Catherine McAuley College: St Mary's Home

Israel and Iran have traded missile strikes as attempts to end the fighting via diplomacy have so far made little progress.

His comments came as a meeting between European and Iranian foreign ministers overnight yielded no indication of any immediate concrete breakthrough.

The Lions are stunned by an outrageous Pumas try to Santiago Cordero in Dublin.

UNICEF says a shortage of fuel to operate wells and desalination plants in Gaza means the enclave “is facing what would amount to a man-made drought”.

A teenage boy is in hospital with serious leg injuries after an alleged hit and run in Maroubra.

Iran says it will not resume talks with the US over its nuclear programme while under attack.

Anti-regime Iranians agree the Islamic Republic must fall, but differ on the Iran-Israel conflict and response.

At least 34 soldiers were killed in the latest attack by Islamist groups, Niger's military leaders say.

Trump deployed the troops in response to protests in the city, despite objections from city officials and California's governor.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 400 Palestinians have been killed in this way since late May.

The 54m burnout was witnessed on Edwards Road, Jackass Flat.

The Bendigo school is more than 50 years old.

The Assistant Priest will be 'barracking for a good game'.

BFNL coaches chat about juggling footy with new family additions.

The Bendigo Spirit's WNBL roster continues to take shape.

Anthony Albanese, just back from the G7 and his cancelled meeting with Donald Trump, has abandoned the idea of going to next week’s NATO meeting in pursuit of face time with the elusive president.

The word was that the prime minister would only go if he could be confident of a bilateral.

The NATO thought bubble was always a long shot. Even if a meeting could have been arranged, there would have been risk of another no-show by Trump. Given the dramatic escalation and unpredictability of the Middle East crisis, Trump would be even more unreliable, quite apart from having his attention elsewhere.

Albanese’s mistake was letting the NATO option be publicly known. It led to denigratory jokes about his “stalking” Trump. It also sounded as if the prime minister was insulting NATO, only willing to attend if he could secure the Trump one-on-one.

So Albanese is back where he started, with all diplomatic efforts bent towards trying to secure a meeting, if possible reasonably soon. That might mean facing the scrum in the Oval Office, which Albanese has been anxious to avoid.

Australia closes embassy in Tehran

Meanwhile, the government has announced it has closed the Australian embassy in Tehran. The embassy’s 13 staff have left Iran.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday, “This is not a decision taken lightly. It is a decision based on the deteriorating security environment in Iran”.

“At this stage, our ability to provide consular services is extremely limited due to the situation on the ground. The airspace remains closed.”

Asked how much more difficult it would be for Australians to leave Iran now there was no consular assistance in the country, Wong said: “We are really conscious it is extremely difficult. I wish it were not so. I wish that we had more capacity to assist but the difficult reality is the situation on the ground is extremely unstable.”

Wong said Australia’s ambassador to Iran, Ian McConville, would “remain in the region to support the Australian government’s response to the crisis”. The Department of Foreign Affairs is sending consular staff to Azerbaijan, including its border crossing, to help Australians who are leaving Iran.

Australian Defence Force personnel and aircraft are being sent to the Middle East as part of planning for when airspace is re-opened. Wong stressed “they are not there for combat”.

Other countries to close their embassies include New Zealand and Switzerland. The United States does not have an embassy there.

Wong urged Australians able to leave “to do so now, if it is safe. Those who are unable to, or do not wish to leave, are advised to shelter in place”.

About 2000 Australian citizens, permanent residents and family members are registered as wanting to depart. There are about 1200 registered in Israel seeking to depart.

Australians in Iran seeking consular assistance should call the Australian government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 outside Australia and 1300 555 135 (in Australia).

Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

In Australia, there are around 235,000 emergency service volunteers who help communities respond and recover after natural disasters and other traumatic events.

These include volunteers with metropolitan and rural fire services and other rescue organisations.

As natural disasters grow more frequent and severe with climate change we rely on these volunteers now more than ever. Yet volunteer numbers are shrinking.

