Lehrmann ‘had his day in court’ and should be denied appeal against defamation finding, Wilkinson’s lawyer saysAmanda MeadeBruce Lehrmann’s lawyer has told the court he has not been served a bankruptcy notice, although one was attempted on his mother.The statement contradicts an earlier claim by Matt Collins KC for Network Ten, that Lehrmann was served with a bankruptcy notice on 8 August.The court has adjourned while Lehrmann’s lawyer, Zali Burrows, reads Ten’s submissions on the bankruptcy notice.Before the break Sue Chrysanthou SC, for Lisa Wilkinson, said Lehrmann has “had his day in court” and should not be given a second chance.“He came to this court by choice,” Chrysanthou said.“He came here pleading his first imputation as one of rape. He did so having escaped the criminal process.“He chose to enter the fray. He walked over the line and asked this court, knowing the likelihood that my client in Network Ten would plead truth; he made that decision, and that’s a factor against the arguments that he would make on public interest.”ShareUpdated at 03.02 CESTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureCollins Street welcomes baby seagulls, giving peregrine falcons a run for their moneyA duo of baby seagulls on Collins Street in Melbourne are giving the famed peregrine falcons a run for their money.Two peregrine falcon chicks hatched on top of 367 Collins Street earlier this month, witnessed by more than 1,000 viewers on the building’s rolling live feed.As Caitlin Cassidy reports, peregrine falcons have treated the ledge as home for more than three decades, but cameras, and the mundanity of Covid-19 lockdowns, made them a social media phenomenon:But now, the Environment Protection Authority of Victoria has shared images of two baby seagulls just nearby, near its training rooms at 664 Collins Street. The EPA wrote on X:
Move over 367 Peregrine Falcons. We have our very own seagulls!
Move over 367 Peregrine Falcons. We have our very own seagulls! Spotted from our training rooms at 664 Collins St. pic.twitter.com/XyPV3nB0Cs— Environment Protection Authority Victoria (@VicGovEPA) October 14, 2024

ShareGreens accuse Queensland Labor of adopting ‘numerous Greens policies’The Greens MP for Brisbane, Stephen Bates, has accused the state Labor government of adopting “numerous Greens policies” or floating them in the media.He said this “shows the power that comes from threatening the two party system”, with Labor’s free school meals policy “a prime example of this”.Bates wrote on X:
When debating a universal school meals program, then education minister Grace Grace in 2021 said, “The Greens have not one skerrick of evidence to suggest that this affects children in schools today.” Flash forward and now it’s a Labor election policy.
The longer the two party system reigns, the worse outcomes we get, and the realm of what’s possible continues to shrink. The continuing and cementing existence (and political threat) of The Greens in QLD politics has already shifted the Overton window.
This comes as the Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather also accused Labor of stealing a number of Greens policies, including 50 cent fares, an electricity retailer and the free school lunches.As Andrew Messenger reported, premier Steven Miles warded off allegations of plagiarism at yesterday’s election campaign launch:ShareUpdated at 03.32 CESTGreens senator pushes for First Nations truth and justice commissionThe Greens senator Dorinda Cox says it is important governments don’t “walk away from First Nations justice” on the one-year anniversary of the voice referendum.In a post to X, she said it had been “a difficult year for First Nations communities” and that “many are looking for action and want to see a renewed focus on implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart”.
The Greens have a bill before Parliament right now to establish a Truth [and] Justice Commission, which we need to progress to get to Treaty. We are the only Commonwealth nation without a Treaty with its First Peoples.
This was Labor’s election promise, they mustn’t break it. The Greens will keep fighting for First Nations Justice both in [and] out of Parliament.
