Key events
Caitlin Cassidy
Ongoing cyber hacking incident ‘intended to harm’ Western Sydney University, vice chancellor says
A swathe of personal information including bank account details, tax file numbers, legal and visa details have allegedly been leaked in a major data breach “intended to harm” Western Sydney University (WSU).
WSU first notified its community about an alleged data breach in April, which dated back to the beginning of January. The university believed around 10,000 people were impacted.
The vice chancellor of WSU, Prof George Williams, apologised for the impact the cyber incident was having and said the university was doing “everything we can to rectify this issue and support our community”.
Williams said NSW Police had on Thursday approved the release of personal information that had allegedly been accessed and exfiltrated. He also alleged fraudulent emails were sent to some community members on 6 October which used stolen data.
The stolen information included contact details, employment and payroll details, bank account information, tax file number, visa information and legal information, among others.
Josh Taylor
Estimated 50,000 older Samsung devices to be blocked from mobile networks in a month
It is estimated about 50,000 older Samsung devices will be blocked from being able to connect to mobile networks in Australia, after Telstra and Optus yesterday advised the devices weren’t able to connect to Vodafone’s network in the event that both of their networks are unavailable and a user needs to call triple zero.
Under federal legislation, devices that in some circumstances cannot connect to triple zero need to be cut off from mobile networks. Customers will be advised if they need to upgrade their phones, and their existing devices will be cut off from the networks in the next 28 to 35 days.
The device models are:
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Galaxy A7 (2017)
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Galaxy A5 2017
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Galaxy J1 2016
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Galaxy J3 2016
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Galaxy J5 2017
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Galaxy Note 5
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Galaxy S6
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Galaxy S6 edge
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Galaxy S6 Edge+
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Galaxy S7
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Galaxy S7 Edge
Newer Samsung devices may need a software update in order to continue operating. Telstra has provided a list of those devices on its website.
The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, has blamed the government’s handling of the 3G network shutdown last year, which led to some devices being forced off the networks if they couldn’t make triple zero calls over 4G on any network.
In a statement, Samsung said it was working with Australian carriers on the issue. A spokesperson for Vodafone said Telstra had advised it about the issue, which they described as “not a fault of the Vodafone network, but a limitation in how certain devices were originally configured to search for emergency connectivity”. The network has also identified users with Samsung devices on its network that are affected.
Greens condemn Albanese’s ‘photo-op’ critical minerals deal with Trump
The Greens senator and resources spokesperson Steph Hodgins-May has issued a condemnation of Australia’s framework agreement with the US on critical minerals.
As we reported earlier, bosses at mining company BHP praised Anthony Albanese’s meeting with “fierce” Donald Trump for the pair’s push to mine and process the resources.
In a series of posts on X, Hodgins-May said while Australia needed critical minerals for the clean energy transition, it was “reckless to shackle ourselves” to Donald Trump “with no assurances to protect our planet and communities”:
BHP executives cheering on the PM and Trump’s minerals deal tells you everything. When you’re on the side of fossil fuel giants and right-wing leaders like Trump, you’re historically not working for working people and the environment.
This deal signs us up to fuel America’s military – one of the world’s largest polluters – for the sake of a photo-op, while giving a potential US veto on who we sell to and invest with in the future.
Labor’s environment law revamp in jeopardy
The Albanese government’s second attempt at rewriting federal environmental protection laws is in jeopardy after the Coalition joined the Greens in criticising the proposed changes, leaving Labor without an obvious partner to get it through the Senate.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, claimed the nature laws were a “red light” for jobs, warning the Coalition would need far more convincing before agreeing to support the plan.
Ley’s sharp criticisms mark a significant shift for the opposition, which had appeared open to a deal after a series of “positive” meetings in recent weeks between the environment minister, Murray Watt, and his Liberal counterpart, Angie Bell.
Labor was hopeful the Coalition would be more likely to endorse the plan under Ley, who as environment minister in the Morrison government commissioned the Samuel review that has inspired the changes.
The Greens have separately accused Watt of drafting pro-business laws that are worse for the environment than the existing ones, signalling it was unlikely to support the legislation without major concessions.
