Australia news live: Albanese to miss Garma festival despite 2025 promise; Telstra CEO grilled over national outage | Australia news
Albanese to miss Garma festival for first time as PM
Tom McIlroy
Anthony Albanese won’t attend this month’s Garma festival in East Arnhem Land, the first time he has missed the major Indigenous event since becoming prime minister.
A group of about half a dozen Labor ministers are set to attend, including the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and the Indigenous Australians minister, Malarndirri McCarthy.
Attending the festival in 2025, Albanese committed to returning each year while he is the country’s leader.
“I commit here that every single year that I have the great honour to be Australia’s prime minister, I will be here and engaged with you,” he said at the time, as reported by the ABC.
At Garma in 2022, Albanese outlined his preferred approach to a referendum on an Indigenous voice to federal parliament. That plan was defeated in the 2023 national vote.
Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation and the local Yolŋu people, Garma is an annual celebration of Indigenous culture and tradition, and brings together community leaders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates, policymakers, business groups and artists.
The shadow Indigenous minister, Julian Leeser, will attend when the festival gets under way on 31 July.
Key events
How a throwback to 2006 took down Telstra’s national phone network
My colleague, Josh Taylor, has a deep dive on the issue that threw Telstra networks into chaos this week. You can read it here:
Caitlin Cassidy
Australia’s sandstone universities to appear before antisemitism royal commission next week
The University of Melbourne (UoM) and the University of Sydney have confirmed they will be among a group of higher education providers to appear before the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion next week.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the UoM said it had “fully engaged” with the royal commission and would appear at the Melbourne hearing alongside “several other” universities.
The University of Melbourne is part of the national process to reflect, mourn and seek a renewed sense of trust and belonging for all … As a diverse university community, we must come together and stand united in our continued efforts to eradicate hate and discrimination in all forms.
A spokesperson for the University of Sydney said: “We fully support and are cooperating with the Royal Commission.
Alongside the rest of Australia, we were horrified by the terror attack at Bondi which struck at the heart of Sydney’s Jewish community … Since the disbandment of the protest encampment on campus two years ago, we have taken definitive action including instigating a formal review and introducing significant reforms. We’ve seen the number of complaints related to antisemitism decline substantially from students, but we know there is still work to be done.
Guardian Australia understands the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) will also appear at the block of hearings, as will student groups. The peak body for the sector, Universities Australia, has not been requested to appear.
Telstra CFO grilled over compensation and executive bonuses
Telstra’s CFO, Michael Ackland, was asked about compensation again, but says customers will need to rely on normal processes.
Brady was also asked if any Telstra executives would forgo their bonuses.
Our focus right now has been on getting the issue fixed, making sure all of our customers are back up and running, and then making sure we get the investigation done.
We, again, have very clear processes and governance when it comes to bonuses and remuneration. That process will happen and it will be overseen by our board.
Telstra CFO says ‘no outages’ in area where death occurred in SA
Telstra’s CFO, Michael Ackland, acknowledged a report of a death in SA – as reported earlier in the blog – echoing the company’s statement this morning.
He said Telstra had conducted a “detailed review” of its network records amid the reports. Ackland said Telstra had no “record of calls” to triple zero from phones linked to the deceased woman’s address. He went on:
We’ve also confirmed there were no active outages affecting the local area at the time. And our records show good mobile signal strength at that location. We can see that a related call was successfully made to 000 from another number, which was connected and transferred to the relevant emergency authority correctly.
Ackland said Telstra would continue to work closely with SA authorities, “and our thoughts remain with the person’s family and loved ones”.
Telstra CEO apologises for letting ‘Australians down’
Telstra’s CEO, Vicki Brady, is speaking in Sydney after the company’s network issues, including difficulties accessing triple zero. Brady is fronting the media for the first time after returning from an overseas holiday with her family.
She started off with an apology:
We have let our customers and Australians down. And, for that, I am deeply sorry. I understand how much Australians rely on us to keep in touch, to work, and stay safe.
I also understand the broader impact on the community when services go down, from things like payments to transport. It’s extremely frustrating and disruptive when services aren’t available, and I am sorry for the impact that this has had on so many people.
Brady said Telstra understands the cause of the issue and will undertake any work needed to prevent it from happening again.
Albanese to miss Garma festival for first time as PM
Tom McIlroy
Anthony Albanese won’t attend this month’s Garma festival in East Arnhem Land, the first time he has missed the major Indigenous event since becoming prime minister.
A group of about half a dozen Labor ministers are set to attend, including the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, and the Indigenous Australians minister, Malarndirri McCarthy.
Attending the festival in 2025, Albanese committed to returning each year while he is the country’s leader.
“I commit here that every single year that I have the great honour to be Australia’s prime minister, I will be here and engaged with you,” he said at the time, as reported by the ABC.
At Garma in 2022, Albanese outlined his preferred approach to a referendum on an Indigenous voice to federal parliament. That plan was defeated in the 2023 national vote.
Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation and the local Yolŋu people, Garma is an annual celebration of Indigenous culture and tradition, and brings together community leaders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates, policymakers, business groups and artists.
The shadow Indigenous minister, Julian Leeser, will attend when the festival gets under way on 31 July.
Adeshola Ore
Pride and protest as thousands flock to see Narendra Modi in Melbourne
The throb of the drum beats intensified as the crowd of 25,000 Indian Australians prepared to welcome India’s prime minister back to Melbourne after more than a decade.
