News and politics live updates: Minister demands Wong act over Albanese’s Japanese PM ‘melons’ gaffe

Environment Minister Murray Watt has announced Australia will expand vaccinations for priority native bird species as the H5 bird flu outbreak escalates, warning the country faces a “very difficult journey” as more mass bird deaths are expected.

“As Julie has indicated, we will see more mass mortalities of birds, that will be a very distressing thing for Australians and as a government we are determined not only to protect our birds as best we can, also to support Australians through what is going to be a very difficult journey,” Mr Watt said.

The Federal Government will support states and territories to vaccinate priority species, with captive birds in zoos and other institutions the initial focus because wild birds can be difficult to vaccinate.

“We are taking this step now because of course the situation regarding bird flu in Australia is escalating,” Mr Watt said.

The Federal Government has warned Australians to expect more dead birds and mass mortality events as H5 bird flu continues to spread across the country.

Agriculture Minister Julie Collins said authorities had been “abundantly clear” that Australians should expect “more spread and larger numbers, particularly of dead birds and mass mortalities around the country”.

However, she stressed there had been no detections in poultry or the wider agricultural industry and the risk to human health remained low.

Australians who encounter sick or dead birds or other animals are being urged not to touch them and instead report sightings through the Government’s bird flu website.

The ANZ bank is now forecasting that Sydney will suffer the sharpest fall in house prices since the early 1980s even if the Reserve Bank stops raising interest rates.

The big four bank has updated its forecasts to have a peak-to-trough fall of 14.5 per cent in Sydney, which would be more severe than the 13 per cent plunge from 2017 to 2019 following a banking regulator crackdown on interest-only loans.

Median house prices in Australia’s most expensive market peaked at $1.6 million in January and a more severe drop than the period before COVID would mark the most dramatic downturn since 1983 when the economy had been in the grip of a high-year recession.

Melbourne, another market where prices have been going backwards since February, was forecast to see a peak-to-trough decline of 12.8 per cent.

The strongest-performing markets since the pandemic were also tipped to suffer with ANZ forecasting a 7.9 per cent peak-to-trough decline in Brisbane and an equivalent 9.8 per cent plunge in Adelaide as Perth values fell 5.2 per cent from this year’s peak.

Capital city prices were forecast to fall by 4.3 per cent this year alone, followed by a 3.4 per cent drop next year when the Reserve Bank is expected to cut interest rates again.

Angus Taylor has revved up MPs and Senators in an impassioned speech to his Opposition party room on Tuesday as parliament returns from five-week hiatus over winter.

The Opposition leader is close to deals with Labor on NDIS, media bargaining laws, and gambling reforms.

Mr Taylor spruiked his own plan created over the winter break and used his speech to criticise Labor for its economic performance, insisting it fails to deliver on promises with “toxic taxes”.

“This is a plan to put Australia and Australians first. As I said, we will tax Labor’s toxic taxes,” he said.

“We have the team that can drive the change this country needs to fix our economy and protect our way of life.”

Mr Taylor attacked Labor for causing “home grown” high inflation and interest rates and said Australia should use natural resources to lower energy prices, cap migration based on housing supply, boost housing availability, and properly fund defence among other things.

“We will get rid of the red tape and the taxes that are holding back the supply of housing in this country,” he said.

“We will cap migration based on housing supply.

“We will use the natural resources we have in this country to bring down the cost of energy.

“We properly fund our war fighters in this country, and we ensure that our welfare programs are focused on Australian citizens.”

Governor-General Sam Mostyn has today welcomed the President of Vietnam to Canberra ahead of talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

To Lam was received with a military welcome on the lawns of Government House in Yarralumla on Tuesday after the national Communist Party leader arrived in Sydney on Sunday night.

It included an inspection of the guard of honour brass band, salutes and each party’s flags on full display.

Vietnam President To Lam met with NSW Governor Margaret Beazley on Monday.

He will meet with Mr Albanese later on Tuesday in Parliament House as it resumes following its five-week winter break.

