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Boats overturned in Hobart by strong wind gusts on day of regatta
Police are responding after strong winds blew several boats over on the River Derwent near Hobart.
Tasmania police confirmed they were rescuing people after the boats at a sailing event were overturned by a “large gust of wind”. The Bureau of Meteorology recorded wind gusts of up to 95 km/h in Hobart before 1.20pm.
The Westpac rescue helicopter was also attending, with flight tracking showing it took off from Hobart airport before 1.40pm AEDT and is still circling the river and bay.
A police spokesperson said they were not worried about injuries at this stage, but rescue efforts were continuing.
While it is not clear which event was affected, the Bellerive Regatta was scheduled for this weekend, with its “Off The Beach” race at 1pm today.
Key events
What we learned, Sunday 22 February
Luca Ittimani
Thanks for staying with us for today’s news. We’ll wrap up our live coverage there. The wonderful Nick Visser will be back on the blog tomorrow as we enter the final week of February.
Until then, here were Sunday’s top stories:
Chinese Australians open museum as division on immigration surges
In the face of challenges to multiculturalism and diversity in Australia, the newly-opened Museum of Chinese in Australia’s chief executive, Peter Cai, said Australians love stories about underdogs.
(Chinese Australians) arrived in this country, they work really hard against the backdrop of the White Australia policy, yet achieved incredible success over the time.
The Haymarket museum will open with an exhibition featuring some of Sydney’s biggest merchant families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but Mr Cai said the museum’s goal was not just to tell the local community’s story.
We want to tell the Chinese Australian story as part of the broader Australian historical development, to feature Chinese Australians as part of Australia’s modern nation-building effort.
Multicultural Affairs Minister Anne Aly said the museum shone a light on the ambitions, resilience and determination of Chinese migrants, adding:
These are stories worth remembering, because they deepen our understanding of who we are and strengthen the sense of belonging that underpins our multicultural success.
– AAP
Museum of Chinese in Australia celebrates ‘auspicious’ opening
With lion dancers and a visit from the prime minister, a museum dedicated to the stories of some of Australia’s earliest migrants has marked a start years in the making, AAP reports.
In the heart of Sydney’s Chinatown, the Museum of Chinese in Australia threw open its doors for the first time on Sunday to much fanfare after years of obstacles, revealing its jade-stone entrance.
Since it was handed the keys to the old Haymarket library in 2021, the museum has faced challenges from the Covid19 pandemic to the intricacies of renovating a 1875 heritage building. It will finally welcome visitors from Tuesday.
The museum has opened during lunar new year, in the year of the fire horse, which in Chinese astrology is traditionally linked to a time of significant breakthroughs and drastic change.
Its chief executive, Peter Cai, said:
It’s just a really big moment for a lot of us … It’s such an auspicious time, we’re really hoping we get all the renovations done this year.
Police warning after eight boats capsize in Hobart
More on the boats overturned in Hobart: police have warned people to wear lifejackets when on the water.
Lifejackets were worn by all of the 54 young sailors participating in a Hobart race, which meant the 25 who went overboard when their boats capsized could be rescued, the acting police commander, Andrew Keane, said. He said in a statement:
The lifejackets helped keep people visible and afloat in challenging wind and water conditions, allowing rescuers to locate and recover them quickly and safely.
Their use greatly reduced the risk of injury or exhaustion and contributed to all participants being brought to shore without harm.
The event organisers had also kept a careful list of participants, allowing police to check that every young sailor had been rescued, Keane told reporters.
Police had been busy rescuing people all along the Derwent River on Sunday, and the event had lessons for the public, Keane said.
It’s vital to let somebody know where you’re going, when you expect to be back, and make sure you have your safety gear. Your lifejacket should be available. It should be serviced. Make sure you don’t drink. Make sure you’ve got your flares and propulsion devices.
Dozens of teenagers overboard as winds capsize Hobart boat race
Strong winds have capsized boats and sent 25 child sailors overboard during a Hobart race, all of whom have been rescued unharmed, police said.
Sailors, aged between 10 and 18, were racing between Sandy Bay and Long Point, in Hobart’s inner south, as four local sailing clubs combined for an event on the River Derwent.
At least eight of the 47 boats were blown over by a strong gust of wind, said Tasmania police acting commander, Andrew Keane.
There were gusts of wind up to 95 km/h before 1.20pm in Hobart, with police alerted at 1.22pm. Bystanders and racing club members joined police boats and helicopters in rescue efforts, with the local Derwent sailing squadron giving police access to facilities for a staging post.
