A personal view of Australian and International Politics
Contemporary politics,local and international current affairs, science, music and extracts from the Queensland Newspaper "THE WORKER" documenting the proud history of the Labour Movement.
MAHATMA GANDHI ~ Truth never damages a cause that is just.
Health
authorities have recorded hundreds of deaths as Europe suffers through a
heatwave, with health workers facing record demand. (Reuters: Abdul Saboor)
In short:
More than 100 million Europeans were forecast to experience temperatures above 35 degrees.
Hundreds of deaths have been recorded across Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.
More temperature records have been broken.
Europe's
record-breaking heatwave has claimed hundreds of lives, according to
health authorities, as the continent battles through another day of
scorching temperatures.
At least 101 million Europeans were forecast to swelter in temperatures of over 35 degrees on Thursday.
In
Spain, where new temperature records have been set for June, the MoMo
mortality-rate monitoring system said that 212 deaths between Sunday and
Wednesday could be linked to the heat.
The
UK recorded its hottest-ever June day on Thursday, with temperatures
reaching 36.4 degrees in south-western Somerset, breaking the previous
day's record and prompting a warning from the London Ambulance Service.
Paramedics
responded to the highest-ever number of "life-threatening emergencies"
on Wednesday, which, its chief executive, Jason Killens, said was
"driven by the extreme heat".
Ambulance
crews responded to a record 642 Category 1 calls that day, which
include the most serious, life-threatening injuries and illnesses, such
as cardiac arrests and patients who are not breathing.
A pharmacy sign in Paris as the city experiences another day of scorching temperatures. (Reuters: Gonzalo Fuentes)
Three
deaths in northern France's Pas-de-Calais region were also "likely"
caused by the heat, while a prosecutor said a three-year-old boy was
found dead in a car in the suburbs of Paris, where temperatures topped
40 degrees on Wednesday.
Two
other children died in similar circumstances in France this week, while
at least 48 people have died in the country from drowning.
In
Paris, 25 cardiac arrests were recorded over 24 hours on Wednesday,
compared with fewer than 10 usually, Health Minister Stephanie Rist's
office said.
At the national level, she said a fourfold increase in emergency room visits for heat-related reasons had been recorded.
Meanwhile,
Parisians will be banned from drinking alcohol in public from midday
onwards on Friday, local time, to curb health issues arising from the
heatwave gripping France and much of Europe, the head of the Paris
police said.
"I
will publish an edict this evening, which will ban the consumption of
alcohol in public from tomorrow midday onwards. As you know, drinking
alcohol with the sun beating down can have a devastating effect," Paris
police chief Patrice Faure told BFM TV.
Since
the end of last week, more than 20 people across Germany have also lost
their lives in swimming-related accidents, according to the German Life
Saving Association.
The deputy
director of the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, Samantha
Burgess, said the hot weather was due to a "heat dome" of trapped air
from North Africa within a low-lying, high-pressure system, preventing
cooler air from moving in.
People sit on a dock at lunchtime in the financial district of Canary Wharf as Britain experiences record temperatures. (Reuters: Kevin Coombs)
"While
heat domes are a natural weather phenomenon, anthropogenic climate
change is making heatwaves more severe and more likely to reach
record-breaking temperatures," she said.
Switzerland
also registered its hottest-ever June temperature on Thursday, with 38
degrees measured in the northern city of Basel, breaking a previous
record of 36.9 set eight decades ago, the Swiss weather service said.
While The Netherlands issued its first ever red alert for heat for Friday, warning of "dangerous" conditions.
Germany,
Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic also face a torrid few days as
temperatures are forecast to soar further east and south.
The
national weather institute issued the alert for much of the country,
where temperatures are forecast to reach 40 degrees in some places.
French
Education Minister Edouard Geffray said that 13,500 schools were closed
or placed on special schedules on Thursday, while more than 1,000
schools were closed or partially closed in Britain.
Two powerful earthquakes, measuring magnitude-7.5 and 7.2, have struck Venezuela near the capital Caracas.
Jorge
Rodríguez, who heads Venezuela's national assembly, said at least 188
people had died, 1,520 people were injured, and at least 250 buildings
had been damaged or destroyed.
