As it happened: Peter Falconio’s killer Bradley John Murdoch dies in custody; PM to visit Great Wall of China after Xi meeting

Thank you for reading our national news blog. Here’s where we’ll end today’s coverage. We’ll be back tomorrow with more live coverage.

Here’s a look at the top stories from Wednesday.

• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has departed Beijing for Chengdu after visiting the Great Wall of China, as he continues his diplomatic trip to the Asian superpower. On Tuesday Albanese met with China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang to discuss Australia’s relationship with its largest trading partner.
• Bradley John Murdoch, one of Australia’s most notorious killers, has died in custody in the Northern Territory. Murdoch, 67, was serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio. His death from throat cancer means Falconio’s family may never know where the backpacker’s body was dumped.
• Education Minister Jason Clare will introduce reforms to the childcare sector to parliament next week, as a further 800 children are tested for sexually transmitted infections after more childcare centres were added to the known workplaces of alleged paedophile Joshua Dale Brown.
• Labor MP Ed Husic has criticised the report from Australia’s antisemitism envoy. The report recommended withholding financial support from universities and other programs that fail to act against antisemitism and to embed a controversial definition of antisemitism in Australian institutions. Husic said he would prefer an approach that promotes unity among Australians rather than be “heavy-handed” and shared concern about the introduction of the antisemitism definition. Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi said Australia’s antisemitism envoy should resign for her role in writing the report.
• Australia has seen the peak of national vape consumption, with a reduction in use among children and teenagers being observed across the country, Health Minister Mark Butler said.
• The Australian Electoral Commission has acknowledged Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian has appealed the election outcome in a petition submitted to the High Court. Kapterian won the initial count by eight votes but lost by 26 votes to teal candidate Nicolette Boele. It was the first time in Bradfield’s history the seat has not been held by the Liberal Party.

Missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga has been released after six days in hospital.

Wilga was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital for treatment following her 11-day ordeal in Western Australia’s remote bushland.

Carolina Wilga was rescued by a station owner driving along a remote dirt track.Credit: WA Police

She was admitted to the facility on Friday suffering from dehydration, an injury to her foot and mosquito bites.

She was released this afternoon, and managed to slip past waiting media with the help of security.

Wilga has signalled her intention to return home to Germany after her hospital stay.

The two men vying to lead Tasmania’s government have vowed they won’t trade away their support for a controversial AFL stadium in any crossbench talks to assume power.

The island state is heading to the ballot box on Saturday, six weeks after minority Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff lost a vote of no-confidence in parliament.

Tasmanian Liberal leader Jeremy Rockliff.Credit: AAPIMAGE

Opinion polls point to a return to a hung parliament, with the latest predicting the Liberals will win more seats than Labor, putting them in the box seat to govern.

Both parties back a new $945 million stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart – a contractual condition of the state’s deal with the AFL for entry of a Tasmanian team in the competition in 2028.

The project has proven divisive and is opposed by the Greens as well as several crossbenchers who appear likely to return to parliament.

Rockliff and Labor leader Dean Winter on Wednesday reiterated their support for the stadium at a leaders’ debate hosted by Sky News, the only head-to-head event of the campaign.

Both said it wouldn’t be traded away during potential talks with crossbenchers to form a minority government.

AAP

The Australian Electoral Commission has acknowledged Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian has appealed the election outcome in a petition submitted to the High Court.

Kapterian won the initial count by eight votes but lost by 26 votes to teal candidate Nicolette Boele. It was the first time in Bradfield’s history the seat has not been held by the Liberal Party.

Electoral commissioner Jeff Pope said the process would further ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

“The AEC looks forward to supporting the Court in this critical role if and when required,” Pope said.

“As the matter is now before the Court it is not appropriate for the AEC to provide any further comment at this stage.”

A court ruling in a landmark climate case has drawn attention to a gap in Australian law, legal experts say.

Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Kabai first brought the case against the Commonwealth government, fearing for the future of their homelands on the islands of Boigu and Saibai in the Torres Strait.

Uncle Paul Kabai (left), Uncle Pabai Pabai and Aunty McRose Elu speak after unsuccessfully suing the government. Credit: Australian Climate Case

Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney on Tuesday ruled the Commonwealth did not owe the Torres Strait Islanders a duty of care.

