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Australia news as it happened: Court orders Google to pay $55 million; E-bike reform signalled after rider killed in Sydney

Daniel Lo Surdo and Gemma Grant
Updated ,first published

Key Posts

What happened today
ABC’s final Lattouf bill revealed at $2.6 million
Wells weighs in on emerging social media apps ahead of ban
Hong Kong leader orders independent probe into fire
Preference harvesting should be scrapped, says Vic inquiry
Antisemitism envoy admits neo-Nazi condemnation could have been louder
Today’s headlines
Qantas restores Sydney-Port Moresby flights
Minns praises ‘decent’ opposition leader
‘Perfectly normal’: Trump had preventative MRI of heart and abdomen

What happened today

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Thanks for tuning in to our national news live blog. Here are some of the stories we covered today:

  • The Albanese government’s national artificial intelligence plan won’t include laws to regulate the burgeoning industry, but will establish a $30 million safety institute.
  • The ABC’s final legal bill related to the sacking of Antoinette Lattouf has been revealed to be $2.63 million, after a process that dragged across three financial years.
  • NSW Premier Chris Minns has revealed plans to halve the maximum speed of e-bikes, after an e-bike rider in his 30s was killed on Tuesday morning.
  • In Victoria, complex preference harvesting, enabling election of minor parties with small vote shares, could disappear from the state after an inquiry recommended the immediate end of group-voting tickets.
  • And overseas, Hong Kong’s leader says an independent committee will be established to investigate the cause of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, including oversight of renovations blamed for the disaster that has claimed 151 lives.

Join us tomorrow morning from 7am for more live news coverage.

Australian shares creep higher after rocky session

By Adrian Black

Australia’s share market has ended the day slightly higher after see-sawing during the session, buoyed by strength in energy and mining.

The S&P/ASX200 gained 14.5 points on Tuesday, up 0.17 per cent to 8579.7, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 11.1 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 8877.5.

Energy and raw materials stocks led five of 11 local sectors higher, while IT stocks dropped 1.6 per cent in a sell-off.

Read more about today’s markets here.

AAP

Watchdog challenged over Triple Zero risk in old phones

By Zac de Silva

Telcos, and not the regulator, are responsible for telling customers their phones could be blocked from making Triple Zero calls, according to the communications watchdog.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has defended its role under questioning by parliamentarians over the death of a man whose phone could not call the emergency line.

In November, TPG announced one of its customers had tried to dial emergency services but couldn’t get through because of an issue with their phone. The person from Sydney died because they did not get help in time.

The failure to connect is a known issue which happens because some phones don’t automatically shift over to another network if their usual provider is down.

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ABC’s final Lattouf bill revealed at $2.6 million

By Calum Jaspan

The ABC’s final legal bill related to the sacking of Antoinette Lattouf has been revealed to be $2.63 million.

The final cost of the process, which dragged across three financial years, was published in a question taken on notice by the ABC at a recent Senate estimates hearing.

This included damages totalling $220,000, as well as total costs of the Federal Court proceedings as $1.85 million. The cost of the initial Fair Work Commission hearing was $555,924.

Antoinette Lattouf won in the Federal Court of Australia in June.Oscar Colman

Lattouf was sacked three days into a five-day casual contract as a fill-in presenter on ABC Radio Sydney in December 2023 after sharing a Human Rights Watch post on Instagram.

In June, Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled Lattouf had been unlawfully sacked in a “state of panic” amid complaints about her views on the Israel-Gaza war.

The decision was made to appease pro-Israel lobbyists, Rangiah determined, ordering the initial $70,000 payment in damages.

Bank executive sacked after being photographed in mock terrorism act

By Millie Muroi

An executive at National Australia Bank’s online offshoot UBank has been asked to leave after they were photographed participating in a mock terrorism act at a work Christmas party, and an investigation by the company found they had behaved inappropriately.

