Cruise passengers and crew rescued from uninhabited island 100km north of WA
Ten passengers and eight crew members from a luxury cruise have been rescued from a remote uninhabited island off the northern coast of Australia.
Earlier, about 60 other passengers made it to safety after they were forced to abandon zodiac boats grounded off Adele island about 100km north of the West Australian mainland.
The passengers and guides from Silversea’s Silver Cloud ship were taking part in an expedition tour near the island yesterday afternoon when a fast-moving tide caught the group by surprise.
They were stranded in knee-deep water about four nautical miles from the ship.
About 70 passengers and 10 guides were forced to wade 500 metres through a coral reef to deeper water where they were met by a flotilla of zodiac vessels sent from the ship to rescue them.
By sunset, most had been rescued and returned to the Silver Cloud where some were treated for minor cuts and abrasions.
The remaining passengers and crew were stranded in darkness for more than four hours while their zodiac vessels were unable to cross an exposed reef until the tide turned about 10pm (AWST).
The Silver Cloud has set sail for Talbot Bay to continue its 12-day cruise of the Kimberley region.
– Australian Associated Press
Key events
The risks for Australia in backing US military action
Anthony Albanese and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, have endorsed the US bombings of three Iranian nuclear facilities, arguing the targeted strikes were necessary to prevent the regime developing a nuclear weapon.
But international law experts have condemned the attacks as unlawful under the UN charter.
Host Nour Haydar is joined by our editor, Lenore Taylor, and deputy editor Patrick Keneally to discuss Australia’s entangled relationship with the United States.
Listen here (or wherever you get your podcasts):
Constable shot dead delivering warrant to be farewelled
An experienced Tasmanian police officer shot dead at work will be farewelled by loved ones at a private funeral and with a guard of honour.
Keith Anthony Smith, a 57-year-old Tasmania police constable, died on 16 June when he approached a property in rural Tasmania to deliver a court-ordered home repossession warrant. His death marked the first fatal shooting of an officer in the island state in more than a century.
A 46-year-old North Motton man has been charged with murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault.
Family, friends, colleagues and other invited guests will mourn Const Smith at a private funeral in Devonport today.
It will be followed by a guard of honour and funeral procession through Devonport and Ulverstone, with members of the public who wish to pay tribute to him encouraged to attend.
“Keith was a proud member of Tasmania Police who was deeply respected by his colleagues and his community,” the Tasmanian police force said. “His service and spirit will not be forgotten.”
– Australian Associated Press
Read more from Caitlin Cassidy here:
Cruise passengers and crew rescued from uninhabited island 100km north of WA
Ten passengers and eight crew members from a luxury cruise have been rescued from a remote uninhabited island off the northern coast of Australia.
Earlier, about 60 other passengers made it to safety after they were forced to abandon zodiac boats grounded off Adele island about 100km north of the West Australian mainland.
The passengers and guides from Silversea’s Silver Cloud ship were taking part in an expedition tour near the island yesterday afternoon when a fast-moving tide caught the group by surprise.
They were stranded in knee-deep water about four nautical miles from the ship.
About 70 passengers and 10 guides were forced to wade 500 metres through a coral reef to deeper water where they were met by a flotilla of zodiac vessels sent from the ship to rescue them.
By sunset, most had been rescued and returned to the Silver Cloud where some were treated for minor cuts and abrasions.
The remaining passengers and crew were stranded in darkness for more than four hours while their zodiac vessels were unable to cross an exposed reef until the tide turned about 10pm (AWST).
The Silver Cloud has set sail for Talbot Bay to continue its 12-day cruise of the Kimberley region.
– Australian Associated Press
Albanese says Australia will drive its own defence spending despite US tariffs pressure on Spain
Albanese was repeatedly asked whether he is worried Australia will be threatened with tariffs by the US – which was Spain’s fate after prime minister Pedro Sánchez opted-out of the Nato defence spending pledge.
“I’m not going to comment on things between Spain and the United States,” Albanese said. “What my job is to look after Australia’s national interest, that includes our defence and security interests and that’s precisely what we are doing.”
After being pushed a number more times, Albanese continued:
There’s a big focus on Spain … here today. We’ll invest in whatever capability we need.
When it comes to economic issues, I met with the treasury secretary of the United States just a week ago as well as with their trade representative.
Sánchez rejected Nato’s proposal for member states to increase their defence spending to 5% of their GDP, saying the idea would “not only be unreasonable but also counterproductive”.
The proposal – advanced by the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, in response to Donald Trump’s demands for a 5% target – suggests member states agree to raise defence spending to 3.5% of their GDP and commit a further 1.5% to wider security spending.
Trump criticised Spain after the summit, saying they would “pay twice as much”.