The two leaders are expected to discuss several agreements, covering economic resilience, renewable energy, critical minerals, trade, and vocational education.

Pauline Hanson says she will introduce a legally contentious Bill targeting foreign fighters to parliament on Tuesday despite warnings such legislation would fail to stand up to a High Court challenge.

The Protecting Australians from Foreign Terrorist Fighters Bill seeks to establish tougher passport-blocking powers, stop the automatic issue of return permits during a court case, set up stronger bail laws for terror offences, and criminalise assisting in unauthorised returns.

The proposed laws would also set up a “foreign terrorist fighter exclusion order” that could be imposed by the Federal Court upon request of the minister.

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Curtin MP Kate Chaney will today push for debate on a bill to allow telehealth as part of voluntary assisted dying care.

The Federal independent for the Perth seat wants to lift the ban on using telecommunication to discuss voluntarily assisted dying with patients and in early July had tabled a petition signed by 1300 in supporting the move.

As Parliament resumes today for the first sitting fortnight after the winter, Ms Chaney appeared in several media interviews about her desire for action in the health area.

“The criminal code that says that doctors can be prosecuted if they use a carriage service to talk about VAD,” she told ABC RN.

“Doctors are having to have cryptic conversations with their patients on the phone because they’re not allowed to talk about VAD.

“It’s just this ridiculous, outdated law that is putting people at risk.

“It means that depending on your postcode, you may not be able to have access to the same end of life care as people in the cities.

“I’ve got a bill on the notice paper that makes a really simple change that says VAD is not suicide if it’s done in accordance with all the all the restrictions.”

While Anthony Albanese doesn’t support telehealth for VAD care, Labor had voted at their triannual Conference in Adelaide last month to allow a conscience vote on it.

The Labor caucus also discussed a possible VAD crossbench debate on Monday and

resolved that the party would not let outside parties dictate its timeline on when to act on the issue.

“I’ll be suspending standing orders today to bring that on for debate to give the ALP backbenchers a chance to exercise the conscience vote that was agreed at the ALP National Conference,” Ms Chaney said.

“I suspect it will be shut down today on the basis that the conscience vote is not about the procedure, it’s about the substance, and they won’t let it get to the substance.

“But I will continue working with the government to try and find a path through.”

At least 111 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia, knocking down buildings across several cities and leaving others trapped in the rubble.

The epicentre was in San Jose Del Palmar, a community of about 4800 people in the Choco region about 400 km west of Bogota, the US Geological Survey and Colombia’s counterpart reported.

It struck at a depth of 107 km. The quake also was felt in neighbouring Ecuador and Panama, though minimal damage was reported there.

The death toll from the earthquake has risen to at least 111, the newly sworn-in president Abelardo de la Espriella said in a national address.

“The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed,” he said.

“The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble.”

The leader added that 87 people had been injured, with dozens of buildings downed.

The president declared an emergency, which will expedite funding for the quake recovery, and said he would visit the disaster zone, centred around the rural region of Choco.

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US President Donald Trump has escalated his war of words with Iran by demanding Tehran compensate victims of conflicts, attacks and protests he blamed on the Islamic Republic, as expectations of a quick agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz dimmed.

The fresh demand came after Iran called on the US to satisfy a series of conditions before the crucial shipping route could reopen, including compensation for damage inflicted since the US and Israel began striking Iranian territory more than five months ago.

“I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous,” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social.

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Shadow Foreign Minister Ted O’Brien has remained tight-lipped on whether the Coalition will back Labor’s proposed gambling reforms, with the Opposition set to discuss its position further in the party room on Tuesday.

Talks between Anthony Albanese and Angus Taylor are expected to continue after the Prime Minister signalled there could be movement on tightening rules around inducements used to lure punters.

Mr O’Brien said the Coalition would weigh the “importance of personal choice” against protecting children and cracking down on “any predatory illegal behaviour”.

“They are some of the basic principles that my colleagues and I will be applying as we continue to engage constructively with the government and discuss the matters internally.”