Australia news LIVE: Cyclone Alfred throws election date into doubt; PM subtly sledges Dutton’s public service cuts​on March 7, 2025 at 5:01 am

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan’s chief political adviser Matt Phelan will vacate the role 18 months after being hired in one of the first major shake-ups of her office since coming to power.

Phelan replaced Daniel Andrews’ chief of staff, Lissie Ratcliffe, after the former premier stepped down and Allan was elevated to lead the state.

Before that, he had a senior management role within the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He worked for a short time as a Herald Sun journalist before becoming a public transport bureaucrat.

He told staff on Friday afternoon that he was departing the chief of staff role, which is responsible for managing the premier’s private office and leading the implementation of the government’s agenda.

Phelan indicated he wanted to spend more time with his family, including three children, and the demands of the job had not allowed this.

The departure comes as the Allan government has been facing a difficult period in opinion polls, with the latest Resolve Political Monitor putting the state party’s primary vote at a record low of 22 per cent.

Five sources, speaking anonymously to detail private conversations, told The Age that had been growing internal disquiet about the Premier’s private office, prompting a push to overhaul its operations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ahead of talks later in the week with US officials.

“Next week, on Monday my visit to Saudi Arabia is planned to meet the crown prince,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“After that, my team will remain in Saudi Arabia to work with our American partners. Ukraine is most interested in peace.”

US President Donald Trump said on Friday he will go to Saudi Arabia probably over the next month and a half.

His special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said he was in discussions with Ukraine for a peace agreement framework to end the three-year war with Russia and a meeting was planned next week with the Ukrainians in Saudi Arabia.

Reuters

The disease outbreak killing salmon in Tasmanian fish farms previously reported by this masthead has reached truly epic proportions.

The Tasmania Environment Protection Authority has described this summer’s salmon mortality event in the south-east of the island state as “unprecedented”.

Facilities such as landfill sites authorised to take dead salmon have already accepted 5500 tonnes in February alone. To put that in perspective, the entire industry around the state normally produces 75,000 tonnes of salmon a year, government figures show.

The EPA said it had been notified of elevated salmon deaths in hundreds of pens in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel region alone, marking a “significant increase” from previous years. Each pen can contain up to 100,000 fish and while deaths regularly occur, especially when the ocean temperatures are high, aquaculture companies must report to the EPA if more than 5-10 per cent of the fish die.

The EPA is investigating how congealed fish oil washed up on shorelines in the southern D’Entrecasteaux Channel area, an event reported by residents of Verona Sands on February 16.
Tasmania’s Chief Veterinary Officer has advised the salmon deaths are largely caused by an endemic bacterium, with recent testing detecting the bacterium known as Piscirickettsia salmonis (P. salmonis).

Circling back to our earlier reporting of concerns about the Coalition’s commitment to funding the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), we thought we’d bring you the full quotes from Deputy Nationals Leader Perin Davey on the issue.

In a radio interview early this morning, Davey, who is the opposition spokeswoman for emergency management, would not rule out cutting jobs at NEMA if the Coalition forms government.

A major policy platform led by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is a pledge to cut the number of staff employed under the APS. NEMA was established in 2022 by the Albanese government.

Asked on 4BC radio early this morning whether the agency – which has been handling the federal response to Tropical Cyclone Alfred – would be out of the firing line, Davey refused to confirm.

“We’re still very much going through the process of looking at where the Labor government have added new public servants and where there may be redundancies,” she said.

“I’m not going to pre-empt any of that work [but] the National Emergency Management Agency does incredibly important work.”

Comments from ALP president Wayne Swan this morning about the immediate threat of Tropical Cyclone Alfred possibly subsiding have caused a bit of a stir, with the PM stepping in to contradict the former treasurer.

Swan spoke on Nine’s Today this morning from his home in Brisbane, where he noted the cyclone was heading north, commenting that “maybe the immediate threat to Brisbane is no longer there.”

Asked about the possibility the election could be called on Sunday or Monday, Swan said, “we’ve got to have one in the next couple of months. So it’s not an option not to have one”, before adding that the date would all depend on the cyclone.

Swan continued: “As you’ve seen this morning, it’s turned north now. So it could be a matter of days before we know how it goes. It could strengthen. Although the forecasts this morning are suggesting that it’s weakening. So, we’ve just got to see what the weather does. We’re in the hands of a very unpredictable bunch of circumstances here.”

The PM was asked about Swan’s comments in a press conference in Canberra. He replied that this was a “serious event”.

“What we need to do is hope for the best but prepare for the worst … This is already having an impact. And the impact with the slowing of Cyclone Alfred in its journey westward to the coast, we should not think that slower means better.”

Australians should be able to know why targeted sanctions are being levelled against malicious actors and there should be humanitarian exemptions, a Labor-chaired committee has found.

A review of Australia’s sanctions recommended that the federal government include detailed reasoning when listing sanctions; the foreign minister delivers an annual report to parliament, and exemptions for legitimate humanitarian assistance are in line with a UN Security Council resolution.

Laws should be expanded to include “threats to international peace and security” and “serious violations of international humanitarian law” as criteria, it recommended.

The autonomous sanctions regime allows the federal government to impose economic restrictions and travel bans on people and countries that exhibit egregious behaviour of international concern, including human rights abuses.

Contravening sanctions carries up to 10 years in prison and substantial fines.

AAP

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has avoided directly attacking Opposition Leader Peter Dutton after he briefly left his Brisbane electorate to attend a fundraising event at a Sydney mansion on Tuesday.

“Well, that is a matter for him. I did see his comments about my responsibilities. But that’s a matter for him. He can comment on his own responsibilities. I am fulfilling mine,” Albanese said.

Later asked to respond to Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley attacking Labor for sending out an invitation for a fundraising event in late March, Albanese criticised the opposition for failing to be bipartisan in the face of a natural disaster.

As speculation that the election could be called this weekend continues, the PM confirmed if the writs are issued for the poll, he can still legally get money out of the door for the response to Cyclone Alfred.

But as he has done all week, the prime minister gave no hint on whether he would delay calling the election because of the storm.

“Yes, governments can continue. But I’m not concerned about that. What we’re concerned about is responding here,” he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has opened his update on Cyclone Alfred by making a small dig at Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s policy platform to reduce the size of the public service.

Speaking from the National Emergency Management Agency’s situation room in Canberra, Albanese said the work of disaster experts was an example of a functioning public service.

“This is an example of the public service and what they do, and the increased staff here are making a difference in people’s lives,” he said.

The Coalition has consistently criticised the growth in the public service workforce under the Labor government. NEMA was founded by the Albanese government in 2022.

“I thank everyone for their diligence for their commitment, for their professionalism, and most importantly, for their passion in what they’re doing,” Albanese said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke from the National Situation Room in Canberra this morning to provide an update on Tropical Cyclone Alfred, and address other news of the day.

For rolling updates on TC Alfred, head to the dedicated blog here. Meanwhile, in this blog, we’ll bring you any political news from the presser.

Watch here: