News live: PNG approves delayed defence treaty with Australia; Commonwealth Bank restores services after outage

What we learned today, Thursday 2 October

This is where we’ll leave things for today. Have a lovely night. Until tomorrow, here were today’s top stories:

• Jane Goodall, the world-renowned primatologist, died aged 91.

• Lawyers for Erin Patterson have confirmed she will appeal against her convictions for murdering three people and attempting to murder a fourth by serving them fatal mushroom during a lunch in 2023. Patterson’s barrister, Richard Edney, confirmed she would appeal during a hearing on Thursday morning.

• Australia and Papua New Guinea locked in a major new defence treaty – weeks after the deal – considered a key part of Canberra’s push back against Beijing’s influence in the Pacific – due to domestic political concerns in PNG.

• Vanuatu remained open to signing a similar wide-ranging deal with Australia but the Pacific country’s internal affairs minister, Andrew Napuat, said it must assert its sovereignty and will not be subject to pressure or “bullying” from larger countries.

• Two bushwalkers with mild hypothermia were rescued from rugged wilderness in Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain national park, less than a week after a tourist died in the same area.

• Multiple Commonwealth Bank services went down, with payments, online access and ATMs affected. The bank said it had resolved the issues by about 2.30pm.

• A major Victorian government survey, conducted by the government’s consultation arm Engage Victoria, which heard from 34,705 employees found three-quarters of workers said working from home was “extremely” important to them.

• The NSW government lifted the cap on major events in Sydney’s Centennial Park, meaning, from next year, the number of events attracting more than 20,000 people will increase from eight to 12 each year.

• The Australian defence force was joining the ongoing search for a missing four-year-old boy named Gus in South Australia.

Assistant treasurer ‘confident’ clash with states over hospital funding can be resolved

The assistant treasurer, Daniel Mulino, says he’s “confident” the commonwealth, states and territories can resolve their dispute over hospital funding, even though the end-of-year deadline for a new deal is rapidly approaching.

States and territory leaders have rejected the federal government’s latest health funding offer, saying it will shortchange them by tens of billions of dollars and won’t go far enough to cover the costs associated with running public hospitals.

Earlier today, the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, told reporters the latest offer from the commonwealth was lower than the amount that had been agreed upon at their last national cabinet meeting and that a new deal was “a long way off”.

But Mulino, speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program, downplayed any concerns the federal government might have that a new agreement not being finalised before the end of the year.

Mulino didn’t answer directly when asked if the government was able to meet the deadline, instead saying:

I don’t want to comment on the details of the negotiations the Minister for Health is engaged in, with his counterparts and other ministers.

But what I would say is that the Commonwealth government has always stated it’s more than open to good faith discussions on these complex issues.

These kinds of discussions are always complicated. But, look, I’m confident we’re going to land on good outcomes.

He pointed out that the health funding negotiations also involved the NDIS and aged care, which involve multiple levels of government.

Fourth Victorian Labor MP announces they will bow out of parliament at next year’s state election

A fourth Labor MP has announced they are not going to re-contest the 2026 Victorian state election.

Jordan Crugnale, the member for Bass, made the announcement on social media and it was followed by a statement by the premier, Jacinta Allan.

Crugnale did not provide a reason for the decision but said representing the community had been a privilege and the experience had shaped her profoundly. She went on:

Representing our wonderful, growing and proud community has been a journey imbued with highs and lows, fierce advocacy and hard-won outcomes, treasured friendships and beautiful connections. I love what I do and what I will continue to do.

Crugnale won the seat at the 2018 election and held on in 2022 by just 202 votes after it underwent a significant redistribution that turned it marginally Liberal.

It comes after Pakenhan MP Emma Vulin, Bayswater MP Jackson Taylor and Melton MP Steve McGhie all announced they won’t run again in 2026. Victorian Labor opens preselection for held lower house seats on Friday.

