Qantas closure threatens ‘lifeline’ in rural Australia
Rural Australians fear the closure of three regional Qantas bases will affect access to health, education and business, but the airline says it is dedicated to supporting Bush, AAP Report.
quantaslink Its bases in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura will close from April 2026, shortly after Rex went into voluntary administration and the collapse of budget airline Bonza.
Officials from Flying Kangaroo’s regional operations will today face a Senate inquiry into the reliability and affordability of aviation services in rural Australia.
An application by Mildura Rural City Council states that its airport is an important link to regional centers in Victoria, NSW and South Australia.
Travelers were concerned that the base closure would limit access to reliable air travel from the city, 550 km north-west of Melbourne. The council warned that QantasLink’s exit was also likely to discourage investment in the region.
Good morning, and welcome to Friday. Nick Visser Here to start the blog. Let’s do that.
henry bellot
Center for Public Integrity government says $560m grant plan ready for ‘pork barrelling’
Center for Public Integrity Concerns raised that $560m invitation-only grant program set up by Albany government is ripe for pork-barrelling
Major and Local Community Infrastructure Programs It was launched in September after being promised during the election campaign at the beginning of the year.
According to the Centre, its guidelines make it clear that only organizations identified by the government will have access to the cash. The Center has also raised concerns about the lack of evaluation criteria.
In a report released today, the transparency group argues that the $560 million grant plan “creates the conditions for politically motivated funding allocation, or pork barrelling”:
When election promises are channeled through grants without open or transparent eligibility criteria, the distinction between policy delivery and political patronage becomes blurred.
Both major parties have used such mechanisms in the past – including the Community Development Grant Program and the Building Better Regions Fund – to direct taxpayer money toward electorally advantageous projects.
Iran condemns Australia’s designation as terrorist
Iran has condemned Australia’s decision to designate the Revolutionary Guards as a terror-sponsoring group, as relations between Canberra and Tehran hit another low.
In August, Australia blamed Iran’s military’s ideological wing, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, for two arson attacks in 2024 targeting its Jewish community and expelled Tehran’s ambassador.
In a statement on Thursday, the Australian government said it was using new legislation passed in the wake of the attacks to designate the Guardsmen a “state sponsor of terrorism”.
The government said: “These cowardly attacks on Australian soil were designed to undermine our multicultural society and create division, with Jewish Australians being targeted for harm and fear.”
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, said “Iran’s attacks were unprecedented and dangerous acts of aggression by a foreign nation on Australian soil” and had prompted the listing.
Responding to the designation, Iran’s Foreign Ministry called it an “outrageous and unfair act” and a “violation of international legal rules and norms related to the national sovereignty of states.”
“This irresponsible action is in line with the gross error committed by the Australian government based on completely false and fabricated allegations by the security institutions of the Zionist regime (Israel),” Iran’s Foreign Ministry statement said.
It also expressed “outrage at the adherence of some Australian political officials to the Israeli regime’s harmful policy by spreading lies against Iran”.
Relations between the two countries have gained momentum in recent months.
After blaming Iran for arson attacks targeting a kosher restaurant in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne, Canberra declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata and gave him and three other Iranian diplomats a week to leave the country.
This was the first evacuation by Australia since the Second World War.
Canberra also recalled its ambassador and suspended its embassy activities.
In June, Australia was among the few US allies to explicitly welcome Washington’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.
– AFP, Reuters
More storms on the way for south-east Queensland
Hail has hit the storm-hit region and more wild weather is likely ahead, as east coast communities brace for damaging winds and heavy rain, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Storms hit south-east Queensland for the fourth straight day yesterday, with inner city Brisbane being hit first.
Although there may be some calm today, more rain is expected on Saturday.
When the skies opened yesterday, hail up to 4 cm in diameter fell in the city and there is a possibility of a severe storm on the east coast tomorrow night.
The wild weather is set to affect the state from the Sunshine Coast in the south-east to Cape York Peninsula in the north.
“The storms are increasing rapidly,” Angus Hines The Bureau of Meteorology told AAP.
There is a fairly widespread risk today and there are still many communities, including heavily populated communities on the East Coast, that could be affected by some severe storms.
The bureau had previously warned of “large hail, which could cause damage to properties, vehicles and crops” for south-east Queensland.
You don’t want to be out in that, so please cover your cars and stay inside when a storm approaches.
Damaging winds with speeds of 100 km/h and above are easily enough to down trees and power lines and damage homes, properties and businesses.
More than 10,000 people were without power yesterday afternoon after several days of “devastating” superstorms ravaged the south-east.
Cyclonic winds downed trees, removed roofs and downed power lines, blocking roads and forcing schools to close, with repairs still underway.
At one stage more than 160,000 properties were left without power.
Hines said there appears to be some relief with a “lull” in the storm forecast for Friday, but it will be a “brief respite” with the return of stormy weather by Saturday.
Check out our story here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I am martin farrer With the first day’s breaking news Nick Visser Guides you through the weekend.
South-east Queensland will get some relief today after four days of violent storms, heavy hail and damaging winds. But hopefully the wild weather will return again tomorrow. More details coming.
The Center for Public Integrity has raised concerns that a $560 million invitation-only grant program established by the Albany government is ripe for pork-barreling. More details soon.
And Iran has accused Australia of violating international rules by designating the country’s Revolutionary Guards as a terror-sponsoring group. More on that soon
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