Australia news as it happened: Iran warns Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ on Strait of Hormuz would break ceasefire; Chalmers flags intergenerational reform in federal budget

Firefighters have handed back control of the Geelong fuel refinery damaged by a massive blaze last month, as the company running it says the site is expected to be fixed within the next six weeks.

The fire, sparked by an equipment fault, raised the stakes over concerns of a national fuel shortfall as the war between the US and Iran raged and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz choked global supply.

On Monday, Fire Rescue Victoria said “comprehensive air quality, surface and water run-off testing” at the refinery “confirmed there were no contamination concerns for the community”.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are still under way, and may take several months to complete, with testing of alarms at the refinery also set to begin over the coming weeks. “As part of this work, [fire crews] used remotely piloted aircraft ‘drones’ to safely capture vision within the damaged part of the plant,” Fire Rescue Victoria said today.

Jet fuel and diesel at the refinery are still being produced at about 80 per cent of capacity and, when the repair works are completed in June, owner Viva Energy said it expected petrol production to return to 90 per cent of capacity.

Before the blaze, Viva had been seeking to produce as much fuel as possible to help Australia deal with the war’s impact on oil markets. The refinery accounts for 50 per cent of Victoria’s daily fuel usage and 10 per cent of the national total.

Ships stranded in the Iran-blockaded Strait of Hormuz have been told to reroute and work with Omani authorities as the US begins its “Project Freedom” operation to free tankers in the crucial global shipping lane.

Authorities said Monday that an “enhanced security area” south of typical shipping routes had now been set up due to concerns about sea mines laid as Iran choked off free passage in the strait over its war with the US.

Since the new operation was announced by Trump on social media Sunday, US Central Command has confirmed it will involve 15,000 military personnel, and more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, as well as guided-missile destroyers, warships and drones. But the Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about how they are being deployed.

Thousands of seafarers stranded in the strait since the war began have described watching intercepted drones and missiles explode over the waters as their vessels run low on drinking water, food and other supplies.

Iran state media has said Tehran is now reviewing the US response to its 14-point proposal to end the conflict and reopen the strait, after the US begun its own naval blockade in the area to hit Iran’s economy.

With AP

With Donald Trump’s “Project Freedom” set to begin in a matter of hours to guide stranded fuel tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has warned US forces not to enter the key global shipping lane.

Trump announced the operation would begin on Monday morning Middle East time), involving some 15,000 military personnel. But Iran’s own military has warned it will “respond harshly” to any American interference in the strait, and treat it as a violation of the fragile ceasefire currently still in place between the two nations.

Separately, Iranian state media said Washington had now delivered its response to Iran’s 14-point peace plan and that Tehran was now reviewing it. There was no immediate confirmation from the White House that the Trump administration had responded to the Iran proposal.

Two tankers have been hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours, Britain’s maritime agency has reported as it warns the security threat there remains critical. Thousands of seafarers have been stranded on vessels and global fuel markets squeezed by Iran’s blockading of the strait since war broke out with the US.

With Reuters

Tensions over one of the world’s most important shipping lanes are on a knife’s edge as an American operation to “guide” ships through Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz – due to begin in a matter of hours –risks tearing apart a fragile ceasefire.

Since war broke out between the US and Iran, an Iranian blockage of the strait has choked global oil supplies, sending shockwaves through economies and leaving thousands of seafarers stranded on oil vessels. Britain’s maritime trade agency warned today that the security threat level in Hormuz remains critical, after two ships were hit by projectiles in recent hours.

US President Donald Trump had earlier announced a new American effort, called “Project Freedom”, to guide stranded ships through the maritime passage. The operation, due to begin shortly (“Monday morning, Middle East time”, according to the White House), is set to involve 15,000 personnel, and more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, as well as guided-missile destroyers, warships and drones.

Iran, meanwhile, has warned that any US interference in the strait will be considered a violation of the current ceasefire.

Trump has said he will review an Iranian “14-point” plan to end the war within the next month, which will require both sides to allow free passage again in the strait.

Police have charged more than a dozen people over the riot that broke out in Alice Springs last week as police arrested a man for the murder of five-year-old girl Kumanjayi Little Baby.

A crowd of hundreds converged on Alice Springs Hospital, where Jefferson Lewis was taken following his arrest on Thursday night, and police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as tensions rose.

Northern Territory Police said 13 people had been charged today over the riot, after a woman was charged on Saturday with setting a police car on fire during the unrest. CCTV footage had helped detectives identify alleged offenders, police said, including those who ransacked a Shell service station, and more arrests are expected to follow.

The community has been torn apart by grief after Kumanjayi Little Baby was abducted from her home at the Old Timers Camp last month, and her tiny body found in a river bed.

Rioting broke out Thursday as some locals called for Lewis to face traditional “payback” community justice rather than be taken into custody.

The deputy commissioner of Australia’s federal anti-corruption watchdog, Nicole Rose, has resigned from her position.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland thanked Rose for her service at the National Anti-Corruption Commission since being appointed in 2023. “Ms Rose has made an invaluable contribution to the establishment of the NACC as an inaugural deputy commissioner,” she said.

Rose will finish her role in July.