Keane said 25 out of 54 young people taking part in the race fell in the water, all wearing lifejackets, police said. Some swam to shore, and the rest were rescued by boat by 2.36pm. Tasmania Ambulance assessed 21 of them and found they were unharmed before sending them home. Keane said:
They were pretty shaken up, obviously considerably wet. Fortunately, the weather was quite warm and they had all the safety gear on that they should have had.
Police had spent much of Sunday afternoon rescuing capsized boats and windsurfers up and down the Derwent, Keane said.
The wind has been strong all afternoon, and that’s been causing quite a bit of trouble out in the Derwent today.
Sarah Basford Canales
Australian and UK defence unite to work on nuclear-powered submarine
Over in Western Australia, Australian defence personnel have partnered with their UK counterparts for the first-ever maintenance activity on a UK nuclear-powered submarine in the country.
The HMS Anson will visit for one month, and US and UK forces will undertake joint exercises with Australian defence.
Australian personnel have already assisted with maintenance for US Virginia-class submarines, including USS Vermont when it visited last year and USS Hawaii in 2024.
Celebrating the visit, the defence minister, Richard Marles, said:
Australia’s acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine capability will create jobs, strengthen our local industry and help keep Australians safe. This submarine maintenance period is the latest demonstration of the continued momentum across all three partners to deliver AUKUS.
Victorian bushfire warnings downgraded
Warnings for a fire blazing near Gaffneys Creek in Victoria have been downgraded from “leave immediately” to “do not return”.
The fire is travelling south-east from Gaffneys Creek along German Spur Track towards Woods Point.
VicEmergency had been urging people in the area of A1 Mine Settlement to leave and has now told those who remain that it is not safe to return due to continuing bushfire and tree hazards.
Those who remain have been urged to stay where they are, avoid bushfire and tree hazards and check they have enough food, drinking water and medication.
The Mansfield-Woods Point Road has been closed along the 47-kilometre stretch between Kevington and Woods Point. VicEmergency has warned drivers not to enter the area.
The fire is still out of control and has burned through 1,100 hectares in the heavily forested areas around the A1 Mine settlement since it started on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, warnings for the still-uncontrolled fire blazing near Trawool in the Goulburn Valley have been replaced with advice to stay informed as the threat eases.
Hobart boat race sailors rescued after mass capsizing
The Hobart sailors who were thrown overboard when strong winds blew over their boats have been rescued.
As we reported earlier, strong winds overturned a number of boats on the River Derwent. The boats capsized while racing off Long Beach, Sandy Bay, with race participants thrown into the water.
Bystander boats, marine services, the Westpac rescue helicopter and police helped rescue them, police said. All racers and marine rescue efforts on the River Derwent have now been accounted for, police confirmed, working with the race organiser.
None of the participants were injured, with each being assessed by Ambulance Tasmania, police said. The area was still being searched from water and sky as a precaution.
It’s not clear how many participants there were. The Bellerive regatta yesterday recorded about 100 boats with 300 sailors attending, including more than 40 keelboats at the first race. The regatta had a different off-the-beach event scheduled for 1pm today, as well as the Tasmanian Sabre State Championship.
Thousands of ‘life-threatening’ pharmaceutical poppies stolen from Victorian farm
Thousands of life-threatening toxic poppies have been stolen from a Ballarat farm, prompting a police investigation and public health alert.
Thieves stole about 1,700 poppy plants sometime between 14 and 16 February, police said. Ballarat divisional response unit detectives are investigating.
In Victoria, it is illegal to take, use, sell or grow poppies without a licence from the state government, and entering a poppy crop is prohibited unless accompanied by a licence holder or their employee.
Victoria’s Department of Health warned the stolen poppy plant “heads” were grown for the pharmaceutical industry and were alkaloid poppies, not traditional opioid poppies. The department said in a statement:
(Alkaloid poppies) contain dangerously high concentrations of thebaine and oripavine, with risk of life-threatening toxicity. … Thebaine does not produce pain relief, sedation or euphoria. Thebaine stimulates the nervous system and can lead to seizures, high body temperature, and life-threatening toxicity. Any exposure to thebaine may cause toxicity.
The poppies contained only trace amounts of traditional opioids like morphine and codeine. Naloxone, a medication to respond to opioid overdoses, would not reverse thebaine toxicity, the department warned.
The department said products made from the stolen flowers, such as dried flower heads, ground poppy plant material, or liquid preparations derived from poppy plants, could lead to life-threatening toxicity.
Sarah Basford Canales
Liberal spokesperson says good behaviour bonds won’t ‘keep people safe’ from women and children detained in Syria
Continuing with the shadow home affairs minister for a moment, Jonathan Duniam has also suggested a good behaviour bond isn’t enough to keep Australia if any of the 34 women and children stuck in a Syrian detention camp return to the country.