What's next?
A
"massive" UN-coordinated recovery effort is underway to find survivors,
with countries from around the world deploying search-and-rescue teams.
Venezuela
is in a state of emergency, with a major search and rescue operation
underway, after the worst earthquakes in more than 120 years hit the
country.
Jorge Rodríguez, who
heads the country's national assembly, said at least 188 people had
died, 1,520 people were injured, and at least 250 buildings had been
damaged or destroyed.
The
magnitude-7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, which struck near the capital
Caracas within a minute of each other on Wednesday night local time,
were the worst recorded in Venezuela since 1900.
The
United Nations was coordinating a major rescue operation with many
people believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
A hospital was evacuated after it was damaged in the earthquake. (AP Photo: Pedro Mattey)
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher called for "massive collective efforts".
Offers
of help poured in from around the world, including from the United
States, which seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolás Maduro at the
beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.
Specialist
rescuers certified by the UN have been deployed to search for
survivors, with countries across Europe, Central and South America, and
the Middle East sending personnel and equipment to assist.
Emergency services work at the site of a collapsed building in Caracas. (Reuters: Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
Mr
Fletcher warned that even before the earthquakes hit, nearly eight
million people in Venezuela were in need of humanitarian support.
Acting/Interim
President Delcy Rodríguez said the death toll was expected to climb as
rescue workers began searching in one of the worst-hit areas, La Guaira,
a coastal region just north of Caracas.
The
US Geological Survey, using predictive modelling to estimate the death
toll, said the death toll could run into the thousands.
"Dozens
of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out
intensive rescue operations to save lives," Ms Rodríguez said in a
national address.
"La Guaira state is a true tragedy, and has become a disaster zone."
US
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said one of the runways at Caracas’s
international airport was cracked in the earthquake, making landing
aircraft there difficult for rescue efforts.
Social media video also showed the terminal's ceiling collapsing over panicked travellers.
"We will have a whole government response," he said.
"It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective."
Venezuelans gather in front of a damaged building in Caracas on Wednesday evening. (Reuters: Fausto Torrealba)
Thousands believed to be missing
Authorities
have not provided an official figure for those reported missing, but a
website set up to track missing people had hit about 10,000 people
within hours.
Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, said she was desperate because her eight-year-old was missing.
"I want to know where my child is, if he's trapped or in a shelter," she said.
A major rescue operation is looking for survivors under collapsed buildings. (Reuters: Gaby Oraa)
Scores
of people in Venezuela and abroad have struggled to contact family
members, as power and phone coverage were wiped out in many areas, with
families posting on social media desperate for information.
Residents
across Caracas, where infrastructure was already crumbling due to a
lack of investment, rushed to evacuate as buildings shook.
Many Venezuelans were at home when the quakes struck during a public holiday.
"There
was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the
refrigerator. I've never experienced anything like it," said Coro
Martinez, 56, who lives in eastern Caracas.
$200 million pledged to repair buildings
Ms
Rodríguez said her government was creating a US$200 million ($288
million) reconstruction fund for hospitals and homes damaged by the
earthquakes.
Houses
have collapsed near the quake's epicentre in Morón, a small seaside
town in the state of Carabobo, where there was also no water or
electricity.
The Venezuelan
Red Cross said its headquarters had been critically damaged but managed
to send rescue teams to the worst-affected areas.
Caracas's
Hospital de Clínicas was also damaged with videos posted on social
media showing hallways plunged into darkness while ceiling panels hang
by cables and pieces of plaster lie scattered across the floor.
Rescue workers from around the world have been deployed to Venezuela. (AP Photo: Pedro Mattey)
School
has been cancelled for the rest of the week with buildings expected to
be used for rescue and recovery efforts, while the stock exchange has
also been closed with the building to be repurposed into a collection
centre for urgent supplies.
Ms
Rodríguez has called for unity in Venezuela, where anti-government
protests over annual inflation of more than 500 per cent have become
more frequent since US President Donald Trump ordered the capture of
President Nicolas Maduro in a violent raid in January.
