Australia news LIVE: Another earthquake near Dutton’s Hunter Valley nuclear site; Albanese heckled by protesters

Yet another earthquake has shaken the Upper Hunter community in NSW, where Peter Dutton’s opposition plans to build a nuclear reactor if they form government after the upcoming election, due to be held by May next year.

The 4.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded by Geoscience Australia at 12.12pm today, at a depth of three kilometres and located several kilometres away from the Liddell coal-fired power station, where the opposition intends to build a nuclear plant.

Today’s earthquake is the fourth event over magnitude 4 since August. A 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit Muswellbrook on August 23, damaging homes and businesses.

Four of the opposition’s seven proposed nuclear sites are located near active fault lines: Port Augusta in South Australia, Lithgow in NSW, Collie in Western Australia and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria – an area that has had seven seismic events this year ranging from magnitudes of 2 to 4.3

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien has said that a Coalition government would establish an independent authority to study proposed nuclear sites, which would not proceed if deemed dangerous

WorkSafe is investigating the death of a worker who was crushed by a wind turbine blade in Victoria’s west on Monday.

The 36-year-old man was working on Bells Road in Rokewood, a small rural township in the Golden Plains Shire, when the incident occurred.

A number of blades were believed to have been at ground level, being prepared for a lift, when one of them dislodged from a supporting platform and struck the man, WorkSafe said.

Investigators, technical experts and dedicated renewable energies construction inspectors remained at the site on Tuesday afternoon.

WorkSafe said the death was the 38th confirmed workplace fatality in Victoria for 2024. There were 62 work-related deaths at the same time last year.

Washington: Elon Musk has sought to influence the battle to replace Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, using his new-found clout in Donald Trump’s orbit to try to install a MAGA loyalist to the job.

Ahead of McConnell’s long-awaited retirement when the new US Congress begins in January, Republicans are set to choose a new Senate leader on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) from three contenders: South Dakota senator John Thune, Texas senator John Cornyn and Florida senator Rick Scott.

Trump has yet to publicly declare his preference, as backing a candidate who could end up losing would be an embarrassment for the president-elect. The wait comes as the House of Representatives is projected to remain in Republican hands, giving Trump’s party control of both houses of Congress.

Musk – who spent tens of millions of dollars to help elect Trump – put his weight behind Scott, endorsing the Florida Republican and declaring that the next majority leader “must respond to the will of the people” to implement Trump’s agenda.

Read the full story from Farrah Tomazin here.

Earlier we reported that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had announced a multimillion-dollar plan to improve water quality in Tasmania’s Macquarie Harbour.

The $28 million plan, which includes $21 million to scale up oxygenation to offset the effects of salmon farming on the Maugean skate, has come under fire from industry and environmentalists.

There are an estimated 40 to 120 adult skates left in the wild, according to environmental campaigners, who labelled the prime minister’s announcement as a green light for the polluting salmon industry.

About $5 million of the funding will be invested in skate breeding programs and $2.5 million will go towards monitoring the skate population and compliance in the community.

Conservation group Neighbours of Fish Farming accused the government of pork-barrelling and subsidising the polluting multinational salmon industry.

“The prime minister’s announcement of a $21 million handout to the salmon industry is in flagrant disregard for the science that shows the Maugean skate’s plight is directly linked to the industry’s polluting practices,” vice president Lisa Litjens said.

Tasmanian Industry Minister Eric Abetz welcomed the funding but said it didn’t provide certainty for hundreds of families whose livelihoods rely on the salmon industry.

-AAP

Four foreign nationals have been found on Croker Island in the Northern Territory, the ABC reports.

The Northern Land Council said traditional owners found the men suffering from exhaustion on Monday.

The ABC reports that the men told traditional owners they had paid someone to be taken to Australia.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the incident was further evidence of the Labor government’s failure to protect Australia’s borders.

“It’s clear that the people smugglers believe that they’re back in business,” he said.

“This is now the 23rd boat arrival and it’s another one that’s been undetected – our borders are not secure under the Albanese government.”

Australian Border Force said it does not comment on operational matters.

The Northern Land Council has been contacted for comment.

Anthony Albanese is flying to Peru for a major economic and trading summit amid concerns a Trump presidency could impact Australia’s finances.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit is a non-binding forum dedicated to expanding trade and increasing economic growth.

Australia is working to diversify into India and South-East Asia and away from China after the bruising memory of a years-long trade war with Beijing that impacted tens of billions of dollars of Australian goods.

A ministerial meeting will take place on Thursday before leaders meet on Friday and Saturday.

US President-elect Donald Trump has flagged 10-20 per cent tariffs on imports coming into America, and up to 60 per cent on goods from China, with one estimate finding the tariffs could shave tens of billions of dollars off Australia’s economy.

The prime minister defended the trading relationship with the United States ahead of the summit, saying it was in both countries’ national interest to keep trading with each other.

“We had a terrific discussion last week … he described the relationship that we would have (as) ‘a perfect friendship’,” Albanese said of his phone call to congratulate Trump on his election.

“I’m very confident that the relationship between Australia and the United States will continue to be very strong.”

-AAP

The NSW government has been accused of running a “sham” review of anti-protest laws as it rolls out changes that threaten thousands of dollars in fines for activists who block railways.

The state Labor government will introduce the addition to protest offences ahead of a looming blockade of the Port of Newcastle – the world’s biggest coal port – although the laws will apply across NSW.

If the change passes parliament, a maximum $22,000 fine will apply for blocking a railway or tramway, such as those outside Sydney’s Town Hall, where protesters frequently gather.

The offence already carries the threat of up to two years’ imprisonment, but the legislation does not specify a fine – unlike similar offences for obstructing roads, bridges and major facilities such as ports.

The changes, which were passed with the support of both major parties under the former Coalition government in April 2022, were meant to be reviewed with a report presented to parliament in October.

But Attorney-General Michael Daley was tight-lipped about the late review’s whereabouts on Tuesday, telling reporters it would be “tabled shortly” and released “any minute now”.

Greens MP Kobi Shetty said she feared the report would never be released to the general public.

-AAP

Thank you for tuning into our live blog, my name is Alex Crowe, and I’ll be steering this thing for the afternoon.

Here’s what we’ve learnt so far today: