Australia news as it happened: Australian named as US ambassador to Malaysia; Trump to make ‘major statement’ on Russia

• Childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown was working in the kitchen at a Melbourne childcare centre days before he was charged with more than 70 offences including allegedly using bodily fluids to tamper with food. In a statement on Friday afternoon, a spokesman for childcare centre operator Affinity confirmed the alleged child sex offender had “assisted in the kitchen” at its Papilio Early Learning Centre in Essendon earlier this year.
• US President Donald Trump has fired another tariff salvo at northern neighbour Canada, telling Prime Minister Mark Carney he will impose a 35 per cent tax on all Canadian imports from August 1.
• Former Sydney councillor and self-described “alpha male” Nick Adams has been named as America’s next ambassador to Malaysia. US President Donald Trump announced the appointment on Truth Social.
• Two more people have been charged following last Friday’s clash at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD. The charges come as Victoria Police sharpen their focus on a shadowy group known as the Whistleblowers, Activists and Community Alliance, or WACA.
• A man who allegedly sent racially abusive messages to a National Basketball League player on social media has been arrested and charged after Basketball Australia’s integrity unit referred the matter to police.
• Police have said it is likely missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga left her car after it broke down in Western Australia’s outback. Wilga, 26, was last seen about a fortnight ago. Her car was found abandoned on Thursday.

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Childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown was working in the kitchen at a Melbourne childcare centre days before he was charged with more than 70 offences including allegedly using bodily fluids to tamper with food.

In a statement to this masthead on Friday afternoon, a spokesman for childcare centre operator Affinity confirmed the alleged child sex offender had “assisted in the kitchen” at its Papilio Early Learning Centre in Essendon during a brief period earlier this year, supporting meal preparations while centre chefs were absent.

Melbourne childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown.

Brown had led children in a “food-based” learning activity, which included guiding children in an educational activity where they had prepared rocky road, the statement said.

Brown, 26, is due to appear in court in September facing more than 70 charges, including sexually penetrating a child under 12, attempting to sexually penetrate a child under 12, sexually assaulting a child under 16, and producing child abuse material.

You can read more about what childcare centre operator Affinity said in the statement here.

US President Donald Trump has fired another tariff salvo at northern neighbour Canada, telling Prime Minister Mark Carney he will impose a 35 per cent tax on all Canadian imports from August 1.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump.Credit: AP

As our North America correspondent Michael Koziol reports, steel and aluminium will continue to be levied at 50 per cent, and all other sectoral tariffs remain the same.

The announcement came in a letter to Carney published by Trump on social media – one of two dozen letters the US president has signed and made public this week as he increases pressure on trading partners before the new August deadline.

“If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added onto the 35 per cent that we charge,” he warned.

Trump reiterated his frustration about the drug fentanyl being trafficked over the Canadian border, even though it accounts for less than 1 per cent of fentanyl arriving in the US, according to most estimates.

The US is Canada’s largest trading partner.

Two more people have been charged following last Friday’s clash at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD.

The charges, which include rioting, affray and criminal damage, come as Victoria Police sharpen their focus on a shadowy group which led the crowd of about 20 people to Miznon, in Hardware Lane.

Victoria Police at Miznon following the clash.Credit: Aaron Francis

Activists chanting “Death to the IDF” scuffled with restaurant staff, knocking over tables and breaking a window as distressed diners fled.

Known as the Whistleblowers, Activists and Community Alliance, “WACA” has drawn the attention of police recently for a series of escalating actions – including shutting down the Port of Melbourne to block Israeli shipping contractors and scaling the roofs of buildings where weapons parts are manufactured.

At least one of WACA’s members is known to counter-terrorism police for organising left-wing protests that have turned violent, according to a police source speaking anonymously to discuss operational matters.

Read more about “WACA” in Sherryn Groch and Chris Vedelago’s report here.

Venomous fire ants packing a painful sting have broken out of the Brisbane containment area three times in the past week, spurring accusations that state and federal governments have broken their promise to properly fund eradication efforts.

An outbreak at BHP’s Central Queensland Broadmeadow coal mine was reported today. Earlier this week fire ants were found in a shipment of equipment to Perth and another nest was found in Tweed Heads, NSW.

State and federal governments are under pressure following multiple fire ant outbreaks.Credit: iStock

“This is not bad luck, it’s a spectacular failure because of known gaps in funding, enforcement and surveillance,” Invasive Species Council fire ant specialist Reece Pianta said.

The council has warned of underfunding for the Brisbane eradication program, which is jointly funded by Australian state and federal governments.

“The message we get back is that new funding is just around the corner, if only we will be patient,” Pianta said.

“Well, the time is up. If Australia’s governments do not immediately step in with extra suppression funding then they are condemning huge parts of Australia to a permanent fire ant future.”

A jointly funded eradication program in Queensland will cost $592 million over the four years to 2027. Former inspector-general of biosecurity Helen Scott-Orr told a Senate inquiry last year that double that amount – up to $300 million a year – was needed until 2032 to achieve eradication.

High-density infestations have sprung up at many locations, such as outer Brisbane and the Gold Coast, increasing the likelihood of the ants being accidentally transported across state borders in “carrier materials” such as landscape supplies.

In most cases, fire ant bites cause a burning sensation that lasts about an hour and can create blisters and pustules.