Details of how the lives of the 11 Australian women and 23 children remaining in Roj camp in north-eastern Syria are limited, but the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has offered public assurances that intelligence agencies would flag any risks the group could pose if returned to Australia.
They would not be the first wives, widows and children of slain or jailed Islamic State fighters to return to Australia. Four women and 11 children returned to Australia in 2022, and eight orphaned children were flown to Australia from Syria in 2019.
However, Duniam said:
It’s terrible for anyone in these camps, but again, bringing people back into Australia with a softly, softly approach, which is the one this government is taking, is not in our national interest. And we know, indeed, with those who have been repatriated, who have faced prosecution in the past, the best we got was a good behaviour bond for 25 months.
These are people that went to Syria to support a death cult. A good behaviour bond does not strike me as a strong response or something that will keep people safe.
Sarah Basford Canales
Coalition ‘cannot understand’ why Syrian camp detainees not banned from entering Australia
The shadow home affairs minister, Jonathan Duniam, has questioned why only one of the 34 women and children stuck in a Syrian detention camp has been banned from entering the country for up to two years.
In case you’ve not been keeping up, the group of Australians in Syria’s Roj camp – the wives, widows and children of slain or jailed Islamic State fighters – are staring down a deadline as authorities look to close the detention camp. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, has said he doesn’t want the group to return and the Australian government is not actively helping them.
However, only one woman from the group has been issued a temporary exclusion order, preventing her return to Australia for up to two years. Under law, an Australian citizen has a right to an Australian passport and Burke says, bar the one woman, intelligence agencies haven’t delivered any information to suggest the other 33 pose a threat.
The opposition is ramping up its attacks on Labor over the issue, eager to score a much-needed political win after months of internal turmoil.
In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Duniam queried why only one woman met the threshold for a temporary ban on entering the country. He said:
I cannot understand for the life of me how it is the case that these people somehow aren’t deemed a risk? … only one of them gets a temporary travel ban to come back to Australia. This is not the kind of thing that I think does fill Australians with confidence.
Burke said in an interview this morning the agencies have been monitoring the group for some time and he had “complete confidence” intelligence agencies didn’t have any information gaps.
You can read more here:
Boats overturned in Hobart by strong wind gusts on day of regatta
Police are responding after strong winds blew several boats over on the River Derwent near Hobart.
Tasmania police confirmed they were rescuing people after the boats at a sailing event were overturned by a “large gust of wind”. The Bureau of Meteorology recorded wind gusts of up to 95 km/h in Hobart before 1.20pm.
The Westpac rescue helicopter was also attending, with flight tracking showing it took off from Hobart airport before 1.40pm AEDT and is still circling the river and bay.
A police spokesperson said they were not worried about injuries at this stage, but rescue efforts were continuing.
While it is not clear which event was affected, the Bellerive Regatta was scheduled for this weekend, with its “Off The Beach” race at 1pm today.
Evacuation warning as Victoria bushfire blazes south
Authorities have urged people to leave immediately as a bushfire continues to burn near Gaffneys Creek in Victoria.
The fire is still out of control and has burned through 1,100 hectares in the heavily forested areas around the A1 Mine settlement since it started on Thursday night.
It is travelling south-east from Gaffneys Creek along German Spur Track towards Woods Point. VicEmergency has urged people in the area to leave by travelling south through Woods Point:
Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous. Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay.
Police are treating the fire as suspicious until proven otherwise and are investigating its causes after reports of ignition points were found.
‘Humid and unstable airmass’ to bring rain, flooding and thunderstorms across Australia’s east coast
Heavy rain and floods are expected to sweep central and southern Australia, with thunderstorms forecast for parts of every state and territory on Sunday.
Much of South Australia, the Northern Territory and Victoria are facing a drenching, while storms could also hit Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned.
Queensland, SA and the NT have already endured a rainy weekend, with one remote community facing its biggest downpour in a decade, thanks to a strengthening tropical low.
The BoM warned that parts of those states could face flooding, blocked roads and rising rivers from Sunday until at least Wednesday, as the weather system connects to a cold front pulling moisture south. Its warning reads:
(This) will combine with a very humid and unstable airmass to produce widespread heavy rainfall and thunderstorms over the north of (SA).
Read the whole story here:
Sydney’s Museum of Chinese in Australia – in pictures
Some photos from the opening of Sydney’s new Museum of Chinese in Australia have come through. Here’s what the event looked like.
The prime minister met lion dancers performing at the event. You can read about the incredible effort dancers put in for lunar new year in this beautiful piece from Isabella Lee:
Luca Ittimani
Thanks Natasha May and hello readers. I’ll take you through the rest of Sunday’s breaking news.
Natasha May
This is where I’ll hand over to my colleague Luca Ittimani, who’ll see you through the rest of the afternoon.
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