Breakfast Wrap: The impact of SA's toxic algal bloom
Today on the Breakfast Wrap we'll hear from the state's fishing industry, as some go months without income. We'll also speak with the state government, after their federal counterparts pledged $14 million to tackle the crisis.
Then, more than 20 nations — including Australia — have issued a joint statement calling for an end to the war in Gaza and condemning the humanitarian crisis in the strip.
The former UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine shares his perspective, and we'll get the federal political response too.
Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap
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News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
Labor to introduce Bill to cap PBS-listed scripts at $25, PM dodges questions on super tax
Labor will begin its first steps to legislate its election promise to cap the cost of scripts listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to $25 from January 1 of next year. Once passed, eligible medicines will be lowered from $31.60 to $25. The government estimates the change will save Australians $200m a year, while costing the budget $690m over four years. This is in addition to previous reforms which allowed patients to acquire 60-day prescriptions, and freezing the cost of medicine for pension and concession card holders at $7.70 until the end of 2029. The election pledge was also matched by the Coalition, suggesting the Bill will likely have a swift passage through parliament. Anthony Albanese said it was a promise delivered. 'This is another example of cost of living relief that helps every Australian,' Mr Albanese said. 'The size of your bank balance shouldn't determine the quality of your healthcare. My government will continue to deliver cost of living relief for all Australians.' Health Minister Mark Bulter also welcomed the incoming Bill. 'Cheaper medicines are good for the hip pocket and good for your health,' Mr Butler said. 'For general patients medicines haven't been this cheap since 2004. 'For pension and concession card holders we've frozen your medicine prices at a maximum price of $7.70 until the end of the decade.' The Bill comes as the United States lashed Australia's PBS as 'discriminatory' amid tariff negotiations to remove the general 10 per cent levy, as well as fees on Australian steel and aluminium US imports. Concerningly, US President Donald Trump has also flagged a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceutical imports, which could have a major impact on $2bn of Australian exports. However the Albanese government said it is unwilling to use the PBS as a bargaining chip. On Sunday, Mr Albanese also faced a grilling over when Labor would introduce its proposed plan to double the tax on superannuation accounts over $3m up to 30 per cent. He said the Bill 'will come in time' and that the priority in the first fortnight was policies 'that make a difference to people's money in their pocket'. Perth MP and assistant minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman said the government had been 'clear about our priorities' for the Bill and said he was 'confident it will pass'. 'I think we have seen in this building, time and time again, that when it comes to getting things through parliament, you have got to also let the parliamentary processes do their piece,' he said.
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
Australia could be cut off from internet in hours during war, ex-Deputy Secretary of Defence warns
Australia could be digitally isolated within hours of a regional conflict erupting, with 99 per cent of the nation's internet traffic flowing through just 15 undersea cables that enemy submarines could easily sever. The chilling scenario has been outlined by one of Australia's top defence strategists as Exercise Talisman Sabre – involving 40,000 troops from 19 countries – exposes the nation's woeful lack of preparedness for modern warfare. Mike Pezzullo, former Deputy Secretary of Defence, warns that any future conflict wouldn't begin with missiles or bombs, but with cyberattacks designed to cripple Australia's digital infrastructure. 'It would be in cyber. You'd start to see a degradation of the internet,' Pezzullo told 7NEWS. If those critical undersea cables are cut by submarines or crewless vessels, the country would be digitally isolated, cutting off communications, banking, emergency services and the digital backbone that modern Australia relies on to function. 'We are nowhere near ready' The Exercise Talisman Sabre currently underway in Central Queensland has seen US, Australian, French and German forces, among other allies, flexing their military might. But behind the military spectacle lies a more serious warning about Australia's defence capabilities. 'We are nowhere near ready,' Mr Pezzullo said. With tensions escalating in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Pezzullo believes there's at least an 80 per cent chance Australia would be drawn into any conflict between China and Taiwan if the US becomes involved. 'It might start there,' he says. 'But I can assure you, it won't end there.' The strategic reality is stark. Australia's military, ports, bases and intelligence systems are deeply integrated with America's defence network. 'We don't really have a choice,' Pezzullo explains. 'Our military, ports, bases, intelligence systems - they're all deeply tied to America's.' Critical infrastructure exposed Beyond the cyber threat, Australia faces multiple vulnerabilities that could prove catastrophic in any regional conflict. After cutting internet cables, Mr Pezzullo warns targeted missile strikes would likely follow, aimed at key infrastructure including air bases, radar facilities and defence logistics. 'You'd want to ensure those are protected,' Mr Pezzullo said. 'But we have no missile defence systems. We're completely bereft in that area.' Fuel supplies present another critical weakness, with 90 per cent of Australia's oil and petrol flowing through the South China Sea – the very region where any Taiwan conflict would likely unfold. 'We only store enough for 60 days,' Pezzullo warns. Defence assets visible on google maps Adding to Australia's vulnerabilities, billions of dollars' worth of defence aircraft are sitting exposed on tarmacs, visible to anyone with access to Google Maps satellite imagery. Recent drone strikes have demonstrated the devastating potential of low-cost technology. Earlier this year, Ukraine's Operation Spider's Web saw 117 drones destroy approximately $7 billion worth of Russian military assets, including strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. 