As Narendra Modi and Anthony Albanese stepped on to the red carpet at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night, twinkling phone lights illuminated the feverish audience as they chanted, “Modi, Modi, Modi.”
The Indian prime minister’s three-day visit for talks in Melbourne is his first trip to Australia in three years. Ahead of the community event, Albanese and his Indian counterpart announced a major uranium deal and strengthened defence ties.
Speaking to the crowd, Modi hailed the India-Australia relationship.
Read more here:
Telstra press conference at 10.30am
We’re expecting another press conference from Telstra executives at 10.30am in Sydney. CEO Vicki Brady is back from overseas, and will appear alongside CFO Michael Ackland.
We’ll bring you live updates from that event.
Jayson Gillham loses legal bid against Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Jordyn Beazley
A classical pianist who sued the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra lost his case after he alleged he was unlawfully discriminated against because of his views on Israeli forces killing Palestinian journalists.
Justice Graeme Hill handed down his findings before the federal court on Friday, after Jayson Gillham launched legal action against the MSO almost two years ago.
Gillham sued the MSO over a cancelled Melbourne concert he was contracted to perform on 15 August 2024, which he claims was an attempt to silence him over his stance on Israel’s attacks in Gaza.
During a performance four days earlier, the pianist played a short piece called Witness, composed by multimedia artist Connor D’Netto, which he dedicated to Palestinian journalists who were killed by Israeli forces.
Introducing the work, Gillham told the audience more than 100 Palestinian journalists had been killed and that the targeting of journalists in a conflict was a war crime under international law.
Announcing the decision to cancel the 15 August concert, an MSO email sent to patrons alleged Gillham had made personal remarks “without seeking the MSO’s approval or sanction”.
“The MSO does not condone the use of our stage as a platform for expressing personal views”, the email said, adding that Gillham’s remarks had caused “distress”.
Gillham’s barrister, Sheryn Omeri KC, had argued that there was nothing in the MSO contract that prevented Gillham from making the statement.
Justin Bourke KC, who acted for the MSO, argued that Gillham was playing on the MSO’s stage, and was therefore not permitted to share his personal views on the “most hotly contested controversial issue around the world”.
Penry Buckley
NSW spent more than $300,000 on court cases lost against pro-Palestine protest groups
The New South Wales government has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees to unsuccessfully defend constitutional challenges against protest laws that were expected to be struck down.
The costs, outlined in documents obtained by Guardian Australia via freedom of information legislation, include $117,455.50 of taxpayers’ money on a single challenge to controversial public assembly restriction declaration (Pard) laws. Those laws were enacted after the Bondi beach terror attack and were in place during a now infamous rally against the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, in February.
The state’s court of appeal struck down the laws in April after finding they impermissibly burdened the implied constitutional right to freedom of political communication. It awarded costs to the plaintiffs, three activist groups, with the total bill to the taxpayer to rise once they are finalised.
Read more here:
Taylor not entirely ruling out One Nation preferences
Sarah Basford Canales
While Angus Taylor says One Nation’s policies are “incoherent” and believes the minor party is “not fit to govern”, he isn’t entirely ruling out working with Pauline Hanson’s party in the future.
On Sky News this morning, off the back of his ABC News appearance, the opposition leader said he would “work with anyone to get rid of this rotten Labor government” when asked if he would consider preferences in future elections.
“But what I am saying is that One Nation doesn’t have the answers,” Taylor said.
Overnight, Hanson responded to Taylor’s earlier shot across the bow while being accompanied by controversial far-right activist, Tommy Robinson, in the UK.
The One Nation leader accused Taylor of playing “right into the hands of Anthony Albanese” by “attacking One Nation instead of going after the real enemy, Labor”.
Taylor continued:
Our permanent position is that this is a dangerous and deluded Labor government that needs to go … the real question is, how do we get rid of a bad Labor government? And it’s not by voting for One Nation. It’s actually if the vote sprays, and we’ll see this in [the] Victoria [state election], if the vote sprays, Labor will stay. It’s that simple.
Aussie swim star McKeown out of Commonwealth Games
Swimming star Kaylee McKeown is out of the Commonwealth Games in a major blow for the Australian team, AAP reports.
The five-time Olympic champion has glandular fever and will miss both the Glasgow event and the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships that follow.
“I am gutted to medically withdraw,” said the backstroke ace. “What I thought a few months ago was flu has turned out to be my body fighting glandular fever.”
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from 23 July to 2 August, with the six-day swimming event starting on 24 July.
NSW man charged with advocating terrorism online
Achol Arok
A man charged with a series of online terrorism and firearms offences will remain in police custody after his bail was refused in a NSW court on Thursday.
The 20-year-old was charged following an investigation by the NSW joint counter terrorism team (JCTT).
Police allege the man is linked to “concerning online posts” promoting racially motivated violent extremist ideology and encouraging others to commit acts of terrorism.
Officers also allegedly found a number of unlawful weapons and ammunition during a search of his home in Ocean Shores in northern NSW.
NSW police assistant commissioner Leanne McCusker said “there is no place in our community for violent or extremist behaviour”.
“These people have the potential to cause significant harm to our communities and threaten social cohesion,” she said. “Anyone who has information about suspicious or concerning behaviour and activity is urged to contact police.”
