Keating calls Nato head a ‘supreme fool’ over plan to open office in Asia

Paul Keating has waded once more into foreign policy, this time attacking Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg as a “supreme fool” for his push to expand Nato’s reach into Asia. Nato has said it intends to open a liaison office in Tokyo.

In a statement on Sunday, Keating said French President Emmanuel Macron was right to caution against straying from Nato’s “design and focus” saying the alliance had prevented Europe from achieving “peaceful unity” at the end of the cold war.

Keating said “Europeans have been fighting each other for the better part of three hundred years” and warned that “exporting that malicious poison to Asian would be akin to Asia welcoming a plague upon itself”.

Of all the people on the international stage the supreme fool among them is Jens Stoltenberg, the current Secretary-General of NATO. Stoltenberg by instinct and by policy, is simply an accident on its way to happen.

Keating also said China represented a fifth of the world’s population and that Stoltenberg “conducts himself as an American agent more than he performs as a leader and spokesperson for European security”.

Emmanuel Macron is doing the world a service putting a spike into Stoltenberg’s wheel – reminding all of us that Nato is a military organisation, not a civil one and an organisation focused on Europe and the Atlantic.

Updated at 01.02 EDT

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We’ll be wrapping up the live blog for the day now. Thanks for staying with us on this brisk Sunday. The blog will be back tomorrow morning. Goodnight and stay safe.

Arrest made over death of woman struck by two cars at Woy Woy

New South Wales police have arrested a man after he allegedly struck a woman on the state’s Central Coast overnight.

The woman died after she was struck by a second car along Ocean Beach Road at Woy Woy on Saturday night.

She was initially struck by a car heading south and was then thrown into the roadway when she was struck by a second vehicle.

The driver of the first car allegedly did not stop; the driver of the second car stopped and rendered assistance.

NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived on the scene to find the woman critically injured but despite the efforts of first responders she died at the scene.

Police seized a vehicle after executing a warrant on a property in the Central Coast area after efforts to identify the man.

A 20-year-old has since been arrested and is currently at Gosford police station.

Updated at 01.05 EDT

Keating calls Nato head a ‘supreme fool’ over plan to open office in Asia

Of all the people on the international stage the supreme fool among them is Jens Stoltenberg, the current Secretary-General of NATO. Stoltenberg by instinct and by policy, is simply an accident on its way to happen.

Emmanuel Macron is doing the world a service putting a spike into Stoltenberg’s wheel – reminding all of us that Nato is a military organisation, not a civil one and an organisation focused on Europe and the Atlantic.

Updated at 01.02 EDT

Queensland police add cocaine to roadside drug test list

Motorists in Queensland will now be tested to see if they have cocaine in their system, with the drug added to the list of illicit substances that roadside police drug vans are set up to detect.

The state had the country’s highest road toll last year, with 299 lives lost.

Sixty-one people were killed as a result of crashes that involved a driver or rider who had taken drugs.

Government data shows an increase in the number of people with cocaine in their system after a serious crash in the state rose from 3.6% between 2018 and 2019 up to 7.1% between 2020 and 2021.

The figures are taken from hospital data.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Stream said there has been a 30% climb in drug driver detections compared to the previous five-year average, and authorities had to act.

Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol exhibit impaired judgement, memory, coordination and reaction time.

Choosing to drive when affected by drugs is a decision that has a direct consequence on your life and those around you.

The move to add cocaine to the list of testable substances comes five years after New South Wales introduced it as a part of its roadside testing regime.

Queensland’s roads minister Mark Bailey said one in four drivers currently tested are returning a positive result for drugs.

It is shocking to think that a quarter of all random drug tests in our state return a positive result, this is unacceptable.

If you’re behind the wheel with drugs in your system, you’re not only a danger to yourself but to every other Queenslander and we make no apologies for coming down hard.

People caught driving with drugs in their system face licence disqualification, fines of up to $2167, and jail time for repeat offenders.

– AAP

Updated at 00.02 EDT

Man dies after falling from shipping container

A man has died after falling off a shipping container in Adelaide’s north-west.

The 43-year-old Victorian man fell several metres at the Coghlan Road site in Outer Harbour about 12.30am on Sunday.

Emergency services were called but the man died at the scene.

It is believed he was not employed at the site.

Two other men were arrested in relation to being unlawfully on the premises and have been charged with unrelated firearm offences.

Police will investigate the circumstances surrounding the man’s death but it is not being treated as suspicious.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

– AAP

Updated at 00.03 EDT

Complaints to eSafety commission triple

Hundreds of young children are being seriously bullied online, with complaints to the eSafety Commissioner more than tripling in the past four years.

Children aged eight to 13 made close to 740 complaints to the commissioner in 2022, up from about 200 reports in 2019.

In May this year alone, the commissioner received 230 complaints of bullying online, including reports of people posting nasty comments and offensive pictures.