Prime minister deflects questions over defence spending after Nato pledges
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was asked if he is sticking to lifting defence spending to 2.4% of GDP, after Nato states pledged to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. Albanese said:
What we’re doing is making sure that Australia has the capability that we need. That’s what we’re investing in. We’ll continue to do that – invest in our capability and invest in our relationships.
In addition to that, we’re making major announcements like this one here on 1 July – next week – the increase in the superannuation guarantee, the increase in paid parental leave, paying superannuation on paid parental leave, the increase in the minimum wage.
It’s all about the agenda that we took to the election that received the overwhelming endorsement of the electorate.
You can read more about Albanese pushing back on US demands for Australia to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP here:
Verdict due in trial over death of WA Indigenous teen Cassius Turvey in 2022
A murdered Indigenous teenager who was chased into bushland and beaten to death was a peacemaker hoping to stop a fight, his shattered mother says.
Cassius Turvey, a Noongar Yamatji boy, died in hospital 10 days after he was deliberately struck to the head in Perth’s eastern suburbs on 13 October 2022.
Jack Steven James Brearley, 24, and Brodie Lee Palmer, 30, were convicted in May of murdering the 15-year-old after a 12-week trial. Mitchell Colin Forth, 27, who was also on trial in the West Australian supreme court for Cassius’ murder, was found guilty of manslaughter.
They are expected to be sentenced today.
– Australian Associated Press
Read more here:
Catie McLeod
Leigh warns of need to counter technology-assisted scams, greenwashing and dark patterns
In his speech, Leigh will hail the passing of the Australian Consumer Law in 2011 – which covers all states and territories – as a great national achievement.
But he is expected to say more needs to be done to protect consumers and new reforms are needed – for example, to combat advancements in technology used by scammers. Leigh is expected to say:
AI and automation are reshaping the products we use and the services we rely on. With that comes the risk of opaque decisions, embedded bias, and new forms of exploitation.
Scams are growing more sophisticated, with deepfakes, spoofed numbers, and social engineering becoming commonplace.
Greenwashing threatens to erode public support for genuine sustainability efforts, as vague claims replace verifiable credentials.
Digital dark patterns are proliferating … the online equivalent of a salesperson who won’t let you leave the store.
Catie McLeod
Andrew Leigh to outline Albanese government’s consumer protection agenda in Melbourne
Australians would be better protected from online scams involving digital manipulation and have the right to repair faulty products at competitive prices under a series of consumer reforms being investigated by the Albanese government.
The assistant minister for productivity, Andrew Leigh, will outline the government’s plans to strengthen consumer protections in a speech to the 2025 Consumer Congress in Melbourne this morning,
Organised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the conference brings together representatives from consumer groups, community organisations and the government.
According to a copy of the speech distributed to Guardian Australia before the conference, Leigh will point to a series of reforms – some of which are under way and some which still need to be legislated – which include:
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Civil penalties for breaches of consumer guarantees
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New obligations on banks, telcos and platforms to prevent scams
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Strengthening regulation of AI-enabled products and services
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Action on “digital dark patterns”, or online manipulation designed to frustrate consumer choice
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Tougher product safety and support for the right to repair
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A review of how AI-enabled products and services are regulated
Penny Wong to join Quad counterparts in US next week
Tom McIlroy
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is expected to join a meeting of her Quad counterparts in Washington DC next week.
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Friday he would host foreign ministers from Australia, India and Japan on 1 July, with the meeting set to discuss geopolitical issues and China’s treatment of Indo-Pacific nations.
A US state department spokesperson said the meeting would build on “momentum to advance a free, open and secure Indo-Pacific”.
The meeting comes after recent summits of G7 and Nato leaders. Quad foreign ministers last gathered in the US capital at the inauguration of Donald Trump in January.
On gender quotas
Labor introduced quotas for women in 1994, requiring women to be preselected for 35% of winnable seats. In the outgoing parliament, 47% of Labor MPs, 70% of Labor senators and 53% of overall representatives were women.
In 2022, the Liberal party recorded the lowest number of women in its parliamentary ranks in 30 years, with just nine women among its 42 MPs, and 10 women out of 26 senators. This is despite the parliament then having a record number of women.
You can read more on this from Kate Lyons, who wrote about the recent federal election defeat for the Liberal party as it continues to lose female voters:
Taylor repeats claim gender quotas ‘subvert democracy’
Angus Taylor says the Labor party “subvert democracy”, when asked again about gender quotas.
The shadow defence minister was pushed on ABC RN this morning on his stance against introducing quotas to the Liberal party.
“We’re in a democratic country, and I want to see a democratic organisation in the Liberal party,” she shadow minister said.
Host Sally Sara cut in: “the Labor party can be democratic and have women come in.”
Taylor responded:
You know what, the Labor party will do things their own way, and they do subvert democracy, and that’s a matter for them.
At the end of the day, if you’re going to have quotas, it means you are going to subvert democratic processes.
Sara cuts in again to say, “those women are elected”. Taylor continues:
Well, you know, within the Labor Party or the Liberal Party, we have pre-selection processes, and I want those to be democratic processes.
I’ve long been a crusader on this, as I have long been a crusader on attracting and retaining and mentoring talented people, including, of course, women in our party.
Terrorgram listed as terrorist organisation
Tony Burke says the listing of Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation “won’t be the last thing we have to do against far-right white supremacist groups”.
The home affairs minister is speaking on ABC RN:
This is very different to a lot of the other listings that we’ve done. When people normally think about a terrorist organisation, you think small groups of people, meeting in private rooms, finding people to recruit and working as a cell.
Describing Terrorgram, Burke continues:
If people imagine a big chat group dedicated to hatred and violence, it’s a situation where the members won’t necessarily know each other. They won’t necessarily know the people who they’re recruiting, but the concept of what they are trying to do is a direct threat to the safety of Australians, and there have been specific instances where this is being used in order to threaten Australians.
The sort of hatred we’re talking about here, it’s sometimes loosely referred to as extreme rightwing terrorism. You’re talking about things like white supremacism. Those sorts of views. And they encourage not just the sharing of the hatred, but the sharing of acts of violence, and how to guides for people to be able to commit these sorts of acts of violence.
Asked how to government can stop members from regrouping elsewhere, Burke says “you never stop chasing these characters down”:
You never stop this listing won’t be the last thing we have to do against far-right white supremacist groups. There’ll be more. And you know, there were some groups that were that have previously been listed. Terrorgram is the first one of this particular form.
Angus Taylor says he opposes gender quotas as ‘I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes’
Taylor says he does not support quotas to bring women into the Liberal party because “I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes”.
The shadow defence minister tells ABC TV:
We absolutely need more women in the party at every level, whether it’s members of our branches, whether it’s on our executives, whether, indeed, it is as members of parliament. And I think there’s a huge job for us to make sure we are representative of our communities in every way possible, and that means attracting the most talented people from across our communities as we can, including women …
I have never been a supporter of quotas, because I don’t believe in subverting democratic processes. The Labor party does. We traditionally haven’t in the Liberal party. I think there’s better ways of achieving this.
Taylor lists mentoring, recruitment and retention processes as alternate options.
Taylor says defence spending needed to guard against authoritarian regimes
Angus Taylor says Australia needs to increase spending on defence as “we’re seeing authoritarian regimes around the world flexing their muscles”.
The shadow defence minister said on ABC TV:
It’s absolutely appropriate that we increase defence expenditure up to at least 3% of GDP …
Ultimately, if you step back from this, we’re seeing authoritarian regimes around the world flexing their muscles. We’re seeing it, of course, with Russia, we have seen it with Iran and their proxies. We’re seeing it with the military buildup of the Chinese Communist Party. And all of this means we are in a more uncertain world than at any time since the second world war. So it’s essential Australia be in a position to stand on its own two feet alongside our allies like the United States and the UK, and that does mean we have to spend more on defence.
Nato states pledged to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 – including 3.5% in core military spending and the rest in infrastructure, intelligence, cybersecurity and other spending – earlier this month. You can read more about that here:
Tony Burke is due to speak shortly on the ABC about Terrorgram’s listing as a terrorist organisation.
The online network for neo-Nazis promotes militant accelerationism, which calls for violent acts to destabilise society.
As Dan Jervis-Bardy reported earlier in the year, the group was hit with counter-terrorism sanctions in February, making it a criminal offence to use or deal with the online entity.
Read more here:
Rafqa Touma
Thank you Martin Farrer for getting the blog rolling this morning. I’ll be updating you from here – let’s go.
Sydney man dies from stab wounds in driveway
NSW police are investigating after a man died from stabbing wounds in Sydney overnight.
Police were called to Pemulwuy in Sydney’s west at around 10.45pm on Thursday, they said in a statement, after reports a man “believed to be aged in his 20s” was found wounded in a house driveway.
He was treated by paramedics but was unable to be revived and died at the scene, police said.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the best of the overnight stories before Rafqa Touma takes you through the day.
The Albanese government has reportedly listed white supremacist network Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation. Penny Wong announced sanctions on the group earlier this year. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, will have more to say on that soon.
The big domestic political event of the day comes in Canberra with a joint Coalition party room meeting to discuss reforms and the federal election review. Our report this morning tells us that Sussan Ley will be seeking a more inclusive policymaking process in order to avoid the mistakes of the Dutton era. We’ll have more coming up.
And as we reported earlier in the week, staffers from the offices of the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, and the police minister, Yasmin Catley, have agreed to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the Dural caravan “fake terrorism plot” today – we’ll have more on that.