Argument that Lehrmann may have changed evidence about rape an ‘astonishing admission’, court hears
Nino Bucci
Zali Burrows, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer, has finished her oral submissions to his appeal, but is expected to ask questions in reply later in the hearing.
Justice Wigney, from the full court of the federal court, told Burrows she will not be able to raise new matters in these replies, and she was denied the opportunity to make final written submissions after the hearing.
Dr Matt Collins KC is making submissions on behalf of Network Ten. He said he welcomed Justice Colvin’s comments regarding the “so-called distinction between a violent and non-violent rape”.
Collins said his submissions before Lee were “as simple as this: if sexual intercourse were found, and Ms Higgins was found not to have consented to sexual intercourse, and it was accepted that Mr Lehrmann knew she was intoxicated, the ordinary person would be convinced that it was a rape”.
Collins also made clear, however, that the case was a defamation trial, not a rape trial.
Burrows’ submission made earlier on Wednesday – that Lehrmann’s evidence before Lee might have been different if it was known that he would make the finding he did about the rape – was “an astonishing admission”, Collins said.
He said that Burrows’ argument appeared to be that Lehrmann may have given evidence that he had sexual intercourse with Higgins and that she consented if he’d known Lee would make the finding he did:
That was never the way he ran his case.
Collins also said Lee found the rape was violent, including finding that Higgins woke up during the rape and couldn’t “get the words out to scream or resist”.
“Those circumstances are awful,” Collins said.
The hearing continues.
Key events
Luca Ittimani
Rare earths miner wants price floors after profits slide
Iluka, a federal government-backed rare earths company, has called for a fixed price floor after sliding critical minerals prices cut profits by nearly a third.
Lower global demand for the rare minerals cut prices and volumes of sales in the first half of 2025 from the same period in 2024, taking Iluka’s half-year profit from $133m to $92m.
Production of rare earth oxides, used in advanced manufacturing of magnets, batteries and other devices, is dominated by China and leaves smaller producers vulnerable to global price pressure.
The US government in July underwrote a minimum price for some products for miner MP Materials. Iluka’s managing director and chief executive, Tom O’Leary, said governments needed to wake up to the risks posed to global supply chains by China’s dominance in rare earths. He told investors:
The MP deal with the US government is a recognition that higher prices are essential to establishing a rare earths industry.
The Australian government has not underwritten prices but it has funded Iluka in an effort to challenge China’s dominance in rare earths. Its under-construction Eneabba refinery received a $1.25bn loan from the Morrsion government in 2022 and another $475m from Labor in December. O’Leary said the project was on track to help grow domestic capacity when it arrives in 2027:
That was a very important piece of the government’s support … that this refinery facilitates the development of a broader Australia rare earths industry with value addition occurring here in Australia.
Read more about the industry here:
Mark Butler lays out new program meant to divert hundreds of thousands of kids from the NDIS
Sarah Basford Canales
The federal government has announced it will provide $2bn to fund a “Thriving Kids” program designed to divert hundreds of thousands of children with mild to moderate developmental delays or autism from the NDIS by mid-2027.
In a speech to the National Press Council on Wednesday, the health minister, Mark Butler, said many children had been placed on the NDIS – which was designed for permanent disability – and were being “over-serviced”, putting strain on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
Butler said it wasn’t parents’ fault as the NDIS was “the only port in the storm”:
They are desperate – absolutely desperate – to get their children diagnosed because we’ve made it the only way they can get help … The NDIS model just doesn’t suit their needs.
The program is set to roll out from July next year and will be equally funded by the states and territories, the minister said.
Access changes to the NDIS will begin from mid-2027 once the Thriving Kids program has been fully rolled out with work underway to deliver a separate foundational support program for adults with severe and complex mental illness.
Butler said the current 8% growth target for the NDIS by mid-2026 as agreed to by national cabinet was “simply unsustainable” in the medium and long term, proposing it could be lowered to 5 or 6% in the coming years with agreement by national cabinet.
Petra Stock
NSW SES knows community is ‘tired’ after run of major weather events
NSW SES deputy commissioner, Deb Platz acknowledged that the community across New South Wales was tired after facing a run of significant weather events, which had caused significant flooding and a lot of damage. She said earlier:
We know that the community is tired, our volunteers are tired, but it’s important that you do a few simple steps to stay safe.