Hi, I hope you’ve been enjoying reading today’s blog so far. I’ll be with you until this evening.

That’s all for me! Catie McLeod will take you through the rest of Thursday’s news. Take care.

Vanuatu open to signing deal with Australia but will not be subject to ‘bullying’ from larger countries

Vanuatu remains open to signing a wide-ranging deal with Australia but must assert its sovereignty and will not be subject to pressure or “bullying” from larger countries, the country’s internal affairs minister, Andrew Napuat, said.

Australia failed to seal the $500m Nakamal agreement in Port Vila last month amid concerns from Vanuatu that it would block other countries providing infrastructure funding. Weeks later, Vanuatu said it planned to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen policing cooperation with China.

While Napuat said the two deals were separate, the stalled Nakamal pact and Australia’s recent failure to sign a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea have dealt a blow to Canberra’s efforts to push back on Beijing’s influence in the Pacific.

Read more here:

Related: Vanuatu open to signing deal with Australia but will not be subject to ‘bullying’ from larger countries

Police scouring national park with more resources in ongoing search for Desmond Freeman

Victoria police have been conducting a search of Mount Buffalo national park near Porepunkah for the past two days in the ongoing manhunt for Desmond Freeman.

Officials said the search involves nearly 100 additional officers from the public order response team and specialist search dogs from Queensland police. Police said in a statement:

Victoria Police, including its tactical police, continue to maintain a significant presence in the Porepunkah area.

We are committed to using every available resource and the necessary skills required to find Freeman.

A reward of up to $1m remains for any information leading to Freeman’s arrest. Police warned anyone who sees him to not approach, but to phone triple-zero immediately.

Related: Dezi Freeman search has hit the one-month mark. How long might police continue the manhunt?

Brisbane’s Story Bridge to reopen to cyclists and pedestrians

After nearly seven months, pedestrians and cyclists will again be allowed to travel over Brisbane’s Story Bridge.

Brisbane city council mayor, Adrian Schrinner, announced the council has finished installing about 300 metres of replacement footpath for crumbling depression-era concrete on the western bridge walkway. Installation of decking on the eastern path has now begun.

Schrinner refused to dedicate one of the six car lanes to pedestrians and cyclists on the basis that most people drive.

Kathryn Good, organiser of Story Bridge Active Travel Alliance, said the reopening was a bittersweet milestone:

Council talks about ‘keeping Brisbane moving’, but their treatment of active transport is stuck in reverse. If you’re not in a car, their policies make it clear: you’re not going anywhere fast.

Related: Sudden closure of Story Bridge to cyclists shows ‘car is still king in Brisbane’

Australian government welcomes new defence pact

The federal government has welcomed a new defence treaty with Papua New Guinea, set to be signed in coming weeks.

PNG’s prime minister, James Marape, confirmed on Thursday the deal was set to be signed, after it was delayed last month by political considerations in PNG.

A government spokesperson says the treaty is a done deal:

Last month, prime minister Albanese and prime minister Marape signed a joint communique for a Papua New Guinea-Australia Mutual Defence Treaty.

As the leaders said at the time, that Treaty would be signed following Cabinet processes in both countries.

This Treaty will elevate our relationship with PNG to an Alliance – the first in over 70 years and only our third overall.

It puts our relationship with PNG on the same level as we have with the United States and New Zealand and builds on the already strong bonds between our defence forces, our economies and our people.

An update on the CommBank outage

Commonwealth Bank said services including payments, online access and ATMs were affected by the outage.

Access is currently being restored.

Footage shows vessel in flotilla bound for Gaza being intercepted by IDF soldiers – video

Footage captured by a British journalist travelling with the flotilla headed for Gaza captured the moment activists say the Adara vessel was intercepted by IDF soldiers.

The pro-Palestinian Global Sumud Flotilla consists of more than 40 civilian boats and is attempting to breach the maritime blockade of Gaza and bring humanitarian aid to the war-torn territory.

Victoria premier says reported review of Suburban Rail Loop ‘commonplace’

Victoria premier Jacinta Allan was asked earlier about a report in the Age, which revealed a major contract for the Suburban Rail Loop is being reviewed by the Foreign Investment Review Board. Allan says it’s “commonplace” and forms part of the tender process.

[FIRB reviews] – they’ve been part of … projects here … for projects like Sydney Metro as well so this is a fairly standard part of the contract and the procurement processes that companies who are engaging on projects in Australia participate in. But let’s also remember that it’s a fantastic thing that we have global companies.

Allan says it’s had no impact on the timeline on the SRL.

‘People will be turned away from emergency departments’: Minns

Minns said a deal between the states and commonwealth on hospital funding was a “long way off” and in the meantime could result in people being turned away from emergency departments:

Ultimately, the way this will be managed is that people will be turned away from emergency departments. There’s only so many doctors and nurses. There’s only so many paramedics that we can employ in our public hospital system, particularly if it’s going to be starved of funds in the years ahead.

The feds have got deeper pockets. We appreciate they’re under pressure with the NDIS, but we need help to run some of the biggest public hospitals in the country, if not the world.

Commonwealth not stepping up to aged care responsibilities – contributing to hospital bed block, Minns says

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says the net reduction in the money the commonwealth is contributing to state hospitals is responsible for the bed for bed block in NSW.

At a press conference this morning, Minns said “the offer that we’ve gotten from the commonwealth is lower than the agreed amount from our last national cabinet meeting. So we’re going backwards. We’re not going forwards.”

Minns explained the commonwealth has the responsibility for aged care which he said is the major source of bed block in hospitals:

We’ve got hundreds of patients in New South Wales public hospitals that would ordinarily be discharged, except they’ve got nowhere to go. They’re all aged, and they need a place to go.

Now the commonwealth’s responsibility is aged care in New South Wales and Australia across every jurisdiction, and they can’t have it both ways. We can’t have hundreds of patients who are in New South Wales public hospitals that should be discharged and at the same time, see a net reduction in the amount of money that the commonwealth is prepared to give the states.

Allan says small businesses report boons from work from home offerings

About 2,000 respondents – or 6% – were employers, Allan said. Most were from smaller businesses of up to 20 employees. She added:

What was interesting about their responses is that they identified the benefits for them and their workers that came from working from home, but they ranked employee satisfaction as the top benefit as an employer …

They also then identified two key economic reasons, it provided them with a bigger talent pool from which they could hire, and they also saw that it increased the productivity amongst their workers as well.

The acting minister for industrial relations, Harriet Shing, said larger businesses have been involved in industry roundtables with government. She said a key concern relates to how businesses will be able to manage the “operational requirements of the products or services that they provide”. Shing went on:

These are the sorts of things that will be part of the way in which we develop the legislative response, including the essential requirements of positions that a business has that are required to be undertaken. Are they required as an essential component of that job to be undertaken in a physical face-to-face environment, frontline work, the sort of services that are provided that need to be delivered in situ? Or can they be delivered with a hybrid of remote work and work in a physical office environment?

Australians on flotilla continue towards Gaza

Australian film-maker Juliet Lamont, on board the flotilla to Gaza, says the group are about 50 nautical miles from the shores of Gaza.

On social media, Lamont described a military boat coming up close to the vessel she’s on, Wahoo, which she said tried to manoeuvre them towards Egypt.

She said Wahoo has managed to “outmanoeuvre” the military boat. In a following video, Lamont said there are still about 30 boats in the flotilla on course to Gaza, with approximately 30 military vessels surrounding and kettling the flotilla:

A lot of our comrades on the flotilla have been intercepted and boarded by zodiacs [boats], we’re still in formation … We’re feeling really positive, we’re feeling really steadfast in our resolve to get the much-needed aid there, [and] that we are on the right side of history.

We are feeling like we’re going to get there, when the sun rises we will be with the people of Gaza.

There are six Australians in the flotilla, across several boats. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it’s “aware” that the flotilla has been intercepted and is “concerned about the safety of those on board”. Dfat said:

Our officials are liaising with Israeli authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to any affected Australians.

At least 29 Americans have sought asylum in Australia since the second Trump presidency began

Dozens of Americans are seeking asylum in Australia as their US homeland becomes increasingly fractured and politically volatile during Donald Trump’s second presidency.

At least 29 US citizens applied for humanitarian protection visas in the first six months since Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, according to Department of Home Affairs figures obtained under freedom of information laws.

The deputy chief executive of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), Jana Favero, said the centre had also seen an increase in the number of people from the US calling its helplines for advice on how to claim protection:

We are deeply concerned about the increasing attacks on human rights in the United States, and in particular the targeting of the LGBTIQ+ community.

Read more here:

Related: At least 29 Americans have sought asylum in Australia since second Trump presidency began

Arrest warrant issued for rapper after petrol station shooting in Sydney

NSW police issued a warrant for the arrest of a rapper after two men allegedly jumped out of a stolen Porsche and gunned down an underworld figure at a petrol station last year, AAP reports.

Police applied for a warrant this month for Harley Johan, 31, who goes by the rap name YC Ewzy. He is believed to be overseas.

The shooting of 31-year-old Niddal Acherkouk took place at a BP in the central Sydney suburb of Surry Hills after he’d finished having dinner at a nearby Turkish restaurant in November 2024.

Acherkouk had parked his car at the fuel station when police allege he was ambushed by two masked gunmen, who shot him after he tried to flee. He was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene.

The attack was captured on CCTV and released by NSW police on Thursday as they appeal for public help to identify the alleged perpetrators.

Erin Patterson case back in court

Mushroom murderer Erin Patterson’s case returns to Melbourne’s supreme court on Thursday.

Patterson is not expected to attend the brief hearing but will be monitoring via video link.

Lawyers for Patterson have applied to vary a suppression order in the case, extending the date of expiry to 3 November.

On 8 September, Patterson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 33 years for the murders of Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson.

Patterson is yet to confirm if she will appeal against the conviction or sentence in her case.

Typically, such appeals must be lodged within 28 days, meaning it must be lodged before the end of next week.

But as of 1 October, the court is trialling an extension of the time allowed to appeal. An extension of no more than an extra 28 days can now be granted.

Fire bans stretch across south-east Queensland before long weekend

Queensland Fire Department has imposed a local fire ban for much of the state’s south-east going into the long weekend, with officials warning current conditions in many areas are “perfect for bushfires to ignite and spread quickly”.

Current bans apply from just south of Rockhampton to the NSW border, covering Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and in towards Toowoomba and the Western Downs region. Separate bans apply inland from Townsville. The bans note:

Under a local fire ban all open fires are prohibited and all Permits to Light Fire which have been issued in the designated areas have been suspended for the duration of the ban.

Many of the bans are expected to remain until at least Sunday night, with some extending beyond.

Q: Can you have a campfire during a fire ban?
A: No

If you plan on pitching a tent for the long weekend, please check fire restrictions for your destination.

Fire bans are in place for many regions across Queensland for the final days of the school holidays.

Campfires are… pic.twitter.com/dzQS8917xs

— Queensland Fire Department (@QldFireDept) October 1, 2025

Tech and streaming giants paid just $254m in tax despite earning a collective $15bn

Amazon, Google, Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Netflix and Disney together paid just $254m in tax in Australia last year, despite earning a collective $15bn in revenue, according to the Australian Financial Review.

“We are paying close attention and focused on tax paid in the tech industry,” Sams said.

Australia has implemented country-by-country rules that from this financial year will require international firms operating in Australia to publicly disclose a breakdown of their activities by jurisdiction – including profits, tax paid, the number of employees, and related party revenue.

The ATO report also showed the number of companies paying the petroleum resources rent tax (PRRT) jumped from 11 to 16 in 2023-24, versus the prior year, as new rules capping deductions came into effect.

Despite more firms paying the tax, total PRRT collections dropped by a fifth, from $1.9bn last year to $1.5bn this year, which the ATO said was “largely due to decreased production and lower oil prices”.

Despite the recent tweak, many economists and experts have criticised the PRRT scheme, saying it does not capture nearly enough tax from massively profitable gas companies.

More details from ATO’s corporate tax transparency report

Big companies paid more than $100bn in tax for the second year in a row, although that was slightly down from the previous year as lower commodity prices dragged on mining and energy sector profits.

The ATO said that 28% of firms earning more than $100m paid zero tax, the lowest share in the report’s 11-year history and down from 36% in 2013-14.

The highest share of companies paying zero tax were in the mining, energy and water segment, at nearly 40%, which the ATO said was “due to factors such as volatile commodity prices and extended lead times before projects become revenue generating”.

Getting multinational companies, and particularly tech companies, to pay their fair share of tax remains a high priority for the tax office.

Sams said 70% of the ATO’s current disputes relate to “international-related party dealings and cross-border investments and structures” – disputes related to international firms shifting profits out of Australia to parent or related companies in lower taxing jurisdictions.

Shadow energy minister didn’t tour any renewables facilities during US fact-finding trip

Dan Tehan, the shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction, said he did not tour any renewable energy facilities during his fact-finding trip to the US.

Tehan was asked about his trip on RN Breakfast, during which he said he discovered a “nuclear renaissance”. Host Barbara Miller asked:

Nuclear makes up a bit less than 20% of the US is power generation there. Renewables, slightly more. Did you tour any renewables facilities?

“I didn’t,” Tehan replied.

The shadow minister said he spoke with nuclear experts and said the “clear” message was that nuclear can work “side by side with renewables”.

It just makes absolute sense for us to enable nuclear to be part of our energy equation going forward, especially given the fact that it is emissions neutral.

Several boats in the Gaza flotilla have been intercepted and boarded

The Global Sumud Flotilla reports that several of its boats have been intercepted and boarded by Israeli naval forces.

Their social media states their cameras are offline and communications have been intercepted. Their live tracking and livestream pages are both currently down.

We have reached out with two Australians who Guardian Australia spoke to yesterday and are waiting to hear back.

There are six Australian on board the more than 40 ship flotilla which has been trying to get humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Follow the latest updates on our Middle East live blog:

Related: Greta Thunberg arrested by Israeli forces after military boards aid flotilla headed for Gaza – Middle East crisis live

Good morning, and happy Thursday. Nick Visser here to take over the blog for the morning. Let’s get to it.

Net zero isn’t working and nuclear ‘can replace gas and coal’, Tehan says

Tehan said Labor’s policy of net zero wasn’t working and the opposition faced the challenge of presenting an alternative to the Australian people – and to colleagues within his own party such as Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Andrew Hastie, who has threatened to quit cabinet if the party does not dump net zero.

“No one is saying … that renewables shouldn’t be part of the mix,” he said, when asked about Australia’s potential for solar and wind power.

But what we all know is that you need baseload power as well … and what nuclear can do is provide that [baseline] over time. It can replace gas and coal.

Tehan disagreed with his former party colleague Mathias Cormann, secretary general of the OECD, who recently said Australia was on track to meet its renewable targets, despite the recent flatlining of emissions.

That is Mathias’s view and he’s doing a very good job over in France at the OECD. What I’m dealing with is the reality here on the ground … and we’re hearing from a range of experts that that 2030 target won’t be met.

What I want to know is, when it comes to actually addressing emissions reduction, when you’ve got a proven technology, why won’t you even consider it, when it comes to nuclear.