Australia news live: two dead bodies found by police divers after car crash into NSW river; ASX hits historic high | Australia news

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Two dead after fuel tanker and transport truck collide head-on north of Brisbane

Two men have died in a catastrophic truck crash after a fuel tanker and another heavy vehicle burst into flames on a major highway, AAP reports.

Emergency services attended the D’Aguilar Highway at Nukku, north-west of Brisbane, before 6am on Thursday after reports the tanker and a heavy rigid transport truck were involved in a head-on smash.

Both drivers – men aged in their 30s and 50s – sustained critical injuries and were treated by paramedics, but died at the scene. Reports have suggested the vehicles burst into “incredible flames” upon the collision.

Up to 13 fire crews attended the scene. A 1km exclusion zone boundary has been established, encompassing the D’Aguilar Highway, the northern end of Nukku Rd and southern end of Nukku Boundary Rd.

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NSW estimates hears patient ‘fears that he will die’ if he returns to Blacktown hospital – video

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That’s all from me, thanks for sticking with us. Josh Taylor will take things over from here. Take care.

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Allegra Spender’s One Big Idea: Australians could keep more of their wages if we rebalanced taxes on other forms of income

Independent MP Allegra Spender has one big idea during the ongoing economic roundtable that she shared with Guardian Australia: A dual-income system that would encourage people to invest in themselves while reducing incentives to split or reclassify income to exploit lower tax rates.

Read more here:

Allegra Spender. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareNSW police find two bodies after car crashes into river north of Sydney

Police have located two bodies during their search for two men who went missing when a car crashed into a river north of Sydney just before midnight last night.

NSW Police said emergency divers began a search of the area, about 20km north of Wisemans Ferry, earlier today and found the missing vehicle at about 11.20am. Further searches led to the discovery of the bodies, which have not been formally identified.

Another man, 24, was able to escape the vehicle last night. He did not require treatment by paramedics.

Police said earlier they believed the trio were a father and his two sons.

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Updated at 00.42 EDT

NSW SES urge communities that may be isolated by flooding to stay up-to-date on alerts

ShareASX200 hits a record 9,000 points as Australian share market surges

The Australian share market has hit a historic high as companies report strong profits and falling interest rates boost confidence in the economy.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index surpassed 9,000 points for the first time on Thursday, after the combined value of Australia’s 200 biggest share market-listed companies rose nearly $30bn this morning.

ANZ is holding at a market value of more than $100bn, a record it briefly hit for the first time yesterday. NAB is also at a record high capitalisation of $130bn, with rising bank share prices among those pushing the index over the line.

Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Miners led the growth on Thursday, while market darling CSL has begun to claw back ground after a shock restructure announcement dashed its stock price back to 2019 levels.

The index surpassed 7,000 points at the start of 2020 before the pandemic wiped a third of the market’s value. It took until July 2024 to surpass 8,000 points, and just over a year later has hit 9,000.

The broader All Ordinaries index, which captures the 500 biggest publicly listed companies, surpassed 9,000 points in July and is now sitting at more than 9,250 – it’s climbed a little faster than the ASX200 has in the last year.

The ASX200 held above 9,000 points for an hour just after midday and has since slipped to 8,993. We’ll be monitoring and will update readers when markets close at 4pm.

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Updated at 00.26 EDT

Flood rescue pictures emerge from south-west Sydney

We have some images from a flood rescue earlier today. Crews from NSW Police, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Ambulance and NSW Rural Fire Service all assisted a multi agency effort led by the NSW SES.

We reported earlier on this rescue, in Douglas Park, south-west of Sydney. A man attempted to drive through flood waters, which reached the headlights of his vehicle before he was trapped.

The driver was rescued and is unharmed.

This morning NSW SES crews led a multi agency rescue on Douglas Park causeway in Wollondilly. Photograph: Rural Fire Service Photograph: Rural Fire ServiceShare

Updated at 00.28 EDT

Penry Buckley

$50m fund for mid-north coast and Hunter flood victims

This week’s flood risk follows several major rainfall events this year, including floods in May which devastated the mid-north coast and Hunter Valley, claiming the lives of five people.

It coincides with the announcement of a $50m housing support package for those affected by the May floods by the NSW and federal governments.

The funding includes provision for caravans and self-contained pod homes for residents whose homes were uninsured or uninhabitable, allowing them to stay on their property during repairs.

In a “first for flood recovery”, support is also being given to renters, with one-off grants to support those facing financial hardship to relocate.

This photo from May shows flooded areas near the NSW town of Taree. Photograph: New South Wales police/AFP/Getty ImagesShare

Updated at 00.05 EDT

Whitehaven Coal CEO promises investors ‘bright future’ after profit pressure

Whitehaven Coal has recorded surging revenue – and emissions – after taking over two mines in Queensland, telling investors rising coal demand will support further expansion.