We know that this system will also cause some riverine flooding. So it’s important that you stay away from low lying areas, in particular with flash flooding that can happen very quickly unexpectedly.
Please do not go into any flooded waters. It is extremely dangerous to play, walk through, or drive through any flooded waters, and we do expect to see significant road closure during this particular event.
Mike Hytner
Izak Rankine’s fate still unknown
Izak Rankine’s finals fate remains unknown as the AFL continues to deliberate over an appropriate sanction for the Adelaide star’s alleged homophobic slur during last weekend’s match against Collingwood.
A verdict was expected to arrive earlier in the week, but an outcome has been delayed as the Crows mounted a defence in a bid to minimise the length of any ban, which could potentially rule him out for the rest of the season.
“We are having ongoing discussions with the AFL as part of the due process,” a Crows spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Similar previous cases suggest Rankine is looking at between three and five matches out – the latter would preclude him from playing again this season and seriously impact the club’s aspirations of winning a first premiership since 1998.
The case has become something of a test case for the AFL’s zero tolerance policy on the use of such language. If a ban is meted out as expected, it will be the sixth time in the past 16 months an AFL-listed player has been sanctioned for using homophobic language.
Catie McLeod
Breville working to move machine production out of China amid Trump tariffs
Breville is rapidly accelerating its strategy of shifting manufacturing away from China as the ASX-listed home appliance company seeks to counteract the financial hit of the Trump administration’s tariff regime.
The Australian manufacturer, which is based in Sydney but sells its appliances around the world, this morning unveiled a 10.9% rise in sales to $1.7bn in the 12 months to June 30, and a 14.6% increase in net profit to $135.9m.
The growth was led by Breville’s coffee products in all of its three global markets: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and the Asia Pacific.
Breville started moving the production of its 120V coffee machines out of China soon after last year’s US election, and sent additional inventory into the US early as a “hedge against potential tariffs”.
The company’s results for the past financial year, released this morning, show these tactics appear to be paying off.
In a presentation to investors, Breville confirmed it was still manufacturing its 240-volt products – which are sold everywhere except North America – in China.
The company revealed it was now making about 65% of its US profits from products manufactured in Europe, south-east Asia and Mexico, up from just 15% at the start of its “manufacturing diversification program”.
By the end of the year, Breville expects non-China production to make up 80% of its US profits and the company says it will continue diversifying its manufacturing until at least the end of 2028.
Caitlin Cassidy
ANU will not slash any more jobs as part of university overhaul
The Australian National University (ANU) will not introduce any more involuntary redundancies after reaching $59.9m in savings towards its salary reduction target of $100m.
On Wednesday afternoon, the university informed staff that six additional change proposals with further savings were expected as part a bid to reduce costs by $250m, but they would cut no further jobs.
Since last year, 139 people have left the university through a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) and 83 people have been made redundant through change plans. ANU’s vice-chancellor, Prof Genevieve Bell, said it had been a “challenging period of change in our community”:
We have farewelled good colleagues, and we have had to have hard conversations where it has tested our values about respect and collegial dialogue.
The ACT division secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union, Dr Lachlan Clohesy, said the announcement was a “win for ANU staff, students, and the broader community who have been appalled by this process and the way it has been managed, and have actively opposed it”.
We still have eight processes in place, with more than 100 people currently facing the prospect of having their jobs cut. This announcement gives no comfort to those facing the axe.
Penry Buckley
It might not seem like it, but Sydney’s trains are starting to run on time
Yesterday, passengers on some of the city’s busiest lines faced delays after a track fault in the CBD left some trains at a complete standstill, with the knock-on effects continuing into peak hour.
But data from Transport for NSW has actually shown a recovery in the punctuality of services in recent months. About 87% of CBD services and 88.8% of suburban services have arrived on time so far in August, down slightly on July figures, but close to August 2024 levels.
That’s a significant improvement since late last year, when punctuality on CBD services dropped from 90.3% in October to 75.2% in November amid industrial action by rail unions. The punctuality of services dropped again during renewed action in January.
The NSW government reached an agreement with the unions in May, but that month also saw the proportion of trains arriving on time return below 80% after a series of faults – including a high-voltage wire falling on a train, trapping hundreds of passengers and causing widespread delays during the evening peak hour.
Sydney Trains has a target for at least 92% of peak services to arrive within five minutes. It has only hit that target across CBD and suburban services in two months across the last three years, September 2023 and January 2024.