“We’re pleased that more Australian children and young people know we’re here to support them when platforms fail to act,” Acting eSafety Commissioner Toby Dagg said.

But the number of complaints from children in school years five, six and seven is concerning and continues to grow.

Dagg urged parents to establish boundaries around internet usage to ensure their young children are not exposed to harm.

– AAP

Updated at 00.05 EDT

Sydney set for warm winter week as world records hottest average temperatures ever

If you’re living in Sydney and have looked at the Bureau of Meteorology forecast over the next week, you might have noticed the outlook is will be positively balmy.

Down south Melbourne might be hitting 16C, but the five-day forecast in Sydney has the mercury hovering around 20C.

These are unusual numbers for the dead of winter as the maximum temperature during July has historically been 16C according to the BoM’s records.

But it’s a similar story in Melbourne. It may be wet and rainy but the average maximum for this time of year is 13.5C, meaning it is usually colder and wetter.

The temperatures come after the world recorded its hottest week ever – for more on that story read the full report below.

Updated at 23.37 EDT

Rare book goes to auction

A book published within 50 years of the printing revolution and featuring one of the earliest acknowledgements of the existence of Australia is to go under the hammer in Melbourne

The first illustrated edition of Saturnalia by Macrobius is expected to fetch $120,000.

The rare 1483 work showcases an acclaimed and detailed world map, which includes a great southern landmass labelled “Antipodum, nobis, incognita” or “the Antipodes unknown to us”.

As a representation of the scholar’s fifth century writings, the famous map is considered among the most influential of pre-Renaissance interpretations of the world as Macrobius’ views held favour during the intellectual development of the West, for nearly a millennium.

The depiction of the globe is split in two, with Europe and the balancing Antipodes surrounded by ocean at the edges. It is also the first known printed map showing the ocean’s currents.

Macrobius’ world map featuring the great southern land mass ‘Antipodum, nobis, incognita’ or ‘the Antipodes unknown to us’.

Saturnalia is among a trove of rare books being brought to the Melbourne Rare Book Fair, with interest expected from some of Australia’s leading libraries, museums and private collectors.

Other highlights include a first edition of Francisco Javier de Viana’s account of Alejandro Malaspina’s voyage from California to Alaska.

An extremely rare first edition of Philip Parker King’s Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia will also be offered for sale.

The selection of 70 rare books also features early examples of convict literature including the first published account of Australia by a woman, A Voyage Round the World, in the Gorgon Man of War by Mary Ann Parker from 1795.

– AAP

Updated at 23.17 EDT

Reasons for RBA rate pause to be examined

Commentators will run a fine-tooth comb through what Philip Lowe has to say next after the Reserve Bank’s decision to keep interest rates on hold this month.

The central bank has been raising rates to rein in inflation and in July kept them steady at 4.1%.

The call by the RBA board had economists divided, with many expecting to see another 25 basis point hike.

The governor’s statement that accompanied the decision had some labelling it a “hawkish pause”.

While Lowe’s comments included a reference to the possibility of tightening, it also stripped out most of the commentary about upside inflation risks.

Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

Lowe’s speech at the Esa National Conference in Brisbane on Wednesday is expected to shed some light on the likelihood of more interest rate pain but the title of the talk suggests the focus will be on the review into the bank.

The independent review was handed down in April and called for a rejigged governance structure, namely the creation of two separate boards – one responsible for governance and the other for monetary policy, which sets interest rates.

Leaders from Australia’s big four banks will also make public appearances this week at a parliamentary committee.

ANZ and NAB are expected to front on Wednesday and the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac on Thursday.

They will explain how they are balancing the interests of borrowers, depositors, shareholders and the wider community.

– AAP

Updated at 22.56 EDT

Police have found a missing boy

A 10-year-old boy who went missing from his home in the northern Perth suburb of Balga has been found.

Police had urgent welfare concerns for the autistic and non-verbal boy who was last seen at 8am this morning.

In an update, police said they have found the boy safe and well.

Updated at 22.45 EDT

Winds reduce Sydney airport to single runway

A Sydney airport spokesperson has confirmed that they have moved to single runway operations and has asked passengers to remain in contact with their airlines.

On the advice of AirServices Australia, Sydney Airport has moved to single runway operations. While the impact is minimal, there are some flight delays and cancellations.

Passengers should speak to their airlines to get the latest information on the status of their flights.

Some airlines are understood to be experiencing delays of up to one hour.

Passengers will be notified if their flights are affected.

Updated at 22.40 EDT

‘Seriously cute’ population of rare native rodent found

A detection dog has unexpectedly discovered a new population of rare native rodents in Melbourne’s outer east.

The previously unrecorded broad-toothed rat population was found by a four-year-old labrador called Moss who was searching the Coranderrk Bushland near Healesville Sanctuary.

Mastacomys fuscus, the “seriously cute” Broad-toothed Rat. Photograph: Heath Warwick