The National Allergy Centre of Excellence, Australia’s peak allergy research body, estimates fire ants sting a third of people who live in areas where they have established colonies each year.

It said if a nationwide infestation were to occur, up to 650,000 people would seek medical attention for bites every year, including up to 175,000 people for allergic reactions such as hives, welts and swelling that in severe cases could be fatal.

A man who allegedly sent racially abusive messages to a National Basketball League player on social media has been arrested and charged after Basketball Australia’s integrity unit referred the matter to police.

The messages were allegedly sent following a game between Melbourne United and Adelaide 36ers on November 17 last year.

Violence marred the game between Melbourne United and the Adelaide 36ers.Credit: Getty Images

Victoria Police said in a statement that a 37-year-old man was arrested and charged on July 2.

Violence marred the game after a heated exchange between Adelaide 36ers power forward Montrezl Harrell and Melbourne United guard Shea Ili which spilled off-court and into an ugly brawl with fans.

The 36ers later alleged racial abuse had been directed at a player, and separately, contacted the NBL about abuse sent to Harrell’s Instagram account, CODE Sports reported at the time.

Read more in Brittany Busch’s report here.

Good afternoon, thanks for reading our national blog helmed by Michael McGowan. My name is Bridie Smith, and I’ll be leading our coverage for the rest of the day.

Here’s what you need to know this afternoon.

• Former Sydney councillor and self-described “alpha male” Nick Adams has been named as America’s next ambassador to Malaysia. US President Donald Trump announced the appointment on Truth Social. Read the full story here.
• Still in the US, Trump plans to make a “major statement” on Russia, as the US prepares to send new American weapons to Ukraine via purchases from NATO allies. In an interview with NBC News, Trump reiterated his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine.
• Police have said it is likely missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga left her car after it broke down in Western Australia’s outback. Wilga, 26, went missing about a fortnight ago, after she was last seen in a country town about 330 kilometres outside Perth. Her car was found abandoned on Thursday. Read the latest update here.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated he will raise concerns about China’s behaviour in closed-door meetings with Chinese leaders during his visit next week. Without referencing any one issue, Albanese said face-to-face talks allowed Australia to raise sensitive topics.

Police say it is likely missing German backpacker Carolina Wilga left her car after it broke down in Western Australia’s outback.

Wilga went missing about a fortnight ago after she was last seen in a country town about 330 kilometres outside Perth.

Her car was found abandoned on Thursday afternoon in a national park on the edge of the state’s Wheatbelt region, which borders the Great Sandy Desert.

Carolina Wilga’s Mitsubishi Delica has been found by police.Credit: WA Police

In a photo released by WA Police, it can be seen with recovery boards wedged under the wheels and surrounded by dense scrubland. Wilga was not with her vehicle.

Acting Inspector Jessica Securo told ABC Radio Perth the discovery of the car on Thursday meant police were developing the most likely theory in the search for the 26-year-old, which has involved the police air wing.

“Our information to date is she’s likely to become lost in that area, and has potentially walked away from her vehicle,” she said.

Full story here.

The new US ambassador to Malaysia, former Ashfield councillor Nick Adams, is a man of many passions.

Besides President Donald Trump, there’s also his affinity for “guns, hot dogs, chicken fried steak, barbecue, cheerleaders, American football, small-town parades, beauty pageants, pick-up trucks, muscle cars and 16-lane freeways lined with supersized American flags”, as he told this masthead in 2017.

Nick Adams poses for a portrait at Will Rogers Memorial Park in Beverly Hills, California on March 18, 2024.Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images

Josefine Ganko has detailed his remarkable rise from deputy mayor, where he campaigned to stop the removal of a portrait of the Queen from the council’s chambers, and proposed a cull of all the pigeons in Ashfield to prevent the spread of avian flu, to US ambassador.

Do yourself a favour and read it here.

The co-founder and former leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, has taken out an advertisement in this masthead praising Hannah Thomas, the anti-Israel demonstrator who suffered a serious eye injury after police broke up a protest in Belmore last month.

Thomas, who underwent a second round of surgery on Thursday, was arrested along with four other protesters outside the SEC Plating business in Belmore in late June.

Former Greens leader Bob BrownCredit: Joe Armao

Thomas suffered a serious eye injury, and has been told to be “prepared for the worst”, including the possibility she may not recover vision in her right eye. Police declared a critical incident probe into the injury.

On Friday, Brown took out an advertisement in the Sydney Morning Herald praising Thomas and wishing her a speedy recovery.

“It is shocking that you were arrested for peacefully taking part in a protest and treated in such a way — a police takedown — that you may lose the sight of your right eye,” he wrote. “This was in Sydney, not Rangoon or Moscow.”

Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas is recovering from an eye injury suffered after police broke up a protest in Sydney last monthCredit: Max Mason-Hubers

“Our High Court has ruled that peaceful protest is a constitutional right of every Australian, including you. It is a fundamental to a representative democracy.”

Thomas is a former Greens candidate who ran against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the May federal election.

After a second surgery on Thursday she posted on Instagram to say she was recovering. She also encouraged followers to attend three pro-Palestine protests planned for this weekend.

After this masthead revealed she had been charged under a rarely-used emergency anti-riot power, police said the charge would be withdrawn and replaced with a standard charge for failing to obey a police direction and hindering police.