Australia news LIVE: Number of Australians missing in Nepal, Tibet revised to 38; Chalmers defends tax policies after latest housing downturn; Chanel Contos calls for algorithm change to curb manosphere

Key PostsWhat you need to know todayBy Emily Kaine and Alexander DarlingHello and welcome to our live coverage of national news for Wednesday, September 2. Here’s what is making headlines today.Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers during a press conference.Alex EllinghausenThe Australian economy grew by 0.4 per cent through the June quarter as Australian consumers spent more on electric vehicles as they deal with the fallout from the war against Iran. The economy has now grown 2.1 per cent in the past year.Meanwhile, roughly 93 per cent of suburbs across Australia had a drop in home values in the past month, according to Cotality’s home value index. Under questioning, treasurer Jim Chalmers defended treasury estimates that house prices will continue to grow over the next couple of years.The number of Australians missing in Nepal and Tibet has been revised down to 38, from 43 yesterday morning, as DFAT says five additional Australians have been accounted for, including the one reported yesterday afternoon.The total death toll of the disaster is still rising, with more than 1000 dead and 4400 people missing.Sydney Swans coach Dean Cox has not ruled out their five suspended players making a return to the club before the end of the season. Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Riley Bice were banned for breaching the club’s behavioural standards, but Cox said yesterday there was uncertainty about how long they would be absent from the club.And the US military announced its first major strikes against Iran in more than a month.Latest Posts2.39pmPM labels journalist ‘disrespectful’ for pre-COP questionBy Nick NewlingPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has labelled a journalist “disrespectful” for not including Pacific leaders in the calculation of how many world leaders are attending an Australian-organised pre-COP event next month.Asked whether the summit would be “money well spent” considering only five non-Pacific leaders would be in attendance, Albanese interrupted the journalist to say: “With respect, you are being so disrespectful to the Pacific leaders who are here”.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was welcomed at Palau Airport before the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Koror, Palau.AAP“We need to actually have some respect for the process and respect for our Pacific leaders, and Australia has an absolute interest in engaging with the Pacific,” Albanese told a Palau press conference.Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen earlier in the press conference pushed back on criticism, saying world leaders had not attended previous pre-COP negotiations.Albanese also defended the turnout, saying there was not an earlier expectation of a large contingent of world leaders to be in attendance.2.30pmAlbanese denies Pacific leaders’ frustration with Australian climate policyBy Nick NewlingPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied that Pacific leaders are frustrated with Australia’s approval of fossil fuel projects, saying the country is respected for its role in combatting climate change.The question came from a journalist who referenced Resources Minister Madeleine King’s ceremonial opening of gas fracking works in the Beetaloo Basin in the Northern Territory, who said Pacific leaders looked to Albanese and said, “you are the problem”.Australia’s Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for Defense Industry Pat Conroy in Palau.AAPIMAGEAlbanese responded: “No, they, they don’t do that. Australia is highly regarded when it comes to climate change, and the talking down of Australia does not happen from outside Australia. I’ll make that point. The Pacific leaders have respect for the position that we’ve taken, and they also understand with the transition because they’re dealing with it as well.“That the transition can’t happen overnight; that it requires strategies and policies to be put in place. And one of the things that renewables requires is firming capacity, and gas has a role to play in firming capacity. We’ve made that position very clear, and people understand that that is the circumstance,” Albanese said.The Greens and climate activists have criticised the Beetaloo project as a “climate bomb”, accusing the government of hypocrisy in its stance on climate change and emissions.2.22pmBowen says leader turnout for pre-COP event an increase from previous editionsBy Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has joined Albanese in defending the pre-COP event in Fiji and Tuvalu that he has taken an organising role in, saying thousands of delegates will be in attendance.“Pre-COP’s role is to set the agenda for COP and to help build momentum for some of the important items that we are championing at COP 31. I can confirm there will be around 3000, 4000 attendees. This is no small undertaking,” Bowen told the Palau press conference this afternoon.Minister for Climate Change Chris Bowen in Palau this week.AAP“We have 120, more than 120 international journalists already registered to attend to see what’s happening at pre-COP. So this is a key opportunity for the Pacific. As the PM said, it is not normally a leader-level event.“There was no leader at the pre-COP in Brazil, or in Dubai, or in Egypt, or in Azerbaijan. None. The Pacific said to us we thought it would be good to invite some leaders. We’ve done that.”2.15pmPM not surprised by low turn out for pre-COP summitBy Nick NewlingPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government did not expect many world leaders to attend the Australian-organised pre-COP summits, after it was revealed that just five heads of state based outside the Pacific will be in attendance.