Justice Wigney ruled negligence law does not allow compensation when it comes to government policy decisions, despite accepting many of the key factual elements of the uncles’ case, including the impact of climate change on their islands.

“That will remain the case unless and until the law in Australia changes, either by the incremental development or expansion of the common law by appellant courts or by the enactment of legislation,” he said.

Judi Storer, a casual academic at Flinders University’s college of business, government and law said it is time for the law to change.

“This is a real gap in our law because it basically says our government can make terrible policy that hurts people, that harms people and the government doesn’t actually owe any duty of care to those people,” she said.

“As citizens of Australia we have no recourse against our government for making decisions that turn out to be negligent.”

In handing down his decision, Justice Wigney said he did not consider it open to him to rule otherwise, nor to recognise loss of culture as compensable in law for the first time.

University of NSW Institute for Climate Risk and Resilience researcher Riona Moodley said courts in countries such as the Netherlands and Switzerland have recognised similar duties and Australian law will need to adapt, she said.

AAP

Tasmania is staring down the barrel of another hung parliament, as polls show Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s snap election gambit is unlikely to return a majority government.

The future of Tasmania’s AFL team and the state’s fiscal health hang in the balance amid a deep political divide over the proposed Hobart stadium, which is backed by the major parties but fiercely opposed by the Greens and some of the crossbench.

Voters will head to the polls on Saturday for the second time in 16 months – and the fourth state election in seven years. But few are optimistic it will lead to a new period of political stability.

The proposed $945 million Macquarie Point Stadium in Hobart remains a hot-button issue for many Tasmanians going into the election.

But University of Melbourne election analyst Adrian Beaumont said a new AFL team was not the central issue for most Tasmanians. Many were more concerned with the state of the budget, housing and health.

Read the full story here.

Deputy Greens leader Mehreen Faruqi said Jillian Segal should resign as special envoy to combat antisemitism for releasing a “sloppy” antisemitism report and due to her husband’s $50,000 donation to right-wing group Advance Australia.

“I think that there is a real loss of faith in the role of the envoy to combat antisemitism and ... faith is important for this position,” Faruqi said.

Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Specifically, Faruqi said the report’s definition of antisemitism, originally from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, could be used to silence criticism of Israel.

The IHRA definition is viewed as controversial because it states that “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination ... by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour”, and “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” are antisemitic.

“The person who came up with this definition said it is ... weaponising antisemitism and stopping criticism of Israel,” said Faruqi.

“This report is really sloppy, makes sweeping judgements and without providing any references or evidence for those, so I think we really need to question and critique this report.”

The local sharemarket has dropped from record levels after US government data showed inflation re-accelerating amid President Donald Trump’s trade war, reducing the odds that the world’s biggest economy will reduce interest rates any time soon.

The ASX fell from record highs on Wednesday.Credit: Louie Douvis

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Wednesday finished down 68.5 points to 8561.8, a drop of 0.79 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 58.9 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 8816.4.

The Australian dollar was trading for US65.25¢.

AAP

Social media is a contributing factor to higher rates of antisemitism among younger Australians, said Education Minister Jason Clare.

Research commissioned by the antisemitism special envoy, Jillian Segal, found a “stark divide” between Australians under 35 and those over 35, “reflecting generational differences in media consumption and the perceptions younger Australians have of the Middle East and the Jewish community”.

“Certainly social media plays a role here, and I hope that the ban on access to social media for young people under 16, when that comes into force later this year, will have a positive impact on that,” Clare said on ABC Afternoon Briefing.

“Antisemitism is real, and it is a poison that we have seen in parts of the community.”

Education Minister Jason Clare has criticised the communication by police and promised to begin introducing new childcare safety reforms by next week following revelations alleged Melbourne paedophile Joshua Brown worked at five previously unreported childcare centres.

Brown has worked at 24 childcare centres in total, and authorities warn the figure could rise as the investigation continues.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Asked why more parents were finding out they needed to have their children tested for STIs weeks after details of Brown’s alleged offending was reported, Clare said, “it’s a bloody good question”.

“This a nightmare for hundreds more parents, mums and dads who now have to go through the rigour of working out whether their kids are sick or not,” he said on the ABC.

Clare said he will introduce legislation on childcare reform to parliament next week.

“What it will do is give us the power to cut off funding to childcare centres when they are not up to scratch when it comes to safety,” Clare said.