Australia news as it happened: Terror police hunt for synagogue fire suspects; Dutton won’t use indigenous flags as PM

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has addressed media outside the synagogue, while surrounded by reporters and Adass Israel congregational members.

“This attack is an act of terrorism. It was fuelled by antisemitism, and it was stoked by hatred,” Albanese said.

Anthony Albanese at the Melbourne synagogue that was firebombed in a terror incident. Credit: Justin McManus

“One of the things that we spoke about inside … was the fact that people have come to Australia because we are a country that is peaceful. We are a country that respects people of different faiths.”

Albanese addressed the crowd alongside MP Josh Burns, before the prime minister was whisked away in a car.

A woman in the crowd yelled at him as he left: “Your words are cheap and late.”

Thanks for reading the national news blog. This is where we’ll end today’s coverage.

To conclude, here’s a look back at the day’s major stories:

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has visited the burnt-out remains of Adass Israel synagogue, surrounded by a scrum of media and congregants.
• There will be no Christmas cheer for the nation’s army of mortgage holders after the Reserve Bank board used its final meeting of the year to keep official interest rates steady.
• Opposition leader Peter Dutton vowed he will only display the Australian flag at press conferences, and not the Indigenous or Torres Strait Island flag, if he wins the Australian election next year.
• A Queensland man is facing charges for allegedly making verbal threats in a social media post to a Victorian Jewish community centre on Saturday.
• The first person convicted under NSW’s contentious coercive control laws will not face jail time.
• Liberal MP Paul Fletcher has announced he will not run for re-election at the next federal election.
• Overseas, New York prosecutors have filed a murder charge against the main suspected of killing a UnitedHealth executive.

And we will be back first thing tomorrow!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to take the stand for the first time in his long-running corruption trial under a court order that is likely to force him to juggle between the courtroom and war room for weeks.

Israel has been waging war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza for more than a year, during which Netanyahu had been granted a delay for the start of his court appearances. But on Thursday, the judges ruled that he must start testifying.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday.Credit: AP

Charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, Netanyahu would testify three times a week, the court said, despite the Gaza war and possible new threats posed by wider turmoil in the Middle East, including in neighbouring Syria.

The Times of Israel reported he would testify for six hours at each appearance until the end of December; his defence lawyers would question him first, followed by cross-examination.

Reuters

Australians drive some of the dirtiest vehicles in the world, according to a transport study, which found cars Down Under produce more pollution than vehicles in Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria, among others.

But the National Transport Commission research, released on Tuesday, also found new vehicles were producing less pollution than older models, even though they were often bigger than the cars they replaced.

The study comes after Australia registered rising sales for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles in November but lower new vehicle sales overall.

The commission’s Light Vehicle Emissions Intensity report analysed registration information from Austroads, sales figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, and emissions data.

It found vehicle pollution dropped by five per cent in Australia during 2023, fuelled by the adoption of more electric and hybrid vehicles.

The fall came after five years of modest emission reductions, commission chief executive Michael Hopkins said, during which it appeared progress had stalled.

“From 2017 to 2021, Australia’s emissions intensity dropped by less than a per cent each year,” he said.

“But ... the emissions intensity of new vehicles sold in 2023 was down by five per cent compared to 2022, marking the largest percentage drop since our reporting began.”

Light vehicles sold in 2023 produced significantly fewer emissions than the average of Australia’s vehicle fleet, the study found, cutting 28.5 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

But Australia’s lower vehicle emissions did not compare well to the rest of the world, with its average of 150 grams per kilometre for passenger cars and SUVs falling well behind European countries that registered an average of 107 grams.

Norway scored top spot for emissions intensity, with an average of less than 20 grams of carbon dioxide, while Australia ranked behind Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Australia’s share of electric vehicles also fell behind many European countries, the report found, but sales of battery-powered and plug-in hybrid cars rose by 151 per cent during 2023, and their range grew by 100km compared with 2021.

“Our report shows that more people are choosing electric vehicles from a greater range, with 127 models available in 2023, up from just six in 2015,” he said.

Sales of hybrid vehicles also rose by 20 per cent during the year, which Mr Hopkins said had made “a material difference” to Australia’s transport pollution.

But while car emissions decreased, the size of the average vehicle in Australia increased.

The study found the average Australian vehicle had grown from a footprint of 8.3 metres square in 2003 to 8.8 in 2023, and the footprint of utes had grown even further, from 8.7 to 10.2 metres square.

The growth of what some have termed “autobesity” could be explained by motorists’ embrace of SUVs, which made up 59 per cent of all vehicles on Australian roads.

AAP

The chief of Australia’s navy, Mark Hammond, revealed it had test-fired a Tomahawk missile off the US west coast last week in a significant ramping up of the Australian Defence Force’s long-range strike capability.

In a previously secret exercise, the navy fired one of the missiles, which can reach as far as 2500 kilometres from one of its Hobart-class destroyers, hitting a land target on a US military range near San Diego, California.

HMAS Brisbane fires a Tomahawk Weapon System off the coast of San Diego, USA.

