Richardson says he felt he was ‘surplus’ to needs of royal commission

Dennis Richardson says his decision to resign from the royal commission into antisemitism had nothing to do with the government, but says he came to the decision that he was “surplus” to the needs of the body.

He spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying:

double quotation markI think probably there wasn’t enough discussion right at the beginning about the precise way things would work, and ultimately I came to the [decision] that I was surplus to requirements.

Richardson says he believes the royal commission will do a “highly professional job”.

Dennis Richardson. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare

Updated at 17.00 EDT

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A quick update on Australians returning home from the Middle East

More than 3,200 Australians have arrived in the country on 23 direct flights since 4 March, with more scheduled to arrive this morning and others expected to depart from Dubai today.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will speak about those repatriation efforts later this morning.

Emirates and Qatar Airways are still only operating limited flights from the region.

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Updated at 17.18 EDT

Richardson says he felt he was ‘surplus’ to needs of royal commission

Dennis Richardson says his decision to resign from the royal commission into antisemitism had nothing to do with the government, but says he came to the decision that he was “surplus” to the needs of the body.

He spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying:

double quotation markI think probably there wasn’t enough discussion right at the beginning about the precise way things would work, and ultimately I came to the [decision] that I was surplus to requirements.

Richardson says he believes the royal commission will do a “highly professional job”.

Dennis Richardson. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShare

Updated at 17.00 EDT

Resources minister says agreement to release oil reserves ‘really important’ and Australia ‘well insulated’ to withstand pressures

Madeleine King, the federal resources minister, is speaking about an order by the International Energy Agency that ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history yesterday.

The world’s energy watchdog said its 32 members had unanimously agreed to release about 400m barrels of emergency crude, a third of total stockpiles, to help calm the oil price shock triggered by the war in Iran.

“It’s a really important announcement from the IEA,” King said. “What I want to make really clear to everybody listening is all that fuel remains in Australia, like it doesn’t go anywhere because of this request.”

Minister for resources, Madeleine King. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

King was asked why Australia didn’t meet the recommended 90 days of fuel supply in reserve. She said it would be “enormously” expensive and cost about $20bn to store that amount.

double quotation markWhat we have in the billions of litres of fuel that the government has under its minimum stockholding obligation is more than sufficient for this nation. And I would point out that shipments of fuel are arriving as scheduled …

There will be disruption the longer this conflict goes, but our government believes we are well insulated to withstand it.

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Updated at 16.47 EDT

Chalmers ‘really sad’ former spy chief quit royal commission into antisemitism

Chalmers said he was “really sad” to learn about Dennis Richardson departing the royal commission into antisemitism. Richardson resigned without explanation on Wednesday, just a fortnight after its opening hearing.

Chalmers told RN he hadn’t spoken to Richardson after the decision, adding:

double quotation markUltimately it’s a matter for him and the royal commission …

From a personal point of view I was sad to hear it because he is a person of such immense experience and knowledge.

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Updated at 16.30 EDT

Chalmers says Australia well-placed to deal with the ‘worst’ of the economic fallout from Middle East conflict

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said this morning the government is not considering a cut to the fuel excise amid the turmoil in the Middle East, but maintained the country is well placed to weather the economic impacts of the ongoing war.

Chalmers spoke to RN Breakfast this morning

double quotation markI can assure people that we have enough fuel in total and where there are issues in particular regional areas or different pockets of Australia, we work closely with the industry and the ACCC to try and ensure supply to those areas. … Obviously we share that concern about developments in the Middle East flowing through to our own economy.

We won’t be immune from these developments, but we are incredibly well placed as a country and as an economy to deal with the worst the world can throw at us.

Chalmers said there was no doubt the war was putting strain on Australians, but re-upped the government’s efforts to address cost of living pressures.

double quotation markThis conflict in the Middle East is already putting additional pressure on Australians. We understand that.

Jim Chalmers. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare

Updated at 16.23 EDT

Good morning, Nick Visser here to take things over. After the morning headlines, it’s time to dive into the day in politics. Stick with us.

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Victorian plan to see homebuyers given free pest and building reports

Benita Kolovos

Buyers would no longer have to foot the bill for costly building and pest inspections, under a plan to be announced by the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, later this morning.

