Australia news as it happened: CCTV childcare centre trial launched; AUSTRAC demands audit of crypto exchange Binance; report says Gaza’s hunger crisis at a tipping point

Elon Musk tried to enlist rival Mark Zuckerberg for the $97.4 billion bid that his consortium made for OpenAI earlier this year, but the CEO of Meta Platforms did not come on board, OpenAI said in a court filing on Thursday.

OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, said Musk had communicated with Zuckerberg about potential financing arrangements or investments in connection with his OpenAI bid, according to the court filing.

OpenAI said Musk had disclosed his communications with Zuckerberg about the company during sworn interrogations.

Musk, whose xAI competes with OpenAI, could not immediately be reached for comment. xAI did not respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

OpenAI requested a federal judge to order Meta to produce documents and communications related to any bid for OpenAI, and those “concerning any actual or potential restructuring or recapitalisation of OpenAI.”

“Meta’s communications with other bidders, or internal communications, including those reflecting discussions with Musk or other bidders, would also shed light on the motivations for the bid,” OpenAI said, calling Musk and Meta two of its most significant competitors.

Tesla boss Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman last year over the company’s transition to a for-profit model, after which OpenAI counter-sued Musk in April this year.

A jury trial has been scheduled for autumn 2026.

Reuters

A new report is calling for immediate action to address the worsening impact of heat stress on workers.

The joint document by the World Health Organisation and the World Meteorological Organisation outlined key issues resulting from people working in extreme heat.

These include that worker productivity drops by 2 to 3 per cent for every degree above 20 degrees Celsius, and that the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events have risen sharply due to climate change, increasing risks for both outdoor and indoor workers.

The WHO and WMO have recommended governments, health authorities and employers take several actions.

These include educating first responders “to recognise and properly treat heat stress symptoms, which are often misdiagnosed” and “focus on vulnerable populations with special attention given to middle-aged and older workers”.

More than 2.4 billion workers are exposed to excessive heat globally, resulting in more than 22.85 million occupational injuries each year.

Environmental advocates have lost a legal bid to overturn the final Commonwealth approval allowing Woodside Energy to start up its $19.5 billion Scarborough natural gas project off Western Australia.

A national group of more than 2000 doctors and medical students, known as Doctors for the Environment Australia, launched a case in the Federal Court alleging the offshore environmental regulator was wrong to approve ASX-listed Woodside’s giant new fossil fuel development because it had not properly evaluated the impact and risks caused by the planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions it will release into the atmosphere.

However, Federal Court Justice Shaun McElwaine dismissed the case on Friday, confirming the approval granted by the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority was valid.

Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said the decision would enable the oil and gas producer to confidently proceed with the project, 375 kilometres off the coast of the Burrup Peninsula, which was generating thousands of jobs and would become a key driver of economic growth.

“The project is expected to contribute more than $50 billion in direct and indirect taxes to Australia’s economy,” she said.

Woodside, the largest Australian energy company, forecasts a significant lift in global demand for gas in the coming decades, even as governments and companies step up efforts to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.

Just going back to the Liberal-National Party’s annual convention in Brisbane this morning, and another interesting point to come out of it was what Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said about winning back seats.

With her predecessor Peter Dutton watching on, she vowed to win back Dutton’s seat of Dickson – which he lost to Labor’s Ali France at the May election.

“We cannot win government unless we win Queensland. This state is not only our heartland, it is our launch pad,” Ley told the convention.

“And while we sadly lost a number of seats at the election, the Coalition holds 16 of 30 federal seats in Queensland … and won over 50 per cent of the two-party vote.

“That was no accident. It is the product of your hard work, your values and your unity. Queensland remains the strongest division in our movement. You saw the so called ‘Greensland’ wave recede. You repelled cashed-up independents and held the line when others fell.

“And even in adversity, people … delivered because Peter Dutton’s work built a legacy of strength. Our task is to honour that legacy, not by looking backwards, but by winning back Dickson and every other seat we lost.”

Earlier today, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said that Australians’ living standards wouldn’t rise following this week’s economic roundtable chaired by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

“After 29 hours and 327 contributions, Australians were left with reviews, promises and uncertainty of more taxes,” she said.

But on ABC News just now, the Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood had a different view.

“I do not think she is right,” Wood said.

“When I think about the list of things that the government has said they were going to tackle coming out of it, which is things like faster environmental approvals … a look at the national construction code which is relevant to how fast and cheaply we build houses ... these are all pretty big and important things we’re saying require action, so I think it is pretty compelling list.”

Asked whether the changing language on the tax system – Chalmers noted yesterday the system was “imperfect … through an intergenerational lens” – was the biggest outcome of the roundtable, Wood disagreed.

“Other things are big and perhaps not easy as people [think],” she said.

“Road user charges, streamlining laws and regulations across the federation, AI regulations ... these are big card conversations. But absolutely, shifting the conversation on tax and getting that broad agreement of the different ways in which it can progress tax reforms – not specifics, but the broad direction – was an important outcome.”

The commission has been tasked with working out a target of how much regulation the government should cut following the roundtable.

A woman has been charged with concealing the birth of a deceased child after the body of an infant boy was found in a stormwater drain in Perth’s north earlier this week.

In a press conference on Friday afternoon, WA Police Acting Inspector Jessica Securo said community information led to the woman coming to police’s attention, two days after workmen found the infant’s body in a stormwater drain on La Salle Road in Alexander Heights.

Police confirmed the baby was a newborn boy, who had been in the drain for “several days”.

“This of course is highly distressing for the entire community, detectives and, as you can imagine, the family of the infant,” Securo said.

“The family and [other] community members have provided us with so much information and we’re thankful for that.”

Securo said police were continuing to investigate. “The baby was not killed violently, however the circumstances around the death of the child are ongoing,” she said.

Returning to today’s suite of reforms to the childcare industry, and the shadow minister for education and early learning has said he wants CCTV “rolled out across the country and mandatory” in Australian childcare centres.

The government will trial security cameras at up to 300 centres between October and November, as part of the $189 million package it announced today.

On ABC News’ Afternoon Briefing, Jonathon Duniam said he hopes this is eventually made permanent.

“I do have a firm view on that,” he said.

“The purpose of the trial would be to iron out any of these issues around privacy and security because we do hear stories and ripples of predators using these systems for their own gain.

“So I think a trial [should result] in a roll out nationally, and I know it is costly and complex etc but there is no price too high to pay when it means protecting children from predators, in my view.”

Earlier on the same program, Early Childhood Education Minister Jess Walsh said the government would appoint an independent expert to assess how effective the trial had been.

“They will come back to this education ministers’ meeting with advice about the best way to use CCTV, with guardrails to help keep children safe,” she said.

With AAP