Four more Australians confirmed safe in Nepal‑Tibet flood disaster

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Topic: Government and Politics

Four more Australians have been confirmed safe after the Nepal‑Tibet flood, and the number of missing Australians is now 38.

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Key Event

By Courtney Gould

Four more Australians have been confirmed safe in the Nepal‑Tibet flood disaster.

Thirty‑eight Australians are still missing. Five people have been found safe since yesterday morning – one in Nepal, one in China and three elsewhere.

The ABC says the people who are safe today have not spoken to their families since the disaster, so their wellbeing was not known at first.

A Royal Australian Air Force plane carrying aid supplies left yesterday and will reach Nepal at 10 am local time today.

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Key Events

By Courtney Gould

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is talking to reporters about the latest national accounts data.

Australia's economy grew 0.4 % in the June quarter and 2.1 % over the past year.

Chalmers calls this a “robust result” despite tough international conditions.

“The Australian economy is strong; it can handle global uncertainty and conflict,” he says.

He says the war in the Middle East still shows its effects.

By Courtney Gould

Australia's economy grew 0.4 % in the June quarter, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest national accounts data.

The economy grew 2.1 % over the past year, a little more than economists expected.

Our friends at the ABC business blog will look at the numbers more closely. You can follow the link below.

By Stephen Dziedzic

Fiji's foreign minister hopes Pacific leaders will back a new plan to fight drug smuggling at a meeting in Palau.

The federal government will announce a $600 million pledge today as part of a regional plan called “Waqa Moana”, which aims to stop illegal drugs moving through the region.

Leaders are expected to support the plan today, and Fiji Foreign Minister Sakiasi Raisevu Ditoka said he hopes it will be approved.

“I think all Pacific leaders would like that,” he said.

“It is a huge problem for our communities, and we hope we can work together to fix it.”

Analysts say they need more detail before judging the plan, but wonder if the new funding will be enough to challenge well‑funded drug syndicates.

By Stephen Dziedzic

Fiji's foreign minister listed the countries that will attend a special pre‑COP leaders meeting in Tuvalu.

There has been political debate in Australia about co‑hosting the meeting with the Pacific Island nation, alongside the usual pre‑COP talks that will be held in Fiji this year.

But the government and Pacific nations have found it hard to convince world leaders to travel there.

Sakiasi Ditoka said so far Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde, Thailand, Maldives and Timor‑Leste have agreed to send leaders, and he hopes more will join.

Germany, Mexico and South Korea will also send ministers.

That list is unlikely to stop political criticism of the event in Australia.

The government says the event will show leaders the dangers climate change brings to low‑lying Pacific islands and push for stronger global action.

But Antigua and Barbuda, Cabo Verde, Maldives and Timor‑Leste are not major polluters and do not need reminding of climate risks.

By Clare Armstrong

Consent advocate Chanel Contos is urging the government to make social‑media feeds opt‑in, saying it is too easy for tech giants to bypass weak reforms.

Contos will argue that harmful algorithms expose young people to misogynistic “manosphere” content and increase sexual violence in Australia, in a speech at the National Press Club on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese supports giving Australians more control over online content but does not fully back Contos’s opt‑in model.

In a speech seen by the ABC, Contos says an opt‑out system for algorithms would be a “first step” and thanks the government for addressing the issue.

Read more at the link below.

By Courtney Gould

Anthony Albanese is spending his morning meeting leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum.

First was Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. The prime minister’s office confirmed direct Qantas flights to Palau will be extended.

Qantas will run two weekly flights between Brisbane and Koror in peak season and keep the service until November 2027.

The service, called the Palau Paradise Express, is an agreement between the federal government and Qantas.

The government says more than 15,400 passengers have travelled to Palau since the scheme began in 2024.

By Lexie Jeuniewic

Housing Minister Clare O’Neil says house prices are clearly softening, as the Commonwealth Bank warns Australia’s housing downturn is deepening.

In August, national dwelling prices fell 0.9 % – the fifth month in a row – according to property data firm Cotality.

That weakness led CommBank economists to cut their housing forecasts yesterday, expecting national prices to fall about 9 % from their peak this cycle.

O’Neil told Seven that the housing market moves in cycles.

“House prices are clearly softening across the country, and I know many Australians see their home as their biggest asset,” she said.

“The CommBank report also shows prices will rise again, and the bank expects that to happen sometime next year.”

CommBank forecasts prices will stabilise and start to recover in 2027, but expects only a modest bounce.

“National dwelling prices are expected to rise about 2 % in 2027, partly because CommBank thinks the RBA will cut rates in May and August next year.”

By Courtney Gould

A diplomatic row over Taiwan’s increased presence at the Pacific Islands Forum has clouded the early stages of the gathering in Palau.

