As it happened:Ex-Seven producer gives evidence in Bruce Lehrmann defamation case;Zomi Frankcom’s family back Israel war crimes investigation

Thank you for joining our live coverage of the day’s major news. That’s it from me,but I’ll be back in the morning.

Here’s a look back at the main stories from today:

In Victoria,a company contracted to landscape a new park in Melbourne’s west where asbestos was found has refused to answer questions about the supply chain of the mulch used in surrounding playgrounds.

This masthead can reveal Hobsons Bay City Council awarded CityWide Service Solutions a contract worth $1.2 million in March 2022 for the Donald McLean Reserve play space and associated community park upgrade in Spotswood.

The company,chaired by former Labor premier John Brumby,is a wholly owned subsidiary of the City of Melbourne with its own board. It offers services including rubbish collection,landscaping and civil infrastructure.

Read more on this issue here.

Former Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe says the next interest rate move is likely to be a cut,but warned that living standards in Australia are in the firing line if productivity does not pick up.

Speaking at a panel discussion for Future Generation – a philanthropic fund chaired by Lowe – the former RBA head said there was still “further work to do” to ensure inflation returns to,and stays within,the 2 to 3 per cent target.

He added that current cost pressures across the economy mean a rate hike is not yet completely off the cards.

“There’s still quite a lot of cost pressure in the economy,partly because productivity growth is weak.”

“In the medium term,the challenge is to make sure that we get better at doing stuff. If we don’t do that,then our living standards will stagnate,” Lowe said.

Read what else the former governor said here.

Parts of Sydney and northern NSW are bracing for heavy rain and possible flooding as two powerful weather systems converge on Australia’s east coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for metropolitan Sydney today as a cool pool of air coming from across the Great Australian Bight produced a low-pressure system over south-eastern Australia,at the same time as a moisture-rich coastal trough – spurred by balmy ocean temperatures – formed off the coast of NSW and south-east Queensland.

Meteorologists dub this phenomenon the “Black Nor’easter” due to the dark,moisture-laden clouds that travel in from the north-east and can turn the middle of the day dark.

This afternoon the bureau issued a flood warning for more than 30 rivers,creeks and lakes across the state which are expected to experience minor to moderate flooding in the coming days.

Learn more about the warnings here.

Staying with Labor minister Anne Aly,who has lashed some acts carried out by Israel and saying “war has rules”.

Her comments come after seven aid workers delivering food were killed in an Israeli airstrike,includingAustralian woman Zomi Frankcom.

She told ABC’s Afternoon Breakfast that war has rules.

“This is not war. War has rules,rules that have been agreed upon by the international community … Israel has been urged to abide by those rules,strongly urged by the international community,and by the ICJ[International Court of Justice] to abide by those rules of war,” she said.

Aly said the systemic destruction of an entire people,deliberately withholding food and aid were not acts of war.

“These are not things that just happen in war,and I think that if the Israeli government wants to continue to utilise war as a context for its actions,then it needs to start abiding by the expected principles of war and the agreed rules of warfare.”

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce was also on the program,and said in response that he would want everyone to obey the laws of warfare.

“Hamas did not abide by any rules of warfare at the start,and obviously the sense of retribution that one can see with what’s happening … it does not look like abiding by a set of rules,but I will leave that to people who are much wiser than me to come to the determination or otherwise,” he said.

Youth Minister Anne Aly lashed opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham for repeating “dismissive claims” made by the Israeli prime minister about aid workers who were killed delivering food in Gaza.

Australian woman Zomi Frankcom was one of seven aid workers who died in the attack,which Israel’s military said was the result of a “misidentification”.

Aly,who is also the first female federal MP who is Muslim,said she wasoutraged at Israel’s response.

Here’s what she told ABC’sAfternoon Briefing:

The dismissive way in which the prime minister of Israel has said ‘this happens in war’,and quite frankly the way in which Simon Birmingham has repeated that dismissive claim is offensive.

It is offensive to Zomi,her family,to the aid workers,the journalists,the medics who have been killed by Israeli forces,and it is offensive to the 30,000 Palestinians that have been killed and starved by the actions of Israel.

I think that the world is watching very closely,and Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said,in very clear terms,that Israel needs to change its course,and that it needs to be held accountable,and that it is losing very quickly any kind of support that it has.”

Frankcom’s family said they backed an investigation into whether the Israeli soldiers responsible for her death should be charged with war crimes.

Liberal senator Simon Birmingham wouldn’t say whether AUKUS submarines could be used to patrol waters off China and Taiwan,instead saying they would be used in a range of activities.

It comes as theUS vowed to do what it takes to sell Australia the nuclear submarines promised under the controversial AUKUS deal,despite a new internal US Navy investigation finding construction delays of up to three years.

“We don’t talk about what the operational activities of our existing submarine fleet Collins-class are nor would anyone expect us to about future fleets of the AUKUS submarines,” Birmingham told the ABC this afternoon.

“Ultimately,we have them to be able to engage in a range of activities,the reason why we switched from traditional diesel-powered submarines to invest in nuclear-powered submarine capability was to ensure Australia could maintain range,could maintain stealth and those types of operational capabilities are essential for our Navy in all the scenarios we might deploy them in.”

The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the deaths of seven aid workers who were killed in an Israeli airstrike should never have happened.

Among those killed wasAustralian aid worker Zomi Frankcom. A preliminary investigation found the convoy of workers with the World Central Kitchen charity distributing food in Gaza was struck as the result of a “misidentification”.

“The tragic deaths should not have occurred,it is entirely appropriate that Israel[is] expected to have a full investigation of them and be completely transparent about the outcomes of the investigation,” Birmingham told ABC’sAfternoon Briefing from Wellington.

Further steps should be taken after the outcome of the investigation,Birmingham said.

He was also questioned about whether Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was dismissive when he said;“this happens in wartime” in relation to the attack.

Certainly tragedies do happen in war and mistakes do happen in war,but it’s also important to understand that deep,deep concern and distress felt in Australia,the compassion for all of the families involved,all seven workers,of course the Australian all of those and all the other lives lost.

These tragedies are just part of what has been an enduring tragedy since the barbaric attacks from Hamas.”

Turning to federal Labor MP Peter Khalil,who will face a challenge from Victorian Greens MP Samantha Ratnam at the next election.

Khalil currently holds the seat of Wills,and held the seat at the 2022 election with a margin of 8.57 per cent.

It is likely Ratnam will have to step down as state party leader should she win preselection for Wills. The Greens will confirm the dates for the process in coming days.

Speaking on ABC Radio Melbourne,Khalil said they previously went up against each other at the 2016 election,and since he was elected he had used his voice to support the community and his constituents.

But he was probed on whether this battle would be harder than previous elections because Ratnam had a larger profile as the state’s Greens leader.

“Never take anything for granted … because the most important poll is the one on election day,” he said.

“I know there’s a bit of cynicism about politics and politicians but ultimately,there are many people in parliament … regardless of which party or background they come from,who are there for the right reasons,to actually make a contribution to public life,and I think that’s really important,” he said.

Claims from the Greens that he and Labor failed renters,people who are trying to buy their first home,and failed to condemn the state of Israel’s invasion of Gaza were “simply not true”,Khalil said.

Back to the Federal Court in Sydney,where former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach is giving evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and high-profile presenter Lisa Wilkinson.

Under cross-examination by Lehrmann’s barrister,Matthew Richardson,SC,Auerbach agreed he was so “mortified” and “ashamed” that he resigned from Seven on November 26,2022,after he put thousands of dollars in charges on a corporate credit card for expenses he described in an email as having “nothing to do with work”.

His resignation was not accepted.

Auerbach has said in an affidavit that those charges,totalling more than $10,000,were for Thai masseuses for himself and Lehrmann,who were booked to attend his Elizabeth Bay home in the early hours of November 26.

“It was a personal matter. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t involving work,” he told the court.

“That morning was the worst morning of my life,probably,when I sent that email.”

Richardson put to him that it was seriously dishonest of him to use the corporate credit card for those expenses.

Auerbach said it was “wrong”.

But he said Seven “offered me a promotion … the following week” after this incident,as well as a pay rise.

Auerbach disagreed under cross-examination that he was willing to say anything “no matter how false” to harm Seven,but agreed he particularly hated former Spotlight producer Steve Jackson.

Asked if he blamed Jackson for the fact his contract at Seven was not renewed last year,Auerbach said:“In part.”

Keep up-to-date on the latest here.