Read more:
Nick Visser
That’s all from me, thanks for sticking with us. I’m going to make like a Christmas Island red crab and hand over to Penry Buckley. See you!
Penry Buckley
More from the tragic drownings of a British surfer and his friend who jumped in to save him
An “inexperienced” British surfer and a friend who jumped in to save him have been identified as the two men who died in rough waters off a popular pier in Victoria during wild winds on Wednesday.
Emergency services were called to Frankston beach in Melbourne’s south-east after reports of two men in trouble in the water about 5pm, as the state was lashed by intense wind gusts.
In a press conference on Thursday, Victoria police inspector Mel Nixon said the men, who were found unresponsive in the water, were a 36-year-old British national and his friend, a 43-year-old man, whose nationality was not specified.
The pair have not yet been formally identified.
Read more here:
Eva Corlett
100,000 public sector workers demand better conditions during New Zealand ‘mega strike’
An estimated 100,000 nurses, teachers and public sector staff walked off the job in New Zealand on Thursday to call on the government to better fund and resource public services, in one of the country’s largest ever strikes.
The so-called “mega strike” brought together workers from multiple sectors, including more than 60,000 school teachers, 40,000 nurses and salaried medical specialists and 15,000 public service staff.
Despite extreme weather forcing the cancellation of events in Wellington and other regions, tens of thousands gathered at rallies across the country, where they held signs, chanted and demanded the government invest in education and health.
Members from multiple unions voted to strike after collective bargaining with the coalition government stalled. While each union has demands specific to their sector, the complaints were broadly consistent: inadequate pay, unsafe staffing levels, not enough resources, and poor working conditions that put the wellbeing of workers, patients and children at risk.
Read more here:
Sussan Ley says changes to environmental laws would be a ‘handbrake’ on investment
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said the Albanese government’s long-promised revamp of national environmental laws would stifle industry and undercut Australian jobs.
She said during a press conference this afternoon that the changes would counter any promises made in the critical minerals deal the prime minister signed in Washington DC earlier this week:
Industry is genuinely concerned that under Anthony Albanese’s environment laws, these wouldn’t even get a start.
What is clear is that these laws are a gift to our overseas competitors. They’re a red light to jobs and they’re a handbrake to investment and development, the sort of investment and development this country has always needed and always relied on.
Sarah Basford Canales
Hastie says Trump’s jab at Kevin Rudd was ‘theatre’
Andrew Hastie says US president Donald Trump’s jab at Kevin Rudd earlier this week was “theatre” and “really good TV” but praised the US ambassador for copping it on the chin and getting on with the job.
The Liberal backbencher told 2GB there was no need to “relive the humiliation” when asked if the former prime minister should get sacked from his Washington DC posting.
Hastie said:
Well, I think Kevin Rudd got the job done in the end. He got the minerals deal and he got a seat at the table with President Trump and the prime minister, and frankly he made some unwise comments prior to becoming the ambassador, and we all make unwise comments.
And he sat there and he was humiliated by Donald Trump, first by [Trump] pretending not to know who he was, and then secondly by saying ‘I don’t like you and I think I never will’. But [Rudd] copped it on the chin for the country and we don’t need to relive the humiliation. We got the deal and let’s move on.
Asked whether he thought Trump really might not have known who Rudd was, Hastie disagreed:
That was theatre. This guy [Trump] does really good reality television and trolling the Australian ambassador was good TV, but in the end, Kevin Rudd copped it on the chin for the country and we move forward.
Andrew Hastie rules out switch to One Nation
Sarah Basford Canales
Andrew Hastie has ruled out any switch to One Nation and urged his Coalition colleague, Barnaby Joyce to stick to the major party amid speculation he will soon announce the jump.
The former shadow defence and home affairs minister re-emerged on 2GB for an interview ahead of the parliamentary sitting fortnight next week.
He said:
I wouldn’t be elected if it wasn’t for the Liberal party so I’m very grateful for the opportunity the party has given me over the last 10 years to be a parliamentarian so I won’t be switching.