The new mines saw coal production rise to 39 megatonnes in the year to June, up from 24.5Mt the previous year, though falling coal prices meant revenue overall only rose from $3.8bn to $5.8bn and went backwards for Whitehaven’s New South Wales operations.

Production costs also surged, halving annual underlying profits to $319m and cutting the year’s total dividend to 15c per share, down from 20c over 2023-24.

Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

The share price slipped 3% after the company’s annual report was published this morning but recovered after an investor call where Paul Flynn, Whitehaven’s managing director and chief executive, told investors rising Chinese demand was set to boost sales, prices and profit margins:

These scenarios just point to a bright future.

The chief financial officer, Kevin Ball, told investors Whitehaven hoped to “under-promise and overdeliver” on its projections of lower costs and slightly lower production, with rain the only bad news on the horizon.

Unmentioned in the call was the surge in Whitehaven emissions in its first full year of operating the two Queensland mines, up from 1.3Mt carbon dioxide-equivalent to 2.2Mt CO2-e combined scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.

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Updated at 23.51 EDT

CommBank home loan applications soar after rate cuts

Commonwealth Bank has reported a surge in hopeful homebuyers looking for loans after interest rate cuts, which have together boosted a $200,000-income household’s borrowing capacity to over $1m.

The Reserve Bank’s first two rate cuts in February and May delivered CBA a 12% jump in pre-approval applications in June and July, compared to the same two months in 2024. First home buyers have been squeezed out by surging prices but kept pace, with an 11% jump.

Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

New South Wales and Queensland saw outsized jumps in applications, up 25% and 16% respectively, while Victorian interest stayed relatively flat, CBA said.

Pre-approval applications point forward to more home loans and purchases. The first half of 2025, including the first two rate cuts, saw CBA home loans rise 2%, according to its mid-year report.

With a third cut in August, variable home loan rates around the country have fallen by about 0.75% on average, which CBA calculates has increased borrowing capacity by about 7%. That allows households with $150,000 to now borrow an extra $40,000, while a combined $200,000 income’s loan size has leapt $66,000 to over $1m.

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Updated at 00.15 EDT

Midwifery numbers won’t be cut but discussions at RPA ongoing, NSW minister says

The NSW health minister, Ryan Park, has promised no midwifery jobs in the state will be lost despite workforce planning at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital threatening to cut 20 full-time roles.

After protests in July, the proposed cuts were paused. Animal Justice Party MLC Emma Hurst told NSW budget estimates the community still hadn’t been provided with any updates since then, and asked the minister if he was able provide an update on whether those midwifery staff cuts will go ahead.

Park replied:

I want to be very clear on this, no jobs will be lost as a result of that workforce planning. But those discussions are still taking place and are ongoing …

So no intention to make any cuts in relation to midwifery numbers. What I’ve got to do is make sure that we will deliver those midwifery, maternal, antenatal, postnatal, birthing services where people are having children. So obviously, there are parts of our state where we have big population growth and … therefore women are having more births than in other parts of the state.

The Royal Prince Alfred hospital in Sydney. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAPShare

Updated at 23.26 EDT

Lehrmann appeal adjourns for early lunch break after judge rejects requests from his lawyer to end day early

Bruce Lehrmann’s federal court appeal has adjourned for an early lunch break after multiple requests from his lawyer for the court to finish for the day.

As she rose to begin her scheduled reply, Zali Burrows repeatedly asked the full federal court to adjourn for the day, saying she needs further time to address matters that arose yesterday. Burrows said:

I’m instructed that there’s been some assertions made in respect to the transcript which may not be correct. We need this time to check this as well.

Burrows says “quite a few matters” arose yesterday afternoon which she wants to address.

But Justice Michael Wigney said the court was “inclined” for her to commence her reply immediately. He says nothing that occurred this morning could affect her ability to respond to the proper appeal, not the qualified privilege matter.

We recognise the difficult position you’re in but really it’s important that this matter be concluded as soon as possible and certainly within the three days allocated.

Burrows began her reply by asking for clarification about a question Justice Craig Colvin asked on Wednesday about a ground in Lehrmann’s appeal.

Barrows said her client was challenging Justice Michael Lee’s “underlying findings” in his April 2024 judgment.

Asked by Justice Michael Wigney what “underlying findings” Burrows challenged, she said there were “a few” and she wanted to address this later.

Wigney said this was a “central issue” in the appeal and asked if Burrows understood the reference to the “underlying facts”. He said it was not apparent from Burrows’ written submission that she challenged any of these facts.

Wigney then agreed to Burrows’ request for an early lunch break and said the federal court would adjourn until 2.15pm.

