Australia news LIVE: Terror attack at Manchester synagogue kills two people; US government shutdown enters its second day

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7.16am

PNG-Australia defence treaty ‘smart and constructive diplomacy’, says Swan

By Emily Kaine

Former deputy prime minister and national president of the Labor Party Wayne Swan has said that the landmark defence treaty between Papua New Guinea and Australia, approved by PNG’s cabinet yesterday, is critical to national security because “authoritarianism never sleeps”.

“This is very smart and constructive diplomacy,” Swan told Nine’s Today this morning. “I mean, it’s our front yard. The ties [with PNG] go back to World War Two … but what’s more important is that we have to understand that authoritarianism never sleeps. That’s why agreements like this are so important, and it’s why the government has been so active, not just in PNG, but right across the Pacific.”

Swan also defended Australia’s broader approach to strengthening defence ties and security throughout the wider southeast Asian region and said this treaty marks a critical step in that strategy.

“It is a region that we need to also focus on and build a relationship with because at the end of the day, they are on our borders… engagement is very critical, it’s in Australia’s interest,” he said.

7.04am

Australia’s global fight against illegal tobacco

By Paul Sakkal

Illegal tobacco importers will face the same scrutiny as weapons and drug smugglers in a federal campaign using global intelligence sharing to curb the booming black market for cigarettes as Labor rejects calls to cut excise on cigarettes.

Police ministers agreed to make tobacco enforcement a top priority at a meeting yesterday as the Albanese government pushes for uniform state licensing, multimillion-dollar fines for retailers and harsh penalties for criminal importers to rein in the sector fuelling gang wars and firebombings in Sydney and Melbourne.

Australian Border Force officers checking illegal cigarette imports found in shipping containers in Melbourne.

But Labor has rebuffed the argument from NSW Premier Chris Minns and some Coalition MPs that tobacco excise should be cut on the basis that its steep rise in recent years has encouraged smokers to buy illegal cigarettes, punching a huge hole in the budget.

Assistant Minister for Customs Julian Hill said the government would not “back off and will not surrender our health policy to organised crime”.

Federal figures released to this masthead show there has been a threefold increase in the number of cigarettes seized from four years ago, with 346,000 kilograms of illicit tobacco and more than 2 million vapes taken off the streets in the past year.

6.49am

US government shutdown enters second day

By Emily Kaine

The US government shutdown continues today and is unlikely to end this week as Congress remains deadlocked on a funding dispute that looks no closer to reaching a resolution.

Democrats are likely to block a GOP-backed short-term funding bill when Congress votes again tomorrow, and the Senate will not be in session over the weekend.

Democrats say they will not vote to end the government shutdown unless Congress extends extra Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire next year, while Republicans say the subsidies shouldn’t be a part of legislation to reopen the government.

The American flag over the Capitol is illuminated by the early morning light on the first day of a government shutdown in Washington.

The White House yesterday said that layoffs of federal workers were “imminent”, but now says firings are likely to be “in the thousands”.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have already been furloughed, meaning they are suspended from work temporarily – and indefinitely – without pay.

6.49am

Two killed in terror attack at Manchester synagogue, suspect shot dead

By David Crowe

Two people have died and another four are in hospital after an assailant drove into pedestrians and stabbed victims outside a synagogue in Manchester on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Greater Manchester Police said a man believed to be the offender was shot dead and a bomb disposal unit had been called to the scene in north-west England. The attack has been declared a terror incident by police.

Members of the Jewish community comfort each other near to the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue, in Crumpsall, Manchester, after police reported that two people were killed and three others were seriously injured in a synagogue attack in northern England.

Police said the man they believe is responsible for the attack is a 35-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent.

UK prime minister Keir Starmer condemned the terror attack in a public address earlier this morning, saying the attacker was “a vile individual who wanted to attack Jews because they are Jews”.

We will bring you updates on the developing story as they happen.

6.48am

What’s making news today

By Emily Kaine

Good morning and welcome to our national news live blog for Friday, October 3. My name is Emily Kaine, and I will be helming our coverage this morning. Here’s what is making headlines today.

Two people have died and another four are in hospital after an assailant drove into pedestrians and stabbed victims outside a synagogue in Manchester on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Greater Manchester Police said a man believed to be the offender was shot dead and a bomb disposal unit had been called to the scene in north-west England. The attack has been declared a terror incident by police.
The US government shutdown has entered its second day after Congress failed to reach a funding deal. It is expected to extend into next week as Democrats will likely block a GOP-backed short-term funding bill when Congress votes again tomorrow, and the Senate will not be in session over the weekend. The White House yesterday said that layoffs of federal workers were “imminent”, but now says firings are likely to be “in the thousands”.
Illegal tobacco importers will face the same scrutiny as weapons and drug smugglers in a federal campaign using global intelligence sharing to curb the booming black market for cigarettes as Labor rejects calls to cut excise on cigarettes. Police ministers agreed to make tobacco enforcement a top priority at a meeting yesterday as the Albanese government pushes for uniform state licensing, multimillion-dollar fines for retailers and harsh penalties for criminal importers to rein in the sector fuelling gang wars and firebombings in Sydney and Melbourne, Paul Sakkal reports.