Key events
If you want to understand more about what the federal government’s expert adviser on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, has proposed to tackle antisemitism, my colleague Josh Butler has explained it below.
While parts of the plan have bipartisan political support, others are more contested, with concerns raised by legal groups about impingements on free speech and genuine criticism.
Caitlin Cassidy
Antisemitism plan must not override press freedom or artistic expression, union says
Commenting on Jillian Segal’s remarks on 7.30 (see below), the peak union body for media and the arts says the special envoy to antisemitism’s plan must not override press freedom or artistic expression.
The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) welcomed the prime minister’s willingness to address the issue and the release of the plan, but said laws to deal with racism already existed.
Courts, as well as human rights and anti-discrimination commissions, have the capacity to handle complaints and determine recommended penalties or other remedies.
Under the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics, members have a responsibility to report responsibly on matters of race, religion, culture, and ethnicity … it is essential that ethical, fair, and public interest reporting is maintained through the
upholding of the Code of Ethics and rigorous journalistic standards, not through external regulation by government bodies, lobby groups, or corporate interests.
When external groups seek to limit or influence the way in which journalism is told, press freedom and democratic discourse come under threat.
Jordyn Beazley
Good morning, I’ll be taking you through our live rolling coverage of the news today.
As always, if you see anything you’d like to draw my attention to, you’re welcome to email me at [email protected].
Warmer seas could bring more sharks to popular Australian beaches
Sharks are spending longer than ever off the coast of some popular Australian beaches, increasing the risk of interactions between the apex predators and humans, the Australian Associated Press reports.
Research has found bull sharks are spending 15 more days off Sydney’s coast during summer than they did 15 years ago, due to warmer water temperatures caused by climate change.
The migratory sharks typically spend their winters in Queensland, chasing warming water before heading back to Sydney for some summer sun.
But James Cook University experts have warned the rising water temperatures in New South Wales have increased the potential for human-shark encounters.
With seas continuing to warm, the sharks could have a presence in southern parts of NSW on a year-long basis in the future, researcher Nicolas Lubitz said.
If this trend persists, which it likely will, it just means these animals are going to spend more and more time towards their seasonal distributional limit … it could be that a few decades from now, maybe bull sharks are present year-round in waters off Sydney.
While the chances of a shark bite, and shark bites in Australia in general, remain low, it just means people have to be more aware of an increased window of bull shark presence.
However, Lubitz added great white shark summer habitats were likely decreasing in northern NSW and Queensland because they prefer cold water.
Caitlin Cassidy
Jillian Segal was also asked about new federal government powers proposed in the plan to cancel the funding of universities if they promoted or failed to act against antisemitism.
Segal said “the most important thing is that universities cooperate in a whole-of-sector initiative, which they are doing”.
They are very positive about doing this, OK? And all it says is that that’s what we will work on together. But if universities do not do that, then we also have to look at using funding … Many people have communicated to me that they do not want their own money – money that comes to the government from their taxes – being used to fund hate.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer bringing you some of the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Jordyn Beazley to pick up the slack.
The antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, faced tough questions about her recommendations for action to tackle the problem when she appeared on the ABC’s 7.30 last night. She was pressed about her claim that the media was guilty of “distorted narratives” and about her suggestion that some universities could see their funding cancelled if they were seen to fail to tackle antisemitism on campuses. More coming up.
In another sign that house prices are recovering quickly, new figures released this morning show that the value of homes in almost half of all Australian suburbs are at all-time highs.
A report from scientists at James Cook University this morning says that sharks are spending longer than ever off the coast of some popular Australian beaches as waters warm up, increasing the chance of encounters with humans. We’ll have more details soon.
Former councillor for Ashfield tapped as new US ambassador to Malaysia
An Australian-born former councillor for Ashfield has been picked by Donald Trump as the new US ambassador to Malaysia.
In a post to X, Nick Adams thanked the US president for the “honor of a lifetime” adding that “In your America, all dreams come true”.
It will be my honor to represent the United States of America in Malaysia.
To the esteemed Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I look forward to a confirmation process that is at the heart of the Constitution that has given me the freedom to pursue the American Dream.
Thank you again to our Greatest President Ever!
God Bless the United States of America!
Adams, who has described himself as an “alpha male”, was cast into the US spotlight after Trump tweeted that his book, “Green Card Warrior: My Quest for Legal Immigration in an Illegals’ System,” was a “must read.”
Adams, who became a US citizen in 2021, was threatened with suspension from the Liberal party after an interaction with a journalist in 2009, but he later reportedly said he had quit the party.
Jillian Segal quizzed on media’s ‘false or distorted narratives’
Caitlin Cassidy
The government’s special envoy for antisemitism, Jillian Segal, didn’t list any failures of public broadcasters that would require her intervention, after calling for a role monitoring the ABC and the SBS in her plan to combat antisemitism.
Appearing on ABC’s 7.30 on Thursday evening, Segal was asked by the presenter, Sarah Ferguson, about her comments about monitoring “false or distorted narratives” in the media.
What false or distorted narratives do you have in mind?
She replied she didn’t have “anything particular” in mind.
[The] ABC and SBS are very important elements in our society – public broadcasters that many people watch and that are seen as important and trusted sources of news. And I think that they are important elements of communication that need to be looked at and encouraged to look at multiple sources of truth rather than one particular view.
Pressed on what “false and distorted narratives” public broadcasters had peddled, Segal said “there have been lots of complaints that have been made to the ABC about particular programs or particular issues where they’ve only shown one side, let’s say, of the debate in the Middle East, and not the other side of the debate”.
A spokesperson for the ABC told Guardian Australia it had a “strong and transparent system of self-regulation” and “a transparent complaint system available to audiences through an independent ombudsman”.
