The bodies of two miners who went missing at Dugald River underground mine yesterday have been found.
Mining services firm Perenti says that following a significant search and rescue operation the Barminco employees Trevor Davis and Dylan Langridge were discovered fatally injured.
The CEO of Perenti, Mark Norwell,says it is a “devastating outcome” and sent his deepest sympathies and condolences to the “families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday”.
Yesterday morning, approximately 125 metres below the surface, an incident occurred resulting in three Barminco employees, one in a drill rig and two in a light vehicle, falling around 15 metres into a void within a previously backfilled stope.
The drill rig operator was rescued and received medical treatment for minor injuries but Davis and Langridge did not survive.
Langridge was 33 and joined Barminco in 2020 as a truck operator at Savannah before joining the service crew at Dugald River later that year and taking up the role of operator.
Davis was 36 and joined Barminco in 2020 as a shotcrete operator at Rosemont, before transferring to Dugald River as a charge up operator in November 2021.
Norwell said:
Our immediate and ongoing focus is on providing support to the families, friends and colleagues of Trevor and Dylan.
This tragic incident is devastating and will have a lasting impact on not only the families and friends of Trevor and Dylan but also on the workforce of Dugald River, the Cloncurry and Mount Isa communities and the entire Perenti workforce.
The safety of our employees is an absolute priority for Perenti, as it is for the industry more broadly. I am devastated that the families and friends of our two workmates have lost their loved ones. This outcome is simply not acceptable.
Norwell said in collaboration with relevant authorities the company would work to understand the circumstances behind the incident and what measures needed to be implemented.
With that, we’ll wrap up our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the main developments:
The bodies of two miners who went missing at Dugald River underground mine yesterday have been found.
The New South Wales Liberals are facing internal pushback from senior women in the party who are furious that an upper house MP has avoided any formal sanctions despite admitting he circulated explicit photos of a female rival.
Liberals still not satisfied with voice proposal after second meeting with working group
Josh Butler
The shadow Indigenous Australians minister, Julian Leeser, says the Liberal party is still not satisfied with the voice to parliament proposal and has concerns about the success of the referendum, even after a second meeting with the government’s internal working group.
Leeser and the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, met with the group (which includes Linda Burney, Pat Dodson, Megan Davis, Pat Anderson and other Indigenous leaders) for a few hours this afternoon. In a brief press conference afterwards, Leeser thanked the group and government, calling it a “respectful meeting, a good discussion”.
“But we said at this point in time, we don’t think the referendum is on track for success,” Leeser said.
He again reiterated Dutton’s earlier concerns about wanting more detail on how the voice would work, but raised a fresh criticism about minor changes to the proposed constitutional alteration.
Julian Leeser and Peter Dutton, at left, meet with the voice to parliament referendum working group. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Two weeks ago, the working group released legal advice from its constitutional expert group that suggested an introductory line (“In recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of Australia”) could go before the three previously-suggested lines that would enshrine the voice.
Leeser claimed “those words keep changing”.
He said he and Dutton asked questions in the meeting but did not expect to get answers to the 15 questions the opposition leader had previously proposed.
Leeser said discussions would continue. Dutton had earlier said “for us to be here with you is important and we’re keen to continue the discussions”.
But at this stage, to sum up, basically no change in the Liberal position.
The bodies of two miners who went missing at Dugald River underground mine yesterday have been found.
Mining services firm Perenti says that following a significant search and rescue operation the Barminco employees Trevor Davis and Dylan Langridge were discovered fatally injured.
The CEO of Perenti, Mark Norwell,says it is a “devastating outcome” and sent his deepest sympathies and condolences to the “families, friends, colleagues and loved ones of Trevor and Dylan, both of whom should have come home safely from work yesterday”.
Yesterday morning, approximately 125 metres below the surface, an incident occurred resulting in three Barminco employees, one in a drill rig and two in a light vehicle, falling around 15 metres into a void within a previously backfilled stope.
The drill rig operator was rescued and received medical treatment for minor injuries but Davis and Langridge did not survive.
Langridge was 33 and joined Barminco in 2020 as a truck operator at Savannah before joining the service crew at Dugald River later that year and taking up the role of operator.
Davis was 36 and joined Barminco in 2020 as a shotcrete operator at Rosemont, before transferring to Dugald River as a charge up operator in November 2021.
Norwell said:
Our immediate and ongoing focus is on providing support to the families, friends and colleagues of Trevor and Dylan.
This tragic incident is devastating and will have a lasting impact on not only the families and friends of Trevor and Dylan but also on the workforce of Dugald River, the Cloncurry and Mount Isa communities and the entire Perenti workforce.
The safety of our employees is an absolute priority for Perenti, as it is for the industry more broadly. I am devastated that the families and friends of our two workmates have lost their loved ones. This outcome is simply not acceptable.
Norwell said in collaboration with relevant authorities the company would work to understand the circumstances behind the incident and what measures needed to be implemented.
Senate estimates hears update on Australians detained in China
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have also given updates on two particularly high-profile consular cases: Australians Cheng Lei and Dr Yang Jun, who are detained in China.
Consular officials were able to visit Cheng in January for the first time since September, after visits were deferred by Chinese authorities on Covid grounds. Officials were also able to have a video meeting with Yang in January.
Ian Gerard, an assistant secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said it had been 10 months now since Cheng had been subject to a closed trial, and Australia would continue to advocate for her rights, welfare and interests at every opportunity.
Gerard said that Australia was informed in January that the latest deadline for a verdict in Cheng’s case had been extended by three months to 19 April this year (this is the fourth time the verdict has been deferred). He said there had still been no clarity provided to Australian officials on the precise charges she was facing.
Gerard said Australia continued to provide consular assistance to Yang, who faced a closed trial on 27 May 2021 “and is yet to learn the outcome”. Gerard said the ongoing delays were “troubling” and the Australian government would continue to advocate for him. Yang’s verdict deadline was also deferred, once again, to 9 April this year.
The minister, Penny Wong, said the trade minister, Don Farrell, again raised the cases in his video meeting with China’s commerce minister last week:
Because these two cases are such a priority for us, I ensure and the prime minister ensures they are raised in our bilateral engagements with [Chinese] counterparts ...
We are deeply troubled by the ongoing delays in both cases. We have made representations in relation to procedural fairness, standards of justice, consular visits and so forth, and we will continue to advocate for both Ms Cheng and Dr Yang to be reunited with their families as soon as possible.
The Coalition’s Simon Birmingham replied that the opposition, all MPs and all Australians “hold them in their thoughts and wish the government every success in their advocacy and securing outcomes”.
Victorian Bar Council emails members about search of barristers’ accounts in homophobia investigation
More information has emerged about the search of barristers’ email accounts that occurred as part of an investigation conducted by the Victorian Bar Council.
Guardian Australia reported last week that the accounts had been accessed as part of a probe into the production of a homophobic notice that had been posted in a legal chambers.
The search alarmed lawyers, who were concerned it may have compromised highly confidential information it had shared in relation to clients and their cases.
The bar council president, Sam Hay KC, sent a further update to members on Thursday afternoon, saying that he hoped to answer a number of questions that had been raised since the access was revealed.
The email to members, which was obtained by the Guardian, says that the search was conducted by two council employees under the instruction of the council chief executive, Paul Clark, following a discussion Clark had with Roisin Annesley KC, the former bar president.
“The question of ‘authorisation’ is complicated,” Hay wrote in the email.
Hay continued:
Mr Clark was simply doing what he could to assist the president with the investigation, and the president was acting in good faith to respond to the notice.
At the time the search was conducted in August last year, neither the then bar council, nor the bar council executive, were consulted as to the deployment of the search software prior to its use.
Hay said Annesley and Clark believed the search of the email accounts was permitted under the bar council’s terms and conditions. He said:
Those terms and conditions are being amended to make clear that a search of the type that occurred is not permitted in future, and to enshrine the clear and shared understanding that electronic environments used by members are to be maintained in the strictest confidence and will only be interrogated under the compulsion or authorisation of the law.
Earlier this week, Hay declined to answer further questions from the Guardian about the case.
The Victorian legal services board received a referral relating to a barrister who was alleged to have made the notice last August. It has declined to comment on the status of its investigation into the barrister.
Sean Turnell a ‘free citizen’ and should be able to travel freely, Dfat says
Still at Senate estimates, and the Coalition’s Simon Birmingham has thanked all Australian officials who successfully worked for Prof Sean Turnell’s release from detention in Myanmar since the previous round of estimates hearings.
Ian Gerard, an assistant secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, is asked about Myanmar’s subsequent decision in December to annul Turnell’s amnesty and issue a subpoena for him to appear in a Myanmar court.
Gerard reiterates that this is a “deeply concerning development”. He says it is particularly concerning that Turnell had now been asked to answer for an undetermined accusation following his release.
Birmingham asks whether this action puts Turnell at risk if he visits other countries.
Gerard replies:
Due to our ongoing support to Prof Turnell it’s difficult to expand on this out of privacy considerations, but certainly we consider Prof Turnell to be a free citizen and we’re working hard with him to support him on this so he can travel overseas should he wish to.
Prof Sean Turnell and his wife Dr Ha Vu meet with Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong at Parliament House in December. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Universities will not open any new Confucius Institutes, Penny Wong says
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says she expects Australian universities will not establish any new Chinese government-linked Confucius Institutes on their campuses.
A Senate estimates committee has been told that Wong has not torn up 56 existing arrangements under the foreign veto laws, after receiving advice that “risks” have been “mitigated against”.
But Wong made clear new institutes would not be approved:
Obviously, we will keep the arrangements under review and the government’s expectation is that Australian universities will not establish new institutes and I understand this has been communicated to the sector.
Penny Wong during Senate estimates in Canberra today. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Officials have kept open the possibility of announcing further sanctions against Russia next week to coincide with the first anniversary of Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine.
Friday 24 February will make the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, although the war began in 2014 with the invasion and annexation of Crimea and parts of the Donbas region.
In response to questions from the Coalition’s Simon Birmingham at Senate estimates this afternoon, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said a range of countries were expected to coordinate announcements to mark the anniversary.
Chris Cannan, a first assistant secretary, said officials would “not be in a position to announce here today” measures that Australia might take. Speaking generally about the need to not give time for individual named targets of sanctions to shuffle their assets, Cannan mentioned “the importance of not announcing them prior to them taking effect”.
Birmingham offered bipartisan support for further sanctions and also further assistance to Ukraine.
The bank has said it will pause plans to close regional bank branches while a Senate inquiry into the affect of regional bank branch closures takes place, joining the Commonwealth Bank as the second of the big four to promise a temporary stay on closures.
It comes just a week after Westpac announced it would close 20 branches this year, including eight in regional Australia. On Wednesday, a Westpac spokesperson said no decisions on the future of other branches would be made during the inquiry.
Fury among NSW Liberals as MP escapes punishment for sharing explicit photos of female rival
The New South Wales Liberals are facing internal pushback from senior women in the party who are furious that an upper house MP has avoided any formal sanctions despite admitting he circulated explicit photos of a female rival.
Peter Poulos has apologised for making “a regrettable mistake” by forwarding photos of a fellow NSW Liberal party MP from a 1980s Penthouse modelling shoot during a preselection battle five years ago.
This week the premier, Dominic Perrottet, stood by Poulos, admitting his actions were “incredibly inappropriate” but that “people make mistakes”.
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