Australia news live: WorkSafe commits to ‘detailed investigation’ into Ballarat mine tragedy

WorkSafe commits to ‘detailed investigation’ into Ballarat mine tragedy

WorkSafe executive director health and safety, Dr Narelle Beer, spoke to the media from outside the Ballarat mine just earlier, where a collapse occurred yesterday.

She said WorkSafe investigators and inspectors have been on site since last night.

It will be a complex, detailed investigation. We’ll take some time, and we’re very keen to understand how we can ensure that a tragedy like this never occurs again.

Beer said as part of the investigation, WorkSafe will “absolutely” be looking into anything that has occurred in the past “that could have predicted this or prevented this occurring”.

WorkSafe executive director health and safety, Dr Narelle Beer (second from right), at the Mount Clear mine in Ballarat today. ‘We’re very keen to understand how we can ensure that a tragedy like this never occurs again.’ Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP

WorkSafe executive director health and safety, Dr Narelle Beer, spoke to the media from outside the Ballarat mine just earlier, where a collapse occurred yesterday.

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She said WorkSafe investigators and inspectors have been on site since last night.

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It will be a complex, detailed investigation. We’ll take some time, and we’re very keen to understand how we can ensure that a tragedy like this never occurs again.

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Beer said as part of the investigation, WorkSafe will “absolutely” be looking into anything that has occurred in the past “that could have predicted this or prevented this occurring”.

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executive director health and safety, Dr Narelle Beer at the Mount Clear mine in Ballarat today.”,”caption”:”WorkSafe executive director health and safety, Dr Narelle Beer (second from right), at the Mount Clear mine in Ballarat today. ‘We’re very keen to understand how we can ensure that a tragedy like this never occurs again.’”,”credit”:”Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1710383869000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”22.37 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1710386805000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”23.26 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1710385794000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”23.09 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”23.09″,”title”:”WorkSafe commits to ‘detailed investigation’ into Ballarat mine tragedy”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 14 Mar 2024 00.05 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 13 Mar 2024 16.32 EDT”},{“id”:”65f256c58f081c54654f25f2″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Time Out has released a definitive ranking of the 30 coolest streets in the world, with High Street in Melbourne taking out first place.

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High Street, weaving through the suburbs of Northcote, Thornbury and Preston, beat Hollywood Road in Hong Kong, East Eleventh in Austin, Guatemala Street in Buenos Aires and Commercial Drive in Vancouver – which rounded out the top five.

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But in humble 23rd place sits Sydney’s Foster Street, home to our Guardian Australia office.

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We are 100% taking credit for this ranking, and for bringing a certain cool factor to the street. It’s definitely not related to the fact Taylor Swift dined here just a few weeks ago.

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No, it’s definitely us.

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The man accused of stabbing two students at a university and injuring others with a frying pan has pleaded not guilty by virtue of mental impairment.

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Alex Ophel has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of common assault and one count of possessing an object with the intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.

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His lawyer entered the plea in the ACT magistrates court on Thursday. The case will return to court on 23 May.

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He is accused of repeatedly stabbing two women and bashing other students over the head with a frying pan at the Australian National University in September 2023.

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Two 20-year-old women were taken to hospital and a third man was treated at the scene following the incident.

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TikTok’s future is in peril as the US threatens to implement a nationwide ban, but Australia has “no plans” to follow its ally’s footsteps, despite national security concerns, AAP reports.

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On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would give ByteDance six months to divest from the app and sell to a company that is not based in China.

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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Thursday the Australian government was not expected to emulate the US. Here’s what he told WSFM Sydney:

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You’ve always got to have national security concerns, front and centre, but you also need to acknowledge that for a whole lot of people, this provides a way of them communicating.

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In Australia, TikTok is only banned on government devices, which prevents public servants from downloading the app on work-issued phones.

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For further background on this story:

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America has asked Australia to chip in for more humanitarian aid in the war torn Gaza as Washington moves ahead with plans to bring in relief by sea, AAP reports.

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The United States is setting up a port in Gaza so more humanitarian aid can flow through as the international community raises concerns about dwindling supplies reaching civilians in the besieged strip and starvation.

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A request has been made to partner nations, including Australia, for help setting up the port while further aid to flow through would be welcomed, AAP understands.

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The US is working with Israel to establish the aid corridor, according to the the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. The corridor would distribute up to 2m meals a day on top of medicine, water and other supplies. Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada are also supporting this effort.

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But overland routes remained the most viable option to deliver aid, Blinken said amid a push to open further aid corridors. He told reporters in Washington:

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This will help close the gap. It’s part of our all-of-the-above strategy to make sure we’re doing everything possible by every means possible to surge support to those who need it by land, by sea, by air.

