Australia News Live: Earthquake felt near Melbourne hours after earthquake in Melbourne, Florida | Australia News

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Tamsin Rose

An agreement has been reached to build more than 400 homes in Lismore

More than 400 homes will be built on land in Lismore over the next two years following an agreement between the NSW Reconstruction Authority, Southern Cross University and state-owned property developer Landcom.

This deal is the first of its kind to be concluded as part of the government's $100 million strategy to address the housing crisis in the region two years after floods devastated it.

Prime Minister Chris Means said:

This is something the Northern Rivers community has been waiting for and today is an important step in their recovery. We look forward to working with them to create a new place that people can call home. There is much more to be done but this is an important step in the community's recovery process.

The university's 72 hectares of land, which lies above the “maximum potential flood level”, will be developed into more than 400 homes, including at least 20 percent affordable housing.

Several residential complexes will also be developed for homes that can be moved from areas affected by the floods.

The Ministry of Defense announces the next stage of “Ghost Bat” combat aircraft

Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy is expected today to announce a significant additional investment in the next generation of cooperative fighter aircraft, also known as the Ghost Bat.

It is being developed by Boeing Defense Australia under an Australian government contract, with an investment to date of $600 million.

Eight aircraft have been produced and are undergoing testing. The next phase will see more advanced capabilities added to them and will take them a step closer to operational capability.

A MQ-28A Ghost Bat combat drone at RAAF Amberley, east of Brisbane. Photography: Mick Tsikas/AP

It is the first military combat aircraft to be designed, developed and manufactured in Australia in more than 50 years.

The Albanian Government believes this confirms its commitment to supporting innovation and expertise in the Australian defense industry. More than 55 Australian companies contribute to the Ghost Bat programme, with more than 70% of program expenditure going to Australian industry. The project supports hundreds of highly skilled, well-paid jobs.

The MQ-28A Ghost Bat is designed to serve as a “loyal wingman” for other aircraft such as the Super Hornet or E-7A Wedgetail, as well as the F-35 and P-8 Poseidon.

Emily Wind

Good morning, and thanks to Martin for getting things started this morning. I'm Emily Wind, and I'll be blogging with you today.

See something that needs attention? You can reach me at X or @emilywindwrites or email [email protected].

However, let's get back to that.

Wong says donors “need to trust” UNRWA

There will be more focus on Foreign Minister Penny Wong today after she told ABC Television last night that she did not have full evidence about the alleged involvement of UN agency staff in the October 7 Hamas attack before she halted funding for UNRWA.

But she told the 7:30 program that she had spoken with the agency's head, Philippe Lazzarini, on Wednesday and would request more information from Israel:

We recognize the importance of this organization, which is why we have doubled our core funding, and I spoke to him about the various investigations and investigations that they are doing.

We've talked about ensuring that donors, like Australia, have the confidence to ensure that the truce is lifted because that's important to the people of Gaza and the people of the occupied Palestinian territories.

The main concern is to ensure that other donors, especially those that have not provided their next round of operational funding…that confidence can be achieved before the end of the month.

Read our full story here:

Sarah Basford Canalis

MPs raise 'serious human rights concerns' over detention system

Labour's parliamentary human rights committee has raised “serious human rights concerns” about tough new restrictions imposed by the federal government on people released from immigration detention centres.

The committee indicated in its fourteenth report for the year 2023, which it submitted to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, that the laws issued last November limit a number of human rights.

Under the post-custody system put in place by Labor after the NZYQ Supreme Court ruling, those released must report their locations and connections to authorities, abide by a curfew and wear ankle bracelets for electronic monitoring.

The committee said it would have raised the regime's incompatibility with human rights and international criminal law if it had had the opportunity to review the draft laws before they were quickly introduced and passed within weeks of the court's ruling.

The report said:

The Committee considers that this scheme generally limits the right to equality and non-discrimination, as it applies only to non-citizens and only to those who cannot be removed from Australia. In the Committee's view, these measures have not been shown to be compatible with this right.

Presenting the report on Wednesday, Labor leader and MP Josh Burns said:

All of the bills raise significant human rights concerns, which are detailed in both reports. The Committee draws the attention of Parliament to these human rights concerns; However, since these bills have now become law, the Committee is making no further comment in relation to them.

The Leongatha earthquake was felt in Melbourne

According to Australian Geosciences, a 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck Leongatha in Victoria, 135 kilometers south-east of Melbourne, at 00.49am. The epicenter of the earthquake was at a depth of 8 kilometers.

There were more than 4,000 “feel reports”, many of them in the city of Melbourne, and concentrated in its south-eastern suburbs closest to the epicenter.

But there have been no early reports of damage at the time of writing – a 4.3 isn't that big in the scheme of things, and there are only around 10,000 earthquakes of that size in the world each year.

One of the unique features of this city is its location – because the city of the same name on the other side of the world also felt the earthquake.

According to the US Geological Survey, a 4.0 magnitude earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers, off the coast of Melbourne, Florida, in the United States about 10 hours ago.

As you can imagine, a lot of hilarity and some confusion ensued on social media.

It's weird. I'm in Melbourne, Australia, and we just felt a 4.6 magnitude earthquake. Map below. So don't be confused if you get Australians to respond to this too! https://t.co/FZbLWa22Sh

— 🎶The MuSinGer 🦋 (@TheMuSinger) February 8, 2024

Updated at 15.00 EST

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our ongoing news coverage. I'm Martin Freer with the best stories of the night before my colleague Emily Wind comes to take you along for the day.

First: Thousands of Melbourne residents reported feeling a 4.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred overnight in Leongatha, 135 kilometers southeast of the city. Coincidentally, this happened just hours after an equally powerful earthquake struck Melbourne, Florida, causing some confusion on social media. More on this soon.

In other news, it looks as if Anthony Albanese will put up a real fight to retain the federal seat of Dunkley in three weeks' time tomorrow, with Labor just ahead of the Coalition amid a barrage of negative cost of living attack ads. . According to a uComms Australia Institute poll published today, Labor is leading in the Victorian by-election seat of Dunkley – but only by a margin of 52% to 48%, far less than its 56-44 lead in the 2022 election. . Attack ads paid for by right-wing pressure group Advance Australia target price hikes and the release of “pedophiles” from detention as “in Albo… us against them”.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she did not have all the evidence about serious allegations involving a key UN agency providing aid to Gaza before deciding to halt funding. Wong told ABC on Thursday evening that she had spoken with Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, and was working to end the suspension, including by obtaining more information about the allegations from the agency and from the Israeli government. Labor MP Josh Wilson defected from the government, condemning the Israeli bombing of Gaza as “unconscionable.” More on that too.

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