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The $123m street in the path of nature's fury

The $123m street in the path of nature's fury

If owning a home is the great Australian dream, owning a beachfront property is the ultimate homeowner fantasy. But increasingly, weather events such as the 'bomb cyclone' that lashed NSW this week are raising doubts about the safety of beachfront properties, not only in terms of lives, but as an investment.
Take the string of coastal properties in the NSW Central Coast seaside town of Wamberal, forced to evacuate in response to the week's wild weather. Collectively, the properties are worth about $123 million, or an average of about $5.5 million each. The median price in the town has increased 56.5 per cent since 2020, according to data from online property group Domain.
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EDITORIAL: After making good with China, Anthony Albanese must salvage the US relationship
EDITORIAL: After making good with China, Anthony Albanese must salvage the US relationship

West Australian

time4 hours ago

  • West Australian

EDITORIAL: After making good with China, Anthony Albanese must salvage the US relationship

That Anthony Albanese has managed to reset Australia's relationship with China is perhaps the great achievement of his prime ministership to date. It's worth reminding oneself just how bad things were between us and our largest trading partner just a few short years ago. Huge tariffs on agricultural products including barley, wine and cotton squeezed profit margins. De facto bans on beef, lobster and timber hit affected businesses hard. Coal exports to China fell from $13.7 billion in 2019 to virtually nothing the following year. Chinese ministers weren't taking taking calls from their Australian counterparts. When Mr Albanese eventually met with President Xi Jinping in Beijing in 2023, it ended a seven-year stint in the diplomatic deep freeze. Fast forward to 2025 and things are decidedly warmer. Trade again flows across borders unimpeded by tariffs. That has been welcome news for Australian exporters who have regained access to a hungry market and to Australians more broadly as benefits flow through the economy. Things aren't all rosy: China has shown it is still keen to flex its military muscles through ostentatious displays of strength. However relations at a ministerial level are vastly improved. Mr Albanese heads back to China on Saturday where he is expected to meet with President Xi for the fourth time. On the agenda will be a welcome conversation about broadened trade opportunities. However the Prime Minister's abundance of face time with President Xi brings into stark relief Australia's fraying relationship with the United States. Mr Albanese is yet to meet with Donald Trump, seven months after his inauguration as US President. And there is plenty the pair need to discuss. The 50 per cent tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium exports and 10 per cent tariffs on everything else. The Pentagon's 'review' of the AUKUS defence deal on which Australia has pinned its security hopes. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's demands that Australia dramatically increase its military budget. While our relations with the US — our most important strategic ally — are undoubtedly at their lowest ebb in recent memory, they haven't hit the crisis point of our dealings with China. But it is close. Mr Albanese says he will keep trying to convince Mr Trump to carve out an exemption for Australian exporters. But he has also been quick to stress that the 10 per cent tariff on most Australian goods is equal to the best deal extended to any nation as Mr Trump pursues his isolationist trade agenda. In other words: don't hold your breath waiting for a better outcome. Mr Albanese and his ministers need to apply the same diplomatic dexterity used to rebuild Australia's relations with China to the ailing US relationship. The Chinese example shows that it can be done, without kowtowing or major concessions. Responsibility for the editorial comment is taken by Editor-in-Chief Christopher Dore.

Volcanic ash blankets villages near Indonesian volcano
Volcanic ash blankets villages near Indonesian volcano