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As Paul Karp flagged earlier, the Coalition has announced a private member’s bill proposing to ban the posting videos of violent crime online. A joint statement from the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, the shadow attorney-general, Michaelia Cash, and the shadow communications minister, David Coleman has just dropped, with more detail on the proposal.

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The statement says youth crime is “out of control in many parts of the country” and “more needs to be done to combat it”.

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It says the Coalition would seek to make it illegal to post social media material that “glamorises violence and criminal activity”.The Coalition would also “provide the eSafety Commissioner with specific powers to require such videos and material to be taken down”, it said.

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The statement reads:

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It is time to get serious on young criminals who seek to highlight their criminal activity on social media. Sadly, the problem is getting worse.

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The federal government has a role to play here and it is incumbent on the government to show some leadership and play its part in cracking down on this behaviour which glamorises violence and keeps the cycle of crime going.

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We are putting forward a proposal today to deal with this scourge.

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We need to do all we can to keep our community safe and deter young criminals from doing the wrong thing. We call on the government to support us in this regard.

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The National Archives of Australia has released a previously secret tranche of documents surrounding the Howard government’s decision making to join the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

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The documents show that, two weeks before the war began, the cabinet’s national security committee was informed the US was likely to press ahead even if the UN security council did not pass a new resolution specifically authorising military action.

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(Such a resolution never passed. The lack of a specific mandate was a significant point of contention, with the UN’s then secretary general, Kofi Annan, later describing the US-led war on Iraq as “not in conformity with the UN charter” and “illegal” under international law.)

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On 5 March 2003 the national security committee received oral briefings from the then foreign minister, Alexander Downer, and the heads of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Office of National Assessments on the efforts to adopt a draft new resolution on Iraq. The committee was told the “prospects for adoption of the draft resolution remain uncertain, especially France’s position”. But the document added:

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Whatever the outcome in the UN Security Council on the draft resolution, the United States is likely to press forward with plans to lead a coalition in enforcement action against Iraq, given that country’s failure to comply fully with UN Security Council obligations.

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Cabinet documents from 20 years ago are normally released on 1 January each year, but this year’s release hit a snag when it was revealed 82 cabinet records from 2003 had not been handed to the NAA in 2020. These included 14 that related – at least in part – to the Iraq war.

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I’m working my way through the Iraq-related documents. More details soon.

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The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced renewable energy projects will be eligible for fast-track planning approvals.

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Speaking from a wind farm in Mount Wallace, Allan said the projects will become eligible for the government’s development facilitation program, which will speed up the approvals process from up to two years to four months.

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Allan said since 2015, more than one in five applications have ended up in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, where they can languish for years.

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She said there are currently about $9bn worth of investment value in renewable projects in the pipeline for Victoria. Allan said in a statement:

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We will cut the red tape holding back projects that provide stronger, cheaper power for Victorians.

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The current system means that important projects can be tied up for years seeking approval. It delays construction and deters investment, and instead of spinning turbines, we’re too often left spinning our wheels.

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premier Jacinta Allan.”,”caption”:”The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Under the changes announced today, all new renewable projects in Victoria will be treated as “significant economic development”. This means they will not have to go through the planning panel process or face third-party appeals at VCAT and can be approved within four months.

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A statement issued by Allan said the voices of communities who want to raise concerns with a proposal “will continue to be protected”:

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Third party objections will still have a place in the approvals process, but this change prevents time-consuming and repeated delays that hold these projects back for years.

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The development facilitation program was also expanded late last year to include applications for medium to high density residential developments.

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A group of civil society organisations have urged the federal government to boost funding and fix the laws surrounding its “highly dysfunctional” FOI system.

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The open letter, which was sent to the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, today, also calls for an independent investigation into the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), the FOI watchdog, following allegations of poor workplace behaviour aired in hearings last year.

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Signed by 14 groups, including the Centre for Public Integrity, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Grata Fund and Transparency International Australia and former senator Rex Patrick, the letter called for the federal government to adopt the recommendations outlined in a scathing Senate committee report published in December.

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That report, chaired by the opposition, recommended oversight of the FoI system be moved from the OAIC to another watchdog, along with a series of other reforms, as well as to clear the mounting backlog of FOI reviews and improve the integrity of the system.

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letter was sent to attorney-general Mark Dreyfus.”,”caption”:”The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

A dissenting report from the committee’s Labor members rejected the recommendations, saying they were “just another attempt by the Liberal party” to abolish the information commissioner’s office.

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The letter warned Labor needed to make more progress on FOI reform now it was in a position to do so:

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We are deeply concerned by the dissenting inquiry report released by the government members of the committee, which expressed support for Australians’ right to obtain information through FOI laws but failed to meaningfully engage with the delays, cultural issues and under-resourcing within the system. Without taking further steps, the government’s support of the public’s right to access information is hollow.

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The OAIC was stripped of funding initially under the Abbott era as part of a dumped proposal to disband the office. Successive governments have not returned the office’s funding to its previous levels for its FOI functions in the years since.

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Methane emissions from coal mining in Australia are about 65% higher than the country reports to the United Nations under its climate change agreement, according to new data from the International Energy Agency.

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Australia’s official figures are based on estimates agreed with fossil fuel companies, rather than the IEA’s figures, which are based mostly on observations from satellites. The IEA reported similar discrepancies last year.

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The IEA’s estimates for methane emissions from the oil and gas sector were also 47% higher than Australia’s official figures, according to the latest edition of the IEA’s global methane tracker.

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Australia’s biggest source of methane emissions, according to the IEA, was from agriculture, with 2.3 megatonnes. Coal emitted 1.7Mt and 0.4Mt came from oil and gas.

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Piper Rollins, the Australian Conservation Foundation’s methane campaigner, said:

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There is way more methane leaking out of coal and gas projects than companies report. In Australia coal and gas companies can get away with not accurately measuring or reporting their methane emissions, relying on guesses rather than direct measurement.

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Australia’s methane measuring problem undermines the integrity of our climate targets. At an absolute bare minimum, all coal and gas facilities should be required to accurately measure their emissions and publicly report them.

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At a speech to CEDA in Sydney later today, treasurer Jim Chalmers will reveal the government is reappointing treasury secretary Steven Kennedy for another five-year term, once his current one ends in September.

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According to the excerpt of his speech circulated to the media this morning, Chalmers will say:

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I thank and pay tribute to my Liberal predecessor for appointing someone of Steven’s calibre, someone who has served both sides of politics with diligence and distinction.

\n

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Technically it’s the PM’s call, and Chalmers gave a ringing endorsement. Chalmers said:

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I really enjoy working with Steven. Ours is a very effective partnership.

\n

We want to provide some certainty and stability here, we have a lot of important work on the go, so we are starting the [re-appointment] process now.

\n

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secretary Steven Kennedy.”,”caption”:”Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Adding a personal touch, Chalmers will note Kennedy has lately become a grandad for the first time following the birth to his daughter Amelia and partner Nick of one “little Poppy Jean on Saturday”. (Most babies are on the small side, I suppose…)

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Anyway, Chalmers’ second drop follows the news overnight that the public (and ministers) should not expect a budget showering them with money come 14 May, as we reported here:

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The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, has accused the Coalition of a “dangerous” lack of commitment to the rule of law over the way it has weaponised the high court decision that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful.

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Giles has told the Law Council in Melbourne:

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\n

I am concerned that this has been a debate where heat has consistently obscured light. Where objective, expert voices have been hard to find. Where facts have been overlooked or simply denied.

\n

For example, the opposition leader and the shadow attorney continue to falsely assert that the government chose to release detainees other than the plaintiff. This conduct follows months of the shadow minister for immigration appearing to advocate to simply ignore or put aside a decision of the high court.

\n

The opposition are of course entitled to their views- but not to their own facts. That they rush to score political points, rather than establish a meaningful position shows that they’re not serious people, committed to rule of law.

\n

This is dangerous. To the standard of public debate about important issues, to policy making and to the state of our democracy – a democracy anchored on the separation of powers and the rule of law…

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The Albanese government has taken strong action taken to keep the community safe. We will continue to do so. We have done so in keeping with – and promoting – the rule of law and those institutions which make Australia a stronger and safer society.

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The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is speaking in Melbourne this morning to announce a Coalition private member’s bill proposing to ban on posting videos of violent crime online.

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The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, spoke about the initiative earlier on Channel Nine’s Today program:

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The states haven’t done enough.

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We have the opportunity through commonwealth law, particularly with telecommunications, to be able to reach into this, where we are seeing these young juveniles playing online games effectively about getting points for not only the crimes, but how they undertake those crimes.

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I’m seeing that even out of my own electorate where they break in, they get extra points that they can pull jewellery off a sleeping person. And that’s just not [what] we need as a trajectory as a society. And I think it’s important that we send strong messages, but I think we also need to understand that we need to do juvenile justice and detention differently.

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Earlier this week, New South Wales premier Chris Minns announced new laws to criminalise “posting and boasting” about offences on social media, as well as making it harder for teenagers to get bail.