Our new research reveals an important but often hidden toll from natural disasters – the mental health of emergency service volunteers, who risk physical and emotional burnout.

In our study, we interviewed 32 Victorian State Emergency Service (SES) and Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteers. They told us they’re often not getting adequate support.

Exposure to death

Death is something commonly hidden behind clinical curtains. But for emergency service volunteers, exposure to dying and death is just part of the job. Death on jobs arrives unpredictably – on roads, in burned homes, after storms, floods and suicides.

Given their work often takes place in the local community, victims are frequently known to the volunteer, which can further complicate grief. As one participant told us:

You’re bound to come across someone you know, or someone you love at some point […] in a bad situation.

Another recounted a colleague’s experience:

It wasn’t until the next day that she found out that she actually knew the deceased person, but didn’t recognise them.

Volunteers described often being first on scene to assist but not fully prepared for what they find. They recounted experiences including retrieving children who had drowned, watching people dying on the roadside, and finding burnt and maimed human remains.

These encounters provoke intense emotional responses, from shock and sadness to feeling powerless and vulnerable. For many, feelings of helplessness and grief reverberate into everyday life. As one volunteer told us:

I was in a semi-breaking-down sort of place […] having flashbacks […] struggling to hold emotions and do my day job.

A lack of formal support

We identified over-reliance on informal team support and individual resilience to cope with difficult emotions.

Structured debriefs depended on leadership and team dynamics. Leaders with “tough it out” mindsets unintentionally perpetuated stigma around seeking help. One participant explained:

People generally will just sit there and not talk about how they feel […] They’re feeling ashamed or embarrassed.

The mindset of some teams seems to be that those who can’t manage the demands of the job should leave. One volunteer said:

It’s mostly very hard and tough. But if you’re going to survive in the game, you gotta be hard.

Support programs exist, but often focus on major disasters rather than the more everyday jobs. Referral depends on leaders flagging those seen as at-risk or individual volunteers asking for support. One participant explained:

We do a debrief with peer support, but some people put on a brave face […] There needs to be more follow up.

What’s more, support is sometimes difficult to access. One participant, a team leader, explained what happened when a volunteer in their team wasn’t coping:

I called the mechanisms that [we] were told that we need to access. I’ve got somebody here that’s suicidal, nobody escalated it. I still hadn’t heard back six hours later.

Importantly, our findings also highlighted that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. For some, peer support is a lifeline for processing experiences and building resilience, but not for others.

Five women killed. And the peer support was all over us. You know, we got to the stage where it was ridiculous. We’ve had enough, we don’t want this. It re-traumatises people who want to move on.

Protecting those who protect us

Talking to emergency service volunteers from only two organisations in one jurisdiction may limit the extent to which we can generalise our findings to other regions, countries or cultures.

However, Victoria does have the second largest number of emergency service volunteers in Australia (behind New South Wales).

Emergency service volunteers are extremely proud and passionate about serving their community and show up with care, calm and strength. But our findings show this comes at a personal cost, especially without the right supports.

Volunteer exposure to death and dying must be recognised as a serious occupational health and safety issue, not just an emotional side effect of the job. We need proactive, not reactive reform if we want to recruit, retain and protect the people we count on in a crisis.

Legislators and organisations should work collaboratively with emergency service volunteers to develop and implement responsive and consistent support services, culture and leadership.

Without targeted, systemic and consistent support, we risk the future of our community-based emergency response. It’s time to protect those who protect us.

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If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

The Australian origins of Santos have made an indelible mark on the company’s very name. The energy giant was first incorporated in 1954 under the acronym for “South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search”. It was publicly listed on the Adelaide Stock Exchange that same year.

Fast forward to today, there are pressing questions about whether Santos could serve Australia’s national interest if it was largely in the hands of a foreign government.

This week, it was announced a consortium led by the investment division of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) had made an all-cash takeover bid of almost A$29 billion for Santos. This would value the company at $36.4 billion (including its debt).

Santos’ board has said it will support the deal if there isn’t a better offer on the table. But it will first have to clear a raft of regulatory approvals – not only in Australia but also Papua New Guinea and the United States, where Santos has operations.

The acquisition would be a monumental event in Australia’s corporate history. Key elements of this country’s critical energy infrastructure are at stake.

But it’s set to put a difficult decision before the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and Treasurer Jim Chalmers. On the FIRB’s advice, Chalmers will have to balance Australia’s stated desire to attract foreign investment with the need to protect national interests.

Who’s trying to buy – and why?

Also in the ADNOC-led consortium of prospective buyers are US private equity firm Carlyle and a sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company (ADQ). There are a few key reasons for their interest.

First, ADNOC is keenly interested in expanding its footprint in gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Acquiring Santos would give it a stake in much of Australia’s gas production and established LNG export facilities. This includes major operations at Gladstone and Darwin.

They would also gain a share in two important Papua New Guinean projects: PNG LNG and the yet-to-be-developed Papua LNG. These assets are particularly attractive because they offer direct access to the growing Asian LNG markets, where future demand is projected to be strong.

Second, the acquisition would allow ADNOC to diversify its portfolio and gain control of export capacity from Australia and PNG to the Asia Pacific region. Santos’s Gladstone LNG plant, for example, has significant export capacity. Much of Santos’ LNG capacity is under medium and long-term contracts.

And third, the timing of this bid is strategic. Santos has recently been in a period of high capital expenditure. A number of major projects are nearing completion. A successful takeover could free up funding for further development.

Defining national interest

For regulators assessing the move, the potential takeover touches upon many national security, energy supply, and economic concerns for Australia.

One of the primary concerns is the potential loss of control over critical energy infrastructure.

Foreign ownership, especially by a state-linked investor such as ADNOC, raises questions about whose interests will ultimately shape strategic decisions about Australia’s essential gas flows, pricing, or even the integrity of operational technology systems.

There’s also concern that a foreign owner could prioritise LNG exports over domestic supply. That could potentially exacerbate domestic gas shortages and price hikes. In the eastern states of Australia, such issues are already a concern.

This is not the first time the Australian government has faced a tough decision on a foreign takeover bid in the oil and gas sector. In 2018, the Morrison government blocked a $13 billion Chinese bid for gas pipeline operator APA Group. It said a single foreign owner should not control Australia’s largest pipeline business.

And the then-Treasurer Peter Costello blocked Royal Dutch/Shell’s $10 billion blockbuster offer for Woodside Petroleum in 2001, also in the national interest.

The national interest checklist

On the other hand, Australia generally welcomes foreign investment. It brings capital, creates jobs, and supports economic growth.

If this deal proceeds to final stages, the decision could become a “test case” for Australia. Can we still attract global capital while also diligently safeguarding our sovereign interests?

The consortium has made commitments to maintain Santos’s headquarters in South Australia, preserve jobs and invest in growth and decarbonisation initiatives. But this is only part of the picture.

The FIRB and the Treasurer will need to consider how the deal would affect:

• national security and critical infrastructure, including ownership and control risk, system integrity and supply chain vulnerability
• the economy (such as on jobs and investment, tax revenues)
• energy security and domestic gas supply
• other Australian government policies, such as climate targets
• the character of the investor
• the complexity of regulation.

The FIRB and the Treasurer must be acutely aware that few other nations have extended the same generosity to foreign investors as Australia has over recent decades.

This generosity, while attracting capital, has also raised concerns about the nation’s control over its vital assets.

The SA government has already signalled it won’t stand idly by if the deal is “not in the interests of South Australians”.

All of this sits in the context of ongoing questions about how little tax is being paid by some multinationals while exploiting Australia’s natural resources.

It is paramount the Australian government makes a forward-looking, informed decision. This should serve Australia’s best interests, rather than those of foreign entities.

