Woodside boss calls young people ‘ideologues’ for opposition to fossil fuels

Graham Readfearn

The boss of Australian gas giant Woodside, Meg O’Neill, has attacked young people as being ideologically against fossil fuels while ordering cheap online consumer goods “without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions”.

O’Neill was speaking on Tuesday on a panel during the gas industry’s annual conference in Brisbane, when she was asked by moderator and Sky news contributor Chris Uhlmann if people were aware of where their electricity came from. O’Neill said:

Most people hit a switch and expect the lights to come on, and it’s been a fascinating journey to watch the discussion, particularly amongst young people who have this very ideological, almost zealous view of, you know, ‘fossil fuel bad, renewables good’, that are happily plugging in their devices, ordering things from [online fashion store] Shein and Temu, having, you know, one little thing shipped to their house without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions.

So that human impact and the consumer’s role in driving energy demand and emissions absolutely is a missing space in the conversation.

According to company documents, the sale and burning of Woodside’s gas emitted 74m tonnes of CO2 last year.

Woodside is waiting for new environment minister, Murray Watt, to make a decision later this week on the company’s expansion of its North West Shelf project that wants to extend its gas production for another 40 years to 2070.

The three-day annual conference of industry group Australian Energy Producers, starting today, has already heard from resources minister, Madeleine King, who said the government was working to speed up approvals for projects and increase exploration efforts.

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Updated at 22.47 EDT

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Fines top $30 million after college misled students

An online diploma college has been slapped with $30 million in fines after using dodgy practices to enrol disadvantaged students in courses they never logged into, AAP reports.

The penalties follow a Federal Court ruling that Captain Cook College attempted to maximise its profits by making false representations to potential students from September 2015.

The college was acquired by parent company, Site Group International Limited, in 2014 before it was closed at the end of 2016.

Site Group and chief operations officer Blake Wills were also found to be aware of, and involved in, the conduct, the court found.

Justice Angus Stewart on Tuesday ordered the trio to pay more than $30 million for its actions.

Wills was ordered to contribute $400,000 for his involvement and was banned from managing corporations for three years.

Legal action was first brought against the college in November 2018 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The watchdog alleged there was clear evidence the college enrolled vulnerable students in courses they were unlikely to complete.

More than 90 per cent of the students did not complete their online course, and about 85 per cent of them never logged into their course, the watchdog said.

Courses included business, project management and human resource management.

More than 6000 affected students accrued more than $50 million in VET FEE-HELP loans, a government program assisting students to pay their tuition fees.

In July 2021, the Federal Court found that the college and Site engaged in a system of unconscionable conduct.

Captain Cook College, Site Group and Mr Wills appealed to the High Court following the ruling, but the findings were upheld in August 2024.

The trio were ordered to pay the watchdog’s legal costs for the court proceedings.

Captain Cook College was established in 1998 as a provider of online VET FEE-HELP diploma courses.

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Whistleblower Richard Boyle has been hailed a “superhero” after striking a plea deal under which he may avoid jail, AAP reports.

The 49-year-old has admitted to four criminal charges linked to his exposure of unethical debt recovery practices at the Australian Taxation Office.

Boyle appeared in the Adelaide District Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to disclosing protected information to another entity, making a record of protected information, using a listening device to record a private conversation and recording other people’s tax file numbers.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew a further 15 charges, while another five charges were dropped in March.

Outside court, Whistleblowers Justice Fund founder Rex Patrick said Boyle had “pleaded guilty to helping all Australians by disclosing poor conduct by the tax office, who were stripping funds from businesses who were in distress”. He said:

He should be wearing a big S on his chest, as a superhero, instead of a conviction …

The message being sent by the government is if you blow the whistle, we will pursue you to the end.

Boyle, a former ATO debt collection officer, raised concerns internally about debt recovery practices in October 2017, when he grew worried about operations in the tax office.

Believing his complaints had been ignored, he went public on the ABC’s Four Corners about the tactics used against taxpayers who owed the ATO money.

Outside court, Boyle hugged supporters, including his wife, Louise Beaston.

Last year, the SA Court of Appeal ruled Boyle was not protected by federal whistleblowing laws – because the charges related not to his whistleblowing, but steps Boyle had taken in preparation to blow the whistle internally, including taking photos of documents and recording conversations.

Boyle returns to court for sentencing submissions on August 1.

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NSW police commissioner Karen Webb cleared of misconduct allegation

The New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, has been cleared of a misconduct allegation by the state watchdog.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission said it received a complaint over an allegation Webb had breached police force policy by sharing the confidential details of a deceased person with broadcaster Ray Hadley of 2GB Radio in April 2024 before their next of kin was notified.

The commission conducted a preliminary investigation and “undertook a range of investigative strategies” and concluded its effort in March 2025, satisfied that there was no misconduct by Webb.

Webb earlier this month announced she would resign after three years in the five-year role and 38 years in the police force. You can read more here:

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Updated at 23.29 EDT

Buybacks for flood-hit residents a matter for states, PM says

The federal government will not offer buybacks to residents affected by the New South Wales floods, the prime minister has said, saying that decision is a state issue.

With the number of properties assessed as uninhabitable already at nearly 800 and on the rise, Anthony Albanese said insurance companies should provide swift assistance but did not commit to reforming or underwriting insurance for the area. He told reporters:

We expect insurance companies to do right by their customers, and swiftly process claims. They’ve set up an office here so that they can be dealt with swiftly …

There are longer-term issues that need to be looked at but what we need to do at this point in time is make sure that people’s immediate needs are looked after.

Albanese said the government would offer loans and subsidies to farms and other businesses affected by the floods but declined to guarantee funding for every affected primary producer:

I can guarantee that the government will be doing our best to make sure that people are looked after.

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Updated at 23.17 EDT

PM dismisses suggestions ADF flood assistance arrived too late

Albanese has pushed back at suggestions the Australian Defence Force was sent in to aid the flood response too late, pointing to the hundreds of responders on the ground.

Asked about residents’ concerns the ADF was deployed to late, the prime minister pointed to air recovery efforts carried out last week. He also praised the work of the veteran-led Disaster Relief Australia and the state emergency service:

The ADF I saw in the main street of Taree there, working on the ground, 70 of them [and] 100 DRA [volunteers]. The ADF personnel have come from Coffs Harbour, Queensland, different parts of New South Wales and nationally as well. They’ve been deployed upon request.

… There’s been 165 personnel deployed from outside NSW SES already and another 74 are due to arrive in coming days. This has been a massive effort from the authorities as well as from the community.

Albanese said the government was yet to receive further requests for ADF support but the military personnel would remain in the area for as long as was necessary.

We will provide what support is necessary … We remain vigilant and we remain engaged.

That second organisation he mentioned, Disaster Relief Australia, is pushing for a new funding deal to secure its future and grow its force, as it positions itself as an alternative to the Australian defence force in the aftermath of major floods, fires and cyclones.

You can read more on that here:

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Updated at 23.11 EDT

Disaster recovery payment to be extended to more areas along NSW mid-north coast

Government support payments will be provided to more residents along the flood-affected mid-north coast of New South Wales, Anthony Albanese has said.

He confirmed the disaster recovery payment would be offered to the local government areas of Bellingen, Coffs Harbour, Dungog, Kempsey, Mid-Coast, Nambucca Valley, Port Macquarie, Hastings and Port Stephens.

That could be accessed from 2pm tomorrow, providing a one-off payment of $1,000 for eligible adults and $400 for eligible children.

The ongoing disaster recovery allowance, providing for up to 13 weeks of income support for people who can’t earn their normal income, would be extended to all 19 affected local govenrment areas, he said.

Albanese said:

There are still massive challenges and we need to understand and certainly the government understands that this is not something that will go away in a matter of days or weeks or even months. This will take some time, the recovery, but Australians are resilient.

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Updated at 23.04 EDT

PM says flooding in NSW will have effects on entire country

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has warned the devastation to farms and livelihoods from flooding on the mid-north coast of New South Wales will cost not only locals but the entire country.

Albanese is speaking in Taree, a town hit hard by last week’s flooding, at the local state emergency service operations centre. He says:

Every Australian is affected as well, by the fact that we’ve had a loss of dairy industries that will have an impact right throughout Australia, and right throughout the economic impact here as well.

