Australia news LIVE: Possible bird flu case spotted in NSW; Police probe CFMEU ‘inside job’ leak; Moira Deeming launches legal action

A suspected positive case of H5 bird flu has been identified near Hawks Nest on the NSW Mid North Coast, the NSW government says.

Samples from a giant petrel tested positive to H5 influenza in preliminary testing, and authorities are now racing to determine whether it actually has avian flu.

The infection marks the first wild migratory seabird in NSW to return a suspected positive result for H5.

NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the risk to humans remained low, and bird flu had not been detected in commercial poultry flocks, captive birds or any other birds in NSW.

A statement asked people to avoid contact with wild birds that had died by “unusual” means or were ill.

More to come

The Herald has spoken to farmers in the region surrounding Hawks Nest following this morning’s news of a suspected case of H5 bird flu in a Giant Petrel at Bennetts Beach.

Julia Davies, of JD’s Backyard Hens, has thousands of birds in nearby Medowie.

While she was concerned about the suspected case, she said there was no need to spread fear: “You’ve got to be sensible about it, but without freaking out.”

“If you go and spend the day at the beach, you need be aware if you’re going to walk back home into your chook pen, you could potentially drag it back home.”

NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty says hundreds of trained practitioners are surveilling “high risk” parts of the state after a suspected case of bird flu was identified on the Mid North Coast, but she has urged consumers not to panic-buy chicken or eggs.

A giant petrel on Bennetts Beach in Hawks Nest tested positive for H5 influenza in preliminary testing on Friday. While the CSIRO will test samples to confirm if the bird is infected with the bird flu strain, the NSW government asked people to remain vigilant for other cases.

“Over 500 people are now working on surveillance, so they’re checking this area of the state – around Hawks Nest and the Mid North Coast – and other high-risk parts of the state, looking for birds,” Moriarty said.

The suspected case was the fifth bird confirmed with the influenza across Australia.

If the sample confirms it is bird flu, it will be the first case of the highly pathogenic form of H5 influenza in NSW, the state’s chief veterinary officer Dr Jo Coombe confirmed.

Moriarty said the risk for the state’s poultry industry had not increased, despite the suspected case. Previous outbreaks of bird flu have had a “devastating impact” overseas, Coombe said.

Good afternoon, Liam Mannix with you now for the afternoon news cycle. Here’s what we’ve been covering this morning:

• Our top story remains the potential identification of bird flu in a petrel on NSW’s Mid North Coast. We expect further updates from the government soon.
• An Olympian was indicted on a felony charge in what US President Donald Trump has called vandalism of the Reflecting Pool.
• The Fair Work Ombudsman has ordered the University of NSW to pay $33 million to staff for almost a decade of underpayments to casual academics.
• Coalition frontbencher Sarah Henderson has labelled calls for Opposition Leader Angus Taylor to resign over his links to the besieged Catholic Schools NSW boss Dallas McInerney “ridiculous”.

• And Donald Trump’s trouble-plagued celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary took another hit after part of the stage collapsed during rehearsals.

Elon Musk’s X platform has again come under fire at the antisemitism royal commission after Australia’s eSafety Commissioner said yesterday that the company fought to keep footage of the Bondi massacre online by arguing it was no worse than a “gore movie”.

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion heard in Sydney today that X responded bluntly to an online survey by the federal government canvassing views from the public about the planned digital duty of care for online services.

The company checked the box for “none of the above” in response to a question about whether it believed digital platforms should take steps to prevent various types of harmful content for users under 18 years.

For adult users, it also checked “none of the above” for preventing content including online hate speech, violent pornography, and content that promotes seriously harmful behaviour.

“Do you regard these responses as credible policy positions for a mainstream social media platform to take?” counsel assisting the royal commission, Richard Lancaster, SC, asked.

“No, I consider those disappointing,” said Sarah Vandenbroek, first assistant secretary in the Commonwealth Department of Infrastructure, which oversees digital platforms. She was not aware of other platforms taking this approach.

An unprecedented phenomenon is unfolding off the eastern seaboard as vast flocks of sub-Antarctic seabirds, including some never seen in these waters, converge just over the horizon from our major cities after journeying thousands of kilometres from their Southern Ocean home.

They are circling the skies in the Tasman Sea, having ridden the storms of the unseasonably warm Southern Ocean near places such as Macquarie Island, and many species are so rare that even the most seasoned seabird watchers have declared this a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The seabirds may also have brought the H5N1 bird flu to NSW for the first time. Today, the government reported a suspected case from a giant petrel at Hawks Nest on the Mid North Coast.

The cause of this curiosity remains a mystery for now, but experts think a marine heatwave in the Southern Ocean may be a factor, as the birds’ typical feeding patterns are disrupted by a shift in their food sources.

Read the full story here.

The World Health Organisation has declared the hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship over, after the last identified contact of an exposed person completed quarantine and tested negative for the virus.

The outbreak, which infected 13 people and killed three, involved the Andes virus, a rare hantavirus strain that typically circulates in Argentina and Chile. The cruise ship, MV Hondius, set off from Argentina on April 1.

Reuters

A suspected positive case of H5 bird flu has been identified near Hawks Nest on the NSW Mid North Coast, the NSW government says.

Samples from a giant petrel tested positive to H5 influenza in preliminary testing, and authorities are now racing to determine whether it actually has avian flu.

The infection marks the first wild migratory seabird in NSW to return a suspected positive result for H5.

NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the risk to humans remained low, and bird flu had not been detected in commercial poultry flocks, captive birds or any other birds in NSW.

A statement asked people to avoid contact with wild birds that had died by “unusual” means or were ill.

More to come

Victorian state Labor MP Katie Hall was assaulted and needed urgent surgery after she intervened to rescue a woman who was being attacked and kicked in the face.

The Footscray MP told The Age on Friday about the attack she witnessed outside her electorate office on June 25.

Hall said that, at lunchtime that day, she saw a man running past her, and he collided with two women headed in the opposite direction in Nicholson Street, Footscray. One of the women fell to the ground, and the man kicked her in the head until Hall moved to stop him.

As the MP called for help, the man then allegedly headbutted Hall, knocking her over and damaging the tendons in her hand to the point at which she required emergency surgery.

Washington: Donald Trump’s trouble-plagued celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary took another hit after part of the stage collapsed during rehearsals, as Democrats accused him of hijacking the event and creating a “blueprint for corruption”.

Video posted on social media by TikTok journalist Aaron Parnas showed a section of the main stage roof falling down as dancers rehearsed. The roof panel landed heavily behind the dancers, and no one appeared to be hurt.

The stage is located in Washington’s National Mall, and will host Saturday’s main events, including Trump’s speech.

It is adjacent to the Great American State Fair, which is also being held in the mall.

The festivities have been marred by controversy, mishap and poor attendance.

Coalition frontbencher Sarah Henderson has labelled calls for Opposition Leader Angus Taylor to resign over his links to the besieged Catholic Schools NSW boss Dallas McInerney “ridiculous”.

Former Liberal NSW police minister David Elliott said Taylor should resign because his connection to McInerney, who has stepped aside from his role while facing a corruption inquiry, left the Liberal Party exposed.

“This is just ridiculous, I’m sorry. I’m not going to buy into that rubbish,” Henderson told Sky News.

“The fact of the matter is that Angus is doing a superb job. We are working very hard to hold this terrible, shocking, lying, deceiving government to account, which has sold out every single Australian, including, of course, its budget of broken promises and lies.”