Police are responding after strong winds blew several boats over on the River Derwent near Hobart.
Tasmania police confirmed they were rescuing people after the boats at a sailing event were overturned by a “large gust of wind”. The Bureau of Meteorology recorded wind gusts of up to 95 km/h in Hobart before 1.20pm.
The Westpac rescue helicopter was also attending, with flight tracking showing it took off from Hobart airport before 1.40pm AEDT and is still circling the river and bay.
A police spokesperson said they were not worried about injuries at this stage, but rescue efforts were continuing.
While it is not clear which event was affected, the Bellerive Regatta was scheduled for this weekend, with its “Off The Beach” race at 1pm today.
Updated at 00.00 EST
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Sarah Basford Canales
Australian and UK defence unite to work on nuclear-powered submarine
Over in Western Australia, Australian defence personnel are joining with UK counterparts for the first-ever maintenance activity on a UK nuclear-powered submarine in the country.
The HMS Anson will visit for one month and US and UK forces will undertake joint exercises with Australian defence.
Australian personnel have already assisted on maintenance for US Virginia-class submarines, when USS Vermont visited last year and USS Hawaii in 2024.
Celebrating the visit, the defence minister, Richard Marles, said:
double quotation markAustralia’s acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine capability will create jobs, strengthen our local industry and help keep Australians safe. This submarine maintenance period is the latest demonstration of the continued momentum across all three partners to deliver AUKUS.
Victorian bushfire warnings downgraded
Warnings for a fire blazing near Gaffneys Creek in Victoria have been downgraded from “leave immediately” to “do not return”.
The fire is travelling south-east from Gaffneys Creek along German Spur Track towards Woods Point.
VicEmergency had been urging people in the area of A1 Mine Settlement to leave and has now told those who remain that it is not safe to return due to continuing bushfire and tree hazards.
Those who remain have been urged to stay where they are, avoid bushfire and tree hazards and check they have enough food, drinking water and medication.
The Mansfield-Woods Point Road has been closed along the 47-kilometre stretch between Kevington and Woods Point. VicEmergency has warned drivers not to enter the area.
The fire is still out of control and has burned through 1,100 hectares in the heavily forested areas around the A1 Mine settlement since it started on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, warnings for the still-uncontrolled fire blazing near Trawool in the Goulburn Valley have been replaced with advice to stay informed as the threat eases.
Updated at 00.19 EST
Hobart boat race sailors rescued after mass capsizing
The Hobart sailors who were thrown overboard when strong winds blew over their boats have been rescued.
As we reported earlier, strong winds overturned a number of boats on the River Derwent. The boats capsized while racing off Long Beach, Sandy Bay, with race participants thrown into the water.
Bystander boats, marine services, the Westpac rescue helicopter and police helped rescue them, police said. All racers and marine rescue efforts on the River Derwent have now been accounted for, police confirmed, working with the race organiser.
None of the participants were injured, with each being assessed by Ambulance Tasmania, police said. The area was still being searched from water and sky as a precaution.
It’s not clear how many participants there were. The Bellerive regatta yesterday recorded about 100 boats with 300 sailors attending, including more than 40 keelboats at the first race. The regatta had a different off-the-beach event scheduled for 1pm today, as well as the Tasmanian Sabre State Championship.
Updated at 00.13 EST
Thousands of ‘life-threatening’ pharmaceutical poppies stolen from Victorian farm
Thousands of life-threatening toxic poppies have been stolen from a Ballarat farm, prompting a police investigation and public health alert.
Thieves stole about 1,700 poppy plants sometime between 14 and 16 February, police said. Ballarat divisional response unit detectives are investigating.
In Victoria, it is illegal to take, use, sell or grow poppies without a licence from the state government, and entering a poppy crop is prohibited unless accompanied by a licence holder or their employee.
Victoria’s Department of Health warned the stolen poppy plant “heads” were grown for the pharmaceutical industry and were alkaloid poppies, not traditional opioid poppies. The department said in a statement:
double quotation mark[Alkaloid poppies] contain dangerously high concentrations of thebaine and oripavine, with risk of life-threatening toxicity. … Thebaine does not produce pain relief, sedation or euphoria. Thebaine stimulates the nervous system and can lead to seizures, high body temperature, and life-threatening toxicity. Any exposure to thebaine may cause toxicity.
The poppies contained only trace amounts of traditional opioids like morphine and codeine. Naloxone, a medication to respond to opioid overdoses, would not reverse thebaine toxicity, the department warned.
The department said products made from the stolen flowers, such as dried flower heads, ground poppy plant material, or liquid preparations derived from poppy plants, could lead to life-threatening toxicity.
Victoria’s Department of Health warned the stolen poppy plant “heads” were grown for the pharmaceutical industry and were alkaloid poppies, not traditional opioid poppies. Photograph: amomentintime/AlamyShare
Updated at 00.07 EST
Sarah Basford Canales
Liberal spokesperson says good behaviour bonds won’t ‘keep people safe’ from women and children detained in Syria
Continuing with the shadow home affairs minister for a moment, Jonathan Duniam has also suggested a good behaviour bond isn’t enough to keep Australia if any of the 34 women and children stuck in a Syrian detention camp return to the country.
Details of how the lives of the 11 Australian women and 23 children remaining in Roj camp in north-eastern Syria are limited, but the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has offered public assurances that intelligence agencies would flag any risks the group could pose if returned to Australia.