As for Barnaby, I don’t know what’s in Barnaby’s mind but I hope he stays within the Coalition because I think he does have a lot of experience, and he’s got some good insight obviously so I’m keen for Barnaby to stay with us and all this speculation about One Nation, obviously, is unhelpful to our cause right now as we’re trying to rebuild post-election.
Government plans to streamline support payment programs to better help vulnerable kids
Vulnerable children and their parents will have to jump through fewer hoops as part of an overhaul of $300m in support payments, AAP reports.
The social services minister, Tanya Plibersek, announced on Thursday community organisations providing support payments to struggling families would benefit from a simpler process.
The government plans to replace five existing programs – Child and Parenting Support, Communities for Children, Family and Relationship Services, Specialised Family Violence Services and Family Mental Health Support Services – with one national program.
The reforms are designed to give providers more flexibility to tailor programs for different communities – an idea celebrated by children’s charity The Smith Family, one of the partners in the Communities for Children program. Plibersek said:
Community organisations have told us loud and clear – too much red tape and admin is holding them back.
We’re proposing to make changes so they can spend less time on paperwork and more time delivering services Australians rely on.
Australian shares slip as US mulls trade escalation
Australia’s share market is trading lower for a second session as the world’s two biggest economies proffer bargaining chips ahead of trade negotiations, AAP reports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 24 points by midday on Thursday, down 0.27%, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 21.3 points, or 0.23%.
The slip followed a weak Wall Street session amid reports the Trump administration was mulling software-linked export curbs on China ahead of trade talks over the latter’s rare earths supply restrictions.
The down-tick weighed on the raw materials sector and financials stocks, which each slipped more than 0.8% as large cap miners and the big four banks tracked lower.
Josh Butler
Anthony Albanese lands in Sydney
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has arrived back in Australia after his quick trip to Washington DC. The PM’s official plane landed back in Sydney this morning.
He will soon depart Australia again, having previously announced travel to the Asean summit in Malaysia and Apec in South Korea over the weekend.
Read more about the prime minister’s first formal visit with Donald Trump here:
Luca Ittimani
BHP bosses praise Albanese and ‘fierce’ Trump for critical minerals deal
Bosses at mining giant BHP cheered Anthony Albanese’s meeting with “fierce” Donald Trump for the pair’s push to mine and process critical minerals.
Australia and the US this week signed a critical minerals deal designed to break China’s near complete hold over materials essential to commercial, clean energy and advanced military hardware.
Ross McEwan, BHP’s chair, told the company’s AGM it was too early to judge the meeting on its outcomes but described it as “a very good meeting to start that conversation”.
Mike Henry, the chief executive, said the meeting was “symbolically significant” in showing the US was serious about mineral supply, which he said he’d already seen for himself:
Having had the opportunity alongside my peer at Rio Tinto for a an Oval Office meeting with the president of the United States and secretary of the interior, [Doug] Burgum, I was impressed on just how fierce the focus is in the US, getting more mines and processing facilities up and going in the US.
The Australian-based multinational company (which also hosted Albanese at its 140th birthday celebrations after his meeting) produces copper, a key metal for modern manufacturing, as well as iron and coal.
Read economics editor Patrick Commins’ take on the deal here:
BHP claims ‘good working relationship’ with China amid embargo standoff
Luca Ittimani
The chair of iron ore giant BHP has downplayed concerns over a reported Chinese embargo on the company’s sales, saying the company has good relationships in China.
Ross McEwan said BHP would continue to improve its partnerships with Chinese distributors but dismissed worries about the standoff, speaking at the company’s AGM. He said:
We’ve had relationships in China now for decades and we have a pretty good working relationship. This is a commercial negotiation that’s going on every year.
The state-owned China Mineral Resources Group (CMRG) in late September reportedly banned its steel manufacturers from buying iron ore from BHP, as it negotiates future contracts for purchase prices.
BHP has stayed tight-lipped as negotiations continue. Its September quarter results, released on Monday, did not mention the standoff, but flagged sales to China could slow amid as the economy weakens.
Analysts have suggested the negotiations could be a strategic bid by Beijing to reduce prices of the crucial steel-making commodity, setting a precedent for deals with other Australian exporters Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Hancock Prospecting.
Read more here about the standoff:
