Australia news live: Snowy Hydro 2.0 halted after fatal truck crash; thousands gather in capital cities for Anzac Day events | Australia news

Paul Karp

Advocates have warned the Albanese government against adopting a “half measure” of restoring single-parent payments only until children reach high school age.

The women’s economic equality taskforce recently recommended reversing a Gillard government-era decision that reduced the age of children whose parents qualify for single-parent payments from 16 to eight.

Under the current scheme, single parents, most of whom are women, receive about $961 a fortnight, but are shifted to jobseeker when their child turns eight, receiving about $176 less a fortnight.

The Albanese government has promised to support the most vulnerable and is understood to be preparing to raise the eligibility age, although the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has said it “can’t do everything at once”, hinting the changes may be phased in or the threshold restored to an intermediate age.

The chair of the taskforce, Sam Mostyn, has said such a move would see “families falling back into poverty”, while the chief executive of Single Mothers Australia, Terese Edwards, has said it would be “cruel and demeaning” to reduce payments once children reach 12 years old.

Read the full story here:

Daniel Hurst

Marles plays down cuts to infantry fighting vehicles in defence overhaul

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has played down criticism over cuts to infantry fighting vehicles, insisting that the government wants to “reshape the army” to have a greater ability to project power.

The army had planned to acquire up to 450 infantry fighting vehicles, at a cost of up to $27bn, to replace Australia’s Vietnam war-era armoured personnel carriers.

But in line with a recommendation from yesterday’s defence strategic review, the government has cut this number to just 129 vehicles, enough for one mechanised battalion. Instead, the government plans to accelerate and expand numerous other projects, including a land-based anti-ship missile system and new landing craft for the army.

The shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie, said yesterday the army would be “diminished by the review” because “without infantry fighting vehicles we go back to a light infantry army”.

When asked by 2GB to respond to this criticism, Marles said he wanted to acknowledge Hastie’s service as “a very brave soldier in his time in the defence force”. Marles also referenced Anzac Day, saying he was “obviously mindful of the day and the dignity of the day so I’m keen not to get into a contest”.

But Marles added:

I’d simply say it’s only one category of fighting vehicle. What we are seeking to do is to reshape the army so that we have a greater ability to project. What we announced yesterday involved not just providing the army with longer range strike capability missiles, but also a greater capability to operate in a littoral environment – that is around coasts – which means we are trying to reimagine an army which is more mobile and can project. And that’s really in the context of a set of very challenging circumstances which we see in the world today.

Rafqa Touma

For Phoebe Alexander – who is part of the Taiwanese diaspora community in Australia – attending Sydney’s Anzac Day March is “our way of being part of Australia”.

She is leading a volunteer group alongside Ching-Mei from the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women. The group are raising funds with the Rotary International BBQ in Sydney’s CBD as the Anzac march continues toward Hyde Park.

My father was part of the veterans from World War Two against the Japanese.

She says she hopes to see more Chinese people contribute to Anzac Day.

This is an important day for our association to help with the volunteering and to be part of Anzac Day. This is our way of being part of Australia.

She is glad to see people from different backgrounds applaud the March along Elizabeth St.

It’s wonderful because it reminds us we are all Australian. We are all one.

Daniel Hurst

Marles says release of defence review before Anzac Day is coincidental

Richard Marles was also asked about the defence strategic review, given that the government chose to release it yesterday, the day before Anzac Day. At a few points in various interviews today Marles tried to avoid getting dragged into a political back and forth, saying he was “very mindful of the day”.

The 3AW host, Neil Mitchell, asked why the government had decided to release it yesterday. Marles replied:

We said quite a while ago, actually, that we were going to release the report in the first part of the year, and it was two months ago that I said it would be released in April. So, that it was going to happen in this week has been really on the cards for quite a while, and that’s the reason why.

Mitchell asked whether that meant the timing was “coincidental”.

Yeah, it is. And I think it’s possible to do that work on Monday and I’ll be doing it again tomorrow and through the week, whilst at the same time taking today to honour those who have engaged in the sacrifice of our nation.

‘That’s not what we’re seeking to do’: Marles responds to China’s ‘hype’ comment

Daniel Hurst

On 3AW, Richard Marles pushed back at comments from China’s foreign ministry overnight that Australia should not “hype up the so-called China threat narrative”.

Asked for his reaction, the deputy prime minister said:

Well, obviously, that’s not what we’re seeking to do. As we spoke about Australia’s posture going forward and the mission of the Australian Defence Force in the future, at the heart of it is providing or making our contribution, along with our partners, to the collective security of our region, of the Indo-Pacific. And that’s really where Australia is coming from. What we want to do as a nation is to provide and to make our contribution to the collective security of our region, understanding that that’s really where the defence of Australia lies.

The interviewer, Neil Mitchell, asked Marles a very direct question:

Do Australians have to come to terms with the possibility of another war?

Marles replied:

I’m not going to speculate about that. I’m certainly not going to do it today. But even if you ask me that question tomorrow, I wouldn’t be speculating about that. I think really what we need to be doing is just making sure that we have a defence force which provides for the greatest strategic space for our country and which also provides for the collective security of our region. And our focus as a government is to achieve that.

(The then defence minister, Peter Dutton, attracted attention for saying on Anzac Day last year that “the only way you can preserve peace is to prepare for war”.)

Daniel Hurst

Defence minister Richard Marles reflects on his grandfather’s service

The defence minister, Richard Marles, who attended the dawn service in Geelong, has done a round of radio interviews reflecting on Anzac Day.

Marles said his grandfather, Percy Pearce, was awarded a Military Cross for exemplary gallantry in the Battle of Pozieres in France in the first world war but never really spoke about the experience. Marles told 3AW:

I think he was greatly affected by the experience of being at Pozières. I knew my grandfather, he died when I was about 14.

I can absolutely remember watching the cricket with Grandpa. But it’s only later in life, really doing what I’m doing now, that I understand the meaning of what he did. He actually won a Military Cross at Pozières, which is a huge honour, but I, to be honest, had no appreciation of that growing up.

Last year I had the completely astonishing experience of being taken to the very spot where he won the Military Cross. He’s mentioned in Bean’s history of the first world war. And so it’s actually possible to locate where he was. And that was a hugely moving experience for me.

Rafqa Touma

Back in Sydney …

Roy Mundoy, who fought in Vietnam during his 38 years serving in the infantry, says:

It’s always good to see all the people turn out, especially young people.

Today is a very important day. It reminds us about all those people who went before us. They shouldn’t be forgotten.

He looks forward to bumping into friends from his time serving at the march in Sydney today. “When you’re in there you become great friends in the war, and after.”

Before arriving today, Mundoy received messages with news of the deaths of friends he served with.

We were always enjoying one another’s company. It’s sad when some people go. The only thing in life you can be sure of is you’re going to die.

Work has been halted on Australia’s largest renewable energy project after a fatal truck rollover, AAP reports.

A man aged in his 50s was behind the wheel of a Snowy 2.0 project truck when it rolled on Monday afternoon on the Snowy Mountains Highway at Dry Plain.

He was trapped inside the vehicle and died at the scene, police said.

Snowy Hydro chief executive Dennis Barnes described the incident as “incredibly distressing” and said the welfare of the project’s workers was the immediate priority.

This is a tragic event and we are supporting our Snowy 2.0 Principal Contractor, Future Generation Joint Venture, our teams and all those impacted in the community at this very sad and difficult time. Project operations have ceased until the night shift on Tuesday.

Federal ministers Chris Bowen and Katy Gallagher said the government expected the highest standards of safety on all worksites. They said in a joint statement:

Everyone deserves to come home safe from work. The government expects the highest standards of safety at Snowy 2.0 and all worksites and will engage closely with SHL and unions in the aftermath of this tragic incident.

Police have forensically examined the crash scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

Snowy Hydro 2.0 will connect two dams in southern NSW via 27km of tunnels and a new underground power station.

The $6bn project will effectively operate as a natural battery by using excess wind and solar energy to pump water uphill before releasing it during peak periods to provide power to the national electricity grid.

Concerns have been raised, however, about budget blowouts, environmental hiccups and workplace health and safety issues.

As mentioned earlier, the minister for defence industry and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, has attended the dawn service in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

The service was held at the Bomana War Cemetery, which has more Australian war graves than any other cemetery in the world with more than 3,300 service personnel buried there.

Speaking to the Today Show, Conroy paid tribute to the Papuans who fought alongside Australians, and said “it was incredibly moving” see how close the relationship between the two countries still is.

Most people have heard of the fuzzy wuzzy angels. They transported Australian soldiers who were wounded. But Papuans New Guineans fought side by side. There are 40 buried here.

I had the privilege of meeting a 92-year-old veteran who joined up when he was 13 and lay a wreath … This small frail gentleman, who was still very mobile, I just … thinking about what I was doing when I was 13.

This gentleman joined up when he was 13 years old to fight alongside Australia in what was the battle for Australia and a battle for Papua New Guinea.

I had the privilege of going up to Kokoda last year for the 80th anniversary. To witness the landscape that Australians and Papua New Guineaians fought through was remarkable. It will live with me to the day I die.