Australia News live: Israel to summon Australian ambassador after Jerusalem reversal; Echuca and Moama brace for one-in-1,000-year flood | Australia news

Josh Butler

Bureau of Meteorology says rebrand intended to assist warnings and messaging

The Bureau of Meteorology has finally responded to the furore over its request to no longer be referred to as “the BOM”, saying it was worried that various nicknames would have a negative impact on its messaging.

After the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, told us earlier that she was focusing on the current devastating flooding, not the name of the agency giving out weather warnings, a Bureau spokesperson said they had not diverted any resources from important emergency work.

“This refresh in our visual identity has not in any way diverted resources that are dedicated to understanding and communicating the weather, nor has it impacted in any way on the timely and accurate delivery of our forecasts and warnings,” they told Guardian Australia.

The Bureau also noted that “unfortunately” some of its new proposed Twitter handles had been claimed by ordinary social media users after the weather agency failed to reserve those accounts before announcing its plans.

As my colleague Tory Shepherd and I reported earlier, Plibersek is getting more information on the rebrand to the Bureau, which we’re told has been ongoing for 18 months and included nearly $70,000 to a communications agency for “brand implementation”.

We sent the Bureau a set of questions this morning on exactly why it had asked media to not refer to it as BOM (is it because it sounds like “bomb”?) and what it was going to do about Twitter accounts that had already taken some of their planned handles.

A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson gave us a bit more information.

“With an ever-increasing number of severe weather events, it is more crucial than ever that the Bureau of Meteorology’s data, information, knowledge and insights are received, understood and acted upon by members of the Australian community,” they said.

“Until now, our name and visual identity were expressed differently across content and channels. Feedback from a wide range of stakeholders has been that this variability can sometimes impact negatively on the effectiveness of our messaging.”

Asked about the Twitter handles, the Bureau said it was working with the social media company to get those account names. We’ve asked them for more information – already at least one account that parked on the @TheBureau_Au account was seemingly suspended.

“Unfortunately during this process, some Twitter handles were claimed by third parties.

“We are working closely with Twitter to rectify this, in the meantime, all existing BOM Twitter handles remain active,” the Bureau spokesperson said.

“Through all our communications, we recommend that members of the community stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings through our website and app. It is important to note that social media is not a primary channel that we use to communicate our forecasts and warnings.”

Coalition says Plibersek is ‘still trying to blame her predecessors’ over BoM renaming furore

The opposition says after nearly six months in the job, the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is “ridiculously still trying to blame her predecessors” for a decision taken 18 months ago when the Coalition was in power.

The shadow environment minister, Jonno Duniam, was responding to the furore around the Bureau of Meteorology’s rebrand from the BoM to the Bureau.

He said:

Regardless of who made the decision and when they made it, she is now the minister in charge of this agency. Instead of lazily blame shifting, she needs to immediately put a stop to this embarrassment on a day when all resources should be focused on the severe flooding occurring across many parts of Australia.

Earlier, Plibersek told Guardian Australia that she was not focussed on the name of the agency in the middle of the floods. She said:

I am focused on making sure the Bureau of Meteorology is providing the most accurate and timely information to communities affected by floods.

The rebrand commenced under the previous government for reasons I don’t quite understand.

Daniel Hurst

Indonesia supports Albanese government reversal on recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital

Indonesia has welcomed the Albanese government’s decision to reverse the previous government’s recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the new policy “would hopefully contribute positively to Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations”.

Indonesia appreciates Australia’s reaffirmation of its commitment to support peaceful resolution to the conflict based on two-state solution, within internationally recognised borders.

Earlier today, the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told reporters the Morrison government’s decision in 2018 “put Australia out of step with the majority of the international community and was received with great concern by members of the international community”. Wong said:

I think it is a matter of public record that concerns were expressed by Indonesia, amongst others. And would make the point – I can accept that the Coalition and the Labor party can disagree on matters of foreign policy. You know what this was, though? This was a cynical play, unsuccessful, to win the seat of Wentworth in a byelection.

And what the people saw was the prime minister of the day trying to play foreign policy in order to win votes in a seat. For that reason, I made clear at the time we affirmed our view that Jerusalem is a final status issue. What do those words mean? It means that it has to be resolved through negotiation between the parties.

NSW government threatens to take rail union to court over plans to disable Opal card readers

Michael McGowan

The New South Wales government has threatened to take the state’s rail union to court over a plan to turn off Opal card readers during peak hour on Thursday.

On Tuesday the transport minister, David Elliott, announced the government intended to launch action in the state’s federal court if the union went ahead with the plan, warning it could prove “very expensive” for the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.

The union intends to take the action as part of its long-running industrial fight with the Perrottet government. It will turn off the machines used at station gates between 3pm and 7pm on Thursday.

Elliott said on Thursday that the government had legal advice saying the move would be an unprotected action. But rather than take the RTBU to the fair work commission in a bid to stop it, he instead said the government would take action in the federal court after it took place.

Asked why he wasn’t seeking to block the action, Elliott said:

We’ve got to protect the taxpayers. That’s why we’re seeking a recovery of any costs.

The government is yet to release any economic modelling on the cost of the proposed action, but Elliott on Tuesday said the action would be “endangering the lives of commuters” and “denying taxpayers … lawful revenue”.

Caitlin Cassidy

Andrews: if there’s more to do on interpreting during emergencies then ‘we stand ready to do that’

At a press conference today, our state political correspondent Benita Kolovos asked the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, about the multicultural response in the state’s flooding event.

As reported in Guardian Australia today, local cultural officers have expressed concern at a lack of interpreters and formal translation services in the regional city of Shepparton.

Andrews said there was a multicultural roundtable held on Monday and the Victorian Multicultural Commission were “well engaged”.

Andrews:

They’ll be up there on the ground very soon. Again, my advice pre-flood and during is every effort is made to provide translated material, culturally appropriate material. I know that’s been occurring but if there’s more we have to do then of course we stand ready to do that, as I said before, Shepparton … is a standout when it comes to this point, I think is a very culturally diverse community, it’s stronger for it, it’s richer for it.

Shepparton resident Hussam Saraf has taken it into his own hands to translate emergency services messaging into Arabic for Shepparton’s large Afghan and Iraqi community. He said if the floodwaters had breached the predicted 12.2 metres, CALD communities would have died due to the lack of interpreters.

Andrews:

We need to make sure that we are giving everybody the best information so they can make the best decisions. I do hear those comments, we’ve been doing our level best, but if we have to do better again, then of course of course we will.

Australian ambassador to Israel summoned

Daniel Hurst

Israel’s foreign ministry has said it will summon the Australian ambassador to Israel over the decision to revoke recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Israeli media reports quote the foreign ministry as saying in a statement:

Israel expresses its deep disappointment in the face of the Australian government’s decision resulting from short-sighted political considerations. Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years and will continue to be the eternal and united capital of Israel regardless of this or that decision.

Israel criticises Australian decision to reverse recognition of West Jerusalem as capital city

Daniel Hurst

Israel’s prime minister, Yair Lapid, has criticised the Albanese government’s reversal of recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, suggesting it was handled in a “hasty” and unprofessional manner.

He also declared that Jerusalem “is the eternal and united capital of Israel and nothing will ever change that”.

Lapid’s criticism follows the announcement by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, this morning that Australia would reverse the Morrison government’s decision four years ago to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Guardian Australia first broke the news yesterday afternoon that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had deleted that position from its website. At first Wong’s office insisted that no decision had been made. However, cabinet met this morning and signed off on the decision, which follows through on a pledge first made by Wong in December 2018.

Jewish groups have been constrained from responding publicly to today’s announcement because it coincides with the Jewish holy day of Simchat Torah.

Lapid issued his criticism on Twitter:

Peter Hannam

CSIRO union says trust with management ‘still very unstable’

As noted in an earlier post, more than 400 CSIRO staff were tuning in this afternoon to here from the Community and Public Sector Union on the science organisation’s plans to merge two big divisions: oceans & atmosphere and land & water.

Louise Jarman, the national lead organiser for CSIRO staff within the union, said the creation of the megaunit with 740 staff “sounds very, very positive” but doubts remain about job losses.

Although management has “firmly said ‘no job losses’”, “they were being a bit disingenuous” because “there were in fact a couple of people who would be made redundant”, Jarman said.

(She also mentioned the merger was not something Dan Metcalfe, the designated chief of the combined unit – to be named CSIRO Environment – knew was coming. It was “as much a surprise” to him as it was the wider staff, she says.)

One big beef is the “after-the-fact consultation”, with staff given only three weeks to comment. An 6 October public sector commission circular now requires consultation with the unions before big changes are made. “It is frowned upon that such a significant, major decision was not consulted on and at an earlier time,” Jarman said.

Trust, she noted, had fluctuated over the years (think: 2016 climate job cuts for one), and had become more positive lately. However, “people’s sense of trust is still very unstable and needs a lot more building”, Jarman said.

Security of employment will remain a focus, she said.

Jarman noted the Guardian article, in relation to the canning of the decadal forecasting unit. She puts it in the “trust” basket.

“There is a significant change that has taken place, and very [few] people were actually aware of that change, and it certainly wasn’t broadcast,” Jarman said.

“It’s not being looked at favourably by the people that were involved in the project,” she said, adding such handling doesn’t help trust.

Jarman also raised our second article with the science minister, Ed Husic, apparently “at odds” with CSIRO’s broader plan for “fewer, bigger things” in its partnerships with industry.

“We do have the Australian government that has changed, and that’s going to be significant,” she said.

Presumably, CSIRO managers have picked up on that too.

Daniel Hurst

Singaporean PM warns that security concerns on China may lead to ‘less stable world’

Singapore’s prime minister has warned during a visit to Australia that the world could become “less stable” if national security fears drive an economic wedge between China and the west.

Lee Hsien Loong also told reporters in Canberra that it would be good if China was able to join the big regional trade deal known as the CPTPP, but said it would have to meet all the rules to do so. Lee said there was no consensus to admit China among the existing members, which include Australia. (Australia maintains that China should drop “trade sanctions” against a range of Australian exports.)

During a joint press conference with the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, Lee was asked about the Biden administration’s new export controls, which include a measure to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips made anywhere in the world with US tools.

Lee said the prospect of an economic “decoupling” between the US and China was “a worry”. He said:

National security concerns are real, how wide or how narrowly they are defined, it is a judgment of each government and administration. I think the Biden administration’s latest move is a very serious one, I’m sure they have considered it carefully. It can have very wide ramifications, we will have to see how things work out.

But we do worry that valid national security considerations may trigger off further consequences and may result in less economic cooperation, less interdependency, less trust and possibly ultimately a less stable world.

Lee did not comment on the new Albanese government’s approach to China, given that he had previously been cautiously critical of the Morrison government’s approach.

Albanese said he wanted to “lead a mature government that has mature relations with the world, that doesn’t see international diplomacy as an opportunity for domestic political point-scoring”. He added:

And so, what I have said publicly is that we should cooperate with China where we can but stand up for Australia’s national interest where we must. And I continue to take that view, both privately and publicly.