They would not be the first wives, widows and children of slain or jailed Islamic State fighters to return to Australia. Four women and 11 children returned to Australia in 2022, and eight orphaned children were flown to Australia from Syria in 2019.
However, Duniam said:
double quotation markIt’s terrible for anyone in these camps, but again, bringing people back into Australia with a softly, softly approach, which is the one this government is taking, is not in our national interest. And we know, indeed, with those who have been repatriated, who have faced prosecution in the past, the best we got was a good behaviour bond for 25 months.
These are people that went to Syria to support a death cult. A good behaviour bond does not strike me as a strong response or something that will keep people safe.
Updated at 23.33 EST
Sarah Basford Canales
Coalition ‘cannot understand’ why Syrian camp detainees not banned from entering Australia
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathan Duniam, has questioned why only one of the 34 women and children stuck in a Syrian detention camp has been banned from entering the country for up to two years.
In case you’ve not been keeping up, the group of Australians in Syria’s Roj camp – the wives, widows and children of slain or jailed Islamic State fighters – are staring down a deadline as authorities look to close the detention camp. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has said he doesn’t want the group to return and the Australian government is not actively helping them.
However, only one woman from the group has been issued a temporary exclusion order, preventing her return to Australia for up to two years. Under law, an Australian citizen has a right to an Australian passport and Burke says, bar the one woman, intelligence agencies haven’t delivered any information to suggest the other 33 pose a threat.
The opposition is ramping up its attacks on Labor over the issue, eager to score a much-needed political win after months of internal turmoil.
In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Duniam queried why only one woman met the threshold for a temporary ban on entering the country. He said:
double quotation markI cannot understand for the life of me how it is the case that these people somehow aren’t deemed a risk? … only one of them gets a temporary travel ban to come back to Australia. This is not the kind of thing that I think does fill Australians with confidence.
Burke said in an interview this morning the agencies have been monitoring the group for some time and he had “complete confidence” intelligence agencies didn’t have any information gaps.
You can read more here:
ShareBoats overturned in Hobart by strong wind gusts on day of regatta
Police are responding after strong winds blew several boats over on the River Derwent near Hobart.
Tasmania police confirmed they were rescuing people after the boats at a sailing event were overturned by a “large gust of wind”. The Bureau of Meteorology recorded wind gusts of up to 95 km/h in Hobart before 1.20pm.
The Westpac rescue helicopter was also attending, with flight tracking showing it took off from Hobart airport before 1.40pm AEDT and is still circling the river and bay.
A police spokesperson said they were not worried about injuries at this stage, but rescue efforts were continuing.
While it is not clear which event was affected, the Bellerive Regatta was scheduled for this weekend, with its “Off The Beach” race at 1pm today.
Updated at 00.00 EST
Evacuation warning as Victoria bushfire blazes south
Authorities have urged people to leave immediately as a bushfire continues to burn near Gaffneys Creek in Victoria.
The fire is still out of control and has burned through 1,100 hectares in the heavily forested areas around the A1 Mine settlement since it started on Thursday night.
It is travelling south-east from Gaffneys Creek along German Spur Track towards Woods Point. VicEmergency has urged people in the area to leave by travelling south through Woods Point:
double quotation markLeaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous. Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay.
Police are treating the fire as suspicious until proven otherwise and are investigating its causes after reports of ignition points were found.
Fire crews at Gaffneys Creek for asset protection amid concerns the blaze could reach the small town. Photograph: Tolmie CFAShare
Updated at 22.45 EST
‘Humid and unstable airmass’ to bring rain, flooding and thunderstorms across Australia’s east coast
Heavy rain and floods are expected to sweep central and southern Australia, with thunderstorms forecast for parts of every state and territory on Sunday.
Much of South Australia, the Northern Territory and Victoria are facing a drenching, while storms could also hit Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned.
Flood waters at Undoolya Road Bridge in Alice Springs, NT, earlier in February. Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/AAP
Queensland, SA and the NT have already endured a rainy weekend, with one remote community facing its biggest downpour in a decade, thanks to a strengthening tropical low.
The BoM warned that parts of those states could face flooding, blocked roads and rising rivers from Sunday until at least Wednesday, as the weather system connects to a cold front pulling moisture south. Its warning reads:
double quotation mark[This] will combine with a very humid and unstable airmass to produce widespread heavy rainfall and thunderstorms over the north of [SA].
Read the whole story here:
Updated at 00.04 EST
Sydney’s Museum of Chinese in Australia – in pictures
Some photos from the opening of Sydney’s new Museum of Chinese in Australia have come through. Here’s what the event looked like.
Photograph: Sitthixay Ditthavong/AAP
The prime minister met lion dancers performing at the event. You can read about the incredible effort dancers put in for lunar new year in this beautiful piece from Isabella Lee:
Albanese handed out red envelopes as he walked through Haymarket after the opening. Photograph: Sitthixay Ditthavong/AAPThe prime minister made a speech lauding the museum’s important role. Photograph: Sitthixay Ditthavong/AAPShare
Updated at 21.40 EST
Luca Ittimani
Thanks Natasha May and hello readers. I’ll take you through the rest of Sunday’s breaking news.
Natasha May
This is where I’ll hand over to my colleague Luca Ittimani, who’ll see you through the rest of the afternoon.
Updated at 21.16 EST