Greens senator Dorinda Cox. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The GuardianShareUpdated at 03.21 CESTMinority Liberal premier backs embattled deputyTasmania’s Liberal premier has thrown his support behind his under-fire right-hand man who appears set to be forced out of cabinet by parliament, AAP reports.The deputy premier and treasurer Michael Ferguson has copped increasing heat over the bungled roll-out of two new Bass Strait ferries, prompting him to drop the infrastructure portfolio in August.The yet-to-be-delivered $900m Spirit of Tasmania ships are over budget, behind schedule and new wharfs for the vessels won’t be ready for their arrival. The state’s Labor opposition has flagged moving a no-confidence motion in Ferguson when parliament resumes tomorrow.Independents David O’Byrne and Kristie Johnston, and the Jacqui Lambie Network’s Andrew Jenner, have said they’d back a no-confidence motion. With Labor’s 10 votes and five from the Greens, it means the motion would succeed.Jeremy Rockliff listens Michael Ferguson deliver the 2023 Tasmanian state budget speech. Photograph: Richard Jupe/AAPUnder parliamentary convention, Ferguson would have to resign from cabinet or premier Jeremy Rockliff would have to send him to the backbench. Rockliff told reporters he had full confidence in Ferguson, but he would respect the will of parliament:
He has already accepted responsibility for the Spirit of Tasmania situation when he relinquished his responsibility as infrastructure minister. [But] should there be a no-confidence passed … then Mr Ferguson will be resigning and then going to the backbench.
ShareLehrmann ‘had his day in court’ and should be denied appeal against defamation finding, Wilkinson’s lawyer saysAmanda MeadeBruce Lehrmann’s lawyer has told the court he has not been served a bankruptcy notice, although one was attempted on his mother.The statement contradicts an earlier claim by Matt Collins KC for Network Ten, that Lehrmann was served with a bankruptcy notice on 8 August.The court has adjourned while Lehrmann’s lawyer, Zali Burrows, reads Ten’s submissions on the bankruptcy notice.Before the break Sue Chrysanthou SC, for Lisa Wilkinson, said Lehrmann has “had his day in court” and should not be given a second chance.“He came to this court by choice,” Chrysanthou said.“He came here pleading his first imputation as one of rape. He did so having escaped the criminal process.“He chose to enter the fray. He walked over the line and asked this court, knowing the likelihood that my client in Network Ten would plead truth; he made that decision, and that’s a factor against the arguments that he would make on public interest.”ShareUpdated at 03.02 CESTThunderstorm warnings in NSWThe Bureau of Meteorology is warning New South Wales residents that severe thunderstorms are likely from this afternoon and over the next few days. The affected areas may experience damaging wind, heavy rain and hail:Thunderstorms are forecast across NSW for the next few days. Today, Severe Thunderstorms may develop about central & S parts, incl. W Sydney, Hunter, Illawarra, central & S Tablelands, slopes & plains. Risk of damaging wind, heavy rain & hail. Warnings: https://t.co/UqlGxUsuBw pic.twitter.com/arRt5sRjzk— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) October 13, 2024ShareUpdated at 02.58 CESTWarning sounded on inevitable bird flu pandemicIt’s a case of when, not if, a deadly bird flu pandemic arrives in Australia, the country’s top medical expert is warning.As AAP reports, chief medical officer Paul Kelly says Australia is the only continent without the H5N1 strain, but it’s coming. He told reporters in Canberra:
It’s really when, not if, this arrives, and we’ve seen in other parts of the world, whilst there has been rather mild human disease so far, this virus is changing very quickly.
This is about us getting ahead of the curve … Australia does have a moat and we know how to use it, so the fact that we’ve had time to actually see what’s happening elsewhere is really important.