A reconstruction of Phantasmodon travouilloni from the Early Miocene rainforests of north-western Queensland. (Supplied: Peter Schouten)
In short:
Fossils from Riversleigh in north-west Queensland have revealed a previously unknown lineage of insect-eating marsupials called Keeunamorphia.
The discovery helps fill a major gap in Australia's marsupial fossil record and reshapes understanding of their early evolution.
What's next?
Researchers
expect further discoveries from central Australia and Riversleigh
deposits could help determine if their origins predate the Australian
continent.
Rogue
teeth found in an outback fossil deposit have turned decades of
thinking on marsupial evolution "on its head", researchers say.
Teeth
and jaw fragments from Riversleigh in north-west Queensland have been
used to describe three new insect-eating marsupial species from about 18
million years ago that belong to a newly identified and primitive order
dubbed Keeunamorphia.
The discovery, led by UNSW Sydney researchers, was published in the Journal of Palaeontology last week.
Tim Churchill says the teeth are an important piece of the puzzle to working out marsupial lineages. (Supplied: UNSW Sydney)
Palaeontologist
Tim Churchill said the basic teeth filled a huge blind spot in
Australia's marsupial fossil record from 25 to 55 million years ago.
"We
don't know which of these early marsupial ancestors actually led to all
of our beloved Australian marsupial groups today," Dr Churchill said.
"Seeing
one of these primitive marsupials after that 30-million-year gap in the
Miocene, when all the Australian lineages are already established …
showed me that these proto-marsupials … survived for 35 to 40 million
years longer than we thought.
"The
impact of this finding goes beyond Australian marsupials … what we
thought has really had to turn on its head in terms of what lineages
were doing, when."
Oldest known lineage
Australian
marsupials are believed to have arrived from South America via
Antarctica before the break-up of Gondwana about 55 million years ago.
When researchers analysed the relatively recent fossils, they found teeth like Djarthia murgonensis, Australia's oldest known marsupial, which appears around the time of the continental split.
Co-author Mike Archer said the teeth's shape and size distinguished them from known marsupials from the period.
"There's this weird cusp on the upper molars of all of them that aren't present in other groups," Dr Archer said.
"If we were standing in Australia 13 or 14 million years ago, we'd be describing these animals as a living fossil."
The central cusp present on the upper teeth of all known Keeunamophians helped researchers distinguish the marsupial fossils. (Supplied: Tim Churchill)
About 30 million years ago, Australia's interior was dominated by lush rainforest.
Ranging from 25 to 200 grams, the shrew-sized animals found in Keeunamorphia likely thrived in wet environments, occupying similar niches to antechinuses and dunnarts.
But
as the continent warmed and rainforests were replaced with an arid
interior, Dr Churchill believed modern-day carnivorous marsupials called
dasyurids outcompeted the ancient lineage.
"When
we think they go extinct, that's when … the phascogales, antechinus and
the dunnarts, those small insectivorous marsupials start to really
explode in diversity," he said.
"It's possible that … it was their demise that gave room for our modern dasyurids to really flourish."
The Julia Creek dunnart is a dasyurid adapted to the arid plains of north-west Queensland. (Supplied: QUT/Andrew Baker)
Limited by the sparse fossil record, Dr Archer believed future discoveries would show Keeunamorphia likely evolved in South America and could be older than Australidelphia, the order where all living Australian marsupials branched from.
"When we know a lot more about … this group, we may decide it falls outside that group," he said.
"I suspect we're going to find the group was established prior to Australia breaking off as an island."
Mike Archer believes fossil sites in South America could be key to uncovering the true history behind the Keeunamorphia. (Supplied: UNSW Sydney)
Western
Australian Museum's terrestrial zoology curator, Kenny Travouillon, who
was not involved in the research, agreed the findings were a
breakthrough.
"The Riversleigh
fossils continue to shed light on the past diversity of marsupials that
once existed on this beautiful continent," Dr Travouillon said.
"This study revealed how little we know about the fossil record and how there is still so much to discover.
"The
discovery of a new order of marsupials is a rare event and an
extraordinary find. It helps tie together a few enigmatic species that
have been puzzling palaeontologists for several decades."
Melting ice and new opportunities
The exact path that birthed Australia's marsupial diversity will likely never be known.