The Advertiser

time7 hours ago

  • The Advertiser

Volcanic ash blankets villages near Indonesian volcano

Residents are wearing masks to protect themselves from thick volcanic ash that has blanketed roads and green rice fields in Indonesia as rumbling Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupts for a second straight day. The eruption at dawn on Tuesday sent lava and clouds of ash up to 4km high. That followed an eruption on Monday that sent a column of volcanic materials up to 18km into the sky and an evening burst that spewed lava and send volcanic ash as high as 13km into the air. Photos and videos circulating on social media showed terrified residents ran for their lives under the rain of ash and gravel and motorists struggled to drive motorbikes and cars in the reduced visibility as the ash clouds from Monday's eruption expanded into a mushroom shape. No casualties have been reported from the latest eruptions of the volcano that has been at the highest alert level since June 18 when its no-go zone was expanded to a 7km radius, said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson. "People around the volcano have increasingly understood how to minimise the impact of disaster risks as eruptions became more frequent since the end of 2023," Muhari said in a statement. The eruptions of the volcano on Flores Island affected more than 10,000 people in 10 villages in East Flores and Sikka districts, according to the local disaster management agency. Thick volcanic ash and rocks were reported to have fallen in villages of Nawakote, Klantanio, Hokeng Jaya, Boru, Pululera and Wulanggitang, where roads and green rice fields were transformed into grey thick mud and rocks. Authorities distributed 50,000 masks and urged residents to limit outdoor activities to protect themselves from volcanic materials. The eruption of Lewotobi Laki Laki followed its eruption in November 2024 that killed nine people and injured dozens. Muhari said two airports in the cities of Maumere and Larantuka in East Nusa Tenggara province remained closed on Tuesday. Dozens of flights to and from the Ngurah Rai international airport on the resort island of Bali were delayed or cancelled since Monday's eruption, including from Australian carriers Virgin Australia and Jetstar, but airport spokesperson Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said the airport was running normally as monitoring showed the volcanic ash had not affected Bali's airspace. Indonesia has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. Residents are wearing masks to protect themselves from thick volcanic ash that has blanketed roads and green rice fields in Indonesia as rumbling Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupts for a second straight day. The eruption at dawn on Tuesday sent lava and clouds of ash up to 4km high. That followed an eruption on Monday that sent a column of volcanic materials up to 18km into the sky and an evening burst that spewed lava and send volcanic ash as high as 13km into the air. Photos and videos circulating on social media showed terrified residents ran for their lives under the rain of ash and gravel and motorists struggled to drive motorbikes and cars in the reduced visibility as the ash clouds from Monday's eruption expanded into a mushroom shape. No casualties have been reported from the latest eruptions of the volcano that has been at the highest alert level since June 18 when its no-go zone was expanded to a 7km radius, said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson. "People around the volcano have increasingly understood how to minimise the impact of disaster risks as eruptions became more frequent since the end of 2023," Muhari said in a statement. The eruptions of the volcano on Flores Island affected more than 10,000 people in 10 villages in East Flores and Sikka districts, according to the local disaster management agency. Thick volcanic ash and rocks were reported to have fallen in villages of Nawakote, Klantanio, Hokeng Jaya, Boru, Pululera and Wulanggitang, where roads and green rice fields were transformed into grey thick mud and rocks. Authorities distributed 50,000 masks and urged residents to limit outdoor activities to protect themselves from volcanic materials. The eruption of Lewotobi Laki Laki followed its eruption in November 2024 that killed nine people and injured dozens. Muhari said two airports in the cities of Maumere and Larantuka in East Nusa Tenggara province remained closed on Tuesday. Dozens of flights to and from the Ngurah Rai international airport on the resort island of Bali were delayed or cancelled since Monday's eruption, including from Australian carriers Virgin Australia and Jetstar, but airport spokesperson Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said the airport was running normally as monitoring showed the volcanic ash had not affected Bali's airspace. Indonesia has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. Residents are wearing masks to protect themselves from thick volcanic ash that has blanketed roads and green rice fields in Indonesia as rumbling Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupts for a second straight day. The eruption at dawn on Tuesday sent lava and clouds of ash up to 4km high. That followed an eruption on Monday that sent a column of volcanic materials up to 18km into the sky and an evening burst that spewed lava and send volcanic ash as high as 13km into the air. Photos and videos circulating on social media showed terrified residents ran for their lives under the rain of ash and gravel and motorists struggled to drive motorbikes and cars in the reduced visibility as the ash clouds from Monday's eruption expanded into a mushroom shape. No casualties have been reported from the latest eruptions of the volcano that has been at the highest alert level since June 18 when its no-go zone was expanded to a 7km radius, said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson. "People around the volcano have increasingly understood how to minimise the impact of disaster risks as eruptions became more frequent since the end of 2023," Muhari said in a statement. The eruptions of the volcano on Flores Island affected more than 10,000 people in 10 villages in East Flores and Sikka districts, according to the local disaster management agency. Thick volcanic ash and rocks were reported to have fallen in villages of Nawakote, Klantanio, Hokeng Jaya, Boru, Pululera and Wulanggitang, where roads and green rice fields were transformed into grey thick mud and rocks. Authorities distributed 50,000 masks and urged residents to limit outdoor activities to protect themselves from volcanic materials. The eruption of Lewotobi Laki Laki followed its eruption in November 2024 that killed nine people and injured dozens. Muhari said two airports in the cities of Maumere and Larantuka in East Nusa Tenggara province remained closed on Tuesday. Dozens of flights to and from the Ngurah Rai international airport on the resort island of Bali were delayed or cancelled since Monday's eruption, including from Australian carriers Virgin Australia and Jetstar, but airport spokesperson Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said the airport was running normally as monitoring showed the volcanic ash had not affected Bali's airspace. Indonesia has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. Residents are wearing masks to protect themselves from thick volcanic ash that has blanketed roads and green rice fields in Indonesia as rumbling Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupts for a second straight day. The eruption at dawn on Tuesday sent lava and clouds of ash up to 4km high. That followed an eruption on Monday that sent a column of volcanic materials up to 18km into the sky and an evening burst that spewed lava and send volcanic ash as high as 13km into the air. Photos and videos circulating on social media showed terrified residents ran for their lives under the rain of ash and gravel and motorists struggled to drive motorbikes and cars in the reduced visibility as the ash clouds from Monday's eruption expanded into a mushroom shape. No casualties have been reported from the latest eruptions of the volcano that has been at the highest alert level since June 18 when its no-go zone was expanded to a 7km radius, said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson. "People around the volcano have increasingly understood how to minimise the impact of disaster risks as eruptions became more frequent since the end of 2023," Muhari said in a statement. The eruptions of the volcano on Flores Island affected more than 10,000 people in 10 villages in East Flores and Sikka districts, according to the local disaster management agency. Thick volcanic ash and rocks were reported to have fallen in villages of Nawakote, Klantanio, Hokeng Jaya, Boru, Pululera and Wulanggitang, where roads and green rice fields were transformed into grey thick mud and rocks. Authorities distributed 50,000 masks and urged residents to limit outdoor activities to protect themselves from volcanic materials. The eruption of Lewotobi Laki Laki followed its eruption in November 2024 that killed nine people and injured dozens. Muhari said two airports in the cities of Maumere and Larantuka in East Nusa Tenggara province remained closed on Tuesday. Dozens of flights to and from the Ngurah Rai international airport on the resort island of Bali were delayed or cancelled since Monday's eruption, including from Australian carriers Virgin Australia and Jetstar, but airport spokesperson Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said the airport was running normally as monitoring showed the volcanic ash had not affected Bali's airspace. Indonesia has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

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