Details sent by an anonymous employee to The Aussie Corporate – a meme page turned media brand for Australian professionals – and reported by The Australian, suggest the “disturbing image” was captured in a photo booth during a bank Christmas function held at Sydney CBD nightlife precinct The Ivy last month.

NAB-owned UBank confirmed there had been an executive departure on Monday.Will Willitts

The employee, who was at the party on Tuesday, November 18, and requested to remain anonymous, said the image involved an executive and a junior colleague who took part in a depiction of a mock hostage-taking situation.

Read the full article from Millie Muroi here.

Wells weighs in on emerging social media apps ahead of ban

By Brittany Busch

Communications Minister Anika Wells has put more social media platforms in her sights as teens flock to unrestricted apps ahead of the under-16 social media ban.

Platforms not yet included in the ban, including TikTok’s sister platform Lemon8, have surged in popularity as the December 10 deadline looms.

“The eSafety Commissioner and I are looking at ... migratory patterns.

“If we find that because [teens have] been logged out of Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, they end up on Lemon8, then we will look at whether the harm has transferred there and whether we need to add them to the list,” Wells told reporters in Adelaide.

“We’re going to have more to say about Lemon8 this week, so stay tuned,” she said.

“All platforms are on notice. We have to be agile and dynamic, because that’s what big tech is.”

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Farmers told of land-clearing reforms at last minute

By Stephanie Gardiner

Agriculture officials heard about the federal government’s crackdown on land-clearing at the eleventh hour, as the laws were fast-tracked to stop farmers felling trees in a “panic”.

Environmental law reforms were passed on Friday, the last parliamentary sitting day of the year, after the government struck a deal with the Greens.

The laws are designed to protect nature through environmental standards, while speeding up project approvals. Land-clearing amendments were fast-tracked, removing “continuation of land use” exemptions.

The government struck a deal with the Greens to pass the reforms. Dominic Lorrimer

That means clearing of vegetation that has been in the ground for more than 15 years is no longer exempt from legal scrutiny, along with land within 50 metres of the Great Barrier Reef catchment.

US study sheds light on smartphone health risks for kids

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Owning a smartphone before age 12 could carry health risks, according to new research in the United States.

Children under 12 who own a smartphone could face higher health risks. Istock

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, found that children who had a smartphone by age 12 were at higher risk of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep than those who did not yet have one.

The researchers also focused on a subset of children who hadn’t received a phone by age 12 – and found that, a year later, those who had acquired one had more harmful mental health symptoms and worse sleep than those who hadn’t.

“When you give your kid a phone, you need to think of it as something that is significant for the kid’s health – and behave accordingly,” said Dr Ran Barzilay, lead author of the study and a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Read more about the new study here.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

‘Disgraceful’ bid to remove defence class-action claims

By Maeve Bannister

More than 1000 Australian Defence Force women have registered for a class action against the Commonwealth alleging systemic sexual abuse, harassment and discrimination.

But the Commonwealth is seeking to remove from the claim any incidents alleged to have occurred while ADF women were deployed overseas.

Lawyers on both sides provided further details on the case in the first hearing of the unprecedented legal action in the Federal Court on Tuesday.

There are four applicants in the class action, whose names are withheld for legal reasons.

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Farmer killed on WA’s south coast as bushfires rage around the state

By Hannah Murphy

A farmer was killed when his loader was engulfed in flames while fighting a fire on Western Australia’s southern coast, as the state’s hot start to summer brought with it several bushfires on Monday.

Bushfires continue to rage near Esperance and in the Shire of Ravensthorpe, on the south coast between Esperance and Albany, after igniting on Monday afternoon.

Farmers have worked through the evening to control the blazes along with firefighters, but Premier Roger Cook confirmed on Tuesday that one farmer had died while trying to fight a fire in West River, about 250 kilometres north-east of Albany.

“This is a desperately sad situation, and our hearts go out to that gentleman and his family,” Cook said.

Read the full WAtoday story here.

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