Kelly reiterated a bird flu outbreak would not lead to human health issues, but would spread in the same way as other influenza viruses.The Albanese government has announced an extra $95m to prepare for the potential arrival of the strain in Australia. We have more details on this earlier in the blog here.Extra funds have been announced to ‘prepare and protect’ Australia from a deadly strain of bird flu. Photograph: Bloomberg Creative/Getty Images/Bloomberg Creative PhotosShareUpdated at 02.57 CESTAmanda MeadeLehrmann was served bankruptcy notice in August, court toldBruce Lehrmann was served with a bankruptcy notice on 8 August, the federal court has heard.Network Ten has asked the court to make an order for security for costs ahead of the hearing of any appeal of the defamation finding. The former Liberal staffer lost the defamation case he brought against Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.The interlocutory hearing before Justice Wendy Abraham today is hearing from counsel for Lehrmann, Ten and Wilkinson on the matter of costs.Lehrmann is unemployed and has no apparent means to pay the lump sum cost order of $2m which Ten has been granted.Sue Chrysanthou SC, for Wilkinson, says Lehrmann’s grounds for appeal that he was not given procedural fairness is not valid:
And at no point, at no point was there any complaint about how we put the case, or that it took the appellant by surprise, or that it somehow departed from the pleadings, or that it somehow wasn’t available on the pleadings.
ShareUpdated at 02.40 CESTSeven Australian sailors graduate US navy Nuclear Power SchoolThe first seven Royal Australian Navy sailors have graduated the US navy Nuclear Power School, according to a statement from Defence.Vice admiral Mark Hammond, Australia’s navy chief, said the sailors will now move on to the nuclear power training unit and this “takes [Australia] closer” to operating a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines (SSN) in the early 2030s, as part of Aukus.The nuclear power training unit “trains officers, enlisted sailors, and civilians for shipboard nuclear power plant operation and maintenance of surface ships and submarines” in the US navy’s nuclear fleet, Defence said.The director general of the Australian Submarine Agency, vice admiral Jonathan Mead, said “we are well on our way to developing Australia’s SSN capability.”ShareUpdated at 02.43 CESTACTU secretary says she ‘doesn’t go out much’ amid CFMEU stoushThe secretary of the ACTU, Sally McManus, says she has “two black belts”, doesn’t go out much and has had to change her routine due to security concerns – and this is the “price to pay” for taking a stand against the CFMEU.Speaking on ABC RN earlier this morning, McManus was asked about concerns she expressed during her last interview on the program, and whether anything had changed?She said within the construction industry there are some people who have “infiltrated the union that are not good people”:
They are, at the moment, worried that their business model has been disrupted, and that doesn’t make life great for those of us who are standing up to it.
Asked if she has had to put on extra security, McManus said:
I’ve got two black belts … I don’t go out much, I’ve had to change my routines, I live between different places. That’s life unfortunately at the moment, because we’re standing up to those people, and there’s a price to pay for that.
McManus said police have been helpful, and “hopefully over time, that’ll get better, but we’re not walking away from what’s got to happen”.ACTU secretary Sally McManus. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShareUpdated at 02.35 CESTAustralians supported live shows in record numbers last yearAustralia’s live performance industry reported record levels of attendance last year, in its first full year of operation without any Covid-19 disruptions or restrictions.The 2023 ticket attendance and revenue report from Live Performance Australia shows revenue was $3.1bn and ticketed attendance reached 30.1m – the highest recorded attendance and revenue since the report commenced in 2004.New South Wales accounted for the highest market share of revenue at 33.3% and tied with Victoria for the highest attendance (30.6%). The two states accounted for 64.7% of all live performance revenue and 61.2% of attendance.LPA’s chief executive Evelyn Richardson said despite the strong results “there continues to be real pressures on many of our performing arts organisations”.
All categories are managing significant increases in their operating costs with limited scope to pass these on to audiences through higher ticket prices. For many, a ‘full house’ now means just breaking even, leaving little scope for reinvestment in new productions or rebuilding of financial reserves …
Government needs to step up public investment in our small to medium not-for-profit and national performing arts organisations, as well as incentivise more private investment through LPA’s proposal for a live theatre tax offset.
Festivalgoers at Splendour In The Grass 2023. Photograph: Matt Jelonek/Getty ImagesShareUpdated at 02.54 CEST