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Indian community ‘upset and hurt’ by Nampijinpa Price’s commentary, Liberal senator says

Liberal senator Maria Kovacic says the Indian community was “hurt” and “disappointed” by her colleague Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s comments suggesting the Labor party’s immigration policies were attempts to garner votes from immigrants including those from India.

Speaking on Radio National a short time ago, Kovacic said she had talked “face-to-face” with the Australian Indian community in Harris Park yesterday – but did not say whether the meeting was organised after Price’s comments aired.

The senator said the community told her “they were upset and they were hurt by the comments and that they didn’t consider the comments to be true”:

I had a very open discussion with them. I think the most important thing is to be honest in your interactions and tell people that you acknowledge that the commentary was hurtful, but also acknowledge that it was untrue.

Liberal senator Maria Kovacic. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Kovacic said she did not apologise to the community but that many “were incredibly disappointed by [Price’s] comments”.

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Updated at 18.18 EDT

Stargazers marvel at ‘blood moon’ lunar eclipse around the world

As promised, an image of the blood moon as seen over Sydney early this morning:

A full moon is seen over Sydney during a lunar eclipse on Monday morning. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

The same phenomenon could be seen around the world. Here, a shot of the blood moon rising over the West Bank:

The “blood moon” rises over the West Bank as seen from the Negev desert. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

… and one from Beijing:

The blood moon is seen over the roof of Yongdingmen Gate in Beijing. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters

View our gallery here:

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Updated at 18.05 EDT

Labor exploring new protection scheme for air travellers

Sarah Basford Canales

Australian travellers could soon be compensated for cancelled or delayed flights under a new scheme that would ensure prompt rebooking, refunds and access to food and accommodation.

The Albanese government will open submissions for the new consumer aviation protection scheme today for four weeks in an effort to hear from the public.

The scheme, which would mirror similar protections overseas in Europe, would create a minimum expectation for airline carriers around the country and offer passengers clear rules on what compensation airlines should offer in the event of travel disruptions.

The scheme would be accompanied by a watchdog to deal with complaints and disputes.

The transport minister, Catherine King, said:

We’ve heard the frustration Australian aviation passengers feel when dealing with airlines and airports. When things go wrong, it can be hard to know what passengers can expect from airlines and airports, because the approach is different at every airport and with each airline.

The infrastructure minister, Catherine King. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare

Updated at 17.56 EDT

Erin Patterson to learn fate in Victorian supreme court

Adeshola Ore

We’ll bring you live updates of triple murderer Erin Patterson’s sentencing in the Victorian supreme court this morning.

Justice Christopher Beale is expected to begin the sentencing hearing at 9.30am.

The court will allow a television camera inside the courtroom to broadcast the sentencing hearing – with a 10 second delay – for the first time in the state.

Patterson faces the prospect of life behind bars. In July, a jury convicted her of deliberately feeding her lunch guests beef wellingtons laced with death cap mushrooms in 2023.

After an 11-week trial, the 12-person jury found Patterson guilty of murdering Don and Gail Patterson, the parents of her estranged husband, Simon, and his aunt, Heather Wilkinson. The jury also convicted Patterson of attempting to murder Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson.

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Updated at 17.36 EDT

Sarah Basford Canales

2035 emissions reduction target will ‘deal with the real world’, Albanese says

Anthony Albanese will warn Australia has to “deal with the real world” on the country’s shift to cleaner energy as his government prepares to announce a 2035 emissions reduction target.

In a speech to be delivered on Monday night to the Business Council of Australia’s (BCA) annual dinner, the prime minister will outline his plans to repay voters through boosting productivity, driving investment and cutting red tape.

Albanese will point to Australia’s “ideological conflict of the climate wars”, which he will say damaged Australia’s economy and its standing internationally.

Even as 24 out of 28 Australia’s coal-fired power stations were announcing their timeline for closure, there was no coherent plan to replace them.

Business and industry don’t have that luxury of pretending change is not occurring.

You have to deal with the real world – and you have to be able to plan for the long term.

Albanese will acknowledge the global shift to clean energy is the “biggest transformation since the Industrial Revolution” but will say it is a “profound economic opportunity for Australia”.

Anthony Albanese will speak at the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner on Monday night. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

On Friday, the BCA released a report claiming Australia would need up to $530bn in capital investment and to potentially curb coal and gas exports to achieve a 2035 emissions target of 70% or more.

The modelling does not factor in the cost of not acting on the climate crisis nor measure the economic benefits of new clean investment.

The Climate Change Authority – the commonwealth’s advisory body on emissions targets – is considering its final recommendation on a 2035 emissions target before the government announces its goal later this month.

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Updated at 17.29 EDT

Good morning

Daisy Dumas

Good morning all, and welcome to our live news coverage today.

We’re expecting triple-murderer Erin Patterson’s sentence this morning, with the Victorian supreme court hearing to be broadcast live in a historic first for the state. We’ll bring you updates as soon as they land.

Last night’s blood moon did not disappoint the early risers in Australia who made the effort to see the spectacle – we’ll bring you some of the best photos of the blazing phenomenon soon.

For now, let’s get going with other news.

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