation to penguins and also Zoos Victoria in relation to a range of threatened species.

A little penguin. Photograph: ozflash/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The state’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said aerial and ground surveillance in the south-west of the state – around Portland and Nelson – showed “clear evolution of a form of cluster that is entirely consistent with what has happened in South Australia”.

double quotation markLast week we talked about individual detections; the first cases of the H5 bird flu in Victoria. We are now seeing a change as the disease spreads out and has further impacts.

Aerial surveillance in the south-west since 14 July showed a “clear increase in the number of dead terns” along the coast, he said. However, access to some areas, such as Lawrence Rocks, was limited by large swells. The area is home to an important breeding colony of Australasian gannets, seal colonies as well as the Glenelg Estuary and Discovery Bay, an internationally significant wetland site.

SA minister concerned about bird flu case in Coorong – a 'safe haven' for water birds

South Australia’s environment minister says she is concerned about a confirmed case of H5 bird flu in a petrel found in the Coorong, one of several new locations where the deadly disease has been detected in the state.

The migratory petrel is one of 18 confirmed new cases in SA. The new cases include a silver gull in Glenelg, two greater crested terns at Troubridge Island, a silver gull at Southend, a greater crested tern at Monarto and six greater crested terns on Pages Islands.

Five greater crested terns and a silver gull at Baudin Rocks also returned positive results. Those birds were a sample from about 50 dead and 30 sick birds found by aerial surveillance at Baudin Rocks in what has been confirmed as Australia’s first H5 mass mortality event.

The Coorong is a large area that is home to internationally significant wetlands that support populations of waterbirds and migratory species.

SA environment minister Emily Bourke said:

double quotation markThat confirmed location is of concern because it is where waterbirds are also located.

So it’s going from seabirds, but also potentially now into where we know a lot of water birds are nesting and using this space as a safe haven.

Birds at sunrise in the Coorong near the mouth of the Murray River. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Media freedom alliance condemns Pauline Hanson’s press conference bans

The Alliance for Journalists’ Freedom has condemned One Nation’s Pauline Hanson for barring the Guardian, the Age and the ABC from a press conference today.

Executive director Peter Greste said “no political party should have the right to pick and choose the news outlets who ask them questions”.

In a statement, he said:

double quotation markOne of the strengths of our democracy is the ability of all journalists to robustly interrogate politicians on behalf of the people who hire them – the voters. It isn’t always comfortable, but that freedom is one of the reasons our political system is one of the world’s most stable and effective.

By locking out the ABC, The Age and The Guardian, One Nation is directly weakening our democratic system.

Two men sustain neck and leg injuries after building collapse in Sydney

Two people are being treated for leg and neck injuries after a partial collapse of a seven-metre-high building in inner Sydney, according to Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW).

FRNSW said emergency services responded to the incident around 11am on Wattle Street in Ultimo, where a total of seven people were assessed by paramedics.

Ambulance NSW say the two men, both in their 60s, were taken to Royal Prince Alfred hospital and St Vincent’s hospital, where they are now in stable conditions.

The collapsed building in Ultimo on Monday. Photograph: Damian Shaw/AAP

Earlier we incorrectly reported that one of the men was in his 30s.

FRNSW said the wall collapsed on to an adjoining service station, where debris damaged several parked cars.

Emergency crews at the scene in Ultimo. Photograph: Damian Shaw/AAP

The service station remains closed as a precaution, and its employees have been evacuated. Some neighbouring buildings have also been cleared.

Read more:

News Corp claims media bargaining changes ‘gut’ scheme

The government’s changes to the News Bargaining Incentive have also not impressed News Corp, with the publisher claiming the updates would harm Australian media outlets.

News Corp’s Australian chair, Michael Miller, was unhappy with the changes to settings which would see narrow the charge base of how the fee is calculated on big tech companies, but increase the rate of charge. He said:

double quotation markThese changes gut the incentive for tech platforms to strike fair deals with Australian media, right when those rules need strengthening, not softening.

On an already uneven playing field, getting this wrong won’t just hurt Australian media. It will erode the quality and independence of news every Australian relies on.

Tech giants cannot keep dodging their obligations. Australia deserves full revenue transparency, backed by severe, non-negotiable penalties for any platform that flouts local law.

News code changes will ‘short-change’ Australian media, Coalition says

The Coalition claims Australian journalists will be “dudded” by the government’s changes to the News Bargaining Incentive, and that the new framework will not collect enough money from big tech platforms.

Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson and shadow assistant treasurer Kevin Hogan have released a statement on today’s announcement, calling it “a concerning free kick to the multinational tech giants at the expense of Australian news outlets” and raising concerns it would lead to “dramatically short-changing Australian media companies.” They said:

double quotation markWhile the government has increased the charge rate to 2.5 per cent, it is estimated this about-face will mean billions of dollars of revenues earned by the tech giants will not be included in the scheme.

Henderson accused Labor of letting big tech “off the hook” with the changes. She said:

double quotation markNot only will Labor’s scheme mean less money for Australian journalism, the government is now doing even less to encourage commercial deals with big tech which is extremely disappointing.

Labor’s dithering and delay on a promised replacement scheme has left tech giants unaccountable for their use of Australian copyrighted news content, while newsrooms and regional newspapers face uncertainty about their future.

Hogan said the Coalition welcomed the inclusion of LinkedIn in the scheme – which had previously been given a carveout under the draft framework.

NSW Icac hears of potentially illegal meetings between Reformers after summons

The NSW Icac has adjourned early for the rest of the day. Not long before lunch, Reformers witness Robert Assaf admitted to having three meetings with another person named in allegations, Jeremy Greenwood, after receiving a summons to appear at a private hearing before the inquiry this year.

Under section 114 of NSW’s Icac Act, it can be a criminal offence if a person discloses any information about a summons from the watchdog “that is likely to prejudice the investigation to which it relates”, punishable by up to 12 months imprisonment.

Asked about meetings at a cafe in Belfield and another on the Cooks river track in Sydney, Assaf admitted the men left their phones and laptops in Greenwood’s car before going for a walk so their conversations could not be traced.

Assaf said during the meetings they discussed the nature of evidence they would give to Icac, including potential vulnerabilities for the group at the inquiry.

Counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer SC, asked: “Did you understand at that point in time, given what you were told when you received the summons, that it was important not to discuss your evidence?”

Assaf, who has described being stressed and nervous after receiving communication from Icac, admitted that he did.

The inquiry will return tomorrow with the NSW shadow attorney general, Damien Tudehope, and businessman Frits Maré expected to give evidence first.

That’s all for me. Achol Arok will take things from here, take care.

Garma festival 2026 in pictures

The theme of the 26th Garma festival was Bukmak, meaning all of us, everyone together in Yolngu language. The four-day gathering at the Gulkula ceremonial grounds in Arnhem Land is the largest First Nations cultural event in Australia.

See more here:

Members of the Gumatj clan take part in the bunggal. Photograph: James Ross/EPARussell Gurruwiwi of the Gumatj clan before the bunggal. Photograph: James Ross/EPALena Gurruwiwi of the Galpu clan paints a yidaki. Photograph: James Ross/AAPAerial surveillance has detected a suspected H5 bird flu mortality event in Victoria

The Victorian government said a cluster of dead and sick greater crested terns had been identified through aerial surveillance in the Glenelg River estuary near Nelson and across Lawrence Rocks over the weekend.

The government has not yet provided the number of birds observed but state authorities will speak to media later this afternoon.

Victoria’s chief biodiversity officer, James Todd, said the observations were consistent with what was recently reported in South Australia, where mass deaths of crested terns at Baudin Rocks were confirmed earlier today as Australia’s first mass mortality event from the deadly disease.

Victoria’s chief veterinary officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said investigations were under way to better understand the progression of the virus in wildlife.

double quotation markThis event is consistent with the type of wildlife impacts we have been preparing for as H5 bird flu becomes established in a bird population.

Sampling has taken place today, along with further aerial surveillance, to determine any further impacts in other species.

There have so far been seven confirmed positive H5 bird flu cases in Victoria in crested terns, five in Portland and two in Nelson.

‘Holding public figures to account is the role of a free press,’ Guardian Australia says after blockage from One Nation press conference

Guardian Australia has released a statement after being barred from Pauline Hanson’s press conference earlier today.

As reported earlier, reporters from the ABC, the Age and the Guardian were not provided with the time or location of a press conference to announced One Nation’s Victorian state election candidates.

A Guardian spokesperson says:

double quotation markHolding public figures to account is the role of a free press and an essential part of the democratic process. It is disappointing that One Nation continues to prevent the Guardian and other news outlets from reporting on its press conferences. Our journalists should be able to ask questions in the public interest and not be deterred from doing their job.

The Guardian has published important public interest journalism on Pauline Hanson and One Nation and stands by the rigour of its work.