Australia news live: Victoria police charge NSW man over synagogue fire; Minns government confirm fare-free travel days
Date: 2025-07-05T22:33:55.000Z
Title: Good Morning
Content: Welcome to another Sunday Guardian live blog.
News this morning that Victoria police have charged a 34-year old NSW man after a suspicious fire at a synagogue in East Melbourne on Friday night. There were approximately 20 people inside the synagogue at the time of the incident taking part in Shabbat.
In New South Wales, more than a million train travellers will travel free for two days – on 31 July and 1 August – as acknowledgement of extended disruptions due to industrial action.
Meanwhile in Victoria, the Guardian's state correspondent, Benita Kolovos, offers a sneak peak at the new underground stations for Melbourne's Metro Tunnel.
Today we are expecting:
The shadow minister for communication and women, Melissa McIntosh, will be on Insiders this morning. As the Liberal party looks to address its lack of women, McIntosh proposed gender-based candidate pools as an alternative to quotas. The Qantas cyber-attack, which affected six million customers, will likely be on the list of questions.
The death toll from flash flooding in Texas has risen to 32, with authorities confirming that included 14 children. There are still 27 people missing. You can follow developments here.
I'm Petra Stock and I'll be taking the blog through the day.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Benjamin Netanyahu demands end to ‘reprehensible' antisemitic acts after Melbourne synagogue attack
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged Australia to apply the full force of its law to prevent 'reprehensible' antisemitic attacks, after a Melbourne synagogue was set on fire with 20 people inside. A 34-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with the alleged arson attack on Friday night, when 20 people were inside the East Melbourne Synagogue. The congregation escaped unharmed through a rear door, and firefighters managed to contain the blaze to the entrance area of the 148-year-old building. Police said the arrested man, Angelo Loras, is a resident of Sydney, the capital of neighbouring New South Wales. He has been charged with offences including criminal damage by fire. 'I view with utmost gravity the antisemitic attacks that occurred last night in Melbourne, which included attempted arson of a synagogue in the city and a violent assault against an Israeli restaurant by pro-Palestinian rioters,' Mr Netanyahu said in posts on X on Sunday morning. 'The reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of 'Death to the IDF' and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted. 'The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community, and we demand that the Australian government take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future.' Victoria police said the Toongabbie man was charged with 'reckless conduct endanger life, reckless conduct endanger serious injury, criminal damage by fire, and possess a controlled weapon'. 'Detectives will continue to examine the intent and ideology of the person charged to determine if the incident is in fact terrorism,' police said. It was the first of three suspected antisemitic incidents in Melbourne between Friday night and early Saturday. Authorities have yet to establish a link between the incident at the synagogue and the two attacks on businesses. A restaurant was attacked on Friday night, with protesters chanting 'Death to the IDF', in reference to the Israel Defence Forces. Police are also investigating the spray-painting of a business in Melbourne's northern suburbs, along with an arson attack on three vehicles linked to the business before dawn on Saturday. Israeli president Isaac Herzog joined Mr Netanyahu in warning that the attack must be Australia 's 'last'. 'It is intolerable that in 2025, we are still faced with the chilling image of an attempt to burn Jews alive as they pray, and attacks on Jewish businesses,' he said as he urged the Australian government to confront the 'stain' of antisemitism with 'urgency and resolve'. Australian home affairs minister Tony Burke met with Jewish leaders at the damaged synagogue on Sunday. Mr Burke told reporters that investigators were searching for potential links between the three incidents. 'At this stage, our authorities have not drawn links between them. But obviously there's a link in antisemitism. There's a link in bigotry. There's a link in a willingness to either call for violence, to chant violence or to take out violent actions. They are very much linked in that way,' Mr Burke said. 'There were three attacks that night and none of them belonged in Australia. Arson attacks, the chanting calls for death, other attacks and graffiti – none of it belonged in Australia and they were attacks on Australia,' Mr Burke added.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Tony Burke says Melbourne synagogue fire an ‘attack on Australia' as NSW man charged over incident
The Australian government has labelled the Melbourne synagogue fire an 'attack on Australia' as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu demands Labor do more to stop 'vile' antisemitic attacks. A 34-year-old man from New South Wales has appeared in court, charged over allegedly entering the grounds of the East Melbourne Hebrew congregation on Albert Street at about 8pm on Friday, pouring a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and setting it on fire. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, travelled to Melbourne on Sunday morning to meet with Jewish leaders and the synagogue's Rabbi Dovid Gutnick, and said the attacks harmed not only the Jewish community, but the broader Australian community, as well. '[This] is not simply an arson attack; what matters here is there is an attack on Australia, an attack on Australian values. And we are here today in solidarity to stand together with the community,' he said. 'This government, including [former attorney-general] Mark Dreyfus in the last term of parliament, has taken the strongest actions Australia has ever taken in making hate symbols unlawful, in making calls for violence and hate speech have serious criminal penalties. But the job of making sure we eliminate antisemitism belongs to every single one of us.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email State police have not confirmed if two other attacks that took place on Friday night are linked. Burke also confirmed he had spoken to Israel's ambassador to Australia, who thanked him for travelling to Melbourne to visit the synagogue and condemning the attack. Earlier on Sunday, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attacks 'reprehensible' in a series of posts on X. 'The reprehensible antisemitic attacks, with calls of 'Death to the IDF' and an attempt to attack a place of worship, are severe hate crimes that must be uprooted. 