Associate Professor Akhtar has been invited to make several submissions to national Senate inquiries on tax, trade, and investment, and some of the material from those submissions has been drawn upon in writing this article.

A recently announced Pentagon review of the AUKUS pact has sparked a renewed bout of debate in Australia. Led by the “AUKUS-agnostic” US Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, the review raises serious questions over whether Australia will receive its US-made Virginia-class submarines on schedule from 2032.

AUKUS supporters suggest the review is not overly concerning – they point out governments typically review major programs after taking office. As they note, the UK Labour government did the same when it commissioned Sir Stephen Lovegrove to review AUKUS in 2024. Moreover, the House of Commons Defence Select Committee is currently reviewing AUKUS.

Crucially, however, not all reviews are created equal. Given the US assessment is, according to US officials, being conducted to ensure alignment with the imperatives of “America first”, there is a risk the US will not supply Australia with the Virgina-class submarines it feels it requires to deter China. The UK reviews, on the other hand, did not and do not carry such risks.

The findings of the Lovegrove review remain confidential, but have been shared with Canberra and were incorporated into the UK government’s recent Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The Defence Select Committee is yet to report, but being public, its findings are likely to generate further debate in Australia.

Why are the UK reviews different?

The Defence Select Committee review, launched independently of the government, is an accountability mechanism that scrutinises progress but lacks the power to set policy.

Meanwhile, the Lovegrove review was never intended to question AUKUS, as its terms of reference made clear. Instead, its focus was more on what progress has been made so far and any barriers that might inhibit future success.

There was never any real chance the Lovegrove review would end or amend the UK’s participation in AUKUS, because it has widespread support across mainstream British politics. In foreign and security policy terms, cross-party consensus is the norm in the UK.

However, in the case of AUKUS, two specific factors stand out.

First, AUKUS provides a welcome means to share the burden on a project the UK was already pursuing. Even before AUKUS was announced, the UK had initiated plans for its next generation of nuclear-powered attack submarines, awarding initial design contracts to BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce worth £85 million (A$170 million).

Considering this, AUKUS – and specifically Australia’s £2.4 billion (A$4.6 billion) investment into Rolls-Royce’s reactor production line – was a welcome boon for the cash-strapped British government.

Second, AUKUS has been a crucial component of the UK’s post-Brexit re-emergence. Coming after a period in which Brexit negotiations consumed the British government, it provided important substance to “Global Britain” and its Indo-Pacific tilt.

AUKUS’s cross-party appeal might initially seem strange, given its close association with Boris Johnson’s Brexiteer government. After all, with its “Britain Reconnected” plan, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has been keen to demonstrate how it differs from its Conservative predecessors. This most recent example comes with the SDR’s NATO-first approach, which some interpreted as a sharp break.

However, this is a difference in style rather than substance. Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government had announced Britain had delivered the tilt and would focus on consolidating its position.

In other words, it was making no new commitments. The SDR does not amend this position. It makes clear that “NATO first does not mean NATO only”. This means continuing support for agreements such as AUKUS, which, according to the review, are crucial to shaping the global security environment.

Whether Britain has the capability to shape the global security environment is a question the SDR addresses, if implicitly, by acknowledging the “hollowing out” of the UK’s armed forces. Reconstituting Britain’s armed forces is consequently a key focus of Starmer’s government, which sees rearmament as a route to reindustrialisation.

Militarisation as central to ‘rebirth’

In this rebirth, the government is focusing heavily on the arms industry as a means to bring well-paid, high-skilled jobs to post-industrial parts of the country. There is debate about whether this is the best way to create jobs and growth, but the Starmer government has gone all-in on the strategy.

Indeed, one of the most notable outcomes of the SDR is that the UK plans to invest substantial sums in its fleet of attack submarines, as it plans to go from seven Astute-class boats to 12 AUKUS-class ones.

This ambition may provide some comfort to Australian observers as it indicates the scale of the UK’s commitment to AUKUS. Still, achieving the goal will require a significant increase in industrial capacity, as Britain will need to produce a new submarine every 18 months. The record of the UK government on major capital projects suggests this is a heroic ambition.