China said it was worried about Taiwan’s role at the leaders’ meeting.

But Pacific Islands Minister Pat Conroy defended Taiwan’s participation at the forum.

“The PIF confirmed in 1992 that Taiwan can attend as a development partner while China attends as a dialogue partner,” Conroy told ABC Radio National Breakfast.

“That consensus has existed since 1992. It was confirmed last year and Australia supports it.”

By Courtney Gould

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg says “no‑one wants to buy anything in Australia at the moment” as house prices fall.

Property data firm Cotality found prices fell in almost every capital city in August, marking the fifth month of decline.

Bragg blames the government’s changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.

“If anyone tries to dress up these terrible tax changes as helpful, they need a new brain. These new taxes actually help no one,” he said.

The shadow housing spokesperson says the only way to fix the supply crisis is to “build out of it”, but without money builders will not build new homes.

By Courtney Gould

Australia will offer up to $600 million to help fight drug trafficking across the Pacific.

As Stephen Dziedzic reported this morning, the government will spend more on aerial surveillance in the Pacific and add training and support for police.

Pat Conroy told ABC Radio National Breakfast that drug demand in Australia and New Zealand is driving more sophisticated trafficking.

“In 2025, five and a half tonnes of illegal drugs were seized. In 2026 alone, more than 17 tonnes were seized,” he said.

“This is a very challenging issue for the region, and Australia is stepping up to support the strong call from leaders made last year.”

Key Event

By Courtney Gould

Pat Conroy is in Palau with the prime minister for the Pacific Islands Forum.

The annual meeting started shakily after several Pacific leaders chose to skip the event. Conroy, the Pacific Islands minister, says that is not unusual.

Solomon Islands PM Matthew Wale was briefly in Koror before returning to Honiara to deal with a no‑confidence motion.

Meanwhile Kiribati President Taneti Maamau, Samoa Prime Minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt and Vanuatu Prime Minister Jotham Napat are also not attending.

Conroy told ABC Radio National Breakfast it is “rare” for every leader to attend each forum, noting that the last time Palau hosted, only eight leaders came.

“We now have 12 leaders present,” he said, adding that most absent leaders are still represented at high levels.

By Courtney Gould

Labor frontbencher Pat Conroy welcomed the news that four Australians have been confirmed safe in the Nepal‑Tibet flood disaster.

But the government is “very concerned” about the 38 people still missing.

“Having five citizens confirmed safe is great news for those families and reduces the number of missing Australians to 38,” he told ABC Radio National Breakfast.

“We are very concerned about the safety of the 38 who have not had contact with their families since the disaster struck.

We are focused on finding them and supporting their families … and helping the people of Nepal in these tragic circumstances.”

By Courtney Gould

Allegra Spender, an independent MP, also pushes for an “opt‑in” algorithm so harmful content can be turned off.

The Wentworth MP told ABC AM that the government is already looking at a digital duty of care and should consider this as part of the wider issue.

“Algorithms as they run now can show content that harms our community,” she said.

She said she does not want this to become a political fight, but something that unites parliament.

“This is about simply doing the right thing.”

Key Event

By Courtney Gould

The “feminisation” of school curricula and a lack of male role models has been named by Nationals leader Matt Canavan as why young boys turn to the online manosphere.

Consent advocate Chanel Contos will speak at the National Press Club today to call for an “opt‑in” model for social‑media algorithms, which she says will disrupt the manosphere.

Canavan, a father of four boys, says the nation must take a “deep hard look” at what pushes young men toward misogynistic online content.

He suggests the “big reason” is that “they are sick and tired of getting lectures about how bad men are at school” and calls for more male teachers as role models.

“So they go elsewhere. They are fed up with the feminisation of our curriculum and the lack of direction and leadership they receive,” he told Nine.

“Maybe we should get more male teachers in. That used to be an agenda, I don’t know what happened to it. But maybe we should have more male role models in schools.”

“I know young boys often feel they get no instruction or leadership. They are not valued there.”

Key Event

By Stephen Dziedzic

The federal government is expected to put $600 million into a new Pacific plan to stop the rise of drug smuggling into the region, including Australia.

It comes as leaders deal with increasingly sophisticated criminal cartels moving cocaine and meth into the country.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will announce the investment at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau today, as leaders prepare to back the “Waqa Moana” initiative to boost surveillance of the vast Pacific Ocean, helping authorities intercept smuggling vessels and so‑called narco‑subs.

The new funding – spread over several years – will see Australia spend more on aerial surveillance across the Pacific, plus extra training and support for regional police.

The plan also aims to improve police coordination across the Pacific to fight the trade, and to strengthen Australian Federal Police cooperation with South and Central American countries to target drug sources.

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