Dozens of dead and sick sea turtles found in NSW
Lisa Cox
The NSW national parks service is investigating after reports of dozens of dead and sick sea turtles in the state’s Port Stephens region.
At least 32 green turtle deaths have been reported in the area in recent weeks. Symptoms in some of the affected turtles have included bleeding eyes and weight loss.
Ryan Pereira, co-founder of Sea Shelter in Anna Bay, said they had seen an increased number of sick or dead turtles since recent flooding in the area and had sent tissue samples to Taronga zoo for further investigation, but there were “too many possibilities at the moment” to say what the underlying cause might be.
A Taronga spokesperson said the zoo’s Australian Registry of Wildlife Health had undertaken necropsies on two turtles and was conducting diagnostic testing on samples from a further 15 turtles from Port Stephens to understand their cause of death.
“It’s too early to establish a definitive diagnosis,” they said. “A thorough multifaceted investigation is under way and it may take some weeks to determine the factors contributing to the event.”
Factors being considered included the effects of fresh water and increased nutrient loads coming into the bay as a result of flood waters, or the presence of a virus or bacterial infection.
The NSW environment department said anyone who spotted a sick, injured or dead turtle in the Port Stephens area should contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service on 1300 072 757 or Irukandji Shark and Ray Encounters/Sea Shelter on 02 4982 2476.
Lehrmann appeal breaks for lunch. Here’s a rundown so far
Nino Bucci
The full court of the federal court hearing Bruce Lehrmann’s appeal against his failed defamation case has broken for lunch. Lawyers for Lehrmann, Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson have made submissions.
Here’s how the morning played out:
The hearing will continue after lunch at 2.15pm and is expected to conclude on Friday.
NSW SES calls for people to ‘stay ready and stay safe’ amid intense rain and flood risk
Petra Stock
New South Wales State Emergency Service has called for residents to “stay ready and stay safe” as the state prepares for intense rainfall into Thursday with the risk of flooding.
NSW SES deputy commissioner Debbie Platz said:
Once again, we are urging communities, particularly those along the east coast, from the south coast all the way up to the Queensland border and those communities in the north-west part of the state, to be prepared for some significant intense rainfall. We know that this rainfall could cause flash flooding, and it will also cause renewed river rises.
We know that our catchments are saturated, depending on where this rain falls and how much of it falls, the flooding from this weather system is likely to commence overnight and tomorrow.
Joe Hinchliffe
Mining companies must pay for unleashing ‘catastrophic’ fire ant outbreaks, group says
Mining companies should foot the bill for efforts to contain a “catastrophic” outbreak of fire ants, the Invasive Species Council says.
One of the world’s worst animal invaders, the ants had been confined to biosecurity zone in south-east Queensland but were detected about 800km from the closest known infestation zone in the state’s centre for the first time in history in July, with a major outbreak at a BHP Broadmeadow coalmine that arrived on pallets of bricks.
Trained dogs then sniffed out fire ant nests at five mine sites in Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions between 12 and 14 August. ISC’s Reece Pianta said the discovery showed how “one breach” of fire ant laws could “unleash an outbreak across an entire region”:
This is a catastrophic breach – shipments from just one infested site have triggered a major regional outbreak. But every dollar and every drone we have should be focused on wiping out fire ants at the frontlines near Brisbane, not cleaning up after corporate carelessness.
Monash IVF finishes independent review after bungled embryo implants
Monash IVF said today it has completed an independent review after two bungled embryo implants, saying both were the result of human error.
In one incident revealed in April, a woman in Queensland gave birth to the child of an unrelated woman after an incorrect embryo transplant. In the other, in June, Monash IVF said the wrong embryo was transplanted into a patient in Victoria. The embryo was meant to be that of a patient’s partner, but their own was transferred instead.
Monash IVF said the review concluded the Brisbane incident was the result of human error, and the one in Victoria was linked to a range of factors, including human error and IT “system limitations”. The company said many recommendations in the report have already been implemented, including new safeguards and protocols.
Acting CEO Malik Jainudeen said:
To the affected patients and everyone who entrusts Monash IVF with their dreams of building a family, we are deeply sorry for the distress these Incidents have caused.
The report will not be made public until “to protect the privacy of the affected patients”, Monash IVF said.
Argument that Lehrmann may have changed evidence about rape an ‘astonishing admission’, court hears
Nino Bucci
Zali Burrows, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer, has finished her oral submissions to his appeal, but is expected to ask questions in reply later in the hearing.