But the human impact, we must remember first and foremost. The loss of five lives through these devastating floods [and] the extraordinary hardship that people have gone through.

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Updated at 22.54 EDT

Woodside boss calls young people ‘ideologues’ for opposition to fossil fuels

Graham Readfearn

The boss of Australian gas giant Woodside, Meg O’Neill, has attacked young people as being ideologically against fossil fuels while ordering cheap online consumer goods “without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions”.

O’Neill was speaking on Tuesday on a panel during the gas industry’s annual conference in Brisbane, when she was asked by moderator and Sky news contributor Chris Uhlmann if people were aware of where their electricity came from. O’Neill said:

Most people hit a switch and expect the lights to come on, and it’s been a fascinating journey to watch the discussion, particularly amongst young people who have this very ideological, almost zealous view of, you know, ‘fossil fuel bad, renewables good’, that are happily plugging in their devices, ordering things from [online fashion store] Shein and Temu, having, you know, one little thing shipped to their house without any sort of recognition of the energy and carbon impact of their actions.

So that human impact and the consumer’s role in driving energy demand and emissions absolutely is a missing space in the conversation.

According to company documents, the sale and burning of Woodside’s gas emitted 74m tonnes of CO2 last year.

Woodside is waiting for new environment minister, Murray Watt, to make a decision later this week on the company’s expansion of its North West Shelf project that wants to extend its gas production for another 40 years to 2070.

The three-day annual conference of industry group Australian Energy Producers, starting today, has already heard from resources minister, Madeleine King, who said the government was working to speed up approvals for projects and increase exploration efforts.

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Updated at 22.47 EDT

Research shows heat-related work harms to rise by a quarter by 2050

Extreme temperatures are expected to put more Australian workers at risk and lift business costs, with new research predicting heat-related work harms will rise more than a quarter by 2050.

Global heating will result in rising numbers of occupational injuries and illnesses with a potential cost of $94m a year, Australian researchers estimated.

Academics at Charles Darwin University, the University of Adelaide and Monash University analysed more than 2.3m workplace injury claims across Australia’s capital cities, excluding Canberra, from 2005 to 2018.

Heat and cold were responsible for nearly 40,000 or about one in every 60 avoidable occupational injuries and illnesses, they found, using a measure of sunlight-related heat stress. In 25 years’ time, they expect that proportion will rise above one in 50.

Unsuitable clothing, a lack of air conditioning and hot or cold conditions around physically demanding work were key causes.

Extreme temperatures were one of the most threatening health impacts of climate change and the rise in injuries would have to be mitigated, according to Dr Matthew Borg, lead author and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Adelaide. He said:

Employers can protect workers by using heat safety measures such as setting work-to-rest ratios based on temperature and job demands, providing plenty of water and access to shade or air-conditioning, monitoring hydration, ensuring proper clothing, creating heat acclimatisation plans for new workers, and reducing heat generated in the workplace.

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Updated at 22.46 EDT

Benita Kolovos

Revived Victorian State Electricity Commission to begin supplying renewable power from 1 July

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, was up this morning to announce a major milestone for the revived State Electricity Commission, which will start supplying renewable energy to government infrastructure from 1 July.

From the start of the new financial year, all Victorian government operations – including 1,468 public schools, kindergartens and TAFEs, hospitals, police and fire stations, as well as the train and tram network – will be run on 100% renewable electricity run by the SEC.

Major public sites are also included, such as the Melbourne and Olympic Parks precinct, the Melbourne Zoo, the National Gallery of Victoria, parliament, Flinders Street station and even the penguin parade on Phillip Island.

It is the first time in three decades that the SEC will deliver power to Victorians after it was privatised by the Liberal government in the 1990s.

Allan says the signing of supply contracts means the SEC will now account for 5% of Victoria’s total electricity consumption, making it the fifth-largest commercial and industrial electricity retailer in the state.

The power will come from a mix of the SEC’s own renewable energy projects and supply secured through the Victorian Renewable Energy Auction contracts, meaning it draws on wind and solar from sites at Berrybank, Bulgana, Cohuna, Dundonnell and Winton.

Later this year, the SEC plans to offer renewable electricity contracts to commercial and industrial businesses.