“We always anticipated when it comes to pre-COP events, there normally aren’t lots of leaders at it. There’ll be ministerial level [attendance],” Albanese told a press conference on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau.Albanese with Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr today. Palau is hosting the Pacific Islands Forum.AAPIMAGE“The fact that the pre-COP is being held in Fiji with side trip to Tuvalu as well is really welcomed, because it will provide a focus on what is happening in the Pacific, and the entry fee for credibility at the Pacific Islands Forum and for bilateral engagement in the Pacific is taking climate change seriously.”Just five leaders from outside the Pacific are expected to attend the Australia-organised United Nations climate event in Fiji and Tuvalu next month, despite energetic efforts by the Albanese government to secure attendees.The pre-COP event was organised as part of a compromise deal between Australia and Turkey that will see the main event held in Antalya, Turkey, rather than Adelaide.Fiji Foreign Minister Sakiasi Ditoka announced on Tuesday afternoon that leaders from Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde, Thailand, Maldives and Timor-Leste had confirmed their attendance at the pre-COP event.2.10pmAustralian aid arriving in Nepal imminently: AlbaneseBy Alexander DarlingPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed the news that a further five Australians have been found safe following last week’s catastrophic flash flooding in Nepal and Tibet.“Amidst all of this tragedy, we are seeing some positive news,” he said from Palau, while also recognising the ongoing grief of the families of the remaining 38 missing Australians.Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a bilateral meeting during the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau.AAPIMAGE“That’s 38 families, 38 people we hold grave fears for, we hold hope for further great positive news.”“Our C17 aircraft either has landed or is about to land with aid supplies in Nepal as well. We think of all of the families at this difficult time, and also for the broader Nepalese-Australian community that is large and growing larger.”Meanwhile, Nepal has urged international travellers not to abandon the Himalayas, declaring the country open for tourism as it continues to assess the human and economic toll from catastrophic floods that killed hundreds and left thousands missing.With Bloomberg1.47pm‘Ridiculous clickbait headlines’: Chalmers’ tetchy press conference, unpackedBy Alexander DarlingLet’s return now to Jim Chalmers’ press conference in parliament house last hour, because when he began to take questions on house prices things began to get a little tense.Jim Chalmers during his press conference today.Alex EllinghausenJournalist: ”Do you stand by treasury analysis that house prices will continue to grow over the next couple of years, or do you concede that the treasury and government has underestimated the impacts of the tax changes?”Chalmers: “Well first of all, the treasury assumptions in the budgets are over the next couple of years, not the past couple of months, and so it would be unusual to compare outcomes or forecasts from the first couple of months with treasury assumptions over a first couple of years...”Journalist: “So you think we can expect 8 per cent growth over the next few years?”1.24pmJudge says Charlie Kirk murder suspect eligible for death penaltyBy The murder case against the man accused of killing political commentator Charlie Kirk can proceed to trial with a charge that makes the suspect eligible for the death penalty, a Utah judge ruled Tuesday.The judge said prosecutors have shown probable cause to support an aggravated murder charge against Tyler Robinson for the alleged shooting of Kirk at a college campus outdoor event a year ago.Tyler Robinson (right) accused of murdering US political commentator Charlie Kirk.APRobinson, 23, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to all the charges against him.“Today’s decision, which comes nearly a year since Charlie was taken from us, marks an important step in our family’s pursuit of justice for him,” according to a statement issued by Kirk’s family.1.09pmTroubled US aircraft carrier arrives in Thailand after record stint at seaBy Laem Chabang, Thailand: The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier arrived in eastern Thailand early on Wednesday after its gruelling deployment in the Middle East.Associated Press journalists watched the Lincoln, which is carrying about 5000 service members, approach Laem Chabang port in Chonburi province shortly after the destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. sailed past the area.Sailors and marines line the deck of aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2021.K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune via APThe ship had been supporting the US war against Iran. Its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 250 days. Concerns have grown about the Lincoln’s lengthy deployment following reports of deteriorating mental health among the crew and shortages of supplies, including food and hygiene products.The usually Asia-based USS George Washington relieved the long-deployed Lincoln in the Middle East in August.12.48pmConsent advocate calls for algorithm-free social mediaBy Brittany BuschConsent advocate Chanel Contos is at the National Press Club today, urging the government to give Australians the option of algorithm-free social media.The Teach Us Consent chief executive said algorithms were exploiting young men’s insecurities and funnelling them misogynistic content, as teenage boys become the most likely cohort to commit child sexual abuse.Chanel Contos at the press club on Wednesday afternoon.Alex Ellinghausen“It usually starts with something harmless, like a workout video or motivational content,” Contos said.“Very quickly, boys and men are taken into the manosphere – communities that persistently promote the idea that emotional control, material wealth, and physical appearance and dominance is what makes a man.”She said recommendation algorithms served fringe content to new users “to evoke strong feelings and gain their attention, whether out of harmless curiosity or as rage bait”, and Australians should be given the choice to opt in to algorithms.12.26pmTreasurer says algorithms feed kids ‘really disturbing’ content By Emily KaineThe treasurer has been asked about Chanel Contos’ address at the National Press Club this afternoon, set to be given imminently, but stopped short of backing her call for an opt-in model for social media algorithms.In her second address to the press club, the Teach Us Consent chief executive will argue social media algorithms are exposing young, impressionable users to harmful content and fuelling a rise in sexual violence in Australia.Chanel Contos at the National Press Club in 2023. Alex Ellinghausen“I think like most Australians, and I think particularly most Australian parents, I find it really disturbing the rubbish that is fed to our kids, and to our population more broadly, with these algorithms,” Chalmers said.“It’s self-evident that social media, and particularly the way these social media algorithms work, are not doing us a lot of good,” he said. “It’s hard to mount a credible argument that what we’re seeing with social media algorithms is a force for good in our community or in our country.”1 of 3