Justice Wigney, from the full court of the federal court, told Burrows she will not be able to raise new matters in these replies, and she was denied the opportunity to make final written submissions after the hearing.
Dr Matt Collins KC is making submissions on behalf of Network Ten. He said he welcomed Justice Colvin’s comments regarding the “so-called distinction between a violent and non-violent rape”.
Collins said his submissions before Lee were “as simple as this: if sexual intercourse were found, and Ms Higgins was found not to have consented to sexual intercourse, and it was accepted that Mr Lehrmann knew she was intoxicated, the ordinary person would be convinced that it was a rape”.
Collins also made clear, however, that the case was a defamation trial, not a rape trial.
Burrows’ submission made earlier on Wednesday – that Lehrmann’s evidence before Lee might have been different if it was known that he would make the finding he did about the rape – was “an astonishing admission”, Collins said.
He said that Burrows’ argument appeared to be that Lehrmann may have given evidence that he had sexual intercourse with Higgins and that she consented if he’d known Lee would make the finding he did:
That was never the way he ran his case.
Collins also said Lee found the rape was violent, including finding that Higgins woke up during the rape and couldn’t “get the words out to scream or resist”.
“Those circumstances are awful,” Collins said.
The hearing continues.
PM on Netanyahu criticism: ‘I don’t take these things personally’
Anthony Albanese says says he won’t take Benjamin Netanyahu’s direct attack on his leadership personally and will continue to outline Australia’s criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza:
I don’t take these things personally. I engage with people diplomatically. He has had similar things to say about other leaders.
At a press conference in Adelaide, Albanese was asked whether he thought the Israeli government and Netanyahu had broken international law.
Do I think too many innocent lives have been lost? Yes, I do.
What is important is that the international community thinks that as well, overwhelmingly. And also, that is what Australians see.
Australians look at their television coverage, in spite of the fact that there is limited media presence in Gaza, they look at what is happening, they look at the increasing settlements in the West Bank, and they look at the decision that Israel made in March to restrict the access of aid, food and water that people in Gaza needed, and they look at that and they think that something needs to change.
The cycle of violence needs to change. Australia is part of a global community.
Albanese declines to comment on Netanyahu tweets
Anthony Albanese has declined to directly respond to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s incendiary and personal criticism of him.
Netanyahu has described Albanese as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
Netanyahu also wrote a letter to Albanese on Monday, accusing the prime minister of pouring “fuel on this antisemitic fire”, and condemning Australia’s recognition of Palestine – which he called “appeasement”.
At a press conference in Adelaide, Albanese said “I treat leaders of other countries with respect and I engage with them in a diplomatic way”:
My job is to represent the Australian national interest and I think, very much, that Australians want two things to happen.
One, they want people to stop killing each other. Whether it be Israelis or Palestinians.
The second thing that they want is the conflict to not be brought here.
That is the way that I engage with other leaders internationally as well, including last night.
PM rejects suggestions government was too slow to act in response to algal bloom
Anthony Albanese has rejected suggestions his government would have acted faster in response to the algae bloom if it has been off the east coast of Australia:
No, absolute nonsense. Absolute nonsense. I have been to South Australia six times this year, I reckon.
I have been to South Australia, I reckon, more than any prime minister…
Albanese was also asked by reporters whether the federal government was too slow to respond to the algae bloom.
We are dealing with it. We have made immediate announcements. We have provided everything we have been asked to provide (…) and we are also looking at longer term issues.
Climate change is real, there is a real impact. There is nothing that has been suggested to us by any of the scientific community saying if government had done this, the bloom would not have occurred.
Albanese outlines funding to combat algal bloom
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is holding a press conference in Adelaide. It’s his first chance to publicly comment on a personal attack by Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has described him as “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”
But we’ll get to that in a moment. For now, the focus of this press conference is on the algae bloom off parts of the South Australian coast. Albanese has outlined more funding for ecological research into the bloom:
Clearly this is an event that has occurred because of the run-off, firstly, from the Murray [River], the flooding events that have occurred in other parts of Australia, flowing through and the combination of nutrients flowing into water, which is hotter than usual.
That is why we take these immediate measures including the funding that has been provided for this work to be conducted here. It is part of our $28m funding jointly from the South Australian government and the commonwealth going forward.