All profits, Allan says, will be reinvested into new SEC renewable projects.

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Updated at 22.35 EDT

Dust storms in south-east continuing to clear this afternoon, BoM says

The dust storms and haze affecting Australia’s south-east should continue to clear this afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology has said.

Meteorologist Dean Narramore said south-westerly winds would clear out the dust haze affecting Sydney and surrounds in the next few hours:

It’s just lingering on the east coast in the next couple of hours, and then it’s going to be all gone by this afternoon.

The air quality in the city’s west has already started to improve but remains very poor, the state government is warning. You can find more details on the air quality and health warnings for New South Wales here.

Dust also swept through Melbourne, Canberra and surrounding regions early this morning after strong winds kicked up a haze out of drought-affected areas in South Australia and Victoria’s west, Narramore said.

He told Guardian Australia those conditions have since eased but heavy and possibly damaging winds are still set to impact parts of south-west NSW.

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Updated at 22.22 EDT

Kamala Harris and husband celebrate visit to Australia on social media

Kamala Harris, the former United States vice-president, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, have celebrated their “great visit” to Australia, after visiting the country this week.

Emhoff posted photos of the pair at Sydney Harbour with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and walking through the harbourside Botanic Gardens. He wrote on Instagram:

Such a great visit to Australia. Thanks to all for the warm welcome and friendship.

Harris was visiting Australia for the first time. She was the guest of honour at the 2025 Australian Real Estate Conference on the Gold Coast in Queensland, where she took a swipe at Elon Musk and warned the world to “remember the 1930s”. You can read about that address here:

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Updated at 21.58 EDT

Jordyn Beazley

Australian police working to extradite alleged fake terror plot mastermind from Turkey

The NSW and federal police are continuing to work to extradite from Turkey the alleged mastermind behind the “fake terrorism” caravan plot.

NSW deputy police commissioner, David Hudson, told reporters a little earlier:

We’re working with the Australian federal police in relation to inquiries in that regard … It’s a current investigation, I can’t really comment any further.

In January, police discovered a caravan packed with explosives in the outer Sydney suburb of Dural, triggering a massive multi agency investigation.

Police alleged in March that the caravan was part of a “fake terrorism plot” orchestrated for personal gain. Police alleged the “con job” was fabricated for personal benefit and that the undisclosed figures were based in Australia and offshore.

Former gym owner and alleged drug dealer Sayit Akca was smuggled out of Australia in 2023 after he was charged the year before with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of illicit drugs and recklessly engaging with the proceeds of crime.

Akca has denied responsibility for the caravan plot – but admits he was involved in having the caravan moved. He told Four Corners earlier this month he was able to divert the caravan – which he says was being moved between an illicit buyer and seller – and informed the AFP about the explosives in an attempt to gain more lenient treatment in the courts.

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Updated at 21.52 EDT

Jacqui Lambie among island state’s returning senators as Hanson’s daughter misses out

Josh Butler

Jacqui Lambie will have another term in the parliament, with Tasmania also electing two Labor, two Liberal and one Green to the Senate at the election.

The Australian Electoral Commission “pushed the button” to finalise Senate results in Tasmania this morning. Two Labor senators (Carol Brown and Richard Dowling), two Liberals (Claire Chandler and Richard Colbeck) and one Green (Nick McKim) have also been elected in Tasmania, as well as Lambie.

It means Lee Hanson, daughter of One Nation founder Pauline, has missed out. Lambie, the popular independent senator, was elected in fifth place behind Brown, Chandler, McKim and Dowling, with Colbeck – the former aged care minister – in sixth.

Lee Hanson with her mother Pauline Hanson Photograph: Lee Hanson – Pauline Hanson’s One Nation/Facebook

The Australian Electoral Officer for Tasmania, Hannah Brown, said: “As with all aspects of the count, scrutineers appointed by the candidates were able to witness the automated distribution of preferences undertaken today.”

It comes minutes after the Northern Territory was confirmed and a day after South Australia. More Senate results are expected to come later this week in Victoria and the ACT (Wednesday), then Western Australia (Thursday); NSW and Queensland will follow after.

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Updated at 21.40 EDT