Australia news as it happened: Wells issues social media warning one week before ban commences; Putin ready for war with Europe

Thanks for joining me on my cameo on our national news live blog this afternoon. Here are some of the stories we covered today:

• A dramatic police operation has unfolded near the NSW and Queensland border after a man was shot dead and two others were hospitalised. As of this evening, a fourth man remained on the run.
• Bruce Lehrmann failed in his bid to overturn the landmark defamation decision that branded him a rapist – instead, an appeal court made even more damning findings against him.
• Communications Minister Anika Wells refused to be drawn on her $190,000 trip to New York to spruik the government’s teen social media ban, insisting she and her staff were doing important work at the UN (though adding she didn’t fly first class).
• It was NAPLAN results day in Victoria, and, thanks to some data-crunching from our education team, the state’s top-performing schools have been revealed.
• In NSW, a tunnel worker diagnosed with silicosis was awarded $2.4 million in an Australian first, as a judge lashed contracting companies for failing to protect employees from deadly airborne hazards.
• Elsewhere in the world, Russian president Vladimir Putin raised the stakes during peace talks with the US on Ukraine by declaring he is ready for war with Europe.
• Hong Kong said it would establish an independent committee to determine the cause of a deadly apartment complex fire that killed at least 156 people and shocked the city.
• And US President Donald Trump said that all documents – including pardons – that he claims his predecessor Joe Biden signed using an autopen were now “NULL AND VOID!“.

We’ll be back bright and early tomorrow with all the day’s top news. Have a great evening.

A career tunnel worker diagnosed with silicosis has been awarded $2.4 million in an Australian first, as a judge offered a scathing assessment of contracting companies’ “egregious breaches of duty” to protect employees from deadly airborne hazards.

In a judgment given in the Dust Diseases Tribunal on Tuesday, 53-year-old Craig Bennett was awarded $860,000 in general damages, the highest ever awarded in Australia for a dust-related injury. The remaining $1.54 million was for the loss of earning capacity.

It is the first case brought by a road tunnel worker diagnosed with silicosis. The judgment could have major consequences for the thousands of workers employed in Australia’s multibillion-dollar tunnelling projects. One in 10 are predicted to develop the incurable lung disease.

Read the full story from reporter Max Maddison here.

Growth in the economy of 0.4 per cent through the September quarter is “very promising”, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has said, as he brushed off concerns the growth may be too sluggish.

“The reason why the quarterly figure was a couple of clicks south of what the market expected is because they have revised up now the quarter before that, and also because of the impact of what’s called inventories, particularly when it comes to coal and gold,” Chalmers told the ABC this afternoon.

“Overwhelmingly, these are very positive, very promising numbers, and the main reason for that, the big story behind these numbers, is the resurgence in private investment, whether it’s new business investment or investment in housing. Really, the standout conclusions from these national accounts is the way that the private sector is growing, really quite strongly, and that’s driving growth in the quarter and through the year.”

Private investment was the driving force of growth in the quarter. The Australian Bureau of Statistics showed growth had lifted to 2.1 per cent over the past year.

Read more from our senior economics correspondent Shane Wright here.

ANZ Bank boss Nuno Matos will be the next chair of the Australian Banking Association Council, replacing National Australia Bank’s Andrew Irvine.

The big four bank chief executives take it in turns to chair the ABA, the industry association for Australia’s banks.

Matos, who has introduced sweeping changes at ANZ since he took the helm in May, including making deep job cuts, has now nominated dealing with scams as one of the top priorities for the association.

“The ABA plays an incredibly important role in supporting the ability of our industry to deliver for our customers, employees, shareholders and the community,” Matos said. “I look forward to working with the ABA and members to continue this essential work.”

ING chief executive Melanie Evans was reappointed as deputy chair. Irvine has chaired the ABA for the past two years.

Question time in the Victorian parliament was disrupted today after a protester glued herself to the public gallery.

The sticky situation unfolded shortly after 2pm.

Only a handful of questions had been asked before the woman disrupted proceedings by yelling: “God save the children because nothing will save Jacinta Allan.”

When police attempted to remove the woman from the upstairs gallery, they found she had glued her right arm to a wooden railing.

Bemused MPs left the chamber while the protester was dealt with. As the 45 minutes allotted for question time expired, the woman was still arguing with police and paramedics.

The woman, who was referred to by police as Jenifer, was arrested and removed from the parliament at about 3.15pm. She is expected to appear in the Magistrates Court charged with offences under the Parliamentary Act.

Question time will resume shortly.

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will resume on December 30, Malaysia’s Transport Ministry has said, more than a decade after the Beijing-bound flight disappeared in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777, was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014.

The most recent search in the southern Indian Ocean in April was suspended because of poor weather.

Marine robotics company Ocean Infinity confirmed it would recommence a seabed search for 55 days, to be conducted intermittently, the Transport Ministry said in a statement.