For example, the last three Astute-class boats to be commissioned took between 130 and 132 months to build. The sixth and seventh boats of the nearly 25-year-old program are yet to enter service. Moreover, even the active Astute boats are beset by problems; in the first half of 2024, none of the five in-service boats completed an operational deployment due to maintenance issues.

So, while in the context of the US review, Britain’s commitment is likely welcomed, any comfort must be tempered by the expectation that problems will also likely emanate from Britain.

Tom Howe is a Young Professionals Member of the AIIA.

Victoria’s landmark anti-vilification laws are a significant step forward for LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities and anyone discriminated against because of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.

They put Victoria ahead of other states and territories by offering a stronger shield from hate speech under both criminal and civil law. The reform extends existing protections for race and religion to now include gender, sex, sexual orientation and disability.

Despite the advance, more needs to be done to address systemic discrimination and the legacies of past harm.

Two-track reform

Victoria has repealed its outdated Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001, which was often criticised as overly complex, hard to use, and no longer fit for purpose.

The new laws create two new criminal offences. One covers conduct that could incite hatred, serious contempt or ridicule towards someone based on a protected attribute. The other makes it illegal to threaten physical harm or property damage.

Both offences carry penalties of up to five years in prison.

These new laws align more closely with protections in Canada and European Union countries such as Greece and Belgium, which address vilification based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The civil side of the law has also been strengthened. It’s now easier to lodge a complaint about vilification – including online abuse – through the Equal Opportunity Act.

Public conduct that is “seriously contemptuous, reviling or severely ridiculing” of a person or group because of a protected attribute is now prohibited. So too, is hateful conduct likely to incite such sentiments.

The new laws also expand the powers of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, which can now receive complaints, conduct research, and intervene in legal proceedings.

This kind of institutional support is important for ensuring the laws are understood and accessible. According to the Commission, they will make it easier for more people to take legal action against hate speech.

Importantly, the new laws make it possible to bring complaints not just about single attributes, but also intersectional experiences of hate.

This means a person targeted for being both queer and disabled, or both Muslim and transgender, could lodge a complaint. This kind of recognition is vital to understanding how hate works in the real world. It doesn’t always fit into neat legal boxes.

Equality Australia’s Anna Brown says the dual-track approach of combining criminal penalties with civil remedies is all about

cutting off hate at its source. The legislation makes it clear that hateful conduct is not just against humanity, it’s against the law.

Free speech not at risk

Critics, including the opposition Liberal Party, say the new laws will stifle freedom of speech.

But the act includes clear safeguards to protect legitimate debate. It allows exceptions for artistic, academic, journalistic or religious expression – as long as it is done reasonably and in good faith. This balance seeks to protect free speech while limiting serious harm.

Further, the new criminal provisions run the risk of being underused because the evidentiary bar still remains high. To hold someone accountable, it’s not enough to show they used offensive or hateful language.

It must also be proven they meant to stir up hatred and there was an audience to be influenced. For example, if someone hurls abuse at a person on the street with no one else around, it might not be prosecutable.

According to legal experts, proving intent and the impact on others has always been difficult. Victims often find the process too complex or intimidating to pursue.

This is one reason Victoria has seen so few criminal vilification prosecutions in the past. This is unlikely to change under the new laws.

Rising hate speech

The changes come as hate speech and violence against LGBTIQA+ people is rising around the world. In the United States, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order stripping gender identity from federal civil rights protections.

Canada and some European countries have updated their travel guidance to caution LGBTQIA+ citizens – particularly transgender people – about new US entry rules.

In the United Kingdom, the Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 trans women are not legally considered “women” under the Equality Act. Across Europe, recent data shows violence and harassment against LGBTQIA+ people have climbed to record levels.

Here in Australia, antisemitic attacks surged by 316% over the past year, while anti-trans protests and hate-fuelled vandalism are on the rise.