'Everything visible from space or aircraft is available on Google Earth, NASA Worldview, or other public systems,' defence strategist Professor David Kilcullen told Australia's fleet of P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance jets at Adelaide's RAAF Base Edinburgh and C-17A transport aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland are clearly visible on public satellite imagery, lined up on tarmacs with no protective cover. 'Unfortunately, Google Maps shows almost everything,' Marc Ablong of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute tells 9News. 'You can see the base infrastructure, people on the base, where the guard posts are. You can determine access points, weak points in fence lines.' Playing catch-up While Australia has major defence projects underway, including AUKUS nuclear submarines, new frigates, cruise missiles and underwater drones, Mr Pezzullo says those efforts are still years from completion. 'That technology is improving almost monthly, but we're playing catch-up,' he says. Some argue Australia shouldn't risk its economy by confronting China, the nation's largest trading partner. Mr Pezzullo says that the argument becomes irrelevant in the context of global conflict. 'We'd all suffer through the tanking of the global economy,' he said. He believes Australia's defence budget will need to rise from its current level to three or even three-and-a-half per cent of GDP to adequately deter adversaries and defend the nation. Counter-Drone Defence Underway Defence officials say they're taking the drone threat seriously, with Project Land 156 launched late last year to develop counter-drone systems, complemented by Mission Syracuse focusing on advanced drone intercepting technology. 'The protection of Defence's critical assets is a priority area for work and investment,' a defence spokesperson tells 'Security of bases, ports and barracks is, and will remain, a focus for Defence resources.' Modern counter-drone systems being developed use acoustic, thermal, radar and electro-optic sensors to detect threats, with various methods to neutralise them, including signal disruption and physical destruction. 'Modern counter-drone systems, incorporating radar, radio frequency detection, electronic warfare and directed energy capabilities, are already active across global deployments,' DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornick tells defence industry magazine ADM. Despite the challenges, Mr Pezzullo remains clear about Australia's strategic priorities. 'Plan A is always peace through diplomacy. But if you want peace, prepare for war,' he said.
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell pregnant with Labor MP Josh Burns' baby
Victorian Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell has announced she is expecting her first child, a girl, with Labor MP Josh Burns. The political odd couple announced the happy news on Sunday night confirming they were thrilled to be welcoming a daughter early next year. The couple attended the Midwinter Ball in Canberra last year after weeks of speculation about their unlikely romance. Ms Purcell is a vegan and pro-Palestine activist, while her partner is a Jewish MP and divorced dad with a 7-year-old daughter, Tia. 'So excited to share with you that we're expecting a baby girl in the very first few days of 2026,'' Mr Burns said. 'Our little baby already has the most excited and loving big sister in Tia. And she'll have a home full of animals, love, and fun. 'Next year, my team and I will keep working hard for the community we love, but I also plan on being a present and involved dad every step of the way. 'I'm over the moon excited and can't wait for this next chapter with my beautiful partner, Georgie, who I love with all my heart.' Ms Purcell said she was excited about embracing motherhood. 'This is obviously a vegan pregnancy!,'' she said. 'I've been feeling good, which has let me keep pace with sitting weeks, late nights, international travel, community events and the general silliness of this job. 'But this new life stage hasn't been without challenges. 'Some of you will have seen me talk in the past about my auto-immune disease, it means I'm never getting pregnancy and chronic illness, and because of a range of antibodies, I am positive for, I am officially in the high-risk category. 'It's weekly hospital visits for the time being. And I'm so grateful to the incredibly kind and reassuring and supportive medical care I've been receiving. 'Some people might be wondering if I'll still be contesting the state election in 2026? 'Absolutely yes. I'll be working right up until the end of the parliamentary year, and I'll return to sitting weeks as usual in February, with every intention to campaign and contest the 2026 election. 'I know that two members having two different parliaments, having a baby is a bit unique, and there's bound to be interest in it. 'While we are indeed in public life, pregnancy is an incredibly personal experience, so I ask that we're granted respect and privacy, just like anybody else, but I do look forward to sharing the parts of you that we are willing to share.' A pro-choice advocate for women's reproductive choices, Ms Purcell has previously spoken out about abortion and hospital staff who refuse medical treatment based on their religious beliefs. Several years ago, she told the Victorian parliament that when she needed her copper IUD, a birth control implant, removed, she had to seek the procedure at a non-religious hospital. It had lodged itself in her uterine wall and had created a risk of perforating it. 'All over Victoria, there are hospitals conscientiously objecting to all reproductive healthcare services for women and gender diverse people,'' she said. 'Women who were denied contraception after giving birth. Women who had to terminate wanted pregnancies for medical reasons were forced to seek out another hospital to accept them,' she said. 'Women who are hospitalised for emergencies and denied their prescription birth control while in the hospital bed, in the public system where patients can't choose their provider or are literally zoned to them due to location. Hospitals should not be allowed to deny essential, and sometimes life saving healthcare services.'