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Updated at 23.05 EDT

Man rescued from flood waters south-west of Sydney

Penry Buckley

Platz says rescue operations have included the search for two men who are missing after a car drove into the Macdonald River near St Albans, north of Sydney, as we reported earlier.

They also include the rescue of a man at Douglas Park, south-west of Sydney, earlier this morning.

In this particular instance, a man was travelling through some flooded waters. The water had reached the headlights of his vehicle, and New South Wales SES volunteers attended and were able to rescue him through a tethered approach.

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Updated at 23.07 EDT

Penry Buckley

NSW SES responds to more incidents as roads close and communities watch flood advisories

The NSW SES and the Bureau of Meteorology are giving a joint press conference about the flood risk from today’s continued heavy rainfall.

NSW SES assistant deputy commissioner Debbie Platz said the SES has now responded to more than 500 incidents, including five flood rescues.

Platz said the weather system is now affecting “most of the east coast of NSW and into the north-west area of the state”.

We are starting now to see road closures across many parts of NSW, and these road closures are going to cause isolation to many communities. So again, we urge everybody in NSW, in these impacted areas, to monitor our website very closely to see what is going to impact you.

Photograph: Steve Markham/AAPShare

Updated at 23.03 EDT

Pocock says ANU’s leadership has taken ‘sledgehammer’ to the university

Pocock accused the ANU’s management of taking a “sledgehammer” to the institution. Addressing the rally, Pocock said he would “continue to fight” alongside students and staff to push for change:

We have to continue to push for better governance, for more transparency, and for a way forward that actually takes into account the students and staff here and the very people who have built this university …

It’s been really hard to watch the way that council and senior leadership have gone about the so-called proposals, and the way that they’ve taken a sledgehammer to this university.

Earlier this month, Pocock called for ANU’s chancellor, Julie Bishop, to step aside until an ongoing review by the regulator into the university council’s culture and oversight of its financial position was completed.

Photograph: AAP

A spokesperson for ANU said it acknowledged implementing widespread change was “significant to our operations, our services, and most critically of all, our people and the fabric of our campus” but did not comment on requests for Bishop to step aside.

All future changes under Renew ANU will be achieved without involuntary redundancies, and no further change plans will be released in 2025. We know this period of transformation hasn’t been easy and we thank and acknowledge the work and dedication of our community to support ANU during this time of change.

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Updated at 22.52 EDT

David Pocock fronting student-led rally at ANU against job cuts

Independent senator for the ACT, David Pocock, is fronting a student-led rally at the Australian National University ANU today protesting against job cuts and ongoing restructuring at the embattled institution.

The protest, which kicked off at 11am on ANU’s Kambri Lawns, comes after the university announced on Wednesday there would be no further involuntary redundancies as management seeks to find $250m in annual savings. Students will be calling for ANU to cease going ahead with the existing proposed job cuts, estimated at about 130 by the National Tertiary Education Union, and for the government to commit to more funding for higher education.

David Pocock. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Last month, about 100 students gathered to protest against the proposed changes, which include the disestablishment of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, the Centre for European studies, the Humanities Research Centre and the ANU School of Music.

A spokesperson for ANU said they knew it had been a “challenging period of change” in the community and implementing “change of this scale is significant to our operations, our services, and most critically of all, our people and the fabric of our campus”.

The university has reached an important milestone by achieving $59.9m in savings to date towards the salary reduction target of $100m. This brings us a step closer to returning the university to a financially sustainable footing.

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Updated at 22.43 EDT

‘This is not question time’: Chalmers clashes with O’Brien at economic reform summit

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the Coalition frontbencher Ted O’Brien have clashed at the government’s economic reform roundtable, in a debate about Labor’s spending commitments in the federal budget.

Thursday is the final day of the roundtable event, and discussions are focused on budget sustainability and tax reform. Speakers including Treasury boss, Jenny Wilkinson, and the Grattan Institute chief executive, Aruna Sathanapally, are addressing the meeting.

Outside the cabinet room, O’Brien said he told Chalmers should set spending limits for the new parliamentary term, and stop adding to the budget deficit:

I set a test for the treasurer today to stop the spending spree, which starts with the introduction of quantifiable fiscal rules.

O’Brien did not elaborate on the debate but participants said the back and forth was heated, before Chalmers told O’Brien “this is not question time”.

The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, intervened in the back and forth and suggested the meeting should return to possible reform options going forward.

Speaking during a break in the roundtable, the ACTU secretary, Sally McManus, said participants wanted Chalmers and O’Brien to stick to the meeting agenda and avoid a political fight in the cabinet room. She said that behaviour was better suited to parliament:

There was a bit of a political exchange that went on that felt a bit like question time.

It was like, ‘OK, guys, you can do that in question time, the rest of us here don’t really get to do that’.

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Updated at 22.24 EDT