But with global warming opening inaccessible parts of Antarctica and South America, Dr Archer says breakthroughs are imminent.
"Palaeontologists
are quietly rubbing their hands together to get at new fossil deposits
that have never been seen before. It'll be under that ice," he said.
"We know there is a very big story here and we're just beginning to get the first inklings of just how big this story is.
"I
think the only way forward now is for collaboration between Australian
and South American palaeontologists to tackle this whole problem."
The oldest known asteroid impact is now believed to be the Pilbara. (Supplied: Curtin University)
In short:
Scientists have confirmed that an asteroid crater in Western Australia's East Pilbara is the oldest in the world.
It is the second time the ancient crater's age has been pinpointed after a false start last year.
What's next?
Some scientists are still disputing the findings, saying there are inaccuracies in the study.
Scientists
have dated a crater in the Australian outback at 3 billion years old,
making it the world's oldest known site of an asteroid impact.
The North Pole Dome, about 1,600 kilometres north of Perth, was the source of controversy last year when it was reported as the oldest in the world, a claim debunked by another group of scientists a month later.
The
debate continues as advanced dating techniques used a second time
removed the uncertainty, while another expert still disputes the claim.
Advanced techniques were used to calculate the time of asteroid impact. (Supplied: Curtin University)
Curtin
University lead author Chris Kirkland said the first study found the
site was an ancient impact but the exact age was uncertain.
"[The
second time] we went and looked into the rocks themselves, and looked
at the individual little crystals within the rock, and we found these
really unusual skeletal grains," he said.
"We were able to date the age of those very special grains that relate to the impact event."
The
key evidence to track the time of impact came from zircon, a tiny
mineral capable of keeping geological time for billions of years.
Chris Kirkland was the lead author of the study. (Supplied: Curtin University)
"Some zircons at North Pole Dome have unusual branching, skeletal shapes," Professor Kirkland said.
"We
interpret these as impact-modified crystals, formed when older zircon
was disrupted, partly recrystallised, and in places regrown during the
intense heating caused by the impact."
Professor
Kirkland said to confirm the result the team analysed a second mineral,
apatite, which formed as hot fluids moved through the shock-damaged
rocks.
This independent dating method produced the same age.
Academics dispute the study
Last
year, when the crater was discovered and scientists from Curtin
University found it to be the oldest documented crater, other experts
disputed the findings.
Harvard
University postdoctoral fellow Alec Brenner was one, and said the latest
study also did not properly date the North Pole Dome impact structure.
"That alone requires the impact happened after 2.77 billion years ago.
"While
the new study dismisses this observation because these rocks 'have not
been dated', they are straightforwardly correlated to nearby rocks that
have been dated."
Tiny zircon crystals were used for the study. (Supplied: Curtin University)
Mr
Brenner said the long history of the Pilbara region had no shortage of
complexity, including cryptic hydrothermal events that could form the
zircon used to determine the time of impact.
"Seeing an unknown fluid flow event does not mean it resulted from an impact," he said.
"The
lead author has also worked on other craters where similar dated fluid
flow events were clearly non-impact-related. Most are not.
"So I'd suggest they've dated an undocumented hydrothermal episode in the area."
This crater was said to be an impact 2.2 to 2.3 billion years ago.
"So we are doing another 750 million years older," Professor Kirkland said of the North Pole Dome crater's age.
"We can put these ages about and say the numbers, but if you stop to think about it, it is truly mind-boggling."
Rock formations grown on the asteroid impact. (Supplied: Curtin University)
He said the rocks they studied are similar to story books that tell the story of the planet's past.
"It
is quite enthralling, and the fact that you can look at the chemistry
of these mineral grains to say something about an event that happened in
a split second three billion years ago is really amazing," he said.
The possibility of even older craters remaining undocumented was not written off by Professor Kirkland.
Students joined the strike from various high schools across the region. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Oliver Wykeham)
In short:
Sunshine Coast Council has partnered with Google and NEXTDC to build an AI data centre in Maroochydore.
High school and university students have banded together to protest the development.
What's next?
Council is looking to capitalise on Maroochydore's proximity to the undersea cable to grow the CBD into a digital hub.
A
$200 million data centre under construction on the Sunshine Coast has
ignited a protest movement from students concerned about its
environmental and social impacts.
The
five-storey NEXTDC SC2 data centre under construction in Maroochydore
city centre will become one of 162 data centres operating across
Australia.
At least 90 more are
planned nationwide, prompting a group of Sunshine Coast residents to
call for stronger regulations as the infrastructure expands into
suburban areas.
NEXTDC
has partnered with Sunshine Coast Council and Google to construct a
data centre within a new tower being built in Maroochydore. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Oliver Wykeham)
An
AI data centre is a facility that houses the specific IT infrastructure
needed to train, deploy and deliver AI applications and services. Data
centre infrastructure uses significant volumes of water to keep machines
cool.
The Greens are calling
for a moratorium on "hyperscale" data centre development approvals,
arguing the "energy vampires" are putting pressure on power supplies,
water resources and communities.
It is unknown how many resources the Maroochydore AI site will use.
The
Climate Council of Australia said in 2024-25 data centres used about 4
terawatt-hours (TWh), or 2 per cent of the electricity in Australia's
main grid, the National Electricity Market (NEM).
This is equivalent to the electricity use of more than 700,000 homes.
Not everyone is keen on AI data centres.
At
last week's Protect Sunshine Coast rally, organiser Ruby Dyer, 16, said
her concerns extended beyond the Maroochydore facility to broader
anxieties about the increasing role of AI in everyday life.
"We're
wanting to show our leaders that there is a large group of people who
aren't OK with the lack of regulations to hopefully put pressure on them
to get these regulations put in place," she said.
Ruby Dyers says she was inspired by Greta Thunberg’s School Strike 4 Climate and used her Instagram to rally support. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Oliver Wykeham)
Ruby
said their concerns related to the environmental impacts, misuse by
"bad users", and the diminishing prospects for young people as they
entered the workforce.
"There are a lot of jobs in so many different professions that are being affected, […] lost or replaced,"
she said.
"AI is doing it for them, so there is a big concern with there not being as many jobs when I go into the workforce."
University
student Kate McGeechan, 19, was among the dozen young people who
ditched studies and attended last week's strike outside the Sunshine
Coast Council building in Maroochydore.
The placards are proudly handmade and share heartfelt messages. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Oliver Wykeham)
She was motivated after seeing Ruby's Instagram and believed young Australians had valid concerns about society's growing dependence on the technology.
"I think it was really admirable to be organised by these high school students," Ms McGeechan said.
She
said she could acknowledge the human desire to want to automate
processes, but she wanted people to carefully think about becoming
reliant.
"I want people to
think twice before using AI for their everyday activities, and just to
remember that, at the end of the day, we're all human and we're all
capable," she said.
Kate McGeechan says the human brain is more powerful than any computer we have. (ABC Sunshine Coast: Oliver Wykeham)
She also questioned how increasing dependence could shape future professions.
"Are
we going to have a new generation of lawyers and doctors who might not
be entirely qualified to make the judgements that they're supposed to
make on a daily basis?"
Ms McGeechan said.
The
students are planning more action, including a social media campaign to
encourage more young people to investigate regulations around AI data
centres.
University of the
Sunshine Coast discipline lead of technology Erica Mealy said some
concerns raised by the students mirrored legitimate debates occurring
nationally and internationally.
Erica Mealy says AI factories consume a lot of data. (Supplied)
However,
Dr Mealy said AI had the potential to improve lives when used
appropriately, especially when it came to dirty, dangerous and
undesirable work.
"Leave
humans the creativity, leave humans the great thinking and the research
advances and take away some of the stuff that's really irritating for
us,"
she said.
Dr
Mealy said the proposed Sunshine Coast facility could deliver
significant benefits to the region and rural Queensland, such as
advances in remote health care.
Queensland's
first regional data centre was built in Maroochydore in 2021, which is
close to the construction site of the new data centre.
In
a statement to the ABC, a Sunshine Coast Council representative said
partnerships with NEXTDC and Google were designed to secure long-term
economic growth and digital resilience for the region.
They
said the key benefits would be more reliable connectivity for cloud
services, data transfer and digital operations, including supporting
modern AI systems.
The
representative said the SC2 facility would be carbon neutral but did not
answer specific questions from ABC on environmental assessments.
Sue Badreddine sends money to her family in Lebanon while also managing rising costs in Sydney. (Supplied)
Sue Badreddine "can't sleep" worried about her brother and family members trapped by the war in Lebanon.
Thirty of the 55-year-old's relatives in Lebanon's south moved into aone-bedroom house after Israeliair strikes destroyed their homes.
Their
village, Kfar Kila, is one of about a dozen villages along Lebanon's
southern border that were levelled by waves of Israeli bombardment over
the pasttwo-and-a-half years, according to Reuters.
Her family now rely on Ms Badreddine for financial support,and she's spent thousands this year alone to help them survive.
"As soon as I get my pay cheque, I say, 'OK, this is for us, and this is for Lebanon'," she said.
Sue Badreddine (far right) with her family in Lebanon. (Supplied)
The
community services officer from Sydney was already financially
stretched from rising living expenses over the past few years.
But
Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon, which have intensified since
February, have added more financial and emotional strains on her life.
"When
someone passes away [in Lebanon], it's very hard to go to the funeral,"
she said, adding it's "too risky" to leave during the bombing.
She's not alone in feeling the stress.
Several
Australians in the Lebanese diaspora, which makes up nearly 250,000
people, told the ABC they send money to help their families afford
everyday essentials, such as food, medicine and baby formula.
Like them, Ms Badreddine has struggled to keep afloat while also supporting her loved ones.
Sue Badreddine (middle) with her sisters at a beach in Lebanon. (Supplied)
"It's
every single week. And here [in Australia] I don't own a house, I rent.
So I have to pay for my rent, for our bills, for our petrol as well.
I'm working, but it's not even enough for us,"
she said.
She said many of her family members have been unable to work because of the war, and necessities they once could affordwere now out of reach.
Ms Badreddine helps pay for her brother's medications, the rest of the family's rent, water, gas and electricity costs.
She said it was "very hard" to keep up with costs and has relied on donations from friends and family.
"The people there just want to have bread to eat and milk for the kids, and medicine for the elders," she said.
Cost of living up to 'five times' higher
Inflation
in Lebanon had risen to 17.26 per cent in March, the highest it's been
since 2024, mainly due to transport prices fuelled by higher fuel costs
following the US-Israel war against Iran.
The war has also disrupted the supply of goods inside the country, according to the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP).
The
price of vegetables has soared by more than 20 per cent and bread
prices have increased by 17 per cent since March 2, WFP said.
Ms
Baddreddine said her family had told her that bread can cost up to
"five times" what it used to from some retailers in the south.
"Babies go without formula because they just can't find any," Ms Badreddine said.
Rent
has also surged in areas in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, as families flee
from the south and the Beqaa Valley for safety, according to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
UNHCR spokesperson in Lebanon Dalal Harb told the ABC the country has been facing a deepening humanitarian crisis.
"Many
simply cannot afford housing anymore, especially those displaced who
had already lost their belongings, their savings and many of their
livelihoods," Ms Harb said.
A homeless man sits on a curb in Beirut. (Reuters: Mohamed Azakir)
The
conflict and regional instability have driven up prices of essential
items like wheat, fuel, and food, making it even harder for households
to meet their daily needs, she said.
"For
a population that was already grappling with one of the worst economic
crises in its modern history, this is pushing more people into poverty
and vulnerability."
'Repeated displacement' for 1.2 million
During
the past two-and-a-half years of war, parts of the Beqaa Valley, south
Lebanon and the southern suburbs of the country's capital, Beirut, have
been hit by Israeli air strikes, decimating family homes and displacing
1.2 million, about 20 per cent of the population, according to UNHCR.
A two-month-old displaced baby girl lies in her cradle at a makeshift encampment in Beirut. (Reuters: Marko Djurica)
The
Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that during this war,
bombing by Israel has killed 3,526 people and injured 10,733.
Tens
of thousands of families live in increasingly overcrowded collective
shelters, while some are sleeping in schools, mosques, in their cars or
even on the streets, according to the UNHCR.
Israeli
strikes and displacement orders have caused a constant state of fear
among those living across the south of Lebanon and Beirut, according to
Ms Harb.
"Watching their
neighbourhoods come under threat, their loved ones killed and injured,
and their lives uprooted overnight," she said.
Destruction in Deir Qanoun al-Nahr, Tyre district, southern Lebanon. (Reuters: Aziz Taher)
Last week, before an interim peace agreement
between the US, Israel and Iran, the Israeli military issued a
widescale evacuation warning for residents of at least 30 towns and
villages in southern Lebanon.
Israeli
forces have occupied swathes of southern Lebanon, and Israel said it is
seeking to dismantle infrastructure owned by the Iran-backed Hezbollah
on its borders.
But Ms Harb
said, despite repeated ceasefire announcements since mid-April, "the
violence has not stopped," with civilians bearing the brunt.
"For
many, the reality today is one of repeated displacement, loss, and
growing uncertainty about what comes next," Ms Harb said.
Sue Badreddine fundraised tens of thousands to help the people of her village, Kfar Kila. (Supplied)
Support from afar
Earlier this month, Ms Badreddine came up with a plan: a fundraising dinner to help people in her village.
About 280 guests attended the event, raising $30,000 to support those most in need.
"However much they can afford, it doesn't matter … $10, $5. They all count," she said.
Members of the VLCC meet with government representatives to discuss the Lebanon crisis. (Supplied)
Victorian
Lebanese Community Council (VLCC) spokesperson Michael Kheirallah said
for many Lebanese people the war was not a distant political event, it
was "deeply personal".
He says,
while many in Australia send money to help cover food, rent, medicine,
education and rebuilding costs, "the emotional burden is immense".
"Many
Lebanese Australians spend their days checking messages, making phone
calls, and sending money to relatives who have lost homes, jobs,
businesses, or access to basic services,"
Mr Kheirallah said.
Fundraising
events organised by the VLCC have brought together Victoria's vastly
diverse Lebanese community to help families deal with ongoing costs.
"The Lebanese diaspora has become a vital lifeline during times of crisis," he said.
Greens say visa pathways are a 'system that fails'
Like
many in the diaspora, applying for visas to reunite with loved ones to
escape the dangers of war is a costly and, in many cases, disappointing
affair.
Ms Badreddine applied for her sister to immigrate on a family-sponsored visa, which was costly and time-consuming.
Family-sponsored
visas are estimated to cost between $5,000 to $8,000 according to the
Department of Foreign Affairs website, a non-refundable fee.
"She was rejected," she said.
Her
brother's wife, who lives in Lebanon, and worked as a nurse, also had
her work visa application rejected, and her two children's visas
followed.
Senator David
Shoebridge, the Greens spokesperson on home affairs, said the federal
government "had failed the Lebanese Australian community".
When
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Morrison government offered
fast-tracked humanitarian visas to those fleeing the conflict.
But the same offer has not been extended to those affected by the war in Gaza, nor the recent Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
David Shoebridge has spoken out in favour of humanitarian visas for Lebanese people fleeing war. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
"At
best, Labor offer tourist visas as a pretend solution only to then
refuse the visas because many people coming from Lebanon are not coming
as tourists but fleeing the war," Mr Shoebridge said.
"We
have heard from the clear call for Australia to help fund emergency
relief in Lebanon. Israel has levelled entire villages where Australians
have family and deep connections; it's not business as usual with this
war, and the government needs to respond."
In
a statement sent to the ABC, a Department of Home Affairs spokesperson
said people intending to travel to Australia from Lebanon were not
limited to one visa pathway and the government recognised the importance
of family reunification.
"There
are provisions to prioritise Family visa applications with
circumstances of a compassionate or compelling nature on a case-by-case
basis. Requests for priority processing of Family visas are common, so
the threshold for giving priority is high," they said.
The
statement also added that Australia's Humanitarian Program was designed
"primarily to assist people who have left their home country because of
persecution or severe human rights abuse and who have no options for
return to their home country or integration in the country of refuge or
for resettlement in another country".