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Victoria police have confirmed the death of a man trapped below ground in a Ballarat gold mine collapse.

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In a statement they said while they were able to rescue one man, the body of the second man trapped – a 37-year-old man from Bruthen – was recovered this morning.

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Police said WorkSafe will investigate the incident while police will prepare a report for the coroner.

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The Australian Workers Union says a man trapped after a mine collapse in Ballarat has died.

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The union’s Victorian branch secretary, Ronnie Hayden, told Sunrise this morning the man was killed in the Mount Clear mine collapse. This is yet to be confirmed by police or other emergency services.

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Hayden said:

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\n

About 5pm last night, we got a call from our members to attend the mine, being told that two of them were trapped underground. Shortly after that we were actually informed that one of their miners was killed at work. So it’s no longer a rescue. It’s now a recovery.

\n

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Good morning, and welcome to another day on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll bring you our rolling coverage today.

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Making news today: the rescue operation for a man trapped after a mine collapse in Ballarat, Victoria has entered its 14th hour.

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As at 7.10am local time, police said the man was still trapped after a rockfall incident at the Mount Clear yesterday afternoon. It occurred 3km underground from the entrance to the mine, police said. Reports say the man is currently 500m below ground.

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A second person, a 21-year-old man who was also pinned by fallen rocks, was freed last night and treated for lower body injuries before being airlifted to hospital in a serious condition. A further 25 workers had been brought to the surface after being stranded underground in a safety pod.

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We will bring you all the latest details on the rescue operation as they emerge today.

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If you see something that needs attention on the blog, you can get in touch via X @emilywindwrites, or send me an email: emily.wind@theguardian.com.

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Let’s get started.

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Key events

Emily Wind

Thanks for joining me on the blog today, Stephanie Convery will be here to guide you through the rest of our rolling coverage. Take care.

Mine owners will cooperate ‘fully’ with WorkSafe investigation into tragedy

Victory Minerals, owners of the Ballarat goldmine, have just issued a statement indicating they will cooperate “fully” with a WorkSafe investigation into the collapse incident.

The statement reads:

This tragic incident is now being independently investigated by WorkSafe Victoria.

Given this, it’s not appropriate for us to comment further right now, other than to confirm we are cooperating fully with this investigation, and undertaking our own.

The safety of our people on site is our first priority. No safety professionals working underground in the mine were made redundant in the recent restructure.

In fact, we increased safety professional resources within the underground. The roles and responsibilities of the redundant corporate managerial role were transferred to the Health, Safety, Environment and Community Manager, who reports directly to the CEO.

Possible cyclones forecast for WA and NT

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather update, warning that twin tropical lows in the north may each develop into cyclones during the weekend.

Meteorologist Angus Hines said one low is near the Top End of the NT, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and large waves, expected to continue for the next few days.

It’s expected to move into the Gulf of Carpentaria around Friday, and potentially strengthen into a tropical cyclone on Sunday.

The second low, north-west of the country, could become a category two cyclone during Sunday near the Pilbara coastline – or, it could move out west and have no impact on the coastline.

You can watch the full update below:

Severe Weather Update: Twin tropical lows in the north, each may become tropical cyclones. Video current: 11:30am ACST 14 March 2024. For the latest forecasts and warnings go to our website: https://t.co/4W35o8iFmh pic.twitter.com/EzAsgCLlPc

— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) March 14, 2024

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The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has issued this statement on social media, following news a miner was killed in the underground collapse at Ballarat goldmine:

This morning’s news is a terrible tragedy. My heart is with the families that are grieving, as well as the loved ones of the man still in hospital.

This morning's news is a terrible tragedy. My heart is with the families that are grieving, as well as the loved ones of the man still in hospital.

— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) March 14, 2024

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This morning’s news is a terrible tragedy. My heart is with the families that are grieving, as well as the loved ones of the man still in hospital.

— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) March 14, 2024

Water projects in the pipeline for remote communities

A handful of remote communities in the Northern Territory will be able to upgrade their water storage and infrastructure after the federal government announced $53.1m for water security projects, AAP reports.

Maningrida will build a new tank and upgrade infrastructure, the pipeline in Yirrkala will be upgraded and Gunyangara – both on the Gove peninsula – will be assessed. In addition, new water sources will be investigated in Numbulwar.

The federal environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, and the NT water minister, Kate Worden, also announced an $18.2m investment in the Yulara water supply project, coupled with $5m from Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, which owns Ayers Rock Resort.

A sign near Uluru pointing to Yulara and Mutitjulu. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Plibersek said:

In a country like Australia, there are things that most of us take for granted – like when we turn the tap on at home, safe drinking water will come out.

But for more than 25,000 people in remote Australia, that isn’t the case.

These Australians live in places without access to water that meets basic health guidelines and another 600,000 people live in places without access to water that meets recognised standards – relying on water that’s murky, or contains unsafe levels of minerals, heavy metals and chemicals.

Worden said providing secure and reliable water supply to these regional and remote areas would improve the quality of life for many Aboriginal people and help the economy.

Paul Karp

Truth in advertising regulations ‘probably welcome’ Peter Dutton says

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has said that truth in political advertising laws are “probably welcome” but he suspects the government’s proposal will be “window dressing”.

This is an interesting development – because in October 2022 the Liberal Party opposed truth in political advertising, arguing in a submission to the electoral matters committee that Labor lacked a mandate for the change.

Dutton told reporters in Melbourne:

Well again, when you look back at some of the Labor party campaigns around ‘Mediscare’ and the rest of it, the union movement are experts at all of this …

Don Farrell‘s trying to put a good face on this, but I suspect he’s up against it when he’s got the union crooks telling him that they should be running all sorts of dodgy ad campaigns … It’s probably welcome, but we’ll see what impact it has, and I really believe that, I think there’s a lot of window dressing here, and frankly, there’s not much substance to what he’s saying.

The special minister of state, Don Farrell, is expected to release a bill proposing spending and donations caps and truth in political advertising laws to be introduced and passed by mid-year.

The leader of the opposition, Peter Dutton. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Q: What kind of circumstances would warrant a prosecution?

WorkSafe’s Narelle Beer:

So, industrial manslaughter is where there’s a grossly reckless or a grossly negligent disregard for health and safety within the workplace. So, WorkSafe Victoria has charged four charges in the last 12 months in relation to industrial manslaughter. We had a conviction three weeks ago in relation to an industrial manslaughter matter, which is the first one in Victoria, and we have another two matters live before the courts.

Narelle Beer said a WorkSafe family liaison officer had touched base with the family of the deceased miner, and will be reaching out to the family of the injured man.

We’ll be providing as much support as we can and helping others to provide that support. It’s a really tragic event and it’s occurred in Ballarat and we all know there’s been a number of tragic events that have occurred here of late.

Unfortunately, we’ve had 10 workplace deaths this year so far. Every death is horrendous, and particularly for a community that has experienced this sort of grief, to have another one who is so young, it’s tragic.

WorkSafe would like to send our condolences to the family, friends, the working community, and the community as a whole. Our hearts are with you all.

Ben Wright, the manager of the earth resources section of WorkSafe, also spoke to the media to provide an explanation of air-legging – the type of mining the workers were doing at the time of the incident.

Hand-mining or air-legging is a way to mine for a resource with hand tools. So, very large drill units that are pneumatically operated. They use water and air to drill into rock, as opposed to a large mechanised device, known as a jumbo. The handheld devices are more portable and typically used in the smaller areas.

Asked if this practice is particularly risky, Wright said he couldn’t comment on this incident specifically but said:

All mining does inherently carry a risk. And it’s the mine operator’s duty to ensure those risks are managed appropriately … [Air-legging is] less common than mechanised mining, absolutely.

Q: Should that process of air-legging be done under unsupported ground?

Wright:

Without commenting specifically about this incident, there’s a general position in the entire mining sector that ground should always be supported.

WorkSafe commits to ‘detailed investigation’ into Ballarat mine tragedy

WorkSafe executive director health and safety, Dr Narelle Beer, spoke to the media from outside the Ballarat mine just earlier, where a collapse occurred yesterday.

She said WorkSafe investigators and inspectors have been on site since last night.

It will be a complex, detailed investigation. We’ll take some time, and we’re very keen to understand how we can ensure that a tragedy like this never occurs again.

Beer said as part of the investigation, WorkSafe will “absolutely” be looking into anything that has occurred in the past “that could have predicted this or prevented this occurring”.

TikTok welcomes PM’s comments

A TikTok spokesperson has welcomed comments from the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, that Australia has no plans to ban TikTok.

In a statement, the TikTok spokesperson said:

Any changes to TikTok in Australia would have a significant impact on the 350,000 businesses, and more than eight-and-a-half million Australians, who use the app to connect and grow their businesses. Action being taken in the US is not based in fact, and we are hopeful that the US Senate will consider the impact on the millions of small businesses and 170 million Americans who use the service.

You can read the full story on Jim Chalmers’ speech from my colleague Peter Hannam below:

Australia news live: WorkSafe commits to ‘detailed investigation’ into Ballarat mine tragedy | Australia news

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