Reckoning with the past

Victoria has taken important steps in recognising harm done to LGBTQIA+ communities. In 2016, the state formally apologised for the criminalisation of homosexuality. Victoria Police followed with an apology for its historical mistreatment of LGBTQIA+ people.

But more is needed.

In 2023, New South Wales launched a Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTQIA+ hate crimes, exposing decades of police inaction and injustice. And in 2024, Tasmania passed a bill to compensate people previously convicted under laws criminalising homosexuality and cross-dressing.

Victoria could go further by launching a truth-telling process into historical harm against LGBTQIA+ people and creating a redress scheme to compensate those previously criminalised under unjust laws.

We can move beyond limiting hate speech to also reckoning with our past and rising prejudice.

Jeremie M Bracka does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Two major pieces of tax analysis should be the starting point for Labor, but any change will inevitably create some winners and some losers

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There was a hint of frustration in Anthony Albanese’s voice when he spoke to the Canberra press gallery for the first time after Labor’s thumping election victory on 3 May.

In the prime minister’s courtyard at Parliament House, he was asked if he planned to use his soaring political capital for major reforms of the tax or superannuation systems. Badly needed, and often talked about in the abstract, this kind of action had waited for a long time for the necessary political ambition.

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Your parents might not approve

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The bruising exploration of politics, might and civic identity plays out in front of an audience split into two sides for Bell Shakespeare’s take

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When Bell Shakespeare artistic director Peter Evans was handed the keys to the company’s new home at Pier 2/3 in Sydney’s Walsh Bay, he knew precisely with which play he wanted to christen the space. With its generously proportioned stage, and unusually intimate 250-seat audience accommodation, Coriolanus – one of Shakespeare’s most political, and least-performed, tragedies – was his top pick.

It didn’t happen.

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The novelist reflects on his trip along the drought-stricken Murray-Darling that prompted the leap into writing and how the Australian bush inspires his bestselling crime fiction

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Grey clouds are gathering overhead as Chris Hammer parks on the edge of the Jerrabomberra wetlands, a reserve bordering Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin. It will be ironic if it rains – Hammer is here to talk about drought.

In 2008, long before Hammer had begun writing the crime novels that would propel him to national and global fame, he was starting his first book, The River: A Journey through the Murray-Darling. Hammer had been working as a journalist in the parliamentary press gallery, but left to travel the length of the Murray-Darling from its headwaters in Queensland to its mouth in South Australia. It was the height of the millennium drought and Hammer’s resulting travelogue is a moving account of parched landscapes and the people trying to live in them. Fifteen years after the book was released, Melbourne University Press has republished it with a new introduction by Hammer.

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Company says in-house NewsGPT tool part of a look into how AI tech will ‘enhance our workplaces rather than replace jobs’. Plus: Seven West’s Origin dummy spit

Journalists at three of Rupert Murdoch’s Australian mastheads have reported deep concern after training sessions for an in-house AI tool called “NewsGPT” .

Staffers on the Australian, the Courier Mail and the Daily Telegraph say the tool enables them to take on the persona of another writer, or to adopt a certain style, and NewsGPT will then generate a custom article.

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As anti-LGBTIQ+ laws push queer and trans people from conservative states, West Hollywood with its vibrant drag scene, gender-affirming care and inclusive community spaces is a much-needed refuge.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump ordered residents of Iran's capital, a city of almost 10 million, to evacuate amid Iran's conflict with Israel. Thousands left the city, causing widespread chaos and fuel shortages — but others have stayed behind.

The United States president has said he will decide on US involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict within the next two weeks. What are the factors he could be considering?

All Australian foreign affairs staff and their dependents in the Iranian capital have been told to leave "based on advice about the deteriorating security environment", the foreign minister has said.

While pushing for diplomacy, the Trump administration warned Iran of grave consequences if it continues its nuclear ambitions, as Israel and Iran trade missiles and airstrikes with no clear path to ending the conflict.