Allan will announce that if Labor is re-elected in November, it will develop a mandatory building and pest inspection scheme, with legislation to be introduced to parliament in 2027. Under the plan, vendors would be required to organise and pay for the inspections and make the reports available to all potential buyers.

The government pointed to data from the Consumer Policy Research Centre, which found building and pest inspection reports can cost up to $600, with almost half of all buyers paying for multiple inspections in the process of finding a home. The centre also found that 17% of buyers were “buying blind” with no reports, due to the cost and hassle involved.

In a statement, Allan said the “status quo isn’t working”:

double quotation markSome buyers spend thousands on multiple reports. Some roll the dice and go without. When you buy a car, the seller pays for the roadworthy. It should work the same way when you look for a home.

Currently, the Australian Capital Territory is the only jurisdiction in Australia with such a scheme. There, vendors pay for inspection reports, which must be completed within three months before sale – though they aren’t required for new builds. After the contract is signed, the vendor can recover the report costs from the buyer.

Allan said she would consult with the ACT and with industry to draft its own scheme.

The minister for consumer affairs, Nick Staikos, said:

double quotation markDoing the due diligence for your big purchase should be as simple and affordable as possible. We’ll do the work to make sure our scheme is watertight and protects buyers from conflicts of interest.

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Updated at 16.08 EDT

Vehicle belonging to missing tourists found

A vehicle was located last night in the search for two missing tourists in the Kilkivan area, Queensland police said.

The 26-year-old man and 23-year-old woman were travelling in a Silver Subaru Forrester from Brisbane to North Burnett when they failed to make their destination.

A search commenced yesterday involving police, SES, helicopters in the Kilkivan to Mundubbera area.

A silver vehicle was then located at Kilkivan Tansey Road, near McArthur Road and police remained at the scene last night.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the two missing tourists was urged to contact police.

The area has been inundated by rain leading to severe flooding.

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Updated at 16.06 EDT

Earthquake felt near Boorowa

Jordyn Beazley

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit around 110km north of Canberra just after 7pm last night.

More than 4,000 people reported to Geoscience Australia that they had felt the earthquake within 45 minutes of it hitting.

The epicentre of the earthquake was near Boorowa and was recorded at 7.09pm.

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Updated at 16.16 EDT

NSW anti-slavery commissioner questions handling of Iranian football squad’s departure

Jordyn Beazley

The NSW anti-slavery commissioner has questioned the Australian federal police, Sydney airport and Qantas’s role in facilitating the departure of the Iranian women’s football team from Australia, despite “the widespread concern about threats, intimidation, and coercion”.

Dr James Cockayne said in a statement that he was pleased that players and some support staff were given a chance to meet privately with a home affairs official and an interpreter. After the meeting, two more squad members decided to stay in Australia, however one later changed her mind.

But Cockayne said he still holds doubts over whether the women made their decision free from duress.

He said:

double quotation markThis was an extraordinarily tough and traumatising decision to have to make – whether to return home to a war-torn country and face the wrath of a highly repressive, misogynistic regime or stay with a very uncertain future far away from family and supports, possibly placing family back in Iran at greater risk.

So the key questions we must ask now are: were these decisions truly made free from duress? And did these women have all the information they needed and were entitled to?

I have my doubts.

He said a number of questions need to be answered, including if the Iranian athletes received independent legal advice, if the AFP interviewed the women to determine if they were being coerced, and what Sydney airport and Qantas did to “address this clear and highly publicised risk of exit trafficking”.

He said:

double quotation markLike many Australians, I look forward to these urgent questions being answered. I certainly do not want to believe that our national police force, or the businesses that run our national flag carrier and our busiest airport, may have turned a blind eye or even unwittingly contributed to exit trafficking.

Iranian women’s football team players onboard the Qantas flight that took them from the Gold Coast to Sydney. Photograph: Ben Symons/Sydney Morning HeraldShare

Updated at 16.05 EDT

Welcome

Martin Farrer

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Nick Visser with the main action.

The New South Wales anti-slavery commissioner has questioned the Australian federal police, Sydney airport and Qantas’ role in facilitating the departure of the Iranian women’s football team from Australia, despite “the widespread concern about threats, intimidation, and coercion”. More coming.

And buyers would no longer have to foot the bill for costly building and pest inspections under a plan to be announced by the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, later this morning.

More coming up.

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