'The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community, and we demand that the Australian government take all action to deal with the rioters to the fullest extent of the law and prevent similar attacks in the future.' Netanyahu was joined on social media by Israeli president Isaac Herzog, who overnight said on X that he 'condemn[ed] outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne's historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath' and that the attack must be Australia's 'last'. 'It is intolerable that in 2025, we are still faced with the chilling image of an attempt to burn Jews alive as they pray, and attacks on Jewish businesses,' he said, urging the government to confront the 'stain' of antisemitism with 'urgency and resolve'. Foreign minister for Israel, Gideon Sa'ar, said on Saturday via X that Israel 'stands firmly with the Jewish community in Australia' and that the Australian government 'must do more to fight this poisonous disease'. Sarah Schwartz, executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, condemned the arson attack and said attacks on synagogues were 'attacks on the entire Jewish community', adding that the council stood in solidarity with those affected. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'All people are entitled to practise their religion in safety,' she told Guardian Australia on Sunday. She said the act of antisemitism had been 'used for political gain, to smear the Palestine solidarity movement'. 'These responses fuel division. We urge politicians not to engage in kneejerk responses, and to instead support grassroots efforts between communities to combat racism.' Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the events were a 'severe escalation' and that the antisemitism crisis was 'getting worse'. 'Those who chant for death are not peace activists. Those who would burn houses of prayer with families inside do not seek an end to war. There is a violent ideology at work in our country that operates on the fringes of politics and social movements, that taps into anger and prejudice,' he said in a statement. Opposition communications spokesperson Melissa McIntosh told the ABC Insiders program on Sunday 'something needs to be done' to prevent ongoing attacks. McIntosh also described the incident as an attack on 'all Australians' and pushed the Albanese government to better protect the Jewish community in Australia. 'Why isn't [Albanese] convening national cabinet and bringing the states together with urgency to address this issue? There's a number of things that the government could be doing yet,' she said. 'We're sitting here today discussing another horrible attack where there are kids inside the synagogue. The person lit the synagogue, a place of worship, when families were inside. That is such a disgusting attack, a hateful attack on Australians.' Burke said now was a moment for 'unity', and he would not comment on whether the government would call a national cabinet meeting in response to the attack.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘No empty words': Kumanjayi Walker's family prepare for coroner's final report with call for ‘real action'
The inquest findings into the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker will be handed down in Yuendumu on Monday, almost five years after the Warlpiri man died during a bungled arrest in the remote Northern Territory community. Zachary Rolfe shot Walker three times while trying to arrest him on 9 November 2019 in Yuendumu, about 300km from Alice Springs. Walker, 19, stabbed Rolfe with a pair of scissors shortly before he was shot by the then constable three times. Rolfe was found not guilty in March 2022 of charges of murder and manslaughter relating to Walker's death. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email He has since been dismissed from the force for matters not directly related to the shooting. The inquest into Walker's death was expected to be completed two-and-a-half years earlier. Its delay has in part been due to legal challenges filed on behalf of Rolfe, including a failed bid for the NT coroner, Elisabeth Armitage, to recuse herself from the case, and wrangling over the scope of the inquest. Latterly, and tragically, the release of the findings was delayed by a month because of the death of another Warlpiri man in police custody, Kumanjayi White, who was a cousin of Walker. Armitage, senior counsel Peggy Dwyer SC, and instructor assisting Maria Walz, will all be involved in the White inquest, as they were in the three-year long Walker inquest. Rolfe's evidence before the inquest in February last year kicked off a series of revelations about racism within the NT police force, and again threatened to blow out the timeline for its findings to be delivered. Rolfe outlined a catalogue of racism within the ranks, including a racist awards night within its elite tactical unit. The evidence resulted in the then NT police commissioner, Michael Murphy, admitting he had 'gaslighted' Territorians. Walker's family said in a statement that they were calling for truth, accountability and justice, and believed that racism killed Walker. It said that it did not want NT police to travel to Yuendumu for the inquest findings with firearms. 'Kumanjayi's death has devastated our community. We miss him and feel his loss deeply every single day, it will stain our country for generations to come,' Walker's cousin, Samara Fernandez-Brown, said. 'The inquest into his death has been gruelling, shocking and devastating. Throughout it, our families and communities have stood strong, showed up and listened to all the ways that Kumanjayi was failed. 'We are heartbroken and exhausted after many long years, but we are hoping change is coming. We have faith that the truth will finally be told, and want to see real change so that we can finally start our healing.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a senior Warlpiri elder and White's grandfather, said that NT police should not come to Yuendumu with guns. 'We are not interested in [acting commissioner] Martin Dole coming to Yuendumu just with empty words. If he is just coming to say sorry he is not welcome – how many times have they said sorry and still harmed us? 'During the inquest for Kumanjayi Walker we demanded no more guns in the community. If Dole comes with news of real change that would be different. If he said police would put down their guns like we wanted, yes, he would be welcome. 'Now, following the death in custody of my grandson Kumanjayi White, we have made additional demands: for an independent investigation and the release of CCTV footage, but police still deny us this, they are hiding the truth. We want real action, real justice, not more empty words.' Dole said in a statement released on 30 May that while he offered sincere condolences for the death of White, he respectfully rejected calls for an independent investigation. Those calls had also been made by NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy. 'This incident is being investigated by our Major Crime Division, which operates under strict protocols and with full transparency,' Dole said. 'The investigation will also be independently reviewed by the NT Coroner, who has broad powers to examine all aspects of the incident and make findings without interference.' Armitage is expected to hand down the findings about 10.45am NT time on Monday.