The government has said it is necessary to increase Australia’s long-range strike capability because of challenges to the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific, including through China’s rapid military build-up and aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

Read more about the missile test, and Australia’s new treaty with Nauru, here.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has hit back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by insisting that criticism of Israel is not necessarily antisemitic, as she infuriated Jewish groups by saying Australia expects Israel to comply with international law like authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China.

The backlash from pro-Israel groups to a significant foreign policy speech by Wong came as Jewish Labor backbencher Josh Burns accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of blocking a Liberal frontbencher’s plan to read a statement on his behalf on the day of the Melbourne synagogue firebombing.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia would comply with international law.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Delivering a speech in Adelaide last night in honour of late prime minister Bob Hawke, Wong condemned the Adass Israel synagogue bombing as “a shocking crime” aimed at causing terror in the community.

In a clear response to Netanyahu’s weekend claim that “anti-Israel sentiment is antisemitism” in a social media post attacking the Albanese government, Wong said: “It is not antisemitic to expect that Israel should comply with the international law that applies to all countries.

“Nor is it antisemitic to call for children and other civilians to be protected, or to call for a two-state solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.”

Here’s the full story.

Gas projects will be fast-tracked, the number of business regulators halved, and the amount of waste that can be burnt to create energy doubled under the Victorian Labor government’s vision to boost the state economy.

Victoria will also turn to RNA technology to improve the state’s crops, and revive market-led proposals to get superannuation funds investing in housing and other key projects.

Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Tim Pallas at a press conference on Tuesday.Credit: AFR

A new Premier’s Business Council – designed to improve communications between the state and the business community – will be established, and will include businessman Ahmed Fahour, AFL boss Andrew Dillon, billionaire Anthony Pratt and Lord Mayor Nick Reece.

On Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan unveiled the economic growth statement – first promised at the May budget – outlining how her government would seek to boost the private sector and encourage investment.

It includes policies aimed at reducing red tape, developing skills, and developing emerging industries such as advanced manufacturing, medical research and recycling.

Read more about the plans here.

Turning to other news, New Zealand will shut down greyhound racing after concluding the animal welfare costs were too high.

Racing Minister Winston Peters announced the decision after a number of reviews into the industry, with clubs and tracks to be closed by the end of 2026.

“This is not a decision that is taken lightly but is ultimately driven by protecting the welfare of racing dogs,” Peters said.

A 2021 report found that 923 dogs were euthanised in the previous four years, with no reason given for about half.

New Zealand is one of a handful of countries which allows greyhound racing – including Australia, the US, UK, Mexico and Vietnam.

While animal welfare advocates, including the Greens, have long argued for the industry to be closed, there were doubts the government would do so.

Greyhound racing employs around 1000 New Zealanders and was worth around $NZ159 million ($A145 million) in 2023, according to the government, though it has been shrinking.

In a televised debate before the 2023 election, both major party leaders, Chris Luxon and Chris Hipkins, expressed support for a shutdown.

However, Peters, the veteran populist who travelled to Australia to attend the Melbourne Cup in November, is well known as a champion of racing industries.

AAP

The shadow treasurer Angus Taylor spoke this afternoon about the decision to keep interest rates at 4.35 per cent.

He said it would be a relief for those with a mortgage to know their rates hadn’t gone up, but they would be disappointed they hadn’t dropped after nine meetings of the RBA.

“It’s very clear from the statement that came from the Reserve Bank today that underlying inflation remains too high,” he said.

Taylor said the RBA made the point that they don’t expect inflation to drop until 2026.

Here’s what else he had to say about the economy:

The economy right now is being led by public spending and immigration when we need an economy that is led by the private sector and is delivering for Australians. That is clearly not the case right now, and we see that in the outcomes that I’ve just talked about. In fact, we know that 80 to 90 per cent of the jobs being created right now are driven by public funding, by government funding. The Australian taxpayer is paying for that. We want business-led growth. We want private sector led growth because that ensures that the taxes are paid that are necessary to build the schools and the hospitals and the roads that all Australians need.”

The first person convicted under NSW’s contentious coercive control laws will not face jail time.

Last month, the Herald revealed that the man locked his wife inside their home, told her “I’m going to murder you” and smashed her phone. He becomes the first person in the state to be convicted under the new legislation.

The man, who cannot be identified due to a court order, was charged with coercive control, stalking, property destruction and common assault.

On Tuesday, he was sentenced to an 18-month intensive community order, meaning he will avoid prison time.

He was also ordered by Leeton Local Court to undertake 120 hours of community service.

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has addressed the media, after it decided to keep interest rates at 4.35 per cent for the ninth meeting in a row.

Here’s what she said this afternoon about inflation:

With inflation coming down and employment growing, we think we remain on the narrow path. The board’s been trying to bring inflation back to target in a reasonable timeframe while preserving the gains in the legal market. But underlying inflation currently remains too high and for some time now, we pointed out there are risks on both sides. Because persistent inflation is so bad for the economy, we’ve been alert to the inflation. We’ve also been conscious of the downside risks.

The board will be looking to the data over the next month or so to see if the economy and inflation continue to evolve as expected. The board needs to be confident that inflation is moving sustainably towards the target and for this to occur, we need to see